Channing

Today marks the beginning of a very beautiful yet very scary transition. When I moved to Houston 4 years ago, I found my home at Malaty. I found my footing here. Now, I'm blooming 🤍. I'm opening the first black owned intensive outpatient program in Houston, Jones Wellness Center. Our approach nurtures the mind-body connection, understands the intricate role of the nervous system, and uses a multidisciplinary therapeutic model that focuses on restoring health to the whole mind-body to allow each client to walk in their authentic embodied self. Follow my journey .

Women go through the most attempting to uphold the patriarchal facade to be the chill girl who shows zero signs of aging, body hair, stretch marks, or weight gain & moves through life with seeming effortlessness that requires a GREAT deal of behind-the-scenes effort.

The attempts to uphold the ever-changing beauty standards is like being on a hamster wheel. And it's so freaking exhausting, distracting, and time consuming.

It progressively gets more impossible to obtain as time passes because - well, we ALL are going to age, grow body hair, have stretch marks, and gain weight because bodies change and that's a part of the human existence.

Let's talk about shame & vulnerability. Everyone has something about themselves that they hide from the world.

When you sit in shame, it eats at you. It can lead to addiction, overeating, over-controlling behavior, depression, violence, and avoidance.

When we share our vulnerabilities with a trusted person, such as a safe friend or therapist, we're met with empathy and realize that we are not alone. When there is empathy and a sense of connection or belonging, shame simply cannot exist.

When you're hiding who you are, you aren't allowing yourself to fully connect with others. Genuine connection brings healing and acceptance.

Let's show up for the world, by first showing up for ourselves, by giving ourselves empathy, kindness, and our most vulnerable moments. 🤍

This will not only help you naturally display empathy, kindness, and compassion in the world, but vulnerability leads to joy, creativity, love, & belonging.

You aren't perfect, and that's okay. None of us are 🤗

DO I HAVE AN EATING DISORDER? 94% of individuals who have an eating disorder do not "look" like they have an eating disorder. Eating disorders are in the mind and manifest through physical behaviors.

Weight does fluctuate, but typically not to the extent people can tell. Regardless if the weight is up or down, the emotional pain and mental anguish remains the same.

Weight does not determine how severe your eating disorder is, so please never make the assumption that just because someone looks fit and healthy that they're not struggling internally.

A few signs your body is struggling and not receiving the proper nutrients are: loosing your hair, anemia, mood swings, chronic fatigue, flat mood, memory loss, difficulty concentrating, weakened bones, insomnia, irregular menstrual cycle, gastrointestinal issues (constipation, bloating), heart problems, etc.

If you believe you may be struggling with an eating disorder, please reach out to a licensed mental health professional. "I'm not sick enough" is not a thing. Let's not wait until we cause permanent damage to our bodies.