Meet Erica: Epic dog mom, tiny home dweller and owner of Thro Ceramics! We hope you enjoy her insights as much as we adore her ceramics.
Q.) How has mental health/illness impacted your life?
A.) I was the person that was lashed out at by someone who was and still is depressed. It comes in different forms depending on the person. One of them is anger. I’m sharing this because I feel like it might be a different perspective for someone else who might’ve been in the same situation.
Verbal abuse is one of the worst kinds of abuse. It sticks with you, it’s always in the back of your mind even when you think you’ve overcome it. This is the result of this persons depression/mental illness. When someone holds on to so much hatred, jealousy and selfishness. It eventually makes it way out in the form of lashing out at others. You never know what they’re gonna say. You tip toe around their feelings and do everything you can to make sure you don’t trigger those emotions. You never know what mood their gonna be in when you see them. You never know what to expect. That was my experience.
It impacted my life by making me a stronger human simply because I took it upon myself to make damn sure I did the work on me. To be better, to not be anything like this person.
It might sound crazy to say that I’m grateful this person treated me that way, but I am. It made me who I am today.
If it wasn’t for all the hurtful and hateful things that were said. I never would’ve done the work on me. I never would’ve realized that all those things weren’t even about me.
I never would’ve learned that I could just let those things go and still love that human unconditionally even though their actions might not ever change.
It’s taught me how to navigate certain people and emotions. How to handle certain situations and how to show others that even though someone might hurt you, you can still lead with love.
The forgiveness is for YOU, not for them. It’s the most freeing thing I’ve ever found.
Q.) What are your positive outlets and how did you discover them?
A.) The gym for sure. I need to sweat or lift something heavy. If I can, I like to workout outside, especially during the summer.
Q.) Do you think nature plays an important part in recovering from mental illnesses?
A.) Absof*ckinglutely! God creates everything out of love. It’s only love. All of it. When you can turn off the noise and connect with all the love that was created in this world for us. You’ll feel so much gratitude that all you wanna do is share it with as many people as you possibly can.
Q.) Who/what do you endure for?
A.) My drive used to come from a place of retaliation. All i wanted to prove to that person that constantly hurt me was that i could make it. The drive came from a place of hurt and anger. It fueled me. Sometimes it still does, we actually need that type of drive to really dig deep.
I’ve noticed lately that there’s been a bit of a shift. It doesn’t come from such a painful place anymore. There’s more love. It comes from a place of wanting to help others. That’s why I’m building MBM.
I realized that i didn’t need to prove anything to anyone except to myself. Because here’s the thing I’ve learned. If you’re trying to get a certain persons approval. You’re more than likely never gonna get it. They just won’t give it to you because they may not be in the right headspace to do so. That’s ok, that’s why doing the hard work on you, digging into all the painful things that we usually push back down is so important.
You can’t help anyone else until you help yourself. I want others to find that peace.
Q.) How do you feel that social media is impacting people’s mental health?
A.) One word. Comparison.
It is ALWAYS a losing battle. Here’s the thing. There’s always gonna be someone that’s ahead of you in life. So enjoy where you are, fall in love with the process of living and live RIGHT NOW.
Comparison is the WORST thing about social media.
Put this twist on it. Instead of comparing yourself. If you find someone that you're jealous of, cheer them on. Be happy for them! Be grateful that they get to put that good energy into the world. Because the energy that you put out is the energy that you get back.
Keep doing that and watch that shift happen. It never fails.
Q.) Do you prefer to explore the forest, ocean, desert, etc?
A.) Ocean, I love the water. I LOVE scuba diving. The best thing about it is that you can’t hear anything and you're basically weightless. My thoughts are clear, my breathing slows and I light up after every dive. It’s an incredible feeling. I’ve always been drawn to the water. So when I need to clear my head, it’s my go to. Lately, I’ve been going for night swims. The stars here reflect on the water, it’s pitch black and it feels like I’m floating in a galaxy. It’s the most gorgeous thing I think I’ve ever seen and experienced.
Q.) What is something that someone has said to you that has always stuck with you when overcoming hard times?
A.) It wasn’t someone. It was something that I heard while working through a tough time. Call it God or Universe, whatever you relate to, but it’s still the same living energy.... “Be the love and light in the uncomfortable places in the world.” I’ve thought about it every single day since that day and it’s changed my perspective on so many things.
Q.) What advice would you give someone that is struggling?
A.) You. Are. Enough. You just have to allow yourself to feel it. Every single person in this world has a set of special gifts. Let yourself tap into those. Lead with those. Build a life with those. It’ll be hard, but it’ll be worth it.