Have you ever wondered how nurturing a new hobby could be the key to unlocking better mental health? This week, Crystal and I are joined by the insightful Hamidah, a mental health nurse with an innovative 'hobby' program, to explore the healing power of leisure activities. Hamidah's practice intertwines therapeutic techniques with the joy of hobbies, offering a fresh approach to mental wellness that goes beyond traditional therapy. Our conversation delves into the gritty realities of mental health nursing, the resilience required in crisis situations, and how the intricate tapestry of our emotions requires both strength and compassion.
From the whimsical struggle with a hula hoop to the launch of a pioneering mental health-focused skill-sharing app, my personal narrative takes center stage as we discuss the intersections of creativity, learning, and mental health support. The app, which began as a quest for accessible skill acquisition, has burgeoned into a lifeline for those seeking affordable therapeutic hobbies. We examine how activities like writing and dance can supplement professional therapy, providing a sense of community and accountability that is vital for recovery and growth.
As we wrap up our dynamic exchange, we meander through the therapeutic benefits of hobby journaling sessions, where the act of creation is just as important as the creation itself. Along with a chuckle over aspirations of joining the "Real Housewives" cast, we reflect on the need for accessible mental health resources, highlighting the app's low-cost offerings and free workbooks. Our conversation is a candid blend of professional insight, personal stories, and the acknowledgment that sometimes, indulging in a guilty pleasure like reality TV can be just what the doctor ordered for a healthy mind.
https://gethobi.com/
Have you ever wondered how nurturing a new hobby could be the key to unlocking better mental health? This week, Crystal and I are joined by the insightful Hamidah, a mental health nurse with an innovative 'hobby' program, to explore the healing power of leisure activities. Hamidah's practice intertwines therapeutic techniques with the joy of hobbies, offering a fresh approach to mental wellness that goes beyond traditional therapy. Our conversation delves into the gritty realities of mental health nursing, the resilience required in crisis situations, and how the intricate tapestry of our emotions requires both strength and compassion.
From the whimsical struggle with a hula hoop to the launch of a pioneering mental health-focused skill-sharing app, my personal narrative takes center stage as we discuss the intersections of creativity, learning, and mental health support. The app, which began as a quest for accessible skill acquisition, has burgeoned into a lifeline for those seeking affordable therapeutic hobbies. We examine how activities like writing and dance can supplement professional therapy, providing a sense of community and accountability that is vital for recovery and growth.
As we wrap up our dynamic exchange, we meander through the therapeutic benefits of hobby journaling sessions, where the act of creation is just as important as the creation itself. Along with a chuckle over aspirations of joining the "Real Housewives" cast, we reflect on the need for accessible mental health resources, highlighting the app's low-cost offerings and free workbooks. Our conversation is a candid blend of professional insight, personal stories, and the acknowledgment that sometimes, indulging in a guilty pleasure like reality TV can be just what the doctor ordered for a healthy mind.
https://gethobi.com/
You don't have to be positive all the time. It's perfectly okay to feel sad, angry, annoyed, frustrated, scared and anxious. Having feelings doesn't make you a negative person. It doesn't even make you weak. It makes you human and we are here to talk through it all. We welcome you to these fucking feelings podcasts, A safe space for all who needs it. Grab a drink and take a seat. The session begins now.
Speaker 2:What is up guys? Welcome to these fucking feelings podcast. I am Micah. I got my girl Crystal over here in the studio with me taking up the co-host chair, because Rebecca is in California. She keeps leaving us and it's very, very horrible. Our guest for today is Hamida.
Speaker 3:Hamida.
Speaker 2:Hamida, sorry about that. Hamida Hamida, one thing we like to do is we ask our guests to introduce themselves, because no one can do it quite like you. So tell our audience a little bit about yourself.
Speaker 3:Just awesome. Thank you for having me. Yeah, my name is Hamida. For my profession, I've been a mental health nurse for the past four years. A nurse, five years total, yeah. So I've always been into psychology, so I went the mental health nurse route. What I'm working on is called hobby, and basically what it is it's. We show you how to make your hobbies of chemotherapy so like, let's say, for example, you're into art, you get introduced to an art therapist. If you're into dance, dance therapy, writing, journaling, stuff like that.
Speaker 2:Okay, yeah, and what made you come up with this idea? Well, number one, I guess what made you go into the mental health field? I guess that would be the first question.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I mean I've always been really into it, especially in high school. Like I took psychology as an elective and it was like wow, it's actually pretty interesting, and also like I wasn't. I guess every teenager goes through this phase. Whether or not we have in the best time in school, you know like we don't have like the best mental health of your life in high school. Nobody does, I mean some people do, but you know like it's not for everybody. So, yeah, that's where I got the little connection there. So when I was applying to colleges I was applying for both psychology and nursing. So mama was like you know what you should do nursing? Because what if you don't? You get then you don't like psyched after you go into four years just for psyched, just do nursing a very genuine thing. So that's how I got started into it.
Speaker 2:I always wanted to be a nurse, but I don't think I have patients with a. I don't think I would have patients with patients. Yeah, you can take your damn medicine.
Speaker 3:And honestly, for psych you have to have a lot of patients because sometimes it will test your patients a lot.
Speaker 2:And then you got to think about sorry, go ahead.
Speaker 5:Just wondering what does being a psych nurse look like Like? I mean, I know what a nurse looks like, but what does a day in that look like?
Speaker 3:Yeah, so I'm going to get, I guess you'd like a little rundown on how my average day goes. Right now I'm working the ED, so it's a little bit different than when you work like inpatient. So I mean, I mean you go into work and you have to write off the bat, have thick skin and not take things personally because you will get abused.
Speaker 3:If not physically, they're probably like, like I'm a verbal abuse. So you have to be ready for that because you're doing people who are at their worst of the worst, like, for example, people come in like schizophrenic episodes. They believe like they put microphones in their body listening to their thoughts and stuff like that. Or someone wants to kill themselves, or like forget, like someone who's homeless. A lot of different people come in at their worst. So don't take your person. Someone calls like a grievous or like I don't know, like a lot of things. People come up with some very, very creative and soul-sick. You'll be shocked. But I'm not coming with your compassion to you know, don't just come in with a thick skin, because you have to have like you have to have care for who you're taking care of. You know like you have to understand, or try to understand where they're coming from and try to like solve their need in that moment, like make them feel safe, and you know stuff like that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it sounds like you just gave like instructions for life, like have thick skin but also be passionate, you know, for yourself and for others. Yeah, yeah, and it's crazy because I didn't realize how dangerous nursing was Like from the outside world, like nurses get attacked all the time or, you know, victimized and those kind of things. My sister is a nurse and she's been doing it. She did it in the military, now she does it as a civilian and she's actually like the rape trauma specialist in her area so she goes around. So anytime someone has like a rape, she lives in North Carolina, so it's like really small. So they have like one rape specialist for all of that area and it's her. She has to come in and do the rape kits.
Speaker 2:And to me I'd be like the hardest thing for me with is every time you have to get the consent. You know like I think that'll be hard. Yeah, you know like I'm about to do that now. Is this okay? I'm about to do this now it's okay and it's like I get why you want to do it, but it still seems a little difficult. Have you ever been in a situation like that? We had to deal with somebody who was just assaulted.
Speaker 3:Luckily I haven't, because I've been working mostly inpatient, but where working the EDD actually is a sexual assault nurse and she deals with that. Yeah, and yeah, and sometimes it can be tough too. I mean, you always offer it. You know, like we got a patient one time who was obviously assaulted, you know, because the signs were there but she refused the kit, you know. So like I mean, what can you do?
Speaker 4:Yeah, so you're like the first responder, like they go to you and then you seek out for therapy for them when they get out on the outside.
Speaker 3:So, like I said, I'm a. I'm a specialized in psych. So even if I work in the ED, I sometimes I'm the first responder if they're like strictly a psych patient. But how we works right now is a patient comes in and they go like into a triage. So that's really like they're sent to, like we see how critical they are and what they come in for. So usually if it's a sexual assault then they get sent to a medical nurse and then they get assigned an essay nurse.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I guess sometimes you don't realize that a person is at a psychotic break into the middle of like you know, like you're not really pregnant.
Speaker 3:Yes, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:Well, the reason I broke that up? Because I have a friend of mine sister, who actually just went into a mental institution because she was saying she was pregnant and they kept doing pregnancy tests and they're like, no, you're not pregnant. When it comes to find out she actually had like some kind of tumor that was not only messing with her like body, but also her brain her brain to make a thing. She was pregnant. It was really really weird. The sad part is she ended up dying a few days ago because the hospital sent her home without giving her any real treatment. You know they were like, hey, you need to go follow up with your primary care and, yes, she passed away a couple of days ago. But I think that's why what you do is probably so important, so that things like that don't happen.
Speaker 5:Yeah, yeah so do a lot of.
Speaker 3:Sorry for the last. It's on stuff.
Speaker 5:Has there been instances where some of those patients that you may see come across your path there and becoming like people you see through your hobby oh, you go through your to get you know, seek out, help, assistance with your hobby aspect of things.
Speaker 3:Um, like sorry, which is I? It's good, um, I would say, because it would be on my part. I feel like it would be a conflict of interest, like where I'm working, and then be like you know what. Come to my app. And also usually who come in the ED are, like, in dire need of very professional hope, and what my app focuses on is like someone who is needing support. You know, like so, for example, my app is not going to replace a professional like traditional psychotherapist, like it's to be used with that person.
Speaker 2:Got you. It's like an enhancement tool, yeah, yeah, so now it's so. I know the website is get hobbycom right. Is it the same for the app? Is it just get hobby?
Speaker 3:So the app itself is just called hobby hobby and it's just for the audience.
Speaker 2:Yeah, now what? How did the idea come up for this app?
Speaker 3:Yeah, so that's just a funny story. So actually not really I don't know whatever. So I was trying to learn how to hula hoop. That's how it all started, okay, and I go to Google and I Google how to hula hoop. So I watch a couple of videos and like, oh, you know what, this is fun. Then I keep getting stuck in different like tricks and stuff and I was like, damn, I wish someone could teach me how to do this in real life, because this sucks.
Speaker 3:So I Google, went to Google and Google like hula hooping schools near me and I found a circus school in Somerville and they were charging $80 an hour. I was like, wow, that's kind of expensive to you know, like it's kind of like up up there. So I was like I knew like someone in Boston or like around me knew how to hula hoop and even if they're like a professional hula hooping teacher, they can teach me the basics at least. Now. So that's where the idea came from, like kind of like an Uber, but for skills, you know, like someone who knows something like can teach you just the basics.
Speaker 3:Yeah, but I worked on that idea for like two years to go from like a stage to like kind of product and he was out on the market and we kept getting a lot of mental health focused people during the app, like mental health groups. So I was like you know what, I will go down that avenue. So I get a couple of coaches on the app and then from there I was advised by a lot of people like, hey, you need to niche down, you froze on us. Huh, oh, am I back?
Speaker 2:No.
Speaker 3:Can you hear me now? Oh, yes, you know, yeah, okay, awesome, sorry about that, I was so worried.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so the last part we got was the final stage. How you went from you know, in two years it went to the final stage and then you cut out, so I don't know how much talking you did, girl.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and it's okay, I can. Yeah, I don't mind doing it, yeah. So yeah, I was talking about how we're getting mostly mental health focused. Probably was because of a mental health nurse, I focus more mental health topics in the app anyway, so you go out of that crowd. But yeah, long story short, about three and a half months ago I was like you know what? I'm going to go full swinging to mental health, like I'll just niche it. You'd be like a mental health thing, because I, as a founder, I had a mental crash where I was literally so stressed and so tired Because I wasn't passionate about skill sharing, right. So I was like you know what I'm just going to do? Mental health, that's what I like to do. So even if it doesn't work out, I literally enjoy. So that's why I went like full swing, like make your hobbies therapy.
Speaker 2:Yeah Well, I'm over here tripping over the fact that there is a hula hoop school.
Speaker 3:It wasn't like a hula hoop school, it was like a circus school.
Speaker 2:Right but yeah but now I'm over here thinking about how many things I want to learn to do that I probably could learn to do because it's out there for me I want a hula hoop.
Speaker 3:Now it's all in the hip.
Speaker 2:It's all in the hip, hey maybe help me to help, I'm sure. So, I think, to me. I think the thing that's pretty cool about your app is that it uses everyday things that people do anyway and it teaches them how to use it for different coping skills. Basically, right.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, yes, but right now we're like not very big, it's very small and I don't have like a lot of hobbies to offer. So, like right now, I focus more on like like writing, reading, writing, music and art and dance.
Speaker 2:Now, are you looking for people to come and like like professionals to come and teach and offer classes or do those things on your app, like, are you looking for people?
Speaker 1:Or is it a different?
Speaker 2:you are Okay, cool. So if you're watching and she's looking for people, let's get some professionals to. Yeah, I mean, I think it's really dope. It's sometimes you never realize how just dealing with the simplest, smallest thing can kind of change who you are, period, you know. So it's like you know, because you know, you think about, you go to therapy and it is a traditional sense therapy and we sit here for 45 minutes and I say what I got to say and then you kick me out because my 45 minutes is over but I'm still not done saying what I got to say. So you mean, I just got to go home with these feelings. This is where I feel like your app, your app, they've come in handy, you know, because it's like I still need to release a little more.
Speaker 2:Let me go ahead and get on hobby. Write this book about this professional who kicked me out after 45 minutes.
Speaker 3:You know. I just want you to say that because when I used to host like peer sessions, like I met a couple people who are like you know what I literally pay a therapist. I know I took that back. I have to be careful what I say here but her specific therapist, anyways, she was saying that I pay all this money and he wasn't like helping her very much. But she feels that she's a type of person who and this was during like a group journaling session, so where we journal together and I prepared to move and stuff like that, this works for me like where I actually process things and like plan out my week with somebody and a couple people, like where, like, you have like accountability as well, you know like a support group and someone to like keep you accountable. Oh, you said that this would keep me and go out and go for a walk. What happened, you know. I mean not like a police officer, like what happened. You know you have to do this, but like someone to like I know, just be there.
Speaker 2:Right, right, and that's all a support system. It's finding a support system which and really a place to feel safe. You know that's where we all come down to. You know, if I feel safe, then I can release myself. Yeah, I feel like traditional therapy is getting a bad name because all everybody wants to do is prescribe medicine, and where that does work for some people, it's like how can you tell me off a 15 minute conversation that I got to take 13 different drugs?
Speaker 4:Hmm, you know it's like you came in and you tell me for five minutes.
Speaker 2:And now you know I'm on Zoloft and plan a pen and well with my therapy.
Speaker 5:I don't get my drugs from my therapist Actually, she's not one to do that but the one who does do the prescribing of the drugs is actually the doctor. My regular care doctor.
Speaker 2:Oh, I mean care.
Speaker 5:Yeah, so sometimes it's, the therapist is just willing to listen and it doesn't want to push the drugs. So I don't know.
Speaker 2:So that's why it's important to keep looking because there's somebody out there for you. There's someone out there to help you with your mental health issues. You know, kind of like you know minding your experience was too different. You know it was like I had therapists. I had a therapist tell me one time that everything I ever went through in life was my fault. I was 16. And I was paralyzed from the neck now because I had Gilean Bray syndrome. I don't know if you ever heard of it and he can't. And they, you know they hospital sends around probably you know someone in your profession. You know it's like someone in the hospital and they just feel like okay, he's a 16 year old, he's paralyzed from the neck down. Listen to therapy and therapist and go see him. And the first thing the dude told me was that you're here because you put yourself here. I'm like bro, you're lucky, I'm paralyzed.
Speaker 3:Oh my gosh.
Speaker 2:I guess it's about to be a whole different conversation, you know. So let's talk about some of the things that we can do on hobby. So I know you said journaling, so how does, how does that work?
Speaker 3:Wait, I'm sorry, just picture question one more time.
Speaker 2:So the journaling like I guess I was trying to go into the different like classes you're offering right now, courses that you're offering right now on hobby journaling is one of them. So is it everybody's on the same topic? Or you write about what you write about, or how does how do you construct that?
Speaker 3:Oh yeah, it goes according to whoever is hosting the session. Okay, so usually does prompts put up? Well, anyway, first you enter the class, you introduce yourself. If you're comfortable, you can put your camera on or off, believe it to you. And then from there the group facilitator will share the prompts that they're going to go through for the session and then from there you go through each prompt individually, like for the couple of minutes, first for you to write out the answers, that you reflect them right on the paper or the journal, and then after that, if you don't finish, you can space, finish it later. The effort that you share as a group. You can be as detailed as you want to be, or like not share it all, and then get feedback and effective, I guess you get reflection from the other people in the group and the group facilitator.
Speaker 2:Right now the facilitator. Is it someone in the group or is it someone like outside the group?
Speaker 3:It's a good question. I mean, I guess they're in the group as well, like, for example, with, like the art therapy. An art therapist usually runs those groups, so they will like give you prompts to like an expressive type of emotional regulation and it making sense like type stuff. So she gives you a prompt like all right, today we're going to draw, how we're going to be drawing, how we feel and stuff like that, like sadness and like happiness, you know, like just bring it out in a form.
Speaker 2:So a lot of the prompts that people receive are mental health related.
Speaker 3:Yes.
Speaker 5:And if you are an artist of any kind, does she give you direction, like artistically, or you just draw, however you can draw.
Speaker 3:Yeah, you would just draw. However you can draw Like and the art therapist that I work with right now, they usually just require like a pen and paper. So you can come in like full swing with a paint and everything or just come in with a pen and paper.
Speaker 2:It's like it's not about the skill, it's about he's doing it. Yeah, like I'm saying like hobbies, you know, like things that do make you happy.
Speaker 5:Yeah, that's kind of the question I was trying to come up with, but I'm so great at asking them.
Speaker 5:I do cross stitching myself. It's actually not cross stitching, from what I actually was told. It's more of like embroidering, which is a little bit more difficult than cross stitching, and that is like my hobby that I've come to discover. That has become a huge source of therapy for me and at first I didn't realize that it was, but it is very calming and peaceful and then you have that reward at the end. So I feel like with your hobby what not? You can learn to dance, and then there's that reward where you can paint that picture, and then there's that reward. So I feel like just having that simplicity of that tranquility of drawing or doing the cross stitching like I do, but then having that final product of whatever it is learning to hula hoop, right, right.
Speaker 5:You know the learning that skill is also a reward itself. So I love, I love that you've come up with this idea.
Speaker 2:Kind of going back to the hula hoop. And though, did you learn?
Speaker 3:I did, yeah, honestly like um. So here's what happened actually after I came up with all this um, this idea and all that. It actually diverted me completely from hula hooping. So I, I, I basically um, I'm stunted to where I was when I started working on this. Oh no, it's been two years so.
Speaker 2:Basically you can't hula hoop no more. Okay, so I guess the longest you ever kept the hula hoop up, I don't know I get like three tries and then it's all out.
Speaker 3:Mine's a second. Okay, so I actually I can hula hoop, but um, and I'm just stunted.
Speaker 2:It's okay, yeah, you'll get back to it, if that's what you want to do. Right, if that's what you want to do, you will get back to it. I actually write a lot too. That's a big form of therapy for me. Um, it's writing, but I think it sounds like a lot of. What you're offering is basically helping people get what they feel out yes, yeah, and using something they like to do it. So it's like you tricking them a little bit.
Speaker 3:Yeah. Yeah, that's literally exactly what, um, the whole point of like alternative forms of therapy is just to. When you can't see it, you know and it's like stuck inside you. Also, like the other thing, too, that people find very helpful, especially with journaling if you put your thoughts on paper, you know, and you keep like a a record, like, for example, um, like CBT type I'm summering cognitive behavior therapy type generally and you like, uh, write down the, I guess, like the anxiety, what happened before the anxiety, like what triggered it and stuff like that, and what happened after, like how did you cope with it? And if you keep doing that consistently, you start to see like a pattern, um, and then from there you can make solutions or you can even like come up with a plan before like, uh, you're in the same situation.
Speaker 4:All right, stop it before it gets to that point.
Speaker 2:So now on the app, is it like courses that are at a certain date time, or is it something that I can do whenever I just have the time to do it? Or yeah?
Speaker 3:I mean I get.
Speaker 2:Oh sorry, no, sorry, You're good.
Speaker 3:No, yeah, like I said, um, it's a specific times in the month. I'm trying to do at least each type weekly, Um. So, yeah, like every week there is one, and I'm trying to make it so that so in the app you can request classes with a mentor, so like, if you see a teacher that you like you know this person's pretty cool, you know, I'm going to like, I'm going to be there on one you can just message them and request a session with them. So there's a bit of making your own time and also, like, there's scheduled sessions, scheduled group sessions.
Speaker 2:Now let's talk about expanding your app. What are some of the areas you want to go into as you expand and as you grow?
Speaker 3:Yeah, um, right now, the main one I'm trying to work on is to make it a website available, like make all the nationalities in the app work on the website, because people don't like apps nowadays, I don't know because of like the memory on your phone. You know, the space on your phone but you don't want to like deal with that and the notifications Um it's like the government is tracking you and I was like they're doing that anyway, Dummy yeah.
Speaker 4:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Don't you have a social security number? That's how they track you for real. You know what I think will be really cool, though, on your app psychotherapy.
Speaker 1:So you should look into that.
Speaker 2:We actually had some really, really good psychotherapists on our podcast. I don't, I don't think they aired yet, but they're going to write by the time. People watch this. They have aired and that is something that would be kind of cool on a hobby app. I mean, I don't know how you would fit it in, but I know I want to try it. Yeah, I don't want to bark like a dog. I don't want that.
Speaker 5:I don't understand how that would work. As a hobby, though, no.
Speaker 2:I know, I guess it wouldn't work as a hobby.
Speaker 3:Um, so it's just fine that you say that, because when I was um doing the platform, like in the beginning, before I added the hobby aspect, it was like a mental wellness skill, right, and I guess, again like um, I think some of the mentors I've worked with for this, but someone asked me so, like, what type of people do you see coming to your app? And you have to have it, you have to know who comes into your app. And they found two different types of people. Um, one was someone who I guess like probably psychotherapy or not, and has a hobby that they enjoy and they want to explore that hobby as a form of like, uh, a coping skill.
Speaker 3:And then I had a type of person who had no idea about mental health and I just like, oh, you know what, this was kind of cool, so you check it out and then they like, just land there, um, so I try to make bring value to both of them. So someone who doesn't know how to cope in general, it's not by mental health, they uh topic or like a sub sector called mental wellness skills. So this is where I work with like a life coach, um, life coaches, for example, or therapists too, um, and they show people like general coping skills, like, for example, if you're having anxiety, just like the concept of like a pause and then take um deep breaths, um, just stuff like that. So like there there is a space for mental wellness skills that are not tied to a hobby.
Speaker 2:Okay, that's nice.
Speaker 5:Yeah, you know, I remember actually seeing that on your website now that you mentioned it and I left my notes at work and that was actually one of my questions Now that you reminded me was I wanted to know more about what that mental health you know option looked like. So I'm glad you brought that up.
Speaker 2:Yeah, Rebecca takes notes on every interview and then never uses them.
Speaker 5:I do.
Speaker 2:Never uses them, right?
Speaker 5:Well, I try not to, and then I look like an idiot because I try to pretend like I'm not reading them. I have a better long-term memory than I do a short-term memory, like if we had this interview three weeks from now, I wouldn't need my notes because I'd remember everything. Oh wow.
Speaker 3:It's interesting.
Speaker 5:It's weird.
Speaker 2:Yeah, she's weird. No, sorry, we don't use that word, okay.
Speaker 4:Yeah, we use weird. Yeah, it's weird In quirky.
Speaker 2:I feel like everybody is so Hamida, right, hamida, am I saying it wrong?
Speaker 3:You're saying it wrong, honestly, like it's okay, like if you have an American accent, hamida is going to come out as Hamida, so it's okay. Like, as long as you don't feel like I don't know, like Hamida or something like that, it's fine.
Speaker 5:I sounds like an E Hamida.
Speaker 2:Hamida Okay, that's a good way. Rebecca, okay, scooby-boo real quick. Hamida, I got it. Now I do everything phonetically.
Speaker 5:If somebody, like if I were to write your name down, I knew what it was beforehand, I would literally have written it down with an E so that I knew that it was like phonetically Me.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that frustrates you when people don't pronounce your name, right? No, it frustrates me because people always say I'm on Mika and I'm like it's Micah Mika. Can I speak to Mika? Like, nah, I'm going to live here, you know.
Speaker 5:But as long as.
Speaker 2:I feel like it's the most simple name.
Speaker 5:It's frustrating to me when they call me Rachel.
Speaker 2:I don't get how.
Speaker 5:Rachel comes out of Rebecca.
Speaker 2:Is it hard, yeah, just saying Look R and a, c in there. But, hamida, I wanted to ask how do you keep up with your own mental health, especially while trying to help everybody else with theirs?
Speaker 3:Yeah, that's a good question. Yeah, I sleep. That's like one of the things that's my cause.
Speaker 4:Sorry, so that's what I would be doing.
Speaker 3:Yeah. So, honestly, if I'm super stressed, the first thing I would be you know I always I need to go and like I like where's the space I can make? Literally just sleep. It's weird, but yeah it, yeah it helps, because sometimes life can be super stressful. I guess, like I work. I can't do that. So what do I do at work if I'm like super stressed? I take the breaths, I guess, and do a lot of like affirmations. You know I'm like you can do this, okay.
Speaker 2:So what's one of your favorite affirmations?
Speaker 3:Huh, oh, affirmations, what's one?
Speaker 2:of your favorite affirmations, yeah.
Speaker 3:Um, it's not really positive, you know, but I'll just say anyways. It's like I tell myself, like everything that can go wrong, both go wrong, but that's okay, Right. So, that's what I usually repeat to myself.
Speaker 2:I think it's real, real, it's just real.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:If you will be okay. Like it's not the end of the world, you know, but anything that can go wrong probably will go wrong. But I mean your job has to be stressful, of course.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah.
Speaker 4:Imagine a hundred of me.
Speaker 2:Right, oh my God, if you got her as a patient, you will know I'm a saint. Okay, down here himself and handpicked me.
Speaker 3:Will you be trying to escape like every five minutes, Crystal?
Speaker 5:She was.
Speaker 2:She was All day today. All I heard is my God, I can't even talk, like she's making me work.
Speaker 5:You know, we all work together at the same day job.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we have the same day job and the same night job together. We're hoping that the job gets rid of the day jobs. So I don't know who makes for rollups, but I feel like I promote his job enough Off of me or deal. Okay, what do you do for fun? For fun.
Speaker 3:I do art, like a lot of painting I like to watch. I'm not this is specifically very fun, but I like to watch a lot of like philosophy videos, like, like, like, like. So is them, I like Self awareness type stuff, videos. I think of my family, my friends, you know, go out, try out restaurants, new places to eat. Yeah, I watched a real housewives.
Speaker 2:I was a big Lano, yeah, and because you don't got to think when you watch there's fires to be one.
Speaker 5:Okay, I want to be the first male, he told us I should be able to be there, you should. You haven't brought that up in a while, so I'm not, I'm glad that you, you know, are sticking true to it. Yeah.
Speaker 4:I got to, I got to put it in there.
Speaker 2:You know, Andy, Andy Cohen might come by and, you know, see this episode and then want to work with you, but maybe he'll think about letting me be the first male. He told us no interesting.
Speaker 3:I'm trying to get the parts.
Speaker 2:Like what you think. No, you don't think, you know, you don't think. Okay, I mean, I mean, try it and see, I'm like you know what.
Speaker 3:First of all, for some reason, I guess, you.
Speaker 2:I don't know why they say housewives when they're all single. But Whoa that, another episode. Sorry, Actually, I actually have my family. I have a family.
Speaker 3:So sorry, actually I haven't watched real housewives of Atlanta. I like two housewives of anything really, but I will. How badly would you say? I watch you on a scale of 1 to 10?.
Speaker 2:Um, okay, I don't know. I think it's a 10 all the way. Right, like I love that show, but that's not my reason Number one. I feel like it's a place I don't have to think. I can watch it and not think. You know I don't have to put mental capacity to this. Like it is what it is. These girls gonna be, whatever they gonna be for this camera, and sometimes it's just cool right. But the second reason is cause it drives my mom crazy and I make her watch it.
Speaker 5:They love each other one second, then they hate each other. They're talking about each other behind each other. I mean, come on, I grew up a girl, I lived with them, so it's like high school. I don't need it anymore, Well how am I gonna say High?
Speaker 2:school was one of the worst periods.
Speaker 5:I really was almost in high school, the money they make for this bullshit. Sorry, it's one of my soapboxes. I'll get off it now. I'm good.
Speaker 2:All right, let's get back to hobby, and I think that when we get off this, you need to sign up and do some artwork or some painting.
Speaker 4:Okay, Is there an age group for your app? That's a good question.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, good question. So it's 18 and up. So I, yeah, so it was 18 and up for a while Cause, and that was because the sign up for for like the mentors, I guess, was more like an automatic thing and they verify it to like stripe and stuff. But now it's I hand pick the mentors that I work with and I do checks on them too. So I still haven't started working with teenagers, so like I'm still working with 18 plus people.
Speaker 4:but Are you planning on working with younger? Yeah, that's just because I have a daughter that's in high school and she's was actually in season 2.5. She does what a lot of bullion and she loves art.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, no, yeah for sure, like that's the plan, cause, like when I was in high school, I wish I had a thing to go to after school, you know, at least like twice a week, yeah. And people who were also my age group, not like adults, you know, like like people who are also teenagers, we like like a someone who knew what I was going through, you know like a professional to like guide all of us, you know like a safe space. That would have really really helped me a lot. So I'm hoping that in the future I'm able to do that like schools or like the parents and stuff, right.
Speaker 5:Maybe, the target is particular bullying session for teens who are bullied or whatever. Maybe I don't know.
Speaker 2:Yeah, just thought no it is, and then they young people like apps, so your apps will be yeah.
Speaker 4:My daughter has like her whole phone and that and she's trying to give you ideas.
Speaker 2:We over here trying to give you ideas to say over your bed, here I am.
Speaker 3:Bring them coming Honestly. They keep them coming. I see it and you know we looked at it, of course, you know like we would do.
Speaker 2:You know we have to look, we have to research you. We can't just have you up here. I don't know who you are, you know. You know I'm thinking about. You know like how easy it would be to just, you know, be bored and get on the app. And you know draw, even though I can't draw a stick man straight, but whatever.
Speaker 5:He's got a lot of talents, but drawing isn't one of them. Okay. Yeah, mike, I can't have everything I'm singing you can have it all.
Speaker 2:I wish I could be the male Whitney Houston, but I can't sing with a lick. Hmm, no, I'm in no sense. You got some singing courses. If now you get some singing courses, I will sing my trauma to you. You hear me?
Speaker 5:That's a good one. I would sign up for that one.
Speaker 2:I can't carry it to the bucket either, so yeah, and then we can make up songs about our mental health and sing about it Even if you can't sing, I think it would be amazing it would That'll be dope, okay. So when you get that, let me know, and I'm going to sign up.
Speaker 4:Okay, but no seriously.
Speaker 2:Okay, we're a bunch of nuts here, but anything, yeah, is there anything that you want to tell audience, anything that you want to tell them about yourself and the app that you think is important, that we didn't allow you to say, because we're crazy?
Speaker 3:I mean, I guess, like the check it out, like feel free to check it out, like oh, one thing I should say is it's very affordable. So that was my whole goal for this, like to make it like have an affordable introduction to mental health or an affordable supplement to traditional therapy, because each session is $5. So then you get like a yeah, so each session is $3. Or I just sort of recently Just less than a wopper.
Speaker 2:Exactly no, just it's like it finds that wopper and you know, go to Right and get to the health therapy.
Speaker 5:Yeah. And I thought there were free downloads, too, of one of the like you, one of the.
Speaker 4:Podcasts.
Speaker 5:Again, I wish I had my notes, because I thought when I was having downloaded something on their workbook or something.
Speaker 3:Yeah, so, yeah. So, like there's a question about work with who likes to put like free workbooks in the app, so maybe that's what you saw. The app itself is free. The website is free. You can just clear it, just sign up and get the groups for free. It's just the sessions themselves that are $5. And or, if you don't want to do that, people can do like $35 a month and you get eight sessions. So it's like, either way, try to make it as and nowadays the deductible is $80 for one session. Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:I think it's crazy that mental health care is so unaffordable. It's like you don't want us to do it and that's why your app is important, because it is affordable and it's dope, and we're going to promote the hell out of it because we think it's awesome.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, thanks yeah, and we kind of we always leave off with like a little silly question, right? So my little silly question is no, it's really not that silly, but guilty pleasures, guilty pleasures. What's a guilty pleasure? Something that you do like or watch, that you think, if people know they would like laugh at you, oh Jesus.
Speaker 3:You know, if I say it's, we're going to know. You know that's how it? Is yeah, I mean honestly, it came to mind Huh.
Speaker 5:I was just going to say mine was always the little house in the prairie. People laugh at me every time I say that. So there you go.
Speaker 2:Still laugh at her yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3:Oh, I will check that out. I haven't Watch that. It's like don't do it. It's so funny how you guys all don't like each other's shows and like no, don't watch this. I know we have nothing in common.
Speaker 2:We all love each other.
Speaker 5:It's crazy yeah.
Speaker 2:We argue, we argue, we fuss.
Speaker 4:Well, thank you, I don't.
Speaker 2:Anyway.
Speaker 4:But yeah, but you're trying to get out of your guilty pleasure.
Speaker 5:I know I swiped, I swiped.
Speaker 4:You're trying to get out of here? Yeah, but you cut on.
Speaker 3:But yeah, you must be something really bad.
Speaker 2:You like the spice girls? No, oh no.
Speaker 3:I'm just good though, like you know. But you know like my guilty pleasures are very embarrassing to say. But hey, thomas you like a? Drama. Yeah, I watch all the anime.
Speaker 2:All that reading girl I ain't got time to read and watch something. Yeah, so my cousin is it's really not that bad. I know a lot of people in the K drama. So my cousin, so my mom just had, like, heart surgery. So my cousin came to stay because I still, like, I, work a lot. So my cousin came to stay with her and the next thing I know now my mom is watching K dramas. They over there practice practicing Korean on each other. I'm like what the hell is going on.
Speaker 3:Yeah, have you tried it? Have you watched the K dramas? Because you might get hooked?
Speaker 2:And then you know, make sense, but I really do have the issue with reading and watching, so I only do one or the other. So if you know someone gets smacked, I'm going to miss water. Gets smacked because I didn't hear it yeah, you know and of course I meant read it, but reading is hearing, so Lord Micah, he laughs at himself.
Speaker 5:And it's funny watching him laugh at himself.
Speaker 2:You know what you need to put me on your app and let me do a course.
Speaker 3:Okay, actually, you know what's funny? I was searching for free sessions to put on the app because I had to try to research them together and I found this guy who does Okay, I'll get a few people. I didn't know that. I checked out his class, but even bright, he does laughing fit sessions. So his thing is that you go in the class and just laugh as a therapy that is hilarious.
Speaker 5:Micah would be great in there. What laugh is infectious and he can laugh at anything, especially yourself.
Speaker 2:I think everything is funny. Yeah you know, I had cancer and I laugh my way through cancer. You hear me, he did.
Speaker 5:Well, yeah, we've heard the story in Brenda's book.
Speaker 2:It was pretty bad cancer. But yeah, I made sure I found time to laugh.
Speaker 3:Yeah, you have to.
Speaker 2:Is either life is funny or God is funny. I haven't figured out which one yet. You know I'm still on my emotional journey and my healing journey. So you on your healing journey, where you at on that these, these, these days ago, like I'm getting personal now, all right, yeah, I mean it's so.
Speaker 3:recently I saw this video and they're talking about like healing journey, how it's not like you know, like up and down. It's like you go in a circle. So it might feel like you're going backwards, but really you're like it's like an onion layers Right, that's how it works and it makes sense, like I'm backwards or like forward, but really it's a different experience, like every time, because I've learned from the past experience. But where am I healing journey? It goes back up for, honestly, I don't know.
Speaker 2:It's like you're still a work in progress.
Speaker 3:Yeah, always a work in progress. You know till death, you're all works in progress.
Speaker 2:Definitely. And the reason I ask that question is for audience, so that we're up here and we're giving advice and we're telling people your mental health is important, it's important to work on yourself, it's important to learn, love yourself, it's important to do all those things. But it's also let them know that I can say that. But yesterday I thought I was fat and ugly. You know what I'm saying. Yeah, it's like you know, I believe it. I believe that I could be this positive person and I should be, and I believe in happiness in this lifetime. But kind of like you said, you know, it was like what can go wrong Will go wrong.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:I'm just going to come out till the end of that laughing, no, no. But so any last minute, last minute words, anything that you want to tell audience. I think your app sounds amazing. It's dope. I can't wait to see where it goes. We're going to check it out. I mean, $5 a session Incredible. If you need a session, we will pay for your first session. Okay, yeah, reach out to us, give you $5. And we're going to send you to the app. Now you got paid for the rest of them. We just going to get you hooked. Yeah, and last many views. Words for our audience.
Speaker 3:The last minute words that I would say is, I guess, because I'm going off the last question for, like the human journeys, is what I said to myself a lot is even if everything that will go wrong does go wrong, it's okay. And even if you're like even 100 the best way, it's okay. Just learn and move on, right and yeah, and that's going to be beautiful and scary at the same time. So, right, yeah, you can do it, sure.
Speaker 5:It's like one of those dogs that are ugly but cute at the same time yeah.
Speaker 2:That's what I find yeah.
Speaker 2:So really, really dope. I know we brought up a couple of topics sexual assault, we talked about suicide and rape and those kind of things. I just wanted to point out that if you're not safe and you're in an environment that you're not safe in, please make sure you get help. You can simply do so without 911. Suicide hotline is pound 988. I believe yes, okay, that's it All right, all right, cool and then. But there are many methods, as many people out there, as many people that are willing to help. So I just wanted to hit the hobby app, all right, and I mean, there's a method for you. Start to try. Let's get into that healing space. Let's get into that safe space. Let's get into that love space. I just wanted to say that real quick. We thank you so much for being on. We look forward to seeing where your app goes. We're going to get you back on, of course, because I need you to tell everybody how I did the singing and how I was the best one in your class when you start that.
Speaker 3:Okay.
Speaker 2:Rebecca, any last words for the people, Rebecca?
Speaker 5:I don't, but I too am looking forward to seeing where your app goes. I have a good feeling it's going to do well.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 5:Oh, thank you.
Speaker 2:And, of course, go ahead and close us out.
Speaker 4:Definitely keep in touch so we can see if, you know, it does go to a younger generation.
Speaker 2:Yeah, crystal, she's about to sign all her kids.
Speaker 4:All 18.
Speaker 2:Girl, as soon as you start working with your adolescence, just send her a text.
Speaker 5:Thanks so much for being on.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so we thank you guys. Thanks for watching. See you next week. Peace, love and blessings y'all.
Speaker 3:Thank you for having me. I really appreciate you.