I’m so Unclear why Mental Health has its own Category. . .

I’m so unclear why Mental Health has its own category, when health is interconnected: Mind, Body and Spirit. If any of these components are ever out of alignment, the entire person will be out of alignment.

My name is Angel Kirby, I’m a Marriage and Family Therapist and much of life work has been centered in mental health. I’ve had great success at helping clients shift their perspectives using Cognitive Behavior Therapy. Well allow me to rephrase. I thought I had great success, until my personal life spun into a depression that was foreign to me. Suddenly the very approach I used for my clients, didn’t work for me.

The truth is I was out alignment. I had driven my mind to a place of obsession, my body had been on punishment for the last five years and my spirit it was there, somewhere. As I began to look at my life, and all the work that I needed to complete to become who I wanted to me, I knew that I needed my own attention. I decided to work on my body first. Let me be clear about working on my body. The last five years I ate whatever, whenever. I only drank with purpose meaning coffee, cocktails and maybe water (very little).

I was at a place of desperation, and I knew something had to change. I had the opportunity to compete in a fitness challenge, and it was drastic. One gallon of water per day, No Sugar, No Diary, and No oils. It was brutal. But desperate times called for desperate measures. For years I had led clients down the path of self-love, and now it is time for me to practice it. So, there I was committed to one workout a day, food restrictions, and a gallon of water.

The most notable difference was the commitment I made to myself, which made me more accountable than i’d ever been. Working on my body required constant effort. I could no longer freestyle my meals or my life. It required discipline which gave me energy, confidence, and a new found respect for myself. My commitment to working out introduced me to my power. Each workout was pushing my body further and further. The sweating and heart racing opened me up physically emotionally and mentally and before I knew it, I had broken past the barriers of depression. I noticed immediately after my workouts, a burst of energy, and an immediate alignment and began to crave that feeling. I’m well on my way with this thing.

I will not allow you to believe that it was easy because it wasn’t, but it is not impossible. My life has radically changed, simply because I chose to honor and care for my body. What will you choose?

Best,

Angel Kirby, MFT