LCSW - Alisha Kelley

Growing up. I used to watch My daddy put on his glasses, get a highlighter and read some type of book. He said the TV was a “idiot box.” He loved history, and was a magnet for knowledge.

When I started doing therapy I knew I wanted my people to heal, find peace and learn to enjoy life but I knew I had to find it first in order to show people it was possible.

So I began… and I keep going. Don’t be a watcher, an observer, an evaluator. Be a change agent, a role model and an example that change is possible and it’s coming…

Today I had to slow down…. Get out the drives seat and let God take control…. and my girl was here for it!

Mindful Monday: You don’t have to be where you always been!

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cp-jQAvpG6a/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

In 2017, I hit an emotional rock bottom. I could barely get out of bed. I was exhausted. I dreaded Monday’s because it meant another week of work that didn’t fulfill me. I became aware of the deeply codependent patterns within my family and how they were showing up with my partner. I was living life in autopilot. And my body was screaming: no more. Of course, I didn’t listen. I just kept pushing myself. Until I fainted. Once at one of my childhood best friends house. Another time with my partner in line to buy a coffee. Instilled with health trauma from a young age, I thought I was dying. But I was actually just waking up. I was leaving survival mode. I was being pushed to look at what I kept running away from. Or numbing with alcohol, relationships, or anything else that could distract me. It was through this soul shattering experience that I had a calling to share my work online. At that time, it was very taboo to be a therapist on social media. I only remember a few therapists who were sharing and posting. I wanted to let people know that maybe they weren’t depressed. Maybe our bodies can only take so much before they speak to us. Maybe we can only be separated from our authentic self for too long before the cracks begin to show. 5 years later I’m still sharing this work, and I have my own survival mode experiences to thank for it. Had I not hit that bottom, I don’t know where I would be today. Had I not questioned my training or widened my perspective, I might not be writing this post right now. When the student is ready, the teacher appears. And one of my greatest teachers was my own suffering. Waking up is painful. It sucks to feel like you’re the only one who can see the dysfunction or the only one who wants deeper connections or more meaning in life. It doesn’t make sense at first, until one day you look in the mirror and there’s a completely different person looking back at you #selfhealers

Thoughtful Tuesday:
When you fail to control your emotions they are in control

-emotional self-care for black women