Dawn Harlow is a world-renowned women’s empowerment mentor and coach with over 18 years of experience guiding individuals through personal transformation and self-realization. A writer and a coach  and master of Kundalini, she combines Kundalini yogic practices with her curated bespoke program, THE JOURNEY, creating an approach that blends ancient wisdom and practices with modern-day personal development and coaching. When she is not speaking on global stages, Harlow hosts transformational retreats around the world, facilitates one-on-one personal journeys via Zoom and in person, and leads her online Kundalini training academy, where she trains teachers internationally. Known as both a prolific educator and a global thought leader, she is driven by a mission to help individuals step into what she calls their “very big self” – and their goals and dreams. Her work centers on empowerment, healing, and awakening personal potential through disciplined practice, self-awareness, and spiritual insight. With a reputation for combining depth, compassion, and swift practical transformation, Harlow continues to influence a growing international female community seeking clarity, purpose, and empowerment. This interview explores the defining moments that shaped her path, the philosophy behind her work, and how Kundalini practices intersect with modern-day coaching and personal development. Dawn Harlow Your journey is incredibly powerful — moving from deep trauma to personal freedom. Was there a specific moment when you realized you had to reclaim your power and life, and how did that decision change your life? Yes, I had yet another heart-breaking, degrading, destroying conversation with my partner, and in a moment of absolute exasperation, desperation, and experiencing incomprehensible cruelty, something broke, snapped inside of me, and I fell to the floor in a frenzy of being verbally assaulted and dehumanized without a single touch. It ran through my entire body like an alarm ringing. Emergency. Switch off. Mayday, Mayday. I fell in absolute surrender… I couldn’t go on. I couldn’t continue. I couldn’t tolerate anymore. The journey of pretending that I was ok and my life was ok was up. The façade of the perfect couple with a perfect life crumbled. I was sobbing, screeching like a wounded animal. In that moment, I was not only crying about the situation; I was crying for myself. I had almost left my own body; I could even view myself. My spirit had to step away to survive the moment. Almost like a higher self looked at the broken self and said, “ok, we need to take a pause, we need to act.” I split in two in order to view the merging of all wounded parts with strong parts and with innocent parts, to bring me back to self. I said I can’t do this any more. The torture. I had been pushed too far. I was offered his hand as he always did. I played dead, lying on the floor of my white stucco walls in one prestigious address in South Kensington. I was deemed yet I was a dead woman walking. It was in that moment I made a decision to rebirth, to begin again. I couldn’t go any lower… I looked outside. I contemplated ending my own life; the mountain seemed so hard to climb. I heard a voice and I saw a vision; it was my mother. I viewed her at my funeral crying… and she said, “But she was the pied piper; everyone loved her, she had everything.” In that moment there was a reminder of who I was once, and who I must become again, stronger and better. In that moment, exhausted, afraid, broken into pieces, I crawled into a decision that I have to rise, and I did. This decision created an effortless flow of truth, once I made it, even though I didn’t know how. Step by step, living in my truth, I knew I could climb. It is then that kundalini yoga entered my life. I flew to the Maldives, it found me and saved my life and rebuilt it. And now I do the same for others. There is a saying in kundalini yoga that when the student is ready the teachers shows up .  As I write this now, I’m sitting in another white palatial home after finishing one of my global retreats, in the lands of Jaipur at the Queen’s Palace in a completely different place and space. I am honoured to grace the cover of Brainz Magazine, recognised for my work with women on International Women’s Day, empowering women. I am a renowned coach and writer and a master of Kundalini yoga, which completely transformed my life and the life of others. I wrote a book. I became a ghostwriter and a prolific coach and mentor. I became financially independent and successful. I built a brand and a business built on integrity, honesty, respect, love, deep empathy and powerful transformation. The most powerful thing I realised is that I am so god damn powerful in my subtle, quiet nature. Most important, I realized my dream of becoming a recording mantra artist. This all came from discovering the powerful practices of Kundalini yoga, meditation and mantra. In realising my voice as a woman, I began to sing, literally and energetically. And the most beautiful part — I was free to be me. Free to roam and free to adventure. I was free after holding myself in a golden cage — and a cage is still a cage and now I free others. You were given the name "Angel Messenger". What does that mean to you personally, and how does that show up in the work you do today? My name, Angel Messenger, was given to me in the lands of New Mexico, on sacred Native American Indian land, by my date of birth. When you study as a Kundalini yoga teacher, you are given a spiritual name which is your gift and your destiny, pertaining to your mission in this world. It’s called your dharma, which means your soul’s mission. I am a guide and a helper on this planet. My gifts, which I use alongside logic, strategy, and psychology, include the gift of channeling information specific for the individual. As I sit before my clients, it brings fast, focused results. When someone sits in front of me, I see their organic destiny and their pathway to healing, and we make it happen fast. As a result, we make it happen fast not only with incredible guidance but also mixed with powerful Kundalini yoga practices, breathwork, and meditation — to release the blocks, stimulate creativity, faith, trust, confidence, and most importantly the person’s innate unique talents and gifts. My voice, delivering this guidance and messaging, literally is the password for people’s dreams, using my gifts as a messenger, coach, and guide. It’s incredibly powerful. Knowing the unknown, seeing the unseen, bringing both logic and the magic together in my coaching. There is no woo woo here. It’s quantum physical magic. How do you help people integrate spirituality into real, everyday life, not just as a concept, but as action? As a coach, mentor, and master yogi of Kundalini for almost 18 years, I combine the esoteric with science to address what I call modern-day suffering. My clients come to me with big dreams they want to implement or big challenges they need to overcome. In each session there is guidance and coaching, and we then move through specific practices designed to stimulate the action and healing required — creating solutions, awakening creativity to fulfil those big dreams, and in some cases helping people heal through trauma. Within the Kundalini archives there are over 9,000 Kriyas (meaning yogic sets), each offering a potential solution for a particular challenge. It amazes me how this sacred technology and the study of humanology — the science of every aspect of life — can heal, uplift, transform, and bring about truly magical transformation. For thousands of years, these teachings were kept secret and reserved only for royalty. They were known to develop great power, wisdom, insight, and creativity. An almost invincible, superhuman element could be awakened to overcome life’s obstacles, and great prosperity ensued — hence why it was considered a royal secret. As an absolute nerd and devoted student of Kundalini practices, I have spent nearly two decades studying and devouring these archives, finding modern-day solutions for my clients through ancient esoteric practices including breathwork, meditation, and yogic sets — creating a healing pathway for almost any challenge. Celebrities and many well-known mentors and coaches use these practices, though they do not openly reveal them as Kundalini. You might be surprised. It has remained something of a secret within a secret, and I am the woman who no longer wants it to remain hidden. My path is to be the messenger — helping humanity through this very grey period and sharing these powerful practices with the world. It was written for this time. Your book Permission to ShineTM addresses trauma, codependency, and transformation. What are some of the biggest misconceptions people have around healing that you want to challenge? Healing is a constant, beautiful journey to take slowly, step by step, staying present in each moment. It is in these moments that the person seeking healing becomes their own healer. It is about not feeling that you have to get somewhere, but simply being exactly where you are with yourself — surrendering to all parts of who you are, allowing the wisdom within you to flow effortlessly. That is the power. The power of healing is the moment you realize that you are everything. You already have everything inside of you, and you are your own healer. “Healing is surrendering. It’s not something to be achieved.” This is why I love Kundalini practices so much — because they awaken power, wisdom, knowledge, and healing within the individual. They go deep inside and truly discover who they are and who they are not. They begin to understand what they know and what they do not yet know. Healing is surrendering. It is not something to be achieved. In the surrender, the pathway appears. Things become clear; a sense of faith and knowing emerges as people find the wisdom and solutions from their own internal GPS system. They know where they want to go, and they go. They find themselves exactly where they are meant to be. The best teachers, coaches, and mentors are merely guides. This builds great confidence in those seeking healing. Healing is never done; it is a constant journey. There are layers and layers, almost like a snake shedding its skin. The greatest healing is learning to understand yourself with compassion, acceptance, and a neutral sense of gratitude. Healing does not mean you will never respond the same way again or that you will never face challenges. It means you will respond differently and have the awareness to understand yourself and your challenges with compassion. It means having the capacity to forgive yourself and others, to smile and say to yourself, “I’ve got this,” and to avoid recreating past patterns in your future moments. Dance with them a little and then move forward in a new direction. Dawn Harlow Retreats are a big part of your work. What happens in a retreat setting that’s hard to achieve in one-on-one sessions or traditional coaching environments? The beauty of the retreats I host around the globe is that I teach in energetic portals of healing frequency. Geographically, even before we begin, the energy is high. For example, Jaipur is built on feng shui ley lines. The energy, as soon as you land, feels magical — happy, a kind of Jupiter energy — even before you step onto the yoga mat. The Maldives represents the beautiful Mother Earth water element, the elixir of life. It is heavenly and deeply healing, like heaven on earth. Retreats work differently because people take themselves out of their daily geography and the life they know. By being in a different place energetically, they themselves begin to shift energetically as well. Then there is the experience of coming together and meeting other like-minded individuals — something deeply enriching, uplifting, and connecting. Again, this healing goes beyond the yoga mat. Most importantly, I would say it is the deep immersion of time — daily, consistent practice that builds the momentum for great change. These consist of consistent, powerful self-immersion practices that truly supercharge your life with vitality, peace, creativity, and a deep sense of equilibrium and well-being. Time spent alone with yourself is essential. The intention and energy put into this journey are incredible. After the retreat, participants continue working with me either in person or on Zoom to maintain the magic. I named this work “The Journey.” Indeed, it is all of these elements together that create the transformation. When women gather, there is no power like it. Moreover, the consistent momentum of Kundalini yoga practices combined with the coaching method I have created is life-changing. Participants also leave with a 30–90 day plan to support them beyond the retreat. And, of course, I teach in some truly beautiful locations. Many people feel stuck in old patterns even when they want change. What’s one powerful first step you recommend for someone who’s just beginning their personal breakthrough journey ? The first step I would say is, and this is a format in my coaching, is: •  Acknowledge • Accept • Articulate • Action • Ask for help • Actualise Meaning first acknowledge how you feel. Acknowledge the challenge you are facing. Acknowledge the truth. What do you need help with? Accept it. The question is, you can acknowledge it, yet are you willing to accept it? If you accept it and merge with it, it becomes part of you, not APART from you. When you make friends with it, see no opposition in it, there is more flow in finding an effortless way through. Acceptance is a superpower. Accepting is halfway to the solution. Articulate it. Again, in the acceptance of it. Describe it. The challenge. The feelings. The problem. You will find it becomes less powerful. It feels more like a level to be achieved rather than a challenge to overcome. The mind moves into a positive solution. Action. Take a small step. To change, I always say small steps equal huge change, so be gentle with yourself. It could be as small as reaching out for help, which is actually very powerful. We go far alone but further together. Actualise — meaning to manifest the solution through your actions. Make those dreams come true and allow those challenges to dissolve. How, you say? Well, truly, reach out and ask for help . Tell someone what you need. Have courage. It’s the precursor to a phenomenal life. What I have learned in this life is that one of the smallest, yet biggest, roadblocks for people is asking for help. You will be surprised how privileged people feel to help you. Don’t wait. Ask. “Reach out for help today. Do it now, do it scared. Don’t wait.” If one of our readers is at a turning point right now, what is the one message you want them to take with them after reading this? First, you are not alone in your challenges. If you feel inspired to reach out and begin a new chapter in your life, don’t wait. Follow your intuition. Follow the feelings that may not make sense to others and act on them. Act quietly for yourself — privacy is power — and place your trust in a coach, teacher, or mentor whom you feel you can trust. Trust is essential when choosing someone to help you. You must feel safe. Know there is nothing wrong with you struggling at times in life and needing support is healthy and normal, and necessary.  Quietly heal, quietly grow. Start today and begin again. Learn a new skill. I invite you to experience Kundalini yoga with me. What are the various ways people can work with you and how has your work evolved over the years? When I first started out, I mainly held retreats and one-on-one yoga sessions on Zoom and in person. As life progressed and the world changed, I opened an online Kundalini training academy to train more teachers and started CEO Yoga corporate wellness to enhance company productivity and reduce stress levels, where I host week-long retreats and help transform corporate life. One of my biggest passions is working with women and the youth of today. I work with many teenagers and young women and men who are navigating their educational examination periods, for example IB, etc., and finding their way through their young lives. They nicknamed me “YOGA MAMA,” and as a result, Yoga Mama was born — the yoga therapist, mentor, and coach for teenagers, and young adults. This is definitely something I would love to do more of. I love supporting them and taking great care their emerging lives; it’s so precious. This is truly the future — training Kundalini yoga teachers and therapists to coach and heal the world through this sacred technology. Working with women will also remain a beautiful priority for me, and as a result I have launched my Global Phenomenal Women Academy membership site, encompassing both online and in-person gatherings around the globe. Yoga means union — to integrate, accept, and merge with all parts of yourself: the light and the shadow. Both are necessary to define the trajectory of your life, embodying a deep inner wisdom that becomes the GPS system for your most fulfilled life. It’s not the life that matters; it’s the courage you bring to it. Reach out for help today. "Life is like a box of chocolates you can always choose what you are gonna get." Dawn Harlow’s work bridges ancient Kundalini practices and teachings with modern-day coaching, offering a philosophy centered on surrender, courage, strong creativity, and self-realization to re-create your story and re-create your life. Through retreats, mentorship, and global training programs, she guides individuals toward deeper alignment with their purpose and personal power. Her approach emphasizes that healing is not a destination but an ongoing relationship with oneself—one that is grounded in awareness, acceptance, and intentional action. As her work continues to evolve around the globe, Harlow remains committed to empowering individuals worldwide to step fully into their potential and live with clarity, prosperity, courage, and authenticity. Dawn looks forward to connecting with you and helping you learn more about working with her. Curious to learn more about working with Dawn? Book a discovery call : https://dawnharlow.com/work-with-dawn   Retreat information: https://dawnharlow.com/retreats

The rapid development of AI is fueling a growing wave of anxiety across social media, Reddit, Medium, and business circles about whether this new technology cycle will lead to large-scale job losses. And that concern is no longer limited to rank-and-file employees. In 2025, a Dataiku/Harris Poll found that 74% of CEOs believe they could lose their job within two years if they fail to deliver measurable AI results. Yet Ruslan Tymofieiev, co-founder of the venture fund Adventures Lab and the venture builder CLUST , sees this trajectory differently. In his view, AI is unlikely to make leadership obsolete. What it is far more likely to do is change how leadership works in practice, what leaders focus on, how decisions are prepared, and where human judgment becomes most essential. He thinks that the more important question isn’t whether AI can produce answers faster, but what leadership becomes when answers are suddenly everywhere, while responsibility remains human. AI is changing how decisions are made Ruslan is sure, one of the clearest effects of AI inside companies is speed, especially at the leadership level. For senior managers and executives, this often shows up as faster decision preparation. Custom LLMs can help leadership teams synthesize internal reports, compare scenarios, draft executive summaries, and surface risks across multiple data sources. AI meeting tools such as Fireflies, Otter, and tl;dv can automatically transcribe discussions and extract decisions, action items, and follow-ups, reducing the need to reconstruct meetings from memory or scattered notes.  Workflow automation tools such as n8n and Zapier push this further by removing routine coordination work that often accumulates around top management. For example, a meeting transcript can be automatically turned into a structured summary, with owners and next steps sent to Slack, Notion, Gmail, or a task manager without manual follow-up. That reduces the administrative load around meetings, reporting, and cross-functional follow-through. In addition, it gives leaders more room for the decisions that matter more, capital allocation, strategic prioritization, hiring bets, market timing, partnership choices, and organizational design. But the leadership is still about navigating ambiguity, interpreting incomplete signals, and making decisions in situations without perfect answers. That part doesn’t disappear with AI and becomes more visible. As analysis becomes faster and more accessible, the value of leadership shifts toward interpretation, prioritization, and judgment. Why you should learn to work with AI as a strategic tool The question is no longer whether leaders should use AI, that will soon become standard practice. The real issue is whether they are ready to change how they work because of it. In many companies, AI adoption remains superficial, a few tools are introduced, some repetitive tasks become faster, but the management model itself does not really change. Meetings still run the same way, reporting still depends on manual effort, and leaders continue spending time on work that could already be automated. That is why experimentation alone isn’t enough, effective leaders treat AI as a co-pilot for analysis, planning, and decision preparation. Used well, it can help structure information, compare scenarios, surface risks, and reduce routine cognitive load. Although it still needs human judgment to interpret context, set direction, and make the final call. So, the real competition will belong to those who know how to combine AI capabilities with human judgment in a disciplined way. That is where faster execution becomes better leadership, rather than just more automation. Which skills do leaders need in th e AI era? The strongest leaders in the next few years are unlikely to be those who simply adopt some AI tools. More likely, they will be the ones who understand where AI creates real leverage, where it adds noise, and where human involvement should remain non-negotiable. That requires a different leadership discipline. Executives need enough practical fluency to see where AI is useful, where it can be misleading, and where teams may start relying on it too passively. Just as importantly, they need to treat AI as part of organizational design. Nowadays, Ruslan thinks that the most important skills are: Strategic thinking. This means knowing which processes should be accelerated, which decisions should remain deeply human, and how AI fits into the company’s longer-term direction. Decision-making under uncertainty. Leaders still need to make calls when the data is incomplete, the market is moving, or the trade-offs are not obvious. Understanding data and AI outputs. Leaders need to read AI-generated summaries, forecasts, and recommendations critically. That includes spotting weak logic, missing context, biased inputs, or outputs that don’t hold up strategically. Building AI-ready organizations. An AI-driven approach is redesigning workflows, clarifying ownership, training teams to use AI responsibly, and deciding where automation should support people versus where judgment should stay fully human. In June 2025, Ruslan Tymofieiev and CLUST’s team made a deliberate move toward an AI-first model. So, they hired a Head of AI, a technical leader responsible for embedding AI into processes across the company. The goal was to rethink how the business will work with AI support in daily operations. It involved training specialists across the company to use AI in their daily work, introducing AI-driven automation in every department, from legal to marketing, and applying AI to higher-level strategic tasks such as market analysis and identifying promising niches for new startup launches. The risk of over-relying o n AI There is, however, another side to this shift, the more useful AI becomes, the easier it is to give it more authority than it should have. Teams become less critical, managers rely too heavily on polished AI outputs, discussions become shallower, and fewer assumptions get properly challenged. When that happens, leadership becomes weaker. That is why the real challenge is not AI adoption alone, but disciplined adoption. Companies need AI to increase speed and capacity, but they also need clear boundaries around judgment, ownership, and responsibility. Ruslan concludes, AI is certainly reshaping leadership. It will change how decisions are prepared, how quickly organizations are expected to move, and which forms of judgment become most valuable. When information is abundant and recommendations arrive instantly, the real differentiator is the ability to stay clear-headed, ask better questions, and make responsible decisions under new conditions.

Written by Carlo Cecchetti, Relational Landscape Facilitator and Coach Carlo Cecchetti facilitates relational natural landscaping resonant to the Earth's consciousness and resources. Founder of integralgardens.com , Carlos's work expresses through the human body, relational energetic containers and systemic landscape to channel energies of belonging. A common exclusion in systemic practices and constellations is the human Earth dimension. This is Humanity's Root System and the foundation of human Earth societies, where we humans cultivate our Garden of the Universal Consciousness. To me, Nature is God. This exclusion is equivalent to growing a tree in a pot and not in the ground. Another common exclusion is Being Held by the Universe and being liberated by it. How can exclusions be possible in systemic work? Because they are present in the practitioners’ relational containers, which are often overlooked in systemic trainings where there's a widespread belief that ‘ connecting to the client’s field ‘ allows the practitioner to work with the client's systems of belonging. This belief is simply false, what the practitioner includes or excludes personally in their own body creates the relational container, which in turn determines what the practice and processes can access and work with or not, including systemic constellations. Bert Hellinger himself overlooked integrating the human Earth dimension into his own relational container in his work with constellations, creating a ripple effect for next-generation practitioners. Possibilities of accessing the human Earth dimension The human Earth dimension is directly available for access to anybody, and through our body we can access Earth consciousness, its native life force, and our direct ancestral native wisdom, greatly restoring and expanding personal intuition and practice in the emergence of local and global dynamics, re-enabling natural social interconnections in times of uncertainty and not-knowing. It also directly affects our sense of safety, fear, identity, and belonging with our sense of the sacred, which social systems largely exploit, including spiritual bypassing that is also present in the wellness and healing industries. More so, it allows individuals also to tap into our planet's large amounts of energy and natural abilities to coregulate for remembering, self-organising, trauma processing, reintegration, self-regeneration and transformation at scale, to ultimately generate and sustain cocreation exponentially restoring and expanding possibilities across society, Being Held At One with the Earth. It is possible to restore access to the human Earth dimension for any system of belonging, existing and new, from individuals to families, organisations, groups and communities, creating uninterrupted relational landscapes resonant to the Earth. "One is the end" disruptive restoration A sentence I came across in the field was “One is the end “. In my work exploring Earth consciousness and life force, I observed a shift in our planet's creative frequencies, no longer providing energy to support humanity's hierarchical structures with their pushing cultures and discouraging people from stopping and feeling. We as humanity have now entered a disruptive restoration phase, where our planet is generating only frequencies for humans to cocreate in horizontal circles, supporting our human abilities to conceive and then sustain living systems with their energetic scaffoldings existing At One with the Earth. Merging living organisms and digital Earth societies Another critical opportunity we have is our natural ability for the merging of human and non-human life forces into unified living organisms, it’s possible to merge the life force of a group, organisation, entity or community with the humans’ life forces into unified living organisms, themselves resonant to the Earth’s life force. This allows organic harmonisations and evolutionary self-regulation, enabling and liberating unprecedented levels of creativity and opportunities limited only by what our imagination can conceive. As we are on the cusp of creating Digital Earth societies, can you imagine what humans and the Earth can consciously do together, joining their life forces while Being Held At One by the Universe? Feel free to reach out to start exploring possibilities together. Follow me on Facebook , LinkedIn , and visit my website for more info! Read more from Carlo Cecchetti Carlo Cecchetti, Relational Landscape Facilitator and Coach Carlo Cecchetti specializes in human relational abilities resonant to the Earth's consciousness and resources. Born in a family of landscape designers, his personal development led him to help people remember themselves Being Held At One with the Earth. Founder of Integralgardens.com , Carlo's work delivers through the human body, relational containers and bespoke systemic landscape to anchor and channel unique energies of belonging.

Written by Anastasia Schenk, Pediatric Feeding Specialist/Integrative Nutrition Anastasia Schenk is a Pediatric Feeding Specialist and Integrative Nutrition Health Coach. She supports children from starting solids to young adulthood with evidence-based strategies for ARFID, picky eating, gut health, immune support, allergy prevention, and chronic inflammation. A mum I work with sent me a voice note at 5:32 p.m. You could hear the whole house in it: a toddler insisting on the “right” spoon, a baby fussing, and the fridge opening and closing as if the correct dinner plan might be hiding behind the milk. She sighed and said, “I swear I’m a competent adult until about five o’clock. Then my brain just leaves my body.” I laughed because it was funny and because same. I hear some version of that sentence all the time: parents who genuinely care about feeding their children well, who know the basics of nutrition, and who still feel like dinner is where their best intentions go to die. This is the part of family nutrition we don’t talk about honestly enough: the issue is often not knowledge. It’s cognitive load. It’s the sheer number of tiny decisions required to get one ordinary meal on the table in a house where everyone is hungry, and you are not at your best. Dinner is a logistics problem.   Dinner is never just dinner   On paper, “make dinner” sounds like one task. In real life, it’s a chain of invisible choices: What do we have? What’s fastest? What will my child tolerate today? Is it safe for their age and stage? Will they actually eat anything green if I put it on the plate? Do I have the energy to negotiate? At 9 a.m., those questions feel answerable. At 5:30 p.m., when someone is hungry, someone is melting down, and you’re trying to remember if you defrosted the chicken, they start to feel personal. Like you should be able to “handle it.” But the truth is: the brain that makes good decisions is not the same brain you have at the end of the day. And if you have a child who struggles with textures, gagging, sensory sensitivities, ARFID traits, allergies, or long-standing picky eating, the decision load multiplies. Dinner isn’t just “what’s healthy”, it’s “what’s possible”. As a pediatric feeding specialist, I spend a lot of time helping families with food acceptance and sensory patterns. But I’ve learned something even more important: feeding rarely improves in a home that is drowning. You can’t build calm, consistent exposure to new foods when the adult is running on empty.   The hidden tax nobody names   Psychology has a term for what happens when repeated choices wear down our ability to choose well: decision fatigue. Put simply, the more decisions we make, the more our brains crave speed and certainty, and the less we can access creativity, patience, and long-term thinking. You don’t need a textbook to recognize it. By evening, most parents are depleted. So, dinner decisions slide toward whatever is easiest: the same safe foods, the same quick fixes, the same snacks that “work.” Not because you don’t care. Because your brain is protecting you. There’s another layer too, in many households, one adult becomes the unofficial “food manager”, the person who carries the mental inventory of what’s in the fridge, what needs using, what the child ate (or didn’t eat) yesterday, and what the school lunch should be tomorrow. That mental work is real work, and it adds up. That’s what I mean by the Decision-Fatigue Tax: the invisible cost of having to decide dinner from scratch, night after night, inside a life that is already full.   Why better defaults matter more than better intentions   You do not need another article telling you to care more. Or an Insta account full of recipes that you save/screenshot and never ever get to. Or another pretty “weaning/toddler” book on your shelf. You already care. What you need is a system that still works when you’re tired. High-stakes environments don’t rely on willpower. They rely on defaults: routines, checklists, and standard options that reduce thinking under pressure. Family dinner deserves the same respect. When the default is “improvise dinner at 5:47 p.m.,” you’re asking an exhausted brain to be creative on command. When the default is “we have building blocks ready,” dinner becomes assembly instead of invention. And that shift is a kind of compassion: for the parent you are on a Tuesday, not the one you imagine being on a quiet Sunday. This is also where I think the future of family nutrition is heading: less guilt, less perfectionism, and more support—through smarter prepping, better home systems, and higher-quality convenience options that help families keep real meals on the table without turning dinner into a nightly crisis. Or bankruptcy with five take-outs a week.   Five-minute dinners are built earlier   Many parents tell me they just need meals that take five minutes. I understand exactly what they mean. But five-minute dinners are not a recipe problem. They are a system problem. A five-minute dinner happens because something was decided in advance: rice already cooked, vegetables already prepped, a protein ready to reheat, a “Plan B” that’s actually nourishing. It doesn’t require a perfect meal plan. It requires a little infrastructure. If you want a one-sentence rule, it’s this: stop trying to decide dinner at dinnertime.   What reducing the mental load looks like in real life   The most effective systems are rarely fancy. They are simply kind to the brain. Here are the shifts that make the biggest difference: Shrink the decision space. Instead of choosing from infinite meals, choose from a handful of repeatable “templates.” Think: protein + veg + carb + flavor, like a “Harvard plate.” That’s dinner. Prep the core components. One tray of vegetables, one grain, one protein can turn into bowls, wraps, pasta, omelets, or toddler-friendly plates for days. Label like you love your future self. A freezer full of mystery containers is not support, it’s suspense. Simple labels and dates reduce friction instantly. Keep a realistic emergency list. Not aspirational dinners, real ones you can make half-awake (eggs on toast, freezer soup, a simple “snack plate” that still covers key nutrients). Separate convenience from compromise. Fast is not the enemy. But convenience works best when it supports development: safe textures, repeat exposure, and calmer mealtimes, rather than replacing meals with constant grazing. Here’s the part that makes this feel doable: you don’t need ten new meals. You need three reliable patterns. For example, a “bowl night” can be: leftover rice + shredded chicken (or beans) + cucumber + a simple sauce. For toddlers, you separate the components. For adults, you add spice, herbs, and crunch. Same food with a different finishing. That’s what good systems do: they create one base that can flex across ages without creating a second dinner. When the mental load goes down, feeding often gets better   This is one of the things I wish more people understood: when dinner gets simpler, feeding dynamics often improve too. A parent who isn’t already frazzled is less likely to pressure bites. A calmer adult can offer food more neutrally and tolerate mess and experimentation. Children sense that shift. And when the room feels safer, kids often become more willing to explore. Sometimes the biggest win isn’t that you served a more nutrient-dense dinner. It’s that you stopped walking into the meal braced for battle. In that sense, reducing friction isn’t only about convenience; we are actually practicing low-key feeding intervention.   A final thought   If tonight is eggs on toast, you are not failing. If dinner is cobbled together from leftovers and something from the freezer because you truly cannot think one more thought, you are not failing. You are paying a tax that was never meant to be this high. The goal is not to become a different kind of parent. The goal is to create a food system that is kind to the parent you already are, the one who loves their child, wants them to thrive, and also needs dinner to be simple. Parents do not need more willpower. They need fewer decisions.   Want the full system? I created The Early Eaters Club Family Food Prep Playbook: a safety-first system for feeding kids and grown-ups from one kitchen. It’s built to reduce the 5 p.m. decision spiral with prep strategies, food safety foundations, freezer and labeling ideas, and simple ways to turn one prep session into multiple age-appropriate meals across the week. Prep once, remix all week, and let Future-You sleep. 50 pages of priceless information and practical resources, brought to you by years of experience, training in culinary schools, and same-same challenges. Follow me on Instagram , LinkedIn , and visit my website for more info! Read more from Anastasia Schenk Anastasia Schenk, Pediatric Feeding Specialist/Integrative Nutrition Anastasia Schenk is a Pediatric Feeding Specialist and Integrative Nutrition Health Coach who reversed her own autoimmune disease through nutrition. A mother of two, she combines clinical expertise with lived experience to help families navigate picky eating, Pediatric Feeding Disorders, ARFID, gut health, and chronic inflammation. Her programs are evidence-based and rooted in real life, supporting children from starting solids to young adulthood. She is the founder of Early Eaters Club, a platform dedicated to raising resilient, adventurous eaters for lifelong health.

Cheryl Donaldson is a licensed marriage and family therapist with over 25 years of clinical experience working across the United States and Europe. Through her cross-border therapy and consulting practice, she supports adolescents, families, organisations and executives navigating transition and adversity. For more than two decades, Cheryl has equipped individuals with the emotional education and tools to face the unknown. Whether working with a struggling teenager, a relocating family, or an executive team under pressure, her work rests on one conviction: when the system is stable, the people within it can thrive. Growing up with learning disabilities in an academically rigorous family, Cheryl learned early that systems are not always aligned with individual strengths. She developed emotional intelligence as a survival tool and later turned that insight into her clinical superpower. As Director of Young Life in Austria, she witnessed the strain relocation places on marriages and adolescents navigating identity across cultures. That experience led her to pursue her master’s in clinical psychology and start her own private practice. Today, her work integrates psychology with philosophical and spiritual inquiry, creating space for clients to define the internal anchor that sustains them through uncertainty. Now, Cheryl is bringing that same systemic lens into boardrooms. In her guided journal Lead From the Soul, she argues that leadership begins with self-leadership. Every system, whether a family, a team, or an organisation, relies on three core qualities to create stability and growth: connection, clear structure, and aligned expectations. When these elements are in place, the system can hold steady, even in times of change. It’s Cheryl’s mission to strengthen the systems we inhabit so individuals can navigate the unknown with confidence. Cheryl, you’ve spent over 25 years as a therapist working with kids, families, organizations and executives across the globe. What first drew you into this work? There are two foundational parts of my story that really shaped what I do today. The first is that I grew up with a lot of learning disabilities in an academically rigorous family. My academic self-esteem was incredibly vulnerable as an adolescent. I believed I wasn’t intelligent because I was in a school system that didn’t reflect my strengths. As a result of this struggle, I developed emotional intelligence to navigate the system, and that experience became central to how I work as a therapist. I wanted to help families and kids build systemic self-esteem, to remind young people that they are capable, even if they find themselves in systems that don’t reflect their strengths. The second is that I started travelling from a really young age. I was five years old when I first went abroad. My parents bought a big, orange Volkswagen camper van, and we spent six weeks travelling across Europe in it. I remember watching my mom in the passenger seat of the van, holding these big maps, guiding us all over the world. I watched her navigate new languages and situations without stress. I never felt lost with them, even though we were so far from home. My mom was the foundational model for me of how to be thrown into the unknown and still land on your feet. Human behaviour has always fascinated me, and I loved travelling. Growing up in DC and my exposure to travel led me to study Government and International Studies. After graduation, I moved to Vienna, Austria and worked on the Young Life staff at The American International School Vienna. I began a Masters in Theology in Leadership Development and started to take psychology courses. I realised what I loved about traveling was watching how people lived and engaged with one another. We all create an individual operating system that guides and shapes us. We also live in a larger system that impacts us; our families, communities, cultures. It was the intersection of these systems and their impact on our self-esteem that led me to return to graduate school to earn my Master's in Clinical Psychology. How did you start working with the EXPAT community? When I was at YoungLife, I was supporting adolescent girls in international schools. I helped them build community and create spaces for connection. But I began to see the deeper struggles of children being moved abroad up close. These young women were in transition. They hadn’t chosen to leave their home country; they were forced to move for their parents’ work. They didn’t want to be there. They were thrown into new systems, into the unknown. At the same time, I saw how the stress of relocation was impacting marriages. I was able to support these girls individually, but I couldn’t make the impact I knew I was capable of because I didn’t have the education to understand the systemic impact on development. I needed to understand the whole family, not just one individual child. How do we strengthen that system? How do we work with the whole family? That observation and experience inspired me to get my master's and eventually launch my private practice, which supports individuals and families at home and abroad, called Helping Families Flourish. You’ve worked with hundreds of families relocating across borders. What actually happens to a family psychologically when they move to a new country? When a family moves to another country, they are in an extremely vulnerable place. Oftentimes, they can’t speak the language. If they lose communication, they quickly lose a sense of connection to the world around them. They don’t know how to build community or make friends. Something as simple as reading the labels at the grocery store becomes challenging. We are social beings; we need other people to thrive. When that fundamental human need is tested, people quickly become isolated and unstable. You have to create a structure and sense of normalcy where there isn’t any. If a family is already going through challenges, you’re moving an unstable system into an unknown system. That is why it’s so important that we prepare. What does that preparation look like? (add a couple tips/tricks here) When I moved my family from Chicago to the Netherlands, I had three boys under the age of five. I did little things to create a sense of continuity for my kids. I brought their bedding and sheets over, their favourite toys. I brought things they’d recognise with us. But the most important thing I did was tell them that my husband and I were their home. Home is family. Home is where we’re together. We were the stable base for the kids. We need to remind kids over and over again that they are capable. We need to encourage them to try new things. I told them that this is an opportunity for learning and growth. That there was nothing to be afraid of. When they were really little, they rolled with it. When kids are older, preparation is different. My husband and I never chose to move for fun; we had to for work. It was important for us to communicate that to them and to reinforce that we are teaching them a new skill set. Now, my kids are extremely international. They’ve lived in Britain, Spain, Italy, and Africa. They trust themselves to navigate the unknown, and that is what I always wanted for them as their parent. Beyond moving, what are some of the biggest challenges modern families face today that you are seeing in your clinical practice? The world has changed dramatically over the last two decades. Parents today are exposed to an overwhelming amount of information about how they should, and shouldn't, raise their children. That constant input has created so much anxiety. They are so worried about doing it wrong that they become avoidant. They avoid leading the family; they avoid structure and expectations. If you don’t have expectations of your child, you are communicating to them that they aren’t capable of achieving anything. Parents have handed over the power to their children because they are afraid of harming them emotionally. We are seeing an epidemic of avoidant parents. Not because they don’t care, but because they care too much. The rising visibility of suicide and self-harm in adolescents has intensified that fear. Parents worry that enforcing boundaries could push their child away or cause harm. But children are actually less safe in environments without structure. Human beings need frameworks to feel secure. And it’s never too late for parents to implement this. We have to shift the focus from the “perfect” or “right” structure to developing one that works for their family. Parents will get pushback at first. That discomfort is part of resetting the system. We can’t be afraid of our kids’ responses. It’s our job as parents to keep our kids safe, and we can’t do that without limits. Your work integrates psychology with deeper philosophical and spiritual questions. Why is that important in therapy? Traditional psychology can be incredibly powerful. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, for example, can be life-changing. Sometimes simply recognising a cognitive distortion is enough to shift how someone sees themselves and the world. But what about when people experience trauma and have much deeper, philosophical questions? This is missing from current therapeutic techniques and is not taught in training. I once worked with a seventh-grade girl who had cancer. This young girl had to process this experience on a very deep level. She felt spiritually let down. ‘Why did this happen to me? Why did God do this to me? What does this all mean?’ These are philosophical and spiritual questions, not psychological. Her battle with cancer reshaped her faith and how she found meaning in her life. We had to make sense of the suffering together in a way that allowed her to evolve her own belief systems. Everyone operates under their own spiritual framework, whether they name it that way or not. My role as a therapist is to create a safe space for us to explore these questions and to guide the client in defining that for themselves. How do you help someone define their spiritual framework? Why is this important? When a storm is coming, sailors have to drop their anchor and take shelter. The anchor is what keeps the ship grounded. If it wasn’t dropped, the ship would be dragged all over the place or destroyed. For people, the anchor is their spiritual framework; it’s the thing deep inside themselves that they draw from to remain steady through storms. It’s what grounds them in times of adversity. When I became a mother, and I was operating on two hours of sleep, I had to draw on something much stronger and deeper within myself to remain steady. We need to acknowledge this part of us in the therapy space. We are more than brain and body. Each of us has a soul, a source, a centre point. People need to define what that means for them so they know where their inner strength lies. You’ve recently begun working with leaders and corporate teams. What inspired that expansion? An organisation or company is a system, no different from a family. They need the same things to thrive. It felt like a natural evolution of my work. When someone isn’t at home, school, or in their community, they’re at work. Most people spend the majority of their waking lives inside organisational systems. It’s estimated that up to 50-55% of our lives we spend in the workforce. If those systems aren’t healthy, it affects everything. The impact ripples out. If we create healthy work systems, we create healthier people. This is what my clinical work, and three decades of systemic observations, has called me to do. What does good leadership look like? Good leadership begins with connection. That doesn’t mean that we’re soft and social all the time, but we know how to connect with others because we are connected to ourselves. There has to be a human quality to leadership. No one will follow someone they aren’t connected to. A good leader will also provide structure. Without a clear framework, people feel uncertain and unsafe. It can’t be a free-for-all, or people have no direction. A good leader needs to know how to set expectations and manage those when someone isn’t meeting them. They will come alongside you, listen to your challenges, and problem-solve with you. They will be invested in your growth. That is what a good leader does. You are the author of “Lead from the Soul . ” Tell us about this book and who it is for? Everybody leads. You lead yourself. You lead your family. You lead your community. You lead your company. We have influence on both the micro and macro levels in so many ways. I created Lead from the Soul as a guided journal to help people reflect on the kind of leader they want to be. It walks readers through identifying what anchors them, the spiritual framework or inner convictions they draw from when life becomes challenging. Self-leadership is the foundation. If you’re disconnected from yourself, it’s difficult to lead anyone else with clarity or steadiness. This book is for people who want to reconnect with their centre and lead from that grounded place, whether at home, at work, or anywhere they have influence. You can learn more about Cheryl Donaldson’s Practice here and follow Cheryl on social media here .

Written by Taylor Locke, Mental Health Advocate Taylor Locke is a noteworthy mental health advocate and professional speaker. They are the founder of the New York State Mental Health Week program and a U.S. Representative for the Global Mental Health Peer Network. Brandy Opondo was a rising third-year student at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) who had lived with major depressive disorder since age 17. During a difficult summer semester, she began experiencing intense suicidal thoughts and did what colleges consistently urge students to do: she asked for help. She contacted a counselor she had previously seen at RPI’s Counseling Center, seeking support during a crisis. Instead, she was told her condition was beyond what the university could handle and was advised to admit herself to a local hospital, with assurances that she could return to campus and make up her missed coursework. Trusting those assurances, Brandy voluntarily admitted herself to Samaritan Hospital and, after ten days, was medically cleared to return to school. Rather than being welcomed back, however, she was placed on an involuntary medical leave of absence and barred from campus. She was initially denied access to her dorm room to retrieve her personal belongings. Eventually, the university gave her just four hours to pack and leave under the direct supervision of campus security. Throughout the process, university administrators insisted that her removal from campus was “in her best interest.” Reflecting on the experience, Brandy later stated: “The administration has made it clear that they will remove any student they view as a risk to the Institute’s image, regardless of how these students are affected. When I needed empathy, I received condemnation. When I needed guidance, I received blank stares. When I went out on my own, I was told that I had no place at RPI.” Unfortunately, this story shared by Brandy  is far from a rare occurrence. It is representative of a broader pattern at many U.S. colleges, one in which students with mental health challenges are treated not as members of an academic community in need of support, but as liabilities to be managed or removed.   Patterns of exclusion in U.S. higher education Across the United States, colleges frequently  respond to student mental health crises with exclusionary policies that prioritize institutional liability over student well-being. When students disclose suicidal thoughts, seek hospitalization, or otherwise experience acute mental health challenges, they are often pressured to either take medical leave or are involuntarily withdrawn. These decisions are typically framed as supportive, yet they are frequently sudden, coercive, and poorly explained, leaving students cut off from housing, health insurance, potential employment, and community at precisely the moment they need stability most. Once removed from campus, students commonly face sweeping restrictions regardless of medical guidance. Many are barred entirely from campus grounds while permitting the public with free access, effectively giving the random passersby more rights than fully admitted students. The path back to school is often unclear and difficult, requiring extensive documentation, psychiatric evaluations by college staff, or compliance with restrictive “return contracts” that can mandate therapy, medication adherence, limits on alcohol use, and broad waivers of medical privacy. Rather than supporting recovery, these conditions can prolong distress and create a powerful disincentive for seeking help. Recent lawsuits have exposed how widespread and legally precarious these practices are. At Yale, two current students and the advocacy group Elis for Rachael  alleged that the university pressured students experiencing serious mental health symptoms into “voluntary” withdrawals by warning that refusal could result in involuntary removal. Once withdrawn, students were reportedly barred from campus and activities. In August 2023, Yale settled the case  and agreed to substantial policy reforms, including eliminating mandatory minimum leave periods, allowing part-time enrollment during medical crises, simplifying reinstatement, and expanding campus access for students on medical leave. The settlement was a landmark case, marking a major win for the argument that blanket exclusions conflict with disability rights and student well-being. A similar challenge is now unfolding at Harvard , where students organized as Students 4 Mental Health Justice allege that the university’s use of involuntary medical leave discriminates against students with mental health disabilities. The lawsuit argues that Harvard routinely bars students on mental health leave from campus even when clinicians determine they pose no danger, relying on diagnosis rather than individualized risk assessments. It also challenges Harvard’s required treatment contracts for returning students, which plaintiffs describe as invasive and non-individualized, applied almost exclusively to mental health cases (again pointing toward possible discrimination), and determined by administrators rather than clinicians trained in treatment protocols. Legal experts have noted that these practices closely resemble those that led to settlements at Yale and Princeton , suggesting that Harvard may ultimately face similar pressure to reform. Despite universities’ mental health rhetoric, policies seldom take students’ actual needs into consideration and instead rely on isolation, surveillance, and exclusion. However, the outcomes at Yale and ongoing challenges at Harvard show these approaches are neither inevitable nor legally secure, and that sustained advocacy can drive positive change.   Advocacy beyond just mental health While these cases are rooted in higher education, the lessons they offer extend much further. These reformative policies have direct impact on interrelated issues, including sexual assault on college campuses, the treatment of disabled students, and broader forms of discrimination. Additionally, the advocacy strategies developed in these contexts can be generalized to challenge institutional failures and advance equity across a wide range of settings, not just education or mental health.   Legal action paired with public accountability Legal action can be a powerful tool for institutional change, particularly when combined with investigative journalism and public scrutiny. Large institutions often attempt to prolong lawsuits until plaintiffs lose resources and/or momentum. However, sustained media attention can shift the cost-benefit analysis for universities by causing reputational harm, reduced alumni donations, and loss in public trust, making settlements more likely. This was extremely effective with the landmark case against Yale and has likewise been attempted in the current suit against Harvard. Choosing the right legal strategy is also critical. For example, previous lawsuits against universities following student deaths have often taken the form of wrongful death claims, which are notoriously difficult to win due to the complex and multifactorial nature of suicide. In contrast, discrimination-based lawsuits grounded in disability law may offer clearer legal pathways and stronger chances of success. Criminal or medical negligence claims may also be more viable in some circumstances. Anyone considering legal action should consult licensed professionals and seek multiple perspectives to understand the full range of potential options.   Establishing credibility and the power of framing Advocacy does not begin or end in courtrooms, as evidenced by The Sophie Fund’s efforts to reform mental health policy at Cornell University. Following the death of their daughter to suicide, the parents of Sophie Hack MacLeod founded The Sophie Fund  in her honor to support mental health initiatives aiding young people in the Ithaca community and local college campuses. Their 13-page request  to Cornell for an independent external review of its mental health policies was grounded in established best practices, including the Zero Suicide Model . When Cornell rejected this request, the Sophie Fund published the school’s response. The student-run Cornell Daily Sun ran extensive coverage of the issue, and undergraduate and graduate student organizations launched petition drives demanding reform. This shifted the issue from an internal administrative disagreement to a public question of values and priorities, generating reputational pressure that ultimately led Cornell to reverse course and commission an independent review. The task force’s final report made 60 core recommendations for systematic improvement. The Sophie Fund’s efforts underscored how credibility, emotional resonance, and thoughtful use of media can drive meaningful change.   Grassroots mobilization and playing the long game Sometimes advocacy efforts are limited in capacity to pursue legal action or receive media coverage, however, this does not inhibit the ability to create impact. Grassroots organizing can allow for meaningful change even when institutions resist reform. The opening story of this article is no coincidence: my own advocacy journey began at RPI after witnessing how fellow students were being mistreated. Alongside my peers, I founded a student-led “Mental Health Week” initiative involving dozens of organizations on and off campus. When these efforts began demanding accountability, the university threatened us with legal action, withheld our funding, and barred institutional affiliation. Rather than retreat, the movement expanded statewide . Partnering with 11 other universities and over 100 health and human service organizations, we hosted more than 65 individual events focused on mental health and well-being. While this initiative did not directly influence policy changes at RPI, it demonstrated the power of community-based advocacy to create impact, build coalitions, and sustain momentum despite major institutional barriers. There are always ways to demonstrate resistance even if the path to take doesn’t directly or immediately create change.   Why this matters in a global context Although this article focuses on the United States, its implications are global. Universities worldwide increasingly emphasize student mental health, yet many adopt policies that prioritize institutional risk management over student dignity. The U.S. cases examined here illustrate how legal frameworks, student activism, and public accountability can expose these contradictions and shape reform. At the same time, differences among these institutions, particularly in the varying advocacy strategies chosen in response to these issues, highlight a critical lesson: effective advocacy is deeply context dependent. Even within the same legal system, responses to harmful mental health policies are shaped by local cultures, governance structures, resources, and the priorities of affected communities. This is even more pronounced outside the United States, especially in regions without strong disability rights protections or safeguards for free expression. As a result, advocacy efforts must resist importing reform templates directly. Strategies such as journalism, grassroots mobilization, and/or legal action must be carefully adapted to fit specific cultural, political, and institutional contexts. While these perspectives vary, the underlying principles centering lived experience, resisting exclusionary practices, and challenging stigma through collective action remain universal. With movements to make higher education and mental health advocacy more globalized, we must also recognize that meaningful reform depends not on a standardized “one-size-fits-all” approach, but on the careful adaptation of diverse tactics to meet local needs and realities.   Looking forward Despite the harm documented throughout this article, recent advocacy efforts offer reason for cautious optimism. Lawsuits at Yale, Harvard, and other institutions have prompted universities to reassess entrenched practices, leading to policy changes, the elimination of exclusionary leave requirements, and greater transparency. Additionally, sustained organizing by students, alumni, and advocates has begun shifting campus conversations from risk management toward care, equity, and legal compliance. It is also worth noting universities that have undertaken substantial reform on their own initiative. For example, Worcester Polytechnic Institute responded to a series of student suicides  with a sweeping, campus-wide cultural shift that reframed student well-being as a shared institutional responsibility. Similarly, at Dartmouth College, President Sian Leah Beilock has made mental health a central institutional priority , and through its partnership with the JED Foundation, has been described as a “model institution” for its comprehensive and data-backed impact. While these examples demonstrate what is possible, legal victories and positive cases are not enough. Students’ access to accommodations, due process, and non-discriminatory treatment should not hinge on their ability to pursue costly litigation, undertake major community-based advocacy efforts, or hope for universities to voluntarily reform of their own conviction. Stronger, clearer federal protections are needed to secure student rights and hold schools accountable before harm occurs. In particular, gaps between HIPAA (stronger protections for health and medical records) and FERPA (weaker protections for educational records) that leave student medical privacy vulnerable need to be addressed. As Paul Johansen, President of Elis for Rachael, has argued: “My dream would be for every high school senior applying to college to ask schools what their mental health policies are. If schools believed that mental health policies were a primary criterion upon which students made their college choices, I suspect they would upgrade their policies very quickly.” Johansen also highlights FERPA as a critical barrier, noting that colleges can take advantage of a legal loophole to classify medical records as educational records, exposing deeply personal information to administrators without students’ informed consent. This, he argues, is unacceptable and must be addressed at the federal level. Ultimately, mental health advocacy in higher education is about redefining what it means to belong. Students should never have to choose between their education and their well-being. The growing movement challenging these policies reminds us that institutions can change, but only when individuals are willing to step forward and actively push for that change. Schools often tell students that these decisions are made in their best interest without ever giving them a say. It’s time to challenge that narrative.   Acknowledgements Thank you to representatives from Elis for Rachael, The Sophie Fund, and Students 4 Mental Health Justice for engaging in meaningful, in-depth conversations about their advocacy work and for taking the time to review this article. Follow me on Facebook , Instagram , LinkedIn , and visit my website  for more info! Read more from Taylor Locke Taylor Locke, Mental Health Advocate Taylor Locke is an award-winning mental health advocate and acclaimed international speaker. Once on track to work on U.S. Naval Nuclear Reactors, a life-altering series of events redirected their path. From surviving unimaginable trauma to influencing policy and research at global levels, Taylor is a certified “expert by experience” and has held various leadership roles across the world. Their work bridges science, storytelling, and the power of communities to push for powerful change.

At the age of 5, after the sudden and mysterious loss of his father, David Fisher embarked on a quest for a hero, often finding consolation in acting on stage and in films. Graduating university with honours, and becoming a member of the Screen Actors Guild, didn’t stop him from facing depression, near homelessness, and deep self-doubt. David came to the realization that waiting for a saviour wasn’t an option. He needed to be his own hero. Through years of exploration, study, mentorship, and personal experience, he learned that the keys to overcoming life’s challenges are mental wellness, vulnerability, and connection. It became clear to David that he needed to foster a culture where connecting with himself and others could not only be valued, but encouraged to rise above any obstacle. A culture where communicating and leading with vulnerability and strength increases the probabilities to achieve goals. A culture where teams and leaders bridge the gap toward understanding and empathy. A culture where “You” and “Me” become “We”. A Culture of UsTM. Using his understanding, education and passion for storytelling, he started his journey to empower others to do the same. Today, through A Culture of UsTM, David Fisher teaches companies, institutions, and everyday leaders how to work with passion, communicate with clarity, and lead with intention, all toward strengthening their connections to create positive change, while having fun along the way. His keynotes, workshops, coaching sessions, and trainings are not just about bettering communication and leadership, they are about genuine transformation. His approach is simple. A Culture of UsTM helps each of us tap into the hero within, and use that power toward working with others and leading with vulnerability and strength. David Fisher, Global Public Speaker, Communication Coach Who is David Fisher, and what is the core mission behind your work today? “Who am I?” It is such a great question and happens to be the first question I ask my audience, “Who are you?  Take away what others say about you, what your relationships are, your job, and your hobbies, then sit naked in the forest, unless that’s a hobby, and answer this question. You may not have the answer, but we must ask it.” So, who am I? I could say international speaker, author, actor, coach, and father, but I think the real answer is that I’m an “empowerer”, I help others see the power they already have within them. I help them bring that story out and communicate it to make a positive difference in their organizations, personal lives and communities. What specific problem do you help your clients solve? I help organizations build a culture where people feel seen, heard, and empowered. As a result, performance and morale increase, while retention and disengagement decrease. In a world where technology like AI is revolutionizing the way we communicate, I inspire teams to elevate their human connection to each other. Who are your ideal clients, and what are they typically struggling with before they work with you? Humans communicate differently in times of change and pressure. My clients are either positioning themselves to prevent a breakdown in their company culture or they are trying to repair what’s already broken. Many of my clients are already positioned well because they invest in their people. Some of that investment means bringing people like me in to give them that extra 2% nudge. 2% feels small, but a plane flying off course by 2% will miss the runway by a wide margin unless there’s a correction in flight. What makes your approach different from others in your field? There are three areas which make me uniquely qualified to do this.  First, I’m a certified experiential presenter and have improv training. My sessions aren’t passive lectures, they’re interactive experiences. Whether through reflection, dialogue, or dynamic exercises, the audience participates in their own transformation. Second, I have an extensive background in stage and film acting and was a member of the Screen Actors Guild. I understand how to embody a story, so people don’t just hear it, they feel it. Neuroscience shows that a story creates connections. I combine research-backed insights with emotional engagement. The learning sticks. Beyond just being flashy and funny, which I am (at least mom thinks I’m funny, “sometimes”), I am vulnerable, honest, and real. I know how to tell a story. Third, I offer free group coaching two weeks after the event, so what is learned can be practiced and integrated. Ideas become habits. We can discover the gaps together so everyone can move forward with the intention they had when the event was over, even if the feelings have dissipated. What results can clients realistically expect after working with you? Clients see stronger engagement, healthier communication, improved retention, and reduced internal conflict. In an age of tremendous change, these are the critical needs of a human workforce. They are no longer nice to have. Organizations that communicate well outperform those that don’t. I help build that advantage. Can you share a transformation story that reflects the impact of your work? The best way to answer this is to use the words of someone I have worked with. This is from a well-known local politician and his team, “Thank you for everything. It meant a lot to me to have you attend the event. Being a mayor is truly an honour but it is also a very unique role that I am not entirely sure anyone can ever really be prepared to do. You helped build my confidence and ability to (communicate) in a concise, authentic, and meaningful manner…” This is the essence of what I do, bringing A Culture of Us™ through unique communication strategies. What common misconceptions do people have about the work you do? I think the main misconception is that this is fluff or irrelevant. I will argue that this is more critical than ever in today's world. We are lonelier and more disconnected from each other than at any time in history. I will also argue that communication, listening, change management, and storytelling are not soft skills. They are science-backed hard skills that can be measured and improved upon. Anyone can learn them, just like learning algebra, law or chemistry. Well, chemistry for me, maybe not. I really struggled balancing equations! Communication and empowerment, that’s my superpower. What first step should someone take if they feel called to work with you? First, I don’t work with everyone. There must be mutual alignment. I curate every message, presentation, and workshop for your audience. This is not a cookie-cutter approach. The best way to do that is to reach out to me via email or text. Then we can set up a time to chat. The phone is fine at first, as we’ll get to know each other. Eventually, we’ll need to meet on video or in person to go deeper and see if what I offer meets what you need. It’s not just about content, I think everyone needs this, but also personality. I’m well connected to other speakers, so if there’s not a fit, perhaps I can find someone who is. I want to leave the world better than I found it, and I can’t do that alone. How do you tailor your services to meet each client’s unique needs? The short answer is, I ask many questions. If I can talk to others on your team who will be in your audience, it’s even better! I have 21 questions to ask. It is a conversation and not an interrogation. In most cases, I don’t need to ask all 21. I do make sure that there are no gaps. My job is to make the decision maker look good when I present! I want people to come up to them after the event and say, “Wow, you picked a great person!” If I can do that, everyone wins. Why is now the right time for people to invest in this kind of support? Change is accelerating at a pace that our nervous system, even our cognitive function, can’t keep up. When uncertainty rises, people crave clarity and meaning. The organizations that thrive will be the ones that understand the stories they’re telling. How can you stay not only afloat, but cut through the waves and find calm clarity? Understanding how we communicate with ourselves and others is required. Now is the most critical time in human history to connect because so much is coming at us that is isolating. If someone is ready for change, what is the best way to connect with you today? Email me and put “Found You on Brainz” in the subject line. Then please send a text or Whatsapp in case the email ends up in a spam folder. Email: david@davidfisher.world Phone Number: 778-686-1681 Follow me on  LinkedIn  for more info! Read more from David Fisher

Social media promised connection, awareness, and a faster path to people who need help. For treatment centers, it delivered visibility and a legal and ethical minefield. Marketing for behavioral health organizations requires compliance obligations that are often overlooked by recovery organizations. Many generalist marketing agencies are not aware of HIPAA and 42 CFR Part 2 requirements. One misplaced post, an unvetted “success story,” or a casual staff reply can trigger regulatory penalties, destroy trust, and retraumatize clients. This is not hypothetical − it’s the new reality of behavioral health marketing, and the stakes are higher than most leaders realize. In 2024, 720 incidents reported to HHS OCR, affecting about 186 million patient records, an industry‑wide privacy crisis that dwarfs single‑center mistakes. Why social media is different for treatment centers Social platforms reward immediacy and emotion. Recovery narratives, before-and-after photos, and heartfelt testimonials perform exceptionally well. But health information shared online is not just content, it’s protected information. HIPAA and the updated 42 CFR Part 2 create overlapping obligations that govern what can be shared, how consent must be obtained, and how records are protected. The regulatory landscape has shifted recently, tightening the rules around substance use disorder records and aligning parts of Part 2 with HIPAA – making compliance both more complex and more consequential. In 2024, OCR recorded 553 large‑scale breaches and settlements that year, with enforcement actions and fines totaling several million dollars, proof that regulators are actively penalizing lapses. This complexity collides with marketing incentives: teams are measured on reach, engagement, and admissions. Without a compliance-first strategy, those metrics become a liability. HHS finalized major changes to 42 CFR Part 2 in 2024, aligning parts of Part 2 with HIPAA and signaling stronger enforcement expectations for substance use disorder confidentiality. The common mistakes that turn good intentions into violations Unclear consent practices. Staff post client photos or quotes without documented, specific, revocable consent for social media use. Consent forms that are vague or bundled with intake paperwork do not meet best-practice standards. Informal staff behavior. Clinicians and front-line staff engage with followers in comments or DMs, inadvertently revealing treatment details or confirming identities. “Success stories” without safeguards. Even anonymized stories can be re-identified when combined with location, timeline, or unique details. Lack of audit trails. No documentation of who approved content, what consent was obtained, or how PHI was redacted. Reactive policies. Social media rules are written after a mistake happens, not before. Re-posting Google reviews. If PHI is shared on the Google review, a treatment center cannot repost the review without a revocable consent form. Each misstep is amplified by screenshots, shares, and the permanence of the web. The result is not just fines, it’s a breach of trust that can undo years of therapeutic work. The human cost behind compliance failures This is not a compliance exercise for compliance’s sake. When privacy is violated, clients can be retraumatized, stigmatized, or exposed to real-world harm, from employment consequences to family conflict. In a 2022 AMA‑commissioned survey, over 92% of patients said privacy is a right and opposed the sale or casual sharing of health data. Underscoring how damaging a social‑media slip can be to trust. The reputational damage to a center is immediate and long-lasting: prospective clients and referral partners will think twice before trusting an organization that mishandled someone’s recovery story. Ethical marketing in behavioral health must center dignity and safety above conversion rates. A practical framework: How to market ethically and compliantly Design consent as a process, not a checkbox. Consent for social media must be informed, specific, and revocable. Create separate, plain-language consent forms for testimonials, photos, and video that explain where content will appear and how it can be withdrawn. Track consent centrally and link it to content approvals. Create a compliance-first content workflow. Every post should pass through a documented pipeline: content brief legal/clinical review consent verification scheduled posting audit log Automate where possible and require two-person sign-off for any client-related content. Train every person who touches social media. Marketing, admissions, clinicians, and front-desk staff must understand what constitutes PHI, how to respond to comments and DMs, and when to move conversations to secure channels. Training should be scenario-based and refreshed regularly. TeachMeHIPAA.com offers a free certification course on basic HIPAA compliance. Require anyone who touches social media to take this, or a similar, training. Use trauma-informed storytelling techniques. Focus on universal themes – resilience, hope, resources, rather than identifying details. When sharing recovery narratives, prioritize the client’s voice and agency; consider anonymized composite stories created with consent. Monitor, audit, and document. Keep records of approvals, consent forms, and moderation decisions. Conduct periodic audits to ensure policies are followed and to identify risky patterns in engagement. Leverage technology wisely. Use content management systems that enforce approval gates and store consent metadata. Employ moderation tools to flag potentially disclosive comments or DMs for escalation. Leadership imperatives: Culture, not checklists Compliance cannot be siloed in legal or marketing teams. It must be a cultural value embedded in hiring, performance metrics, and leadership priorities. That means rewarding restraint and ethical judgment as much as reach and admissions. Boards and executives must ask the hard questions: Do our KPIs incentivize risky behavior? Are our consent processes auditable? Would we be proud of every post if it appeared on the front page of a local paper? Regulators and watchdogs are paying attention. The organizations that will thrive are those that treat privacy as a core competency, one that protects clients and strengthens brand trust. A call to action for treatment centers and marketers The path forward is clear but not easy: build systems that make compliance automatic, not optional. Invest in training, rewrite consent forms, and redesign KPIs so that ethical storytelling and client safety are rewarded. Partner with legal and clinical teams early in campaign planning. And when in doubt, choose the client’s dignity over a momentary spike in engagement. Phoenix Rise Media believes ethical marketing is a competitive advantage. Treatment centers that embrace a compliance-first approach will not only avoid regulatory pain, they will build deeper, more durable trust with the people they serve. In a field defined by second chances, marketing must be the practice of doing no harm while amplifying hope. Phoenix Rise Media offers affordable social media marketing specifically for recovery organizations. Visit our website at PhoenixRiseMedia for resources or to schedule a complimentary strategy call or a free compliance audit. If your center is still treating social media like a growth hack, it’s time to change the playbook. The future of recovery care depends on it.

Written by Gina Strole, Intuitive Healer and Spiritual Coach Gina Strole is an intuitive healer and spiritual coach who helps women heal from emotional trauma, regulate their nervous systems, and reconnect with their soul’s truth. Through her signature programs, she guides clients into lasting transformation, self-trust, and deep inner freedom. The term "money blocks" gets thrown around constantly in spiritual and entrepreneurial spaces. Clear your energy. Shift your vibration. Manifest differently. But let’s strip this down. Money blocks are not mystical. They are nervous system responses tied to identity and safety. And until you understand that, you will keep trying to solve the wrong problem. The truth about money blocks A money block is not a lack of strategy. It is not laziness. It is not a mindset flaw. It is not the universe withholding abundance. Instead, it is your body asking one question, "Is it safe to have more?" If your nervous system associates wealth with pressure, visibility, judgment, responsibility, or isolation, you will unconsciously cap your income. This doesn’t happen dramatically, but predictably. You will underprice, hesitate to sell, avoid tracking numbers, and overwork to justify receiving. You will feel anxious when money dips, and you will feel uncomfortable when money grows. This is not a coincidence. It is protection. Why spiritual women struggle with money Many spiritual women and healers were conditioned with conflicting beliefs about wealth. They’ve been taught that money is greedy, that spiritual people shouldn’t focus on profit, and that struggle equals virtue. They believe visibility invites judgment, and that power creates separation. As a result, they grow spiritually, but contract financially. They deepen emotionally, but avoid claiming authority. They hold space beautifully, but hesitate to hold wealth. This inner conflict creates income instability, money anxiety, and subconscious self-sabotage. No amount of affirmations can override a dysregulated nervous system. The four core money patterns In my work with spiritual entrepreneurs and light leaders, money blocks typically fall into four categories: The safety pattern: In this pattern, more money equals more risk. So, you hover at what feels survivable, staying within your comfort zone. The worthiness pattern: If it feels easy, it must not be deserved. As a result, you overwork and undercharge, unable to accept the abundance that comes your way. The loyalty pattern: Outgrowing family or community feels disloyal. So, you stay financially relatable, even when it limits your growth. The identity pattern: You see yourself as the healer, not the wealthy one. And identity always overrides desire. Until identity shifts, income will fluctuate. Why strategy alone doesn’t work You cannot out-strategize a self-worth wound. You cannot manifest what your nervous system feels unsafe holding. You cannot scale sustainably from anxiety. Money responds to identity stability. When your internal foundation is reactive, your income becomes reactive. When your internal foundation is steady, your income stabilizes. This is why healing your relationship with money changes everything. Not because money is the goal, but because safety is. What actually dismantles money blocks Healing money blocks requires integration, not inspiration. It requires: Nervous system regulation under financial fluctuation. Exposure to numbers without emotional charge. Pricing before you feel fully “ready.” Consistent selling without shame. Identity recalibration around wealth and power. Money becomes neutral through repetition, not hype or high-vibe states, but through regulated repetition. You teach your system that more is safer. And when more feels safe, expansion becomes sustainable. The shift from scarcity to stability The real transformation happens when you stop asking, "How do I make more?" and start asking, "Who am I being with money?" Are you reactive? Avoidant? Braced? Or steady? Are you tracking? Leading? Wealth is not built through intensity. It is built through regulation. Spiritual entrepreneurs who integrate this truth move differently. They price confidently, market consistently, receive without guilt, and expand without collapsing. This is because they no longer associate money with danger. Instead, they associate it with leadership. Final thought If you are circling the same income ceiling, it is not because you are incapable. It is because part of you does not yet feel safe holding the next level. When healing meets structure, money stabilizes. When identity integrates, wealth sustains. And when safety becomes internal, success no longer feels threatening. That is the real work, and that is where spiritual women truly rise. Ready to rise beyond survival patterns? If this conversation resonates, it may be time to move beyond awareness and into integration. The Rise Healing Academy was created for spiritually aware women, healers, and light leaders who are ready to stabilize their power, regulate their nervous system around money and visibility, and build sustainable success without burnout. Inside the Academy, healing meets structure. Spiritual depth meets embodied leadership. Expansion becomes steady instead of cyclical. Because wealth, influence, and impact are not sustained through inspiration alone, they are sustained through internal safety and identity integration. If you are ready to stop circling your next level and start stabilizing it, the Rise Healing Academy is your next step. Learn more here . Follow me on Facebook , Instagram , LinkedIn , and visit my website for more info! Read more from Gina Strole Gina Strole, Intuitive Healer and Spiritual Coach Gina Strole is an intuitive healer and spiritual coach who specializes in helping women heal deep emotional wounds from childhood trauma. Her work blends nervous system regulation, energy healing, and intuitive guidance to support true, lasting transformation. Gina creates a safe and sacred space where women can release old patterns, reconnect with their bodies, and remember who they truly are. She has helped countless women move from survival mode into a life of clarity, self-trust, and soul alignment. Gina is also the creator of Healing for the Healer, a transformational program for those ready to rise into their gifts and support others from a place of wholeness.

Written by Stephanie Gillespie, Addiction Treatment Outreach Coordinator Stephanie Gillespie is a dedicated professional who has made a significant impact in the fields of developmental psychology, Autism, and Addiction Treatment. After graduating from UNC-Chapel Hill with a B.A. in Developmental Psychology. The connection between trauma and addiction is one of the most important, and often misunderstood, topics in behavioral health. Research shows that individuals who experienced childhood trauma are significantly more likely to struggle with substance use disorders later in life. Understanding how early traumatic experiences affect brain development, emotional responses, and mental health can help break the vicious cycle and support healing. This article explores how adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) influence addiction risk, why unresolved trauma often leads to substance misuse, and how trauma-informed care and effective treatments can support recovery. Childhood trauma and brain development Childhood trauma can include physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, or exposure to traumatic events such as community violence, school violence, natural disasters, or household dysfunction. When a developing brain is exposed to toxic stress or chronic stress, the body remains chronically activated in survival mode. This prolonged exposure to traumatic stress can disrupt: cognitive development emotional regulation impulse control decision-making abilities Research from national institutes and disease control organizations shows that trauma histories can alter the stress response system and increase the risk for mental disorders and substance use. Children who experience trauma often develop heightened emotional pain responses and may struggle to form secure relationships, especially if parental mental illness, substance abuse, or domestic violence are present. Adverse childhood experiences and long-term health outcomes Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) refer to traumatic or stressful events occurring before age 18. These adverse experiences include: physical or sexual abuse emotional abuse or neglect household dysfunction parental mental illness incarceration of a family member exposure to substance abuse community or school violence Research suggests that individuals with three or more ACEs face an increased risk for mental health challenges and substance misuse. Those with four or more ACEs face a significantly higher risk for: substance use disorders post-traumatic stress disorder ( PTSD ) depression and anxiety chronic health conditions illicit drug use and illicit substance dependency According to national survey data, even experiencing at least one ACE increases long-term health risks. Addressing ACEs early improves health outcomes and supports healthier adult functioning. Traumatic events, emotional pain, and substance use Traumatic events can leave lasting emotional scars. Many individuals who experienced childhood abuse or past trauma struggle with unresolved trauma and intense emotional responses. Substance use often begins as a coping mechanism. People may self-medicate to numb: traumatic memories PTSD symptoms emotional pain anxiety and depression This pattern can create a vicious cycle, trauma leads to substance use, substance use worsens mental health, and worsening mental health reinforces addiction. Research shows that exposure to traumatic experiences increases the risk for illicit drug use, opioid misuse, and dependency on other drugs. Substance use disorders and co-occurring mental health conditions Many individuals with trauma histories develop substance use disorders alongside mental health conditions. Common co-occurring disorders include: post-traumatic stress disorder anxiety disorders depression personality disorders The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) recognizes the strong relationship between trauma exposure and mental disorders. Concurrent treatment is essential because treating addiction without addressing trauma often leads to relapse. Similarly, treating PTSD symptoms without addressing substance use can limit recovery progress. Childhood adversity, risk factors, and protective factors Childhood adversity significantly influences addiction risk, but not everyone exposed to trauma develops substance misuse problems. Risk factors include: multiple ACEs parental substance abuse community violence chronic stress environments lack of stable caregivers Protective factors that reduce risk include: a healthy family environment supportive caregivers early intervention access to mental health services and administration programs safe schools and communities Protective factors can strengthen resilience and improve long-term outcomes. Trauma-informed care and trauma-informed approaches to recovery Trauma-informed care recognizes that many individuals seeking addiction treatment have experienced trauma. A trauma-informed approach emphasizes: safety and trust empowerment and collaboration understanding trauma responses avoiding re-traumatization Trauma-informed services, such as those provided at an addiction treatment center in Atlanta , help individuals feel supported rather than judged. Healthcare providers increasingly adopt trauma-informed practices to better support healing and recovery. Addiction treatment that addresses trauma Effective addiction treatment must address both trauma and substance use. Evidence-based treatments include: trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy prolonged exposure therapy EMDR therapy medication-assisted treatment group therapy and peer support holistic approaches addressing mind and body Concurrent treatment for trauma and substance use improves outcomes and reduces relapse risk. Early intervention and addressing ACEs can significantly improve recovery success. Breaking the cycle: Healing from trauma and addiction Recovery begins with a better understanding of how trauma shapes behavior and mental health. Research shows that addressing unresolved trauma helps individuals: regulate emotional responses reduce substance misuse improve mental health build healthier relationships reclaim a sense of safety and control Healing is possible. With the right support, trauma-informed care, and compassionate treatment, individuals can break free from addiction and move toward a healthier future. Final thoughts The link between trauma and addiction highlights the importance of early intervention at an Atlanta drug rehab center , supportive environments, and comprehensive treatment. Childhood adversity and traumatic stress can shape a person’s path, but they do not define their future. By recognizing trauma histories, expanding access to mental health services, and implementing trauma-informed care, we can reduce risk, improve health outcomes, and help individuals heal from both trauma and substance use disorders. Recovery is not just about stopping substance use, it is about healing from the past and building a safer, healthier life moving forward. Follow me on LinkedIn  for more info! Read more from Stephanie Gillespie Stephanie Gillespie, Addiction Treatment Outreach Coordinator Stephanie Gillespie is a dedicated professional who has made a significant impact in the fields of developmental psychology, Autism, and Addiction Treatment. After graduating from UNC-Chapel Hill with a B.A. in Developmental Psychology. Her 15 years of experience working with individuals of all ages on the Autism spectrum provided her with a strong foundation for her transition into the Addiction Treatment field, where she now works as an Outreach Specialist for Patient Digital Marketing. In this role, Stephanie leverages her expertise to help addiction treatment centers increase their online presence, ultimately reaching more individuals in need of support.

Written by Kirsty Marie Denny, Kinesiologist and Neurodivergence Specialist Kirsty Marie Denny specialises in trauma, neurodivergence, and sensitivity, empowering her clients to transform their lives through energetic kinesiology. Her focus is on each individual’s unique gifts and challenges and the root causes of distressing symptoms. Do you ever feel like your brain simply abandons you and goes ‘offline’ in certain situations? Or perhaps you ask your child a question they should be able to answer, but they stare at you blankly or start to melt down? Our brains are capable of incredibly complex processes and rational thought. However, the more ‘primitive’ parts of our brains will always prioritize our survival over being cool, calm, and collected, often categorizing emotional stressors as if they are life-threatening. A learning stress scenario I wonder if you’ve ever experienced something like this (perhaps cast your mind back to school days)? You’re 9 years old, and your teacher calls on you to answer a question about fractions. It’s not so difficult, but you feel everyone watching you, and you panic a little. You blurt out an answer, which is wrong, the teacher asks you to try again, wrong again! They’re giving you clues, but now you really can’t think at all! You know you must be stupid, everyone is laughing, and you feel like you’re on fire with the embarrassment and frustration as you try to hold back tears. Next time you’re working on math, your stress levels spike automatically, and you think, ‘I can’t do this.’ You don’t want to ask for help and feel like an idiot again. On your next test, your mark is terrible, so now you have more evidence that you’re bad at math. Now you prefer to avoid it altogether, so you don’t even try anymore, saying things like ‘math is stupid’ or ‘why would I need to know this,’ getting defensive if anyone tries to help you with it. Now you have cemented the belief that you are bad at math in general, and especially fractions. Depending on the sensitivity of a child and any number of variables in their learning environment, this type of thing can occur even when educators are supportive and have the best of intentions. I bet you can think of a few scenarios in your own life too, where, despite knowing you are intelligent and capable, you seem to lose access to specific skills or abilities under pressure. We can refer to this reduced functionality under stress as a loss of brain integration. What is going on in the brain? Many of us are familiar with the idea of our left and right brain hemispheres having different specializations . The left brain is thought to be more geared towards logical processing and analysis, whereas the right is more ‘gestalt,’ meaning big picture or creative (this is usually reversed in left-handed people). Although this can be a useful model, in some ways, it is a massive oversimplification. The left and right brain hemispheres, at the cortical (thinking) level, are where we initiate tasks. We consciously decide what we want to achieve, which then activates a widely distributed system of brain areas and the pathways between them in order to get the job done. In simple terms, the structure and function of the brain are incredibly complex, and therefore, performing any task effectively requires efficient communication between many regions of the brain and body, with precise timing and synchronization. What causes loss of brain integration? The short answer (surprise, surprise) is stress! Any stimulus perceived as ‘threatening’ will activate the survival centers in our brains, controlling the fight or flight response. Survival centers like the amygdala connect to the higher brain regions needed for clear thinking and so can directly contribute to a loss of brain integration under stress. This has often been referred to as ‘amygdala hijack.’[1] The things we perceive as stressful are very individual. They depend on our past experiences and the emotional memories laid down at the subconscious, as well as conscious, levels. Stress is actually a necessary factor in motivating us to take action, and to a certain level, the emotional triggering of the amygdala assists us in learning and memory. We are emotional beings, and the emotional ‘charge’ associated with something gives it relevance, hence, information related in a story may be easier to recall than a dry list of facts. However, beyond a certain level or threshold of stress, and when stress becomes chronic, the amygdala (or other survival areas of the brain) can inhibit effective learning and memory as instinctive survival responses take over.[2] Back to the classroom Returning to the child in the stressful classroom situation, we can see that maths has become associated with emotional danger, so the stress threshold for loss of brain integration has been lowered for this child in this particular situation. Once we become stressed and lose brain integration, we can easily become stuck in a self-reinforcing ‘stress loop.’ In this case, the temporary loss of the ability to perform maths results in anxiety, failure, and shame, which leads to avoidance behavior. This then leads to more shame and the potential for punishment or criticism, which, in turn, leads to more stress and frustration, causing even greater loss of brain integration, and around we go! It’s easy to see how, in a classroom context, certain children become ‘problem children’, the ones who act out to avoid feeling vulnerable, and those who check out altogether, often unnecessarily so, simply due to high stress levels. Naturally, these types of scenarios are relevant not only to children but to all of us. Think about applicable situations in your own life, possibly public speaking, being put on the spot to perform a calculation, remembering verbal directions, or any number of possibilities. Additionally, in the case of chronic stress or significant trauma, the loss of brain integration may become more generalized, resulting in brain fog and more global learning difficulties. Neurodivergence in the mix When we’re talking about the accumulation of stressful factors that tip us over into a loss of brain integration, it’s clear that neurodivergent kids may experience more inputs as stressful and/or have a lower threshold for dysregulation. In the case of an ADHD child, for example, they generally have a reduced capacity for rational control of their emotional responses, leading to impulsive or disruptive behavior. They are then likely to receive negative feedback on their behavior, impacting their self-esteem.[3] Additionally, they may have atypical dopamine levels or utilization, with dopamine being involved in our motivation levels[4] and perhaps even the ability to bounce back from failure . When it comes to autistic children, one of the stressors that can come into play is sensory over-responsivity or information overload due to, for example, thalamic hyperconnectivity[5] or reduced synaptic pruning . If the child needs extra time to process and integrate all this information, or quickly becomes overwhelmed, it’s easy to see how this could impact their learning and sense of self. These are just a few examples of the effect of neurodivergence on brain integration. Naturally, each individual has their own unique neurology and stressors. Reducing the impact of stress So, if getting caught in a ‘stress loop’ is impacting learning, how do we reduce the stress? Reducing the pressure to perform and focusing on creating safety and connection can help decompress the nervous system and encourage a more organic approach to learning. However, this is a balancing act! While stress can reduce brain integration, as previously mentioned, a certain amount of stimulation is required for learning and growth. Therefore, simply avoiding all potential ‘triggers’ can easily lead to a very limited experience of life over time and actually increase anxiety! A detour into natural learning Natural learning (or ‘unschooling’) is a self-directed approach that allows children to tap into their innate curiosity and desire to learn, thus reducing the stress imposed by external pressure and expectations. The work of John Holt is a useful reference if you’re interested in exploring this concept. Check out this short video or the Growing without Schooling Website . Of course, this type of approach to education requires significant resources to implement. The child must have access to a school that applies these principles (rare and often pricey), or a parent or other caregiver must be available (emotionally and financially resourced) to home-educate in this way, providing support, connection, and opportunities. For many, this is not practical or desirable at this stage, and additionally, home-educated children are certainly not exempt from stress-related learning problems, especially if they’re sensitive or neurodivergent. So, how do we do the best we can within current societal constraints and conditions? Help kids escape the stress loop Prioritize connection Feeling safe and understood in relationships with others is a primary human need. When we feel held in this way, it feels much safer to step out into the world and explore, or to attempt difficult tasks, knowing that our success or failure in any given moment doesn’t define our self-worth. An emotionally safe environment allows children to risk feeling vulnerable or ‘getting it wrong’ without fear of judgment. Notice behavior as communication Talk to your children, but also notice their subtle cues, facial expressions, scenarios in which they seem to shut down or become defensive, and topics that light them up. Often, it’s difficult to communicate our needs and stressors with clarity, even as adults. With this in mind, it can be helpful to remember that kids are likely to lack these advanced communication skills, so their needs may be expressed through challenging or even baffling behavior! You may find it useful to refer to my previous article on intuitive parenting . Reduce pressure as appropriate As previously mentioned, this is very individual to the child in terms of reducing the loss of brain integration, but it should not set up a pattern of avoidance that actually reinforces anxiety. For a child who has become very stressed about learning, it may take a significant amount of time for them to ‘decompress’ and re-engage with curiosity. If your child is very resistant to any suggestions you make, you might like to read my article on pathological demand avoidance (which contains useful information, even if the demand avoidance is a short-term stress response). Neuroplasticity for the win Finding the balance when it comes to optimal learning can certainly be assisted by addressing the stressors that lead to loss of brain integration. The brain is incredibly malleable (neuroplastic), and often, addressing that stress is enough to bring the higher cognitive abilities back online. Every day, self-care tools such as mindfulness, breathing techniques, journaling, or movement practices can assist with self-awareness and letting our body and brain know that we are safe. Sometimes, we may have forgotten the incident that initiated a primitive stress response that is hijacking the brain, or it occurred very early in life. However, our body remembers and stores this stress. This is where I come in. In addition to accessing and clearing stress from the subconscious, I use energetic processes to assist you with re-establishing connectivity and synchronicity between the various parts of the brain that need to work together for learning and creativity. If you’d like some support for your child or yourself to get out of survival mode and access your true potential, get in touch. I’d love to hear from you . Kinesiology sessions are available online or in Auckland, New Zealand, by appointment. Follow me on Facebook , Instagram , and visit my website  for more info! Read more from Kirsty Marie Denny Kirsty Marie Denny, Kinesiologist and Neurodivergence Specialist Kirsty Marie is an energetic kinesiologist who believes in each human’s capacity to thrive as their unique and authentic self. Kirsty navigated chronic health challenges in her 20s and an intensely stressful early parenthood experience. Having transformed her own life as well as her children’s, she is on a mission to empower others. She specialises in supporting those who are highly sensitive, neurodivergent, or who have experienced trauma. Her approach is truly holistic, incorporating practical lifestyle coaching as well as energetic processes for balancing the brain and body and transmuting emotional stress. References: [1] Orji, L. & Ita, U., 2024 [2] Roozendaal, B. McEwen, B. & Chattarji, S., 2009 [3] Wang et al., 2025 [4] MacDonald, H. et al., 2024 [5] Green, S. et al., 2017

Increasing Consciousness, the leadership development organization founded by Aang Lakey, today announced an exclusive opportunity for forward-thinking corporations and government agencies to pilot its Executive Team Mastermind, a year-long, high-impact engagement grounded in the proprietary Leadership Consciousness Frameworks. Organizations ready to invest in transformative, values-driven leadership are encouraged to apply before the April 14, 2026, deadline. Today’s executive teams are navigating unprecedented complexity with rapid organizational change, shifting cultures, and mounting pressure to lead with clarity and integrity. This Executive Team Mastermind opportunity is designed for leadership teams who are already committed to conscious leadership and want a structured, practical way to practically apply conscious concepts in their decisions, their teams, and their culture. “The organizations leading tomorrow are the ones willing to do the inner work today. This pilot is an invitation for executive teams ready to stop managing symptoms and start transforming their leadership culture from the inside out.” – Aang Lakey, Founder, Increasing Consciousness The leadership consciousness frameworks At the heart of the Executive Team Mastermind are five integrated frameworks grounded in three Essential Domains of Leadership Consciousness, which are Personal Mastery, Social Mastery, and Systemic Mastery. Together, they form a holistic approach that weaves personal insight, social responsibility, and systems awareness into everyday leadership practice. Each framework can stand on its own or work in an interdisciplinary capacity to support a team’s evolution. A unique pilot opportunity: Apply by April 14, 2026 Given the intentionally small number of organizations Increasing Consciousness works with each year, each partnership receives focused, sustained attention throughout the full engagement. Pilot participants will work directly with Aang Lakey and play an active role in shaping the framework’s evolution and positioning their organizations at the forefront of conscious, equity-centered leadership. To preserve the integrity and depth of the experience, this pilot cohort is limited to three to five organizations. To learn more or begin the application process, visit here  or reach out directly to Aang Lakey at aang@increasingconsciousness.org . About Increasing Consciousness Increasing Consciousness is a leadership development organization dedicated to transforming leadership through a holistic and transdisciplinary approach that helps executive teams to align action with values, fostering authentic leadership that creates lasting impact across organizations and communities. Media contact Aang Lakey, Founder, Increasing Consciousness aang@increasingconsciousness.org   www.aanglakey.com