The extent to which I find balance between action and inaction is still being discussed by my internal jury. Currently the consensus is pointing towards the need to focus on internal experiences and allow needs to be met when absolutely necessary. If I need to go to the bathroom, I go to the bathroom. Otherwise everything can be explored.

I have had to meet so much societal pressure head on to allow for the decompression sequence to happen. How deep can rest go when I no longer assume something needs to be done for the sake of doing it?

**Visuals come online**

I loosely see a dragon, our relationship seems firm, as though we’re friends. I’m riding on his back, physically feeling the undulations up and down as he flies through the air. This movement frees my mind from the suffering of thinking things should be productive in any moment.

**Visuals firm up as sensations of movement occur in the body**

We sit with each other at a campfire, since it’s not safe for him to use breath for warmth. The force of breath in its wholeness can warm entire cities, or destroy them. The power he yields in the utilization of such an act. So as we are resting around this campfire, I begin to look at his scales. They glow purple and green, almost iridescent but also reflective of the surrounding environment. I can see the glistening fire in each of them, creating a brilliance, indicative of the power he allows to rest inside him while we’re together.

Instead of using his voice, he speaks through presence. Much like we see men in society, he presents as very protective. His body circles the whole campfire and myself, allowing the heat and his presence to gather. Reflecting off his scales is not only the fire’s glow, but also an energetic symbol of growing presence, in the form of a continuum of infinity signs. These undulate back and forth from each scale to my body, providing a massage of sorts, inclusive of sound, almost like old-school computer-sounding water drops each time it hits my body

As this massaging continues, I notice my eyelids are heavy. I use my arms to slide back and rest on his side. His scales are surprisingly warm, but it can’t possibly be from the fire since it’s too far away. Within a few seconds I fall into a deep sleep.

Much like a snake bite is treated with snake venom, the stability for a mental illness plagued by hyper-religious ideals and spiritual practices was a spiritual practice itself. How could I relate to my entire self, even when the experiences I had and have are labeled as “wrong” by people wearing white jackets?

I began with a very basic practice of mindfulness, noticing what was arising and passing in my experience. This was an amazing three-year period where I grounded, stabilized, and learned to name what was happening inside my mind and body. Thoughts, emotions, feelings, sensations.

Eventually I found portions of my experience that wasn’t explained in a mindfulness setting. This included observing pendulums, spirals, and other energetic movements occurring during practice.

The transition for me was to a spiritually integrated meditation practice, focusing on the ability for this underlying “energy” to be the primary agent of change for any internal state. After practicing for around four years, I can no longer deny the effects of seeing, feeling, hearing, and knowing beyond the physical senses.

I still find myself questioning everything, but now it’s based in the need to not cling to anything untrue. The ego within my mentally ill mind likes to hyper-fixate, but what if I can question these fixations within the energetic space too? Effectiveness within this realm allows thoughts, feelings, emotions, and memories to cohere in whatever way they need to.

I have worked through many layers of trauma within this spiritual landscape, and it’s exhausting holding both versions of myself apart. Me, someone who is deeply spiritual and has a diagnosed mental illness.

I’ll give You a chance to have a few moments with these teeth clenching, hip thrusting feelings. Maybe You have something greater planned here than I could understand from the depth of desire.

I really don’t want to, but I will. It’s a trial run. Maybe that’ll be enough, possibly even fun. I’ve sprinted away from these feelings, towards the men I desire. Is that “towards” also moving away from the unraveling I’ve seen You perform, like surgery in my body?

I will meet You in the tissues, where tension resides, hopeful the craving “stored” here is waiting for me to meet You. I always thought it was a desire needing someone to match, like a friend with benefits, or a partner.

I’m willing to be wrong. I’d love to be wrong, actually. If I were wrong, I’d no longer need to seek connection from a place of craving. Instead, I could sit back and rest in the knowing that connection will happen when it’s the right time and place, because I’m connected with You.

I’m willing to be wrong, because then maybe there’s something waiting to be developed within me utilizing this same energy I was seemingly born with. I’ve witnessed You work in ways that have been no short of miraculous. Can You do the same with an energy I’ve taken way too much responsibility for? I have wanted and found, fulfilled desire, and even created some lasting relationships. But it’s falling short of what I feel can be true. Is this Your truth too?

Maybe this is about releasing what isn’t my responsibility. It does feel as though I’ve been “chasing” most of my adult life. What freedom may be in store when it’s not mine to hold! Seeing this glimpse of liberation is enough for a fresh breath, knowing something else is possible. I hope You continue showing me where these shimmers of Love pour forth.

With deep love,

Zachary

It is with great clarity that I am coming back to the blog to spend time sharing what happens in my mind, body, and spirit. This will look like all sorts of things, such as somatic tracking, or internal visuals and their relation to mental & emotional aspects of my life. I find it fascinating to chat with people about internal processes and to discover the variety with which we all enter (or avoid entering) into the mind and body, especially with relation to my own mental health diagnosis.

It is my hope that I will still be able to contribute to the world of spiritual public health, but from the vantage point of having shared how I navigate the world rather than simply pointing at how systems may better operate. Surprising even to me, I am still very involved with many social support structures from my time spent in the mental health system.

I will embrace writing as a way to have a different perspective on my thoughts, emotions and feelings, but also to share how I encounter God, Source, Spirit, the Universe, nature, whatever you may call the unending cosmic web we all dance through.

After a few weeks of dedicating most of my time to writing in this manner, I’ve begun to notice shifts large and small. I hope you will join me on this adventure!

<3 Zachary

My habit is to think that there’s never enough “claiming of responsibility”. I fear that I’ve not done enough to deserve forgiveness. How wonky, to choose a cyclical guilt.

This burden isn’t a feather, more like the ACME weight from Roadrunner & Wyle E. Coyote resting on my shoulders. Judgment carries into how I view others living their lives, but it’s always comparison of my own experience, justifying guilt and blame.

I see people living their lives, driving nice cars, sleeping in fancy homes, and spending time with their beautiful families. How did they get there? Was it chance circumstances? Do they have questions plaguing their existence like my own?

This comparison turns into resignation, a simple statement: I don’t have a life worthy of that level of goodness.

There’s a cardinal sitting on the fence outside of the car I sleep in. His red is so brilliant, and his wings flutter, off he goes. I sleep and write in this car. I go to parks so my dog can play. The cardinal has freedom of movement, balanced with meeting needs, like food, nesting, and safety from predators. I guess we’re not that different, other than my perceived inability to fly.

Judgment is the chain tying me to the ground, clipping my wings. The internal “right and wrong” keeps telling me how to live, how to move.

It seems to have been around forever. What could possibly provide sufficient space for the unshackling from the prison of my own mind?

Hopelessness begins seeping in. I choose to remain aware of it’s presence so it doesn’t waterboard me with my own tears. Large emotions require me to balance on my nose, maintaining a perspective that holds the space for many sensations instead of hyperfixating on one. It’s always “yes, and”, or I most certainly will lose myself until I’m in the middle of a floundering session. Becoming aware as a flounder is unpleasant.

I could easily avoid the hopelessness, but I know this would train me to avoid discomfort. Holding this, too, as a “fake it til you make it” act of self-compassion.

As I make a slow walk to the park bathroom, I notice the internal sound of bird wings fluttering, very close to my eardrums, softening the density of hopelessness. Even deciding to share this relation I have to my internal world induces fear of psychiatric retaliation.

A small smile finds its way to my face as I realize that fear is not going to control me. Should I instead allow it to propel me forward in this process of destigmatizing my own mental illness? Maybe this sharing of the things I’ve kept hidden will allow me the freedom I’ve been silently crying out for.

I wonder if I’ve been judging myself the way psychiatry does, and that’s why the shackles feel so heavy.

It’s not the pursuit of happiness for me, but the pursuit of freedom. Maybe if I continue holding space for freedom to be true, I’ll eventually stumble upon it.

Until then, I’m comfortable writing from the car with Nova napping in the backseat.

But...The one I want to disappear from is the one watching, The Witness.

What could possibly create this desire for *poof*?

Is it the state of the world, and the fact that I have no influence?
Perhaps the suffering of others around me?
Or the inability I seem to have to feel good about how I engage with myself and others?

And if it’s this perceived inability, what am I avoiding by focusing on the lack, the inability itself?
I’m hurting because I’m feeling unable…
But.
I’ve chosen to frame a photo and idolize it instead of allowing it be an outdated version of myself.
That’s me yesterday, in a previous moment.

Which it is. Although the new version of me, no one has yet to see, not even myself.

What makes me feel unable? The past.
I would always be unable, because they believed it to be true. Why did I give them power over me?

The Big Three:

Guilt. I’m at fault for my life. Shouldn’t that be enough to frame, to remember, to motivate?
Blame. Everything was outside of my control. Pointing my finger while feeling the weight of the mirror. A paradoxical prison.
Shame. I don’t want others seeing my wounds. Hiding because vulnerability is scary. I’d rather remain small and alone.

So instead of disappearing for a season, what would it be like for the “unable” version of me to die. To be removed from the frame, burned, forever transmuted into a new element?

If I grieve the loss of my worst version, do I get to move on? Am I allowed to? Do I become my best self? Or should I allow the heaviness of The Big Three to rule my life forever?

**Noticing my body contract**

How will I ever address all of this guilt, shame, and blame?

The same way I’ve always moved through emotions. Recognize, surrender, and watch what this moment is introducing.

I don’t control the release. I watch it happen.
I surrender to God because the way doesn’t make sense to my mind.
It can’t.

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Mainstream society focuses on the ability to solve problems from the orientation of the problem itself. Inherently there are no issues with solving problems, but when it comes to identifying problems within faith, they technically don’t exist. By falling into faith, we are identifying the solution to the problem as alignment with God, and His understanding that it’s all included within the auspice of agape, unconditional love. Our responsibility becomes one of remembering of His perspective, allowing the movement of Spirit to provide us with an internal process of reconciliation.

Within current existing support systems such as welfare, we see people utilizing many services. These individuals have first-hand experience of what it’s like to have the assistance of governmental services, yet these support services are all crumbling. And we have lacked positive discourse surrounding how we all navigate to what comes next.

There is another system that can prove reliable. It may require some unlearning and backtracking to remember, but it also comes inherent for quite a few of those who have been disenfranchised by systems like welfare. This is the creative, intuitive, faith based system of trust. It provides the opportunity for giving, receiving, and finding balance between the two so no one is excluded.

Let’s start out where society seems to be currently, by identifying intellectual intelligence. We’ll then introduce the idea for an internal faith-based system of reliance by integrating intellectual & emotional intelligence, and providing space for God through spiritual intelligence.

Intellectual Intelligence

The internal logical system is one most of us are familiar with, commonly referred to as intellectual intelligence or IQ. There exists a problem, and we need a solution to overcome it. This solution is found by focusing on the problem and attempting to solve it. Oftentimes this orientation can prove limiting, simply because the parameters for a solution are the beginning and end of the problem. It’s close to impossible for a solution to be creative enough to expand beyond cognitive understanding of the problem when we’re logically working towards a solution.

It’s also very possible that any solution from an intellectual, logical perspective can prove to be a band-aid fix rather than truly revolutionary. By viewing the government as a system needing fixed, we are logically assessing a system that is failing, and attempting to “fix symptoms”. Maybe we are doing this without the necessary zoom-out to appreciate and comprehend the expansiveness humanity has the potential to actualize. Is it possible for our human family to have aspirations falling outside of what a government-based system can allow for? Are there opportunities for human nature to grow beyond what we cognitively know as possible because we cannot imagine a system without hierarchical control? Or maybe we have fear around this transition and what life may look like on the other side?

Internal Systems - Intelligence beyond Intellect

Welcome to the creative approach to systems! This is where we can provide the opportunity for each individual to find solutions for themselves, and build systematic support from their own chosen grassroots approach. If our current systems continue in the direction of complete destruction, how is it that each individual and their subsequent community would choose to build out systems of support for themselves? Imagine values as the basis for construction, which can differ from community to community to support the vast diversity of humans living here in the United States.

If we are inspiring individuals to trust their own internal system of faith, intuition, and creativity, our job is to empower them to understand how they can listen and receive this guidance. As Christians, our internal relationship with God holds the wisdom necessary for knowing what’s possible for our future through calibration to the stillness and silence through which God speaks. Individuals currently on welfare and other assistive services have this internal calibration, too, and may not be aware of the intricate way it works and how to cultivate space to listen but lack the understanding that it’s possible to rely on God as a reliable trauma-informed therapist.

Orienting to this inner space where silence speaks requires an exploration of all inner processes. This includes discovering thoughts and the ways we think, emotions and our feelings, and the movement of the Holy Spirit. Ultimately finding a balance in approach, where recognition of thought, corresponding feelings and emotions, and surrendering to an understanding beyond our cognition are necessary.

Sadly, this internal listening has been stripped from most of the systems in place within society; education, employment, family life, etc. Most of us have our own limitations surrounding emotional intelligence and spiritual intelligence, because the inherent functioning of society was founded on logical processes. Schools teach problem solving from identification of the problem, and have shifted away from critical thinking and creative arts based perspectives. By including emotional and spiritual intelligence, we are empowering each individual to choose what is correct for themselves while maintaining integrity for those affected by their choices.

Emotional Intelligence

Emotional intelligence, also known as EQ, is the ability we all have to learn how our internal emotional states work. When we are limited in EQ, we are unaware of how our emotions control our reality, and we live on auto-pilot. Increasing emotional intelligence provides the opportunity to break free from these shackles of limitations. Emotions are able to be felt internally without impacting those around us, and can even increase the quality of our life because we see these emotional energies as an enhancing factor within our day-to-day experience.

When our emotional intelligence (EQ) and intellectual intelligence (IQ) are working together, we may be able to perceive a relationship between our thoughts and emotions. Thoughts influence emotions, and emotions influence our thinking. The last intelligence is important to address, especially because it allows for the bias of IQ and EQ to be removed from the equation. This bias unequivocally influences our life until we are able to integrate a spiritual intelligence, the presence of God.

Spiritual Intelligence

Spiritual intelligence, or SQ, is the ability to allow a presence beyond cognition to hold space for our thinking and emotionality while making a decision. Because presence is all-encompassing, the choices naturally remain respectful to ethics and other individuals during decision making (Griffiths, 2025).

When integrating spiritual intelligence, we are providing the opportunity for individual decisions to be made from a cognition that includes, but is greater than intellectual and emotional processes. Finding this “God perspective” takes practice to cultivate, but can be monumentally impactful in navigating life. This is the creative, intuitive process, guiding each individual to a fulfilling life for themselves while providing integrity & empowerment for anyone they come into contact with.

Practice - Alignment of the Internal System

Thinking naturally happens, as do emotions. Cultivating space for God’s presence to hold the container for it all to exist takes practice. This practice requires us to explore the ways in which we think and feel, so we can more deeply surrender the thoughts and emotions where we remain in control of our life. Through active participation and exploration of these internal experiences, we have the ability to nurture the relationship with God by humbly engaging with our own journey. God wants to guide us through a process of unwinding these limiting psychological and emotional states, but we have to be willing to become fully aware of how they’ve been impacting our relationship with Him.

If Heaven on Earth is not only a possibility, but God’s will, how is it that we are choosing to align our will with His?

If you’d like to learn more about the work we do within the Church surrounding Spiritual Mental Health, please check out the Return Home website:

Following God as the Church

References:

Griffiths, R. (2025, August 21). The definition of spiritual intelligence. Spiritual Intelligence. https://sqi.co/definition-of-spiritual-intelligence/)

As most holidays originate from good intentions, we can identify two things about Labor Day: First, that a day dedicated to labor movements can assist in acknowledgment of past efforts to create beneficial changes in regards to workers rights. Secondly, we use these data points from a historical context to assist in creating a guiding narrative of how to orient others to the current direction in which labor movements are requiring continued revolution.

With all due respect to the full historical nature of the United States’ history of labor, I’ll provide a rapid reflection of the first two dates on the timeline I’ve referenced as a source of orientation for this post.

• 1607 - The colony at Jamestown identified a labor shortage, not having enough hands to provide necessary support. (VCU, 2015)

• 1619 - The slave trade achieved a goal of importing the first slaves into the colonies.

This is surprisingly enough historical context of the establishment of labor pre-constitution for us to be completely oriented in how to proceed with initiating a new labor movement. If you’re interested in learning more about the history of labor movements in the United States, check out the Labor History Timeline 1607 - 1999, from Virginia Commonwealth University’s Social Welfare History Project.

By defining colonization, we can fairly assess the cultural and moral guiding principles surrounding the establishment of the original 13 colonies and any causal influence in the signing of the Constitution. Colonization is the subjugation of a people or area, especially as an extension of state power (“Colonization,” 2025).

Fast-forward in time to just before the beginning of the Civil War, with the collection of slavery-related information in the census of 1860. Areas with the highest concentration of slavery during that time continue to be severely impacted by limited upward mobility when compared to areas with less slavery (Berger, 2018).

Impacts of slavery on current arrest rates show significant direct and indirect associations (Ward, 2022). Directly, for every 10% increase in slave concentration, an area has a 1% increase in disparity for Black arrests for violent offenses. This is closely mirrored in drug related arrests. Indirectly, as the White-Black unemployment ratio decreased, the Black-White arrest disparity increased. White economic superiority was perceived as a threat when equitable job opportunities were created, and subsequently punitive practices were implemented as a form of social control.

When President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, he effectively changed the legal status for slaves from enslaved to free. Actively fighting in the civil war during this time, there was reason for both sides to find a suitable compromise. Congress worked to create an amendment that would satisfy values on both sides of the battlefield to officially end the war.

Thirteenth Amendment of the Constitution of the United States

Section 1

Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.

Section 2

Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation (U.S. Const. Amend. XIII.)

The Thirteenth Amendment of the Constitution was ratified by the states and certified on December 18, 1865. Slavery immediately became enforceable as punishment for crime. This effectively satisfied the Union’s desire to end the war and provided Confederates a legal framework to enforce involuntary servitude. Not only was it possible for previously enslaved individuals to be arrested for a crime and readmitted into slavery, it also allowed for anyone to enter into slavery regardless of race or country of origin. Introduction of this amendment made slavery enforceable for anyone convicted of a crime.

Looking forward to newfound freedom when being released from jails and prisons can be exciting, but most discover life after incarceration to be less than ideal. To maintain a home and family life, financial stability is required, necessitating employment to pay for rent or a mortgage. Current best hiring practices severely limit any individual with a criminal background from acquiring employment in most occupations, providing an obstacle to receiving pay ranges comparable to pre-incarceration.

Hiring practices haven’t always been as discriminatory as they currently are. Prior to the turn of the 20th century, employers took an applicant’s word in good faith for the hiring process (History of Background Checks, 2020). This shifted in 1908, when an employer was found liable for allowing an employee to remain employed after they were observed continually engaging in reckless behavior. The recklessness didn’t end until a coworker was killed during a prank. Negligent hiring law was instated, mandating employer responsibility for their employee’s behavior on the job.

Negligent hiring law expanded in the subsequent few decades to include hiring practices and identifying risks before employment. Employers were being held liable for any illegal conduct within the workspace. If an employee is hired and acts unlawfully, it is identified as employer negligence if the company doesn’t try to uncover an applicant’s background pre-employment. If an employer does discover a criminal background, they only consider the applicant 40% of the time compared to 90% likelihood of consideration for an individual receiving welfare (J. Holzer et al., 2003).

The translation of negligent hiring into Latin is respondeat superior, meaning “let the master answer” (Fay & Patterson, 2017). Suffice to say, the master-slave reference points to passive enforcement practices, transferring liability from an individual’s decisions to an employer’s judgement during the hiring process. This allows the opportunity for employer to perform legally standardized background checks to offset the cost of their liability if they hire someone with a criminal background who commits a crime at work.

Within two worlds, 1) Reentry from justice involvement, and 2) Restorative Justice, we identify how to approach true equality for individuals and their potential for success in society. Putting into practice frameworks that contradict societal conventions can prove challenging, but the literature backs it up. In the limited number of states actively addressing discriminatory negligent hiring practices, the data is clear. Increasing employment by 5-9% for individuals previously justice involved decreases criminal involvement and recidivism by 10% (Pyle, 2023).

It is here we continue the fight for liberation from systems of oppression. By identifying voice and aligning vision, our goals as individuals and organizations can coincide with that of previously justice involved folks as humans rather than the identification placed on them by an event that occurred on the worst day of their lives. We can then also offer restorative opportunities for mind and body integration for individuals and communities to allow society to flourish with a framework of humanitarianism rather than flounder under punishment.

It’s time for a labor movement focused on decreasing stigmatization and unjust practices within hiring. Why are background checks not only legal, but expected and mandated by employers? What has allowed for this type of treatment and penalization to be practiced, even when an individual has completed their judge-mandated time served? Are we complacent with people being judged by an incident for the remainder of their lives? And when is it that We The People stand up for those who need Justice for the injustices they’re experiencing post-incarceration? It’s about time we end mass slavery in the United States. If we’re not identifying this as perpetuated by employer best practices, we are doing a disservice to those who need our help the most.

References

Berger, T. (2018). Places of Persistence: Slavery and the geography of intergenerational mobility in the United States. Demography, 55(4), 1547–1565. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13524-018-0693-4

Colonization. (2025). In Merriam-Webster Dictionary. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/colonization.

Fay, J. J., & Patterson, D. (2017). Preemployment screening. In Elsevier eBooks (pp. 275–300). https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-12-809278-1.00014-1

History of background checks. (2020, April 24). Peopletrail. Retrieved September 12, 2025, from https://peopletrail.com/history-of-background-checks/

Holzer, H. J., Raphael, S., & Stoll, M. A. (2003). Employment Barriers Facing Ex-Offenders. In Urban Institute Reentry Roundtable. New York University Law School. Retrieved September 12, 2025, from https://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/59416/410855-Employment-Barriers-Facing-Ex-Offenders.PDF

Labor History Timeline: 1607 – 1999. (2015, October 28). Social Welfare History Project. https://socialwelfare.library.vcu.edu/organizations/labor/labor-history-timeline-1607-1999/

Pyle, Benjamin D., Negligent Hiring: Recidivism and Employment with a Criminal Record (2023). Available at: https://scholarship.law.bu.edu/faculty_scholarship/3633

U.S. Const. Amend. XIII.

Ward, M. (2022). The legacy of slavery and contemporary racial disparities in arrest rates. Sociology of Race and Ethnicity, 8(4), 534–552. https://doi.org/10.1177/23326492221082066

The difficulty with labels is that the associated appraisals are qualifying factors either promoting or demoting every experience. Once a label has been seen as good or bad, we immediately have a natural inclination to seek the good and avoid the bad. Or the opposite, seeking the bad and avoiding the good – the nervous system has reappraised “bad” to provide positive feedback and “good” resulting in negative feedback. We are then seeking the positive or negative interpretation our nervous system is calibrated to.

By noticing ourselves seeking and avoiding certain experiences in reality, we see that our beliefs seem to align with the feedback from those experiences. This is known as confirmation bias, a psychological term noting that it’s natural for us to see new circumstances as a confirmation of our previous experiences.

Imagine you take the same route to work or school everyday for years. You no longer have to think about the direction, traffic, or even speed limit since you basically don’t even have to remember you’re driving. The thought “there will always be stop-and-go traffic at this exit since people don’t know how to zipper merge successfully” probably doesn’t even happen anymore after years of practicing the same route.

The same is true when we categorize our experiences of stimuli as good or bad over and over again. We no longer remember why it is that we always get a latte from that one shop instead of trying a new coffee house. It’s lost to us that experiencing different scenarios can provide a challenge and area for growth. We see change as bad, and a simple detour could inconvenience the entire day if we don’t follow the script for how we can get to the greener grass on the other side of the fence.

When we are running the belief program that there is only good or bad in life, we are actively engaging with pursuing that which is “better” and avoiding “worse” experiences. There is then a natural inclination to see good and bad as a spectrum, where there is always better to pursue and worse to avoid. With respect to all things being nuanced, as we receive a promotion at the company, we move away from the position that paid us less, meaning we are now in a position that is “better”. Now it’s our responsibility to avoid being demoted, since it’s “worse”. Oh, and there’s also the possibility now of the next promotion, again another step towards “better”.

At what point does the avoidance of negative experiences and pursuing of positive experiences end? Looking at time as a construct to explore, in this precise moment we all have the ability to choose to engage in seeking pleasant sensations or avoiding unpleasant ones. The act of seeking is pursuing that which we deem worth experiencing, and avoidance is the process of actively seeking experiences outside of those we have appraised as unworthy.

This task of appraisal isn’t necessarily one we are conscious of engaging with; remember that the nervous system decides what type of feedback we receive. Often we can be conditioned to believe appraisals are correct or just based on the influence of people we surround ourselves with. Family and friends, church or organizational involvement, schools or any other established group tend to attract those with similar belief structures. Within settings where beliefs are shared, judgements of good and bad can quickly transform into a culturally prescribed notion that has the facade of “keeping us safe”. Safety then becomes a breeding ground for dangerous rhetoric.

Seeing conversations that “should be avoided” is an excuse to not "inconvenience our shared truths” rather than opening up to humanity being a mutual experience. The inconvenient truth here is realizing that we are all human. We’ve gotten lost in the weeds trying to find the grassy field, not realizing that our responsibility is to remember that our weedy field is more than enough. To task ourselves with remembering our own humanity and how clearing the field of our hearts and minds first can provide space for a common, collective vision.

Vision is the willingness to fuel a revolution based in love and compassion instead of fear and hatred. Revolution is the evolution of the re-invigoration of spirit in the minds and bodies of each individual, capable of recalling for themselves their own inherent system of stability and worthiness. Worthy of receiving, of giving, of life, of love. Love can be forgiving to pave the way for Life to be for giving. Can we provide space for Love to infiltrate our Life through self-forgiveness so there’s a natural receiving and desire to give to others?

If we aren’t actively engaging in a process of giving and receiving that inspires tears of humility, then our lives are controlled by the recurring judgements of good and bad. If we cannot see each individual we come into contact with during our day with the compassion we desire, then we’re still trying to find a greener pasture. Even thinking there is an experience that is better than the one we’re in is an ill fated attempt to project ourselves into someone else’s field. The judgement of their livestock only causes internal resentment at the past decisions we’ve made to get to our current location.

The good news is that forgiveness isn’t as far away as we’d like to imagine. It’s in this moment, not the next. The simple reminder that you’re able to let go of, or surrender the judgement of the judgement. Yes, judgement of the judgement. The path out is through, not around. We cannot successfully find ourselves in another field and expect it to be different than the one we just left. Our new position in the company has the same context for “worse” and “better” as the last. The good and bad we recognize is only the starting point for noticing how we each truly feel judgement in the body.

The body. The projection of the mind. The uncomfortable mass of skin, fascia, organs, and surrounding space. We’re supposed to feel judgement there? Right, I did say it was inconvenient. The inconvenience is that we each hold judgement for others in our own body. Our bodies are each mirrors of what we witness in the world. Am I seeing and/or avoiding ugliness in the world? Could this possibly mean I’m running away from embracing the wholeness of my own self by thinking I can run away from less pleasant experiences?

What would happen if we moved through the discomfort in the body, the feelings of judgement harbored from years of feeding this narrative of good and bad? Could it possibly lead to a life that isn’t dictated by this controlling narrative? Is this a path leading towards personal liberation and an understanding that I’m the human I’ve been running from? After all, I am the human I saw, avoiding myself in the process.

These components have successfully built the lowest class within our society. “The Derelicts”. The Derelicts rely on these components of the system. The Derelicts are the ones whom we avoid making eye contact with, we attempt to house them in separate communities so we don’t have to see them at the grocery store, coffee shop, or neighborhood park.

The Derelicts are the ones who are spending every second of every day trying to stay alive by finding food to fill their upset stomachs. They’re attempting to scrounge up the change to ride the public bus to the local library to retreat from the heat or cold. And multiple times a day, they’re forced to use the bathroom in secluded, yet public, locations due to businesses having toilets behind lock and key. The Derelicts have only one true responsibility in this world, and it’s to survive - to stay alive.

The Derelicts aren’t given the same chance to make it in this society. These systems are the only chance they believe they have. The welfare system and other involved components portray the message, “We are here to help”, but at the end of the day they’re only here to provide The Derelicts with reliance on unsustainable practices.

Social Sustainability is “a process for creating sustainable, successful places that promote wellbeing, by understanding what people need from the places they live and work. Social sustainability combines design of the physical realm with design of the social world – infrastructure to support social and cultural life, social amenities, systems for citizen engagement and space for people and places to evolve (Woodcraft et al., 2012, p.16)”.

The components of welfare are unsustainable because they aren’t promoting wellbeing, rather they’re forcing individuals into fear based reliance. Relying on a system due to fear of loss, even though The Derelicts are already at the bottom of the social ladder. What do they have to lose other than their lives?

How is it that our society has led us to believe that this system of depravity is the means to an end? We can go to our 9-5 job, take care of our family, and vacation when we can. We turn our back on The Derelicts, the non-contributing members of society, by labeling it as “Giving Back” with tax write-offs and volunteering through organizations who pocket more than they give to those who actually need it. The Derelicts won’t even come close to seeing the amount of money we receive in the 9-5 world, because we have created a sealed ecosystem requiring social status as a metric of entry.

How many years of being reliant on this abhorrent system does it take an individual to find success? Are we defining success as a job requiring one to live paycheck to paycheck? Do The Derelicts have the ability to grow beyond “making ends meet”?

Is there any sustainable success accessible through welfare systems, or is it easier to break apart? To commit a crime to find a continuous bed and 3 meals a day? To become addicted to the quick fix of sex, drugs, and alcohol? To enter into psychosis and require psychiatric hospitalization, medication management, and regular doctors visits - only to find a meager sense of psychological and emotional stability?

And when they’ve entered into this territory, what component of the welfare system allows The Derelicts to leave this way of life? Steps such as Section 8 with a waiting list of a decade or two long aren’t true solutions to the housing crisis. A lack of beds in psychiatric facilities provides the opposite of an opportunity for stability and true understanding of mental and emotional health. Risk management programs and interventions, such as needle exchange programs seem great, but where are the systems truly supporting an individual in their long-term recovery? Not just their current problem, but offering solutions to each step toward societal success - Anything required to allow a single individual to find sustainability in their life to promote wellness and a life filled with purpose and a sense of satisfaction.

Is it the Social Worker’s responsibility to guide The Derelicts through each step of this journey? Is this the continued reliance on unsustainable practices? What happens when the Social Worker gets burnt out, quits due to low pay, or retires after years of being dedicated to the system?

The Derelicts have few they trust. They’ve chosen isolation rather than trusting others with their many crises needing to be solved. They have identified the crisis as their own life - And who can blame them, we’ve identified them as the crisis as well. The identity they claim is the same we place upon them, The Derelicts. They have nothing to resort to, other than asking for your help and receiving what it is you feel compelled to share. And if that ends up being nothing, they’re the ones who have to feel the shame, grit their teeth, and ask the next person.

Is it the peer support system and subsequent groups where The Derelicts need to place their trust? The peers are sure to not need an integration in society beyond their own like, boosting each other up, but not beyond the highest level of success the peer leader has achieved. The lack of vertical integration within this system is disguised as equity, providing a framework for individuals within recovery to achieve only a pre-determined amount of success. Once again, social sustainability is lacking for an individual’s continued success.

So when do we see this system as disparity-ridden, and find out for ourselves and the rest of society what true support looks like? Is it when the research shows the best way forward for The Derelicts? Do we need to dedicate years of research to methods before we allow The Derelicts their unalienable rights of Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness? What’s the breaking point for the system to be proved defunct? How high do the rates of substance use disorder, suicide, and violent crimes need to be for those of us in society to not only pay attention, but change our behaviors to be truly inclusive?

What will it take for each of us to see The Derelicts as humans, no more and no less than we are, but true equals? Surely they are capable of healing their hearts, minds and bodies, of being kind, and most importantly, containing the inherent ability to be contributing members of society. Do we need a Day of Justice, where we evaluate wrongdoings to ensure they don’t outweigh the goodness in their hearts? Or are we going to be the adults in the narrative and prepare our hearts to accept the wrongs we’ve done by judging them as less-than; of supporting the welfare systems that exist to maintain this classist dynamic, further perpetuating their hamster wheel of suffering?

What does it look like for us to shift our focus to a socially sustainable framework of support for The Derelicts? Do we need to invite them into our homes and allow them to share our kitchens, or sleep in a bed next to our children? Or can we become a little less extremist by devoting ourselves to becoming aware of our biases in each moment? By acknowledging the needs of our fellow humans and doing what we can, while respecting our own integrity?

So let’s build systems set aside from what currently exists, that way we aren’t all pointing fingers and continuing this blame bandwagon. What does the new system look like? Does it involve those of us who are losing our sources of income to become innovative to form new, non-competitive forms of community sustainability? Can we communicate with The Derelicts, the individuals we’ve judged as less than in the past, to find out what their true needs are? Would this possibly allow us to step into a place of personal empowerment to build something that provides the same empowerment back to them?

Are these steps scary because it’s us acknowledging how the systems providing this facade of support seem to be crumbling around us? The criminal justice system, big pharma, psychiatric facilities, unhoused support structures, etc. all keep growing. Do we just need to keep funneling our attention and funding to these entities, or can we finally see that the solution is seeing one another as human rather than a problem to solve.

Who else is going to save them? Is someone going to come from a cloud and give The Derelicts the money, housing, food, clothing, bathrooms, job opportunities, and purpose they need to live their life away from the systems they’ve become reliant on? The system they can’t escape has a grasp, and if we think they can walk away, we are the ones being fooled. It is ultimately our responsibility to offer hope and opportunities to learn, grow, discover, and succeed.

How have we been supporting those closest to us without a reciprocal emotion such as gratitude and appreciation? Could these efforts be better served by giving to The Derelicts, the ones who never stop asking for our help? Are we able to shift our focus to seeing what positive impact we can have on others who are less fortunate, and also notice what changes within our own psyche as we engage in self-less ways?

Self-Empowerment should always be the goal. Each of us has the capacity to become engaged in our own action-oriented sustainability. And if these efforts become socially sustainable for those of us who need it most, we begin to build a world in which we love for the right reasons, because we’re all human.

With love,

The Derelict

References

Woodcraft, S., Bacon, N., Caistor-Arenda, L., & Hacket, T. (2012). Design for social sustainability. London, England: Social Life.

Commonalities arise when we see healing as a path we all traverse, albeit separately. We go to our therapist to better understand how our mind works and to express emotions. Spending time in meditation introduces awareness of how the mind and thoughts are interacting with the body and emotions. And adding one additional element, we see the effects any external environment has on this internal landscape.

When we move through the healing process, the energy that is stored in the body (think The Body Keeps the Score) begins to shift to a different state. Eventually, if we do enough of the deep work, we have the ability to use the freed up energy in the body as a point of creation.

Physics 101: Quick Refresher on Types of Energy

In the field of physics, there are two categories of energy that relate to the process of healing and creation. Kinetic energy and potential energy.

Kinetic energy is energy that is being actively expressed, atoms and molecules, even physical objects that are in motion. This can be seen as light, heat, sound, and electrical energies. Kinetic energy is also expressed by any physical object as it moves through space.

When an object is not yet in expression, it’s called potential energy. This energy is stored, and has the “potential” of becoming kinetic. Types of potential energies include chemical, mechanical, nuclear, and gravitational. These forms of energy are immobile, yet have the ability to move and be utilizing this “stored energy”.

Potential energy is stored "in-position”. For example, if a ball was motionless on the floor, it has the potential to move, therefore contains potential energy. Since the motionless ball on the floor has potential energy, as soon as we kick it, that potential becomes kinetic and utilizes kinetic energy until it stops. When the ball stops moving, it is once again containing potential energy in the position it paused.

Stress in the Tissues, Noticing the Body’s Underlying Energetic Structure

Now that we’ve had a refresher course on middle school physics, lets tie it all together!

As we heal, we become aware of past events that have affected our life, and that even is stored in the body as a memory.

Kinetic Energy is an event moving through time.

Potential Energy is the portion of that event we were unable to completely process as the event happened, and was stored somewhere in the body

When we are actively working with a somatic (body focused) perspective of healing, the body keeps track of our memories and experiences of life. These emotions and energies can become stored in the tissues when we aren’t able to process an experience as it occurs.

The emotions and energies becoming stagnant in the body can be felt as sensations we can place descriptors on, such as contraction, density, pain, discomfort, pressure, etc. Since these feelings originate from past events, we can see the events were kinetic energy as they were happening, and then turned into potential energy when it paused its movement process within the body. Potential energy, or energy “in-position” can be found in very specific places in your body. Have you noticed you usually carry tension in your shoulders, or diaphragm?

This potential energy can be felt in the body, and introduces related thoughts and emotions. If one kinetic energy event (past event) transitioned into potential energy (memory/trauma/conditioning), that feeling in the body can translate to the rest of the senses!

Thoughts, emotions, and feelings are all telling the same story, but with different sensations. See if you can recall the last time you listened to a song that moved you, and identify what your thoughts, emotions, and feelings were, based on that individual track. Examples included for guidance:

• Thought examples - “Oh my gosh, this song is SUCH a BOP”, or “Wow, I didn’t realize I was still sad about the breakup”.

• Emotion examples - Elation, sadness, rage, wonder, etc.

• Feeling - The body may feel spacious, tense, erratic, calm, mellow, etc.

So now let’s apply this same translation of sensations for another exploration! Choose one of the following for a brief deep dive:

• Thought

• Emotion

• Feeling

Beginning with the one you chose, see if you can identify a specific unpleasant experience in your life that corresponds to your selection. We want an experience that is not extreme to start with, as our goal is to learn to swim before jumping in the deep end of the pool. My choice would be noticing that I disliked the lack of creamer in my coffee this morning.

Notice what arises within the realm of your choice, and after 30 seconds of witnessing one specific sensation (thought/feeling/emotion), pay attention to how that sense translates to one of the other three! Our goal is to see how we can follow the experience between thinking, feeling, and emoting, in whatever order they arise. The following graphic may help you trace your experience:

My experience of tracing the sip of black coffee:

• Thought - I noticed that my memory (thought) of the black coffee was “why did I do that again”. I followed the thought into “I should know better, I’m such an idiot”. And again to “You don’t even deserve coffee, you should stick with water”.

• Feeling - I felt contraction and tension in the body, specifically the diaphragm and stomach area.

• Emotion - frustration and anger.

If potential energy in the body is a point in which there is less movement, or stagnation, how is the mind perceiving this? Are you able to notice how the experience is stored in the tissues of the body? And do you have any awareness of any levels of judgement for the feelings that may be unpleasant in nature?

As we are tracing our thoughts, feelings, and emotions through the body, we will naturally observe ourselves in judgement for experiences of thought, emotion, and feeling. Recognizing judgement is a very important, and often overlooked step in the process. Finding ourselves thinking an experience is either pleasant or unpleasant introduces the baseline framework for compounded judgement. And if we are able to notice when a sensation is more than simply pleasant or unpleasant, we know judgement is occurring! Awareness here is our best friend, as we don’t need to add an extra layer of judgement for judging our experience. Simply becoming aware of judgement and providing space for it to exist will allow it to gradually become less impactful.

The density or tension in the body is where there have been memories stored in the tissues. One of the reasons it would benefit us to practice tracing these thoughts to feelings to emotions is to increase the awareness of our experiences in each moment. Over time, awareness leads to the gradual shift of the energetic state from potential to kinetic.

Creativity, and Tracing the Energy of Insight though the Body

Switching over to the other side of the healing process, dedicated to creativity; kinetic energy!

With kinetic energy, we are observing areas of our life that don’t feel stagnant. The experience is more based in flow, ease, and inspiration.

This is an opportunity to pick your area of life where things just seem to flow, and explore what kinetic energy in your mind and body system is like. Can you trace your ideas and thoughts to the feelings that introduce emotions of satisfaction or even liberation?

The process to healing involves both of these energetic pathways. We are noticing the areas of life where kinetic energy is naturally arising, and actively choosing to emphasize these experiences.

When the transition from potential to kinetic happens, we are invited to find a creative outlet for the shift. For myself, I fuel my business by dedicating my own personal healing (potential to kinetic) to the insight necessary for new ideas!

To learn more about Return Home and Spiritual Mental Health Education, check out our website!

References

JUST ENERGY. (2020, November 20). Kinetic energy and potential energy explained. Just Energy. Retrieved May 7, 2025, from https://justenergy.com/blog/potential-and-kinetic-energy-explained/

The Physics Classroom. (n.d.). Potential energy. Retrieved May 8, 2025, from https://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/energy/lesson-1/potential-energy

U.S. Energy Information Administration - EIA - Independent Statistics and Analysis. (n.d.). https://www.eia.gov/kids/what-is-energy/forms-of-energy.php

Note: You get to define spirituality for yourself! I attempt to remain as neutral as possible, even if only in the intention with which I share any specifics. All words are interchangeable for your best interpretation and internalized meaning.

Mental health, generally speaking, looks at thoughts and the process of cognition. This process is naturally separate from the more emotional functioning process of the brain. Emotionality can be viewed as non-logical, and this process is dedicated to feeling things that can be described with thoughts and words, but is inherently an experience separate from thought, yet informed by thought (and vice versa). If we’re being honest, the integration of emotionality is as much a part of mental health as logic!

Emotions and Emotional Processing

The emotional process can be a challenging, yet rewarding journey through experiencing (rather than understanding) the energy coursing through the body in forms consisting of these less-logical movements. These can range from the feelings of anger and rage, sadness and depression, happiness and joy, guilt and shame, and many others.

It was challenging for me to tap into anger and rage, but it also opened up a whole world of grieving that was stuck in the past. For instance, growing up with the knowledge I was adopted, I failed for a long time at providing myself the space to properly grieve not being raised by my birth parents. As anger is a natural, non-linear step in the stages of grief (Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and Acceptance), the allowing of anger creates even more space for closure and something new to develop. To provide more context, the stages of grief are a natural process we go through when we experience the loss of anything in our lives. In this example of grieving the loss of my birth parents, I’m opening space for deeper connection with my adoptive family as well as the family I choose to create for myself.

Challenging Emotions – Guilt and Shame

Two other emotions that have deep ties to who we are as humans and are oftentimes missed in identifying mental health struggles are guilt and shame. Guilt is an internal representation of taking blame; and shame is defined by the Verywell Mind (Cuncic, 2023) as “a feeling of embarrassment or humiliation that arises from the perception of having done something dishonorable, immoral, or improper.” Shame is one of those tricky emotions that can also come from an unconscious lack of acceptance for oneself, which is where the “perception” piece of this definition comes into play. For example, the perception that one did something wrong, even if they didn’t.

I have been working with deep seated shame over the years, and as a gay man born and raised in the south, it’s been something I haven’t found much community to work through the wounds with. The shame of being gay remained hidden, and subsequently stuck around for most of my life. This internalization of embarrassment for a core component of my existence, my identity, has created internal turmoil. So-called symptoms of this shame include the inability to feel comfortable being openly myself in public settings which leads to avoiding flirting with men who I’m interested in, but may not be openly gay themselves. And more generally speaking, I had major difficulties in my connections with men regardless of orientation, attraction, etc.

This shame, in my experience, has compounded emotions mixed in such as the anger for not feeling I had the childhood I imagine would have allowed me to not carry the emotions, including deep sadness and grief of not having truly significant sexual or romantic intimate relationships with other men. — And an important side-note is that these emotions simply cannot be separated from the mental (thoughts) or spiritual connections I experienced, or lack thereof. — The mental space I found myself unable to escape due to the trauma of carrying shame included close-to obsessive tendencies to create stories about meeting someone with whom I could connect with in a meaningful way. Spiritually speaking, a connection with something larger than myself was hindered due to the mental and emotional experiences being caught in these never ending thought and emotion loops (keep scrolling for more on this).

Here’s a great graphic to use for understanding depth of emotions that may be presenting themselves in your experience:

^{(Willcox, 2024)}

How are Spiritual Health and Mental Health Connected?

In relation to mental health, spiritual health can be seen as the energetics that underlie all of reality. Energetics can be defined as the movements in the world that are beyond physical, but can include physical reality. This isn’t a religious statement, rather one specifically oriented to an individual’s experience of whatever is beyond physical existence. This can include what we feel, see, and hear beyond that which can be identified as a shared experience with others. My personal experience of non-physical feelings and visual elements usually present as pendulating, natural movements of back and forth. Sometimes this pendulation can occur like a grandfather clock, and others its slower resembeling the course of a wave crashing on shore and returning to the ocean.

Grounding Psychosis into Reality to Experiment with Spirituality

Now, there is some overlap in the experience of mental illness and what I’m touching on with the integration of spiritual health. The best way I’ve personally found to experiment and practice with spiritual health and healing from mental illness is medication as a way to stay grounded. Seeing medication as a useful tool to force our psychosis into a grounded reality provides the foundation we need to safely experiment with spiritual and energetic elements. Combining medication with a therapist and a solid support network to maintain stability can be essential to this process as well. From the state of being grounded, healthy and slow experimentation with the spiritual components of health can allow for a unrushed integration into a positive experience with a personal relationship to something greater than ourselves.

As far as my exploration and observation of energetics, there are levels of experience that can be seen similar to an onion. The outer level would be thoughts, making our life seemingly composed of mostly thoughts. Next would come emotions, underlying and controlling the thoughts. And below this is feelings, which can be experienced as sensations that are not directly correlated with an emotional experience at the same moment. Lastly, underlying these emotions is energy! This energetic reality is completely subjective, so it’s more about each individual discovering it for themselves. It’s truly the integration of something transpersonal – aka spiritual.

Mental Illness Prevention via Emotional and Spiritual Health

What does any of this have to do with mental illness prevention?

If we are observers of our experiences and truly have a grounded grasp on the felt sense (what we can feel in the body), thoughts in the mind, our emotions, and whatever energy we may be able to witness, we are practicing what is called mindfulness, or holding a present awareness of any given moment. This awareness is how we can begin to unpack whatever mental illness is within our own body-mind system. The feeling of emotions and energetics in and around the body is also different for everyone, and we might experience regret, for example, in a way that our loved ones do not. This differentiation creates fun similarities and differences to the healing process, and can also create great discourse for healing in groups.

Self-Applied Psychology as a Method to Understanding

I call this whole process a self-applied psychology journey. There are often times I pull Buddhism into the picture as a frame of reference due to its ease of translation as there is a direct parallel to the mind. Some even refer to the Buddha as the first Psychologist. He discovered how his mind worked by sitting in meditation, and then taught people from his insight. This self-applied psychology journey is one that we actively have the opportunity to engage in, and are given the choice in each moment.

The question I will end with is: If we all have mental health, we also have the ability to develop mental illness. And if true prevention is doing so before illness becomes a reality, how do you want to move forward with your journey in mental illness prevention?

To learn more about Return Home and Spiritual Mental Health Education, check out our website!

References:

Cuncic, A., MA. (2023, June 28). The psychology of shame. Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-shame-5115076

Willcox, Dr. (2024, September 25). The Feelings Wheel. BEAM. https://beam.community/feelings-wheel/

Within a public health framework there are three stages of prevention. Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary.

I’ll work backwards, starting with tertiary prevention, also known as tertiary care. Tertiary care is when an individual has been diagnosed with an illness and needs intensive care to sustain life as best as possible for as long as possible. This can be best seen with:

• Hospice care and individuals requiring attention in ways that specialists are employed to specifically treat.

• High-dose chemotherapy

• Organ transplants.

Tertiary care shows that an individual has surpassed any other level of prevention and needs action to prolong life beyond their individual choice.

Secondary prevention can be seen as preventing illness by implementing screening procedures and preventing recurrences of illness from those screenings. Examples include:

• Mammograms for breast cancer

• Testing for pre-diabetes, Sexually Transmitted Illnesses (STI) such as HIV, HPV, and herpes

• Screenings for the gamut of mental illness.

Secondary care has the best results when there are follow-up steps to prevent additional occurrences of illness after the screening and subsequent diagnosis. For HIV this includes taking antiretroviral therapy (ART) to make sure an individual’s viral load remains Undetectable, ensuring they cannot transmit HIV to another sexual partner. Secondary prevention for Pre-Diabetes would include a healthy diet to assist the body in maintaining a healthy A1C, further offsetting the impacts one may have from an actual diabetes diagnosis.

Primary prevention is the gold standard for preventing illness before any onset. This can include a healthy lifestyle such as exercise, stress management, and consuming the proper foods for one’s body. Primary prevention isn’t as easy as it sounds, especially since we live in a society promoting instant gratification, sugary foods and beverages, and a sedentary lifestyle.

Incorporating the Levels of Prevention for Mental Health

Within this relatively new framework of “mental illness prevention”, we are looking at the ability to utilize secondary prevention methods to offset an individual’s potential to experience the relapse of symptoms of their illness. Return Home focuses on assisting those in recovery from serious mental illness by incorporating education at the intersection of mental health, emotional health, and spiritual health. By integrating these three dimensions of wellness, it becomes easier to maintain stability through a harmonic effect. This offers individuals the ability to notice when one element is out of balance and providing that specific component the attention it deserves.

If primary prevention is to be used in the area of mental illness prevention, it can be integrated on all levels of the social ecological model.

Beginning with a larger picture, policies preventing homelessness, poverty, and adverse childhood events (ACEs) can have quite an impact on the occurrences of mental illness. There’s also the potential for societal beliefs – policy to influence the ways in which insurance works with individuals needing trauma informed therapy, or if they can receive this more intense level of therapy at all. Zooming in a bit, we see there is a space for communities to hold space for their members in a way that prevents mental illness. This could include:

• Trauma Informed Therapeutic practices offered at local clinics free of charge

• Primary and Secondary educational systems becoming aware of, and trained in recognizing when someone is experiencing an ACE and how to interrupt the cycle of trauma

• Increasing outreach for individuals who have experienced physical trauma to offer beneficial methods to offsetting the costs that come with the impacts to the body-mind connection, such as somatic therapy.

Interpersonal levels of prevention could include:

• Training in Mental Health First Aid to recognize when it’s time to step in and intervene with someone’s plan to die by suicide, or notice without doubt the symptoms of schizophrenia & bipolar disorder.

• Checking in on friends and loved ones who have changed their normal patterns of interaction.

• Paying attention to, and pursuing a loving conversation when there are perceived small shifts in an individual’s appearance, behaviors, or interactions with others. These can be indicative of larger issues, such as going through a grieving process.

Personal levels of prevention are completely up to each individual when focusing on one person at a time. There are many different paths to prevention, and it’s unique to each individual. Examples include:

• Meditation or another form of introspection to understand the mind and factors impacting mental wellness

• Exercise to reduce cortisol levels

• Eating healthy so one feels better when navigating everyday life

• And tapping into one’s own intuition to better trust their Higher Self or whatever one may relate to a power greater than lower-case “s” self.

Ultimately the field of mental illness prevention is one that is still being discovered, and you could be on the forefront by picking up a practice that can impact your life in ways those around you might be able to notice! It’s a personal choice to be an advocate of mental health, and we each choose to which level we’re willing to step up and meet the challenge. Advocacy is a gift that keeps on giving, as we continue to educate we also continue growing.

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If you’d like to learn more about Return Home, you can find our website here!

References

3 Stages of Prevention. (2024). [Website]. In PDHI . https://www.pdhi.com/workplace-wellness-programs/how-wellness-programs-support-the-3-stages-of-prevention/

L. Golden, T., & L. Wendel, M. (2020). The Social Ecological Model of Health [Journal]. In Frontiers. https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2020.00131/full