My regular hours are in the USA Central Standard Time Zone and will be as follows: Monday & Wednesdays 10am-2pm and 11pm-1am; I will be on during other times (as available) between work, family, studies, and other volunteer work, but these will be my set hours. I will always turn my online status to "available" when I am on and available to listen. If I have an appointment with a member, my status will appear as "busy" and I will not be available to chat, but please leave me a message and I will get back with you as soon as I am available. 

To nominate a peer for the Peer Appreciation Program click here --->  Peer Appreciation Form

I believe in the E's: Empathy, Equality, Equity, Ethicality, & Empowerment!

My absolute favorite quote that empowers me:  "After a while I looked in the mirror and I realized..'Wow, after all those hurts, scars, and bruises...after all those trials, I really made it through. I did it. I survived that which was supposed to kill me!' So I straightened my crown...and walked away...like the boss that I am!!!"

The person who has influenced me the most: Fred Rogers (see more on him below my story)

I believe in the power of sharing your experiences, the triumphs, the lessons, and everything in between because your story has power! Demi Lovato says, "Every life has a purpose. Share your story and you may help someone find their own." I've always believed that your story is the key that can unlock someone else's prison. So never underestimate the power in sharing your story because you never know which of your pages holds the secrets that someone else is searching for! Share your story, because you never know who it may inspire! "You honor life by sharing your story. You honor life by recognizing those stories that mean something to you, and you carry on people's values, stories, and lives by sharing" is what Brendon Burchard tells us. When we share our story, those darkest parts of it, there is a strength and vulnerability that surfaces from deep within, so don't be ashamed of your story, it will inspire those it was meant to move.

My favorite quote about sharing your story is by Brene Brown: "One day you will tell your story of how you've overcome what you're going through now, and it will become part of someone else's survival guide!"

My story...so far:

I have always felt as if I didn’t quite belong here on this Earth; like the pieces of me didn’t quite fit into the puzzle that is life. As I struggled to find my place in a world where I felt limited and very different. I was always the weird girl, the odd one out, the sensitive one who wrote poetry or escaped into books to cope with the disembodied thoughts and overwhelming emotions that were randomly, but constantly overwhelming me…the girl who felt too much. 

I have battled with emotional overwhelm, sensitivities, and mental health issues (Depression, ADHD, Anxiety) my entire life, even mental health symptoms that weren’t my own as I am an intuitive/emotional/physical/mirror empath and can feel the emotions, intentions, sensations and sometimes even the thoughts of those I am energetically engaged, spiritually in tune, or sharing physical space with. I didn’t even realize these weren’t my feelings and emotions until I was in college where I first discovered the word empath and what it was, then the puzzle pieces of who I was and who I was meant to be began to fit. I learned to differentiate between my own emotions and the ones that were not my own, ground myself, listen wholeheartedly to my intuition, and set boundaries. I became a teacher and coach in a low-socioeconomic middle school teaching health education (a passion of mine my entire life) and coached track and field and volleyball, passing on my passion for sports to many talented athletes, and I was also ordained as a wedding officiant and minister. It felt like the puzzle pieces were fitting into my life puzzle easily, and, for a good while, I felt very fulfilled. I gave birth to my first two children and struggled with postpartum depression, but I felt I had renewed purpose in motherhood, and I gave myself to my two beautiful kids and in raising them. However, I had stopped listening to my intuition, setting boundaries, and practicing self-care, and as an empath, this is very dangerous. As soon as my self-esteem and boundaries were lowered, the toxicity in my marriage increased and my puzzle once again began to fall apart. 

Shortly after my second child was born, I began experiencing more migraine headaches than normal (for me) and had widespread pain throughout my body, in addition to, many other issues with my physical health. I did not know what was happening; things were scary and confusing, and eventually the pain left me bedridden for several months. I had no support from my spouse and was isolated from my family and friends. I was also struggling with self-esteem issues and feelings of unworthiness while trying to navigate a two-decades-long relationship with a narcissist who saw me as nothing but a burden. I saw my darkest days as the psychological abuse, physical pain, and mental illness grew into a perfect storm, but I had no one to turn to and felt like I had been abandoned in an ocean to drown, my puzzle shattered on the ocean floor. I believe my inner struggles had transferred into many of the physical symptoms I was struggling with because I was not taking care of what was going on internally. But they say "the night is darkest before dawn", and in that dark night I had a beautiful awakening in which I was given a vision that gave me clarity, wisdom, understanding, and hope, leading me to that beautiful sunrise of dawn. 

A greater power was watching over me throughout all those trials (lessons), and I was able to (escape with my life) and start over with my two kids! My awakening has led me down a challenging but beautiful path of recovery (and I’ll take PTSD over loss of self any day) and I have learned many amazing things along the way! Now, 7 years and two more kiddos later, the pieces of how it was truly meant to be have fallen into place, and I am an empowered empath mother living in each moment with my amazing kids, continuing in my recovery path and telling my story to at every turn in the hopes of empowering others to look for the answers within. I am a Certified Faith-Based Clinical Counselor and an Ordained Deacon Minister in the Christian Faith, a Spiritual Coach Mentor and Licensed Life Coach Minister running my own ministry helping individuals affected by psychological abuse, and I am just a practicum short of getting my intern license as a Chemical Dependency Counselor. I also recently earned my initial certifications as a Mental Health Peer Specialist and Recovery Support Peer Specialist in the State of Texas.

I just want to be in service of humankind! I want to instill hope in the hopeless, empower others to remember their worth and purpose, sit with those in the dark and lend my light until they can find their own, and spread light, love, and laughter. I’m the girl who felt too much and I’ve been called to serve humanity. 

Thank you for sticking with it! 

Love,

TheGirlWhoFeltTooMuch

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If I could sit down and have a conversation with one person, living or dead, it would be Fred Rogers, and the first thing I would do is hug him and tell him thank you for making me feel seen, validated, loved, important, and special, and for liking me JUST the way I am!!! When I say this man helped me make it through elementary and middle school, I mean it with all of my heart. He helped me to learn to love myself, no matter how different I was, because I was a weird kid and dealt with a LOT of bullying! But he liked me just the way I was and he made me feel important!

Some of his great quotes:

"All of us, at some time or other, need help. Whether we're giving or receiving help, each one of us has something valuable to bring to this world. That's one of the things that connects us as neighbors--in our own way, each one of us is a giver and a receiver."

"As human beings, our job in life is to help people realize how rare and valuable each one of us really is, that each of us has something that no one else has- or ever will have- something inside that is unique to all time. It's our job to encourage each other to discover that uniqueness and to provide ways of developing its expression."

"I don't think anyone can grow unless he's loved exactly as he is now, appreciated for what he is rather than what he will be."

"If you could only sense how important you are to the lives of those you meet; how important you can be to the people you may never even dream of. There is something of yourself that you leave at every meeting with another person."

"It's really easy to fall into the trap of believing that what we do is more important than what we are. Of course, it's the opposite that's true: What we are ultimately determines what we do!"

"Knowing that we can be loved exactly as we are gives us all the best opportunity for growing into the healthiest of people."

"Listening is where love begins: listening to ourselves and then to our neighbors."

"Love isn't a state of perfect caring. It is an active noun like struggle. To love someone is to strive to accept that person exactly the way he or she is, right here and now."

"Mutual caring relationships require kindness and patience, tolerance, optimism, joy in the other's achievements, confidence in oneself, and the ability to give without undue thought of gain."

"Often out of periods of losing come the greatest strivings toward a new winning streak."

"Often when you think you're at the end of something, you're at the beginning of something else."

"Real strength has to do with helping others."

"There's a world of difference between insisting on someone's doing something and establishing an atmosphere in which that person can grow into wanting to do it."

"Some days, doing 'the best we can' may still fall short of what we would like to be able to do, but life isn't perfect on any front-and doing what we can with what we have is the most we should expect of ourselves or anyone else."

"There is no normal life that is free of pain. It's the very wrestling with our problems that can be the impetus for our growth."

"We all have different gifts, so we all have different ways of saying to the world who we are."

"We speak with more than our mouths. We listen with more than our ears."

"You can think about things and make believe. All you have to do is think and they'll grow."

"You can't really love someone else unless you really love yourself first."

“When I say it's you I like, I'm talking about that part of you that knows that life is far more than anything you can ever see or hear or touch. That deep part of you that allows you to stand for those things without which humankind cannot survive. Love that conquers hate, peace that rises triumphant over war, and justice that proves more powerful than greed.” 

“Part of the problem with the word 'disabilities' is that it immediately suggests an inability to see or hear or walk or do other things that many of us take for granted. But what of people who can't feel? Or talk about their feelings? Or manage their feelings in constructive ways? What of people who aren't able to form close and strong relationships? And people who cannot find fulfillment in their lives, or those who have lost hope, who live in disappointment and bitterness and find in life no joy, no love? These, it seems to me, are the real disabilities.” 

Anything that’s human is mentionable, and anything that is mentionable can be more manageable. When we can talk about our feelings, they become less overwhelming, less upsetting, and less scary. The people we trust with that important talk can help us know that we are not alone.” 

“Mutual caring relationships require kindness and patience, tolerance, optimism, joy in the other's achievements, confidence in oneself, and the ability to give without undue thought of gain.” 

“I hope you're proud of yourself for the times you've said "yes," when all it meant was extra work for you and was seemingly helpful only to someone else.” 

“We need to help people to discover the true meaning of love. Love is generally confused with dependence. Those of us who have grown in true love know that we can love only in proportion to our capacity for independence.” 

“Who we are in the present includes who we were in the past.” 

“The child is in me still and sometimes not so still.” 

“Love and trust, in the space between what’s said and what’s heard in our life, can make all the difference in the world. ” 

“At the center of the Universe is a loving heart that continues to beat and that wants the best for every person. Anything that we can do to help foster the intellect and spirit and emotional growth of our fellow human beings, that is our job. Those of us who have this particular vision must continue against all odds. Life is for service.” 

"It's good to be curious about many things!"

“You are special. You’re special to me. There’s only one YOU in this wonderful world.”

"In a way, you’ve already won in this world because you’re the only one who can be you."

“When we love a person, we accept him or her exactly as is: the lovely with the unlovely, the strong with the fearful, the true mixed in with the façade, and of course, the only way we can do it is by accepting ourselves that way."

"I'm proud of you for the times you came in second, or third, or fourth, but what you did was the best you had ever done."

“It's the people we love the most who can make us feel the gladdest ... and the maddest! Love and anger are such a puzzle!”

"Who you are inside is what helps you make and do everything in life."

“Imagining something may be the first step in making it happen, but it takes the real time and real efforts of real people to learn things, make things, turn thoughts into deeds or visions into inventions."

“Everyone longs to be loved. And the greatest thing we can do is to let people know that they are loved and capable of loving.”

 “Taking care is one way to show your love. Another way is letting people take good care of you when you need it.”

"Try your best to make goodness attractive. That's one of the toughest assignments you'll ever be given."

"There's a part of all of us that longs to know that even what's weakest about us is still redeemable and can ultimately count for something good."

Some of my favorite random quotes:

"Never be a prisoner of your past. It was just a lesson, not a life sentence." -Unknown

"Make sure you are responding to the present moment and not reacting to something from your past that the current situation reminds you of." -Maryam Hasnaa

"Empaths are the ones who can see through the haze, sense the hidden meaning, and feel the truth under the surface." -Aletheia Luna

"Your existence brings a light into this world like no other, please keep that light shining." -TWLOHA

"She feels more than you. You have to understand that about her. She feels the edges and the details of things and when she gets close to someone, she feels their happiness and their pain." -JMStorm

"You will be too much for some people. Those aren't your people." -Unknown

"Lightworkers aren't here to avoid the darkness. They are here to transform the darkness through the illuminating light of love." -Unknown

"Sensitivity is an empath's navigation system" -Laura Rowe  

"When you have come to the end of all light that you know and are about to drop off into the darkness of the unknown, faith is knowing one of two things will happen: There will be something solid to Stanton or you will be taught to fly." -Patrick Overton  

"The dark does not destroy the light; it defines it. It's our fear of the dark that casts our joy into the shadows." -Brene Brown

"Being an empath is like seeing with the soul." -Dean Koontz

"I hope you live a life you're proud of. If you find you're not, I hope you have the strength to START OVER again." -F. Scott Fitzgerald

"When we tell our stories in a safe community, all those things that separate us go away." -Sarah Markley

"If you stopped what you were doing right now to notice & observe your thoughts & feelings, and the effect this has on your body and your existence in this moment, what would you feel?" -AHUAPsychology

"When we avoid difficult conversations, we trade short-term discomfort for long-term dysfunction." -Peter Bromberg

"Empaths feel distance, doubt, and change to a different degree. They sense the shift before you can verbalize it." -The Minds Journal

"The mature empath works from intuition and objectivity, serving as a channel and alchemist rather than a sponge." -LeAura Alderson

"Empaths have an inner compass set to Universal Law, where they know that all beings are equal and our real currency is love." -The Vital Spirit

"Nothing can dim the light that shines from within." -Maya Angelou

"I change my life when I change my thinking. I am light. I am Spirit. I am a wonderful, capable being. And it is time for me to acknowledge that I create my own reality with my thoughts. if I want to change my reality, then it is time for me to change my mind." -Louise Hay

"I know now that we never get over great losses; We absorb them and they carve us into different, often kinder, creatures." -Unknown

"You create your thoughts, your thoughts create your imaginations, and your intentions create your reality." -Wayne W. Dyer

"It's time to no longer hide your magic, becaue the world needs your medicine. Make this the moment you become committed to going deeper as a light worker, so that you can uncover your gifts and activate your fullest light potential." -Natalie Brite

"Maybe you have to know the darkness before you can appreciate the light." -Madeleine L\'Engle

"Empaths be like…..I don't just listen to your words. I listen to your use of words, your tone, your body movements, your eyes, your subtle facial expressions. I interpret your silences - I can hear everything you don't say in words." -Unknown

"Don't you know yet? It is your light that lights the world." -Rumi

"Authenticity is a collection of choices that we have to make every day. It's about the choice to show up and be real. The choice to be honest. The choice to let our true selves be seen." -Brene Brown

"First you wake up to your light, then you wake up to your shadow, and finally you wake up to yourself." -Unknown

"Empaths did not come into this world to be victims, we came to be warriors." -Anthon St. Maarten

"Go easy on yourself. You are clearing thousands of years of outdated conditioning." -Paulina Serfafina

"Love is the highest vibration and highest state of consciousness in the Universe. By tuning in to this vibrational frequency we are aligning ourselves with its very essence. Divine Source Energy." -Unknown

"Empaths be like....'You told me this. Well, either you told me or I heard you thinking either way, I already know.'" -Unknown

"I am an empath. I can hear what you are not saying." -YourLifeLifter

"Being humble means recognizing that we are not on earth to see how important we can become, but to see how much difference we can make in the lives of others." -Gordon B. Hinckley

"No degree of worldly darkness can extinguish the glow of a soul's inner light." -Wes Fesler

"We all have a story. The difference is: Do you use the story to empower yourself? Or do you use your story to keep yourself the victim? The question itself empowers you to change your life" -Sunny Dawn Johnston

"Energy is contagious. Either you affect people, or you infect people." -Unknown

"Stay committed to your decisions, but stay flexible in your approach." -Tom Robbins

"Watch your thoughts, for they become words. Watch your words, for they become actions. Watch your actions, for they become habits. Watch your habits, for they become your character. Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny."

"You are a sovereign being. You have the power to create anything."

"We are bound & connected by an invisible field of energy, & this energy field can affect everyone's behaviors, emotional states, & conscious & unconscious thoughts," -Joe Dispenza

"A Sovereign Being is one who has broken free of culture's conditioning. referring to a higher wisdom from within that serves the good of all. This is where your true Freedom awaits you. It requires your full presence. One can no longer play the victim in this space. Instead, one becomes a leader." -Awakening Leadership

"If you want to find the source of the universe, think in terms of energy, frequency, and vibration." -Nikola Tesla

"We are all broken, that's how the light gets in." -Ernest Hemingway

"Ego says, 'Once everything falls into place, I'll feel peace.' Spirit says, 'Find your peace, and then everything will fall into place.'"

"You have been assigned this mountain to show others it can be moved." -Unknown

"So often we try to make other people feel better by minimizing their pain, by telling them that it will get better (which it will) or that there are worse things in the world (which there are). But that's not what I actually needed. What I actually needed was for someone to tell me that it hurt because it mattered. I have found this very useful to think about over the years, and I find that it is a lot easier and more bearable to be sad when you aren't constantly berating yourself for being sad." -John Green

"Be confused, it's where you begin to learn new things. Be broken, it's where you begin to heal Be frustrated, it's where you start to make more authentic decisions. Be sad, because if we are brave enough we can hear our heart's wisdom through it. Be whatever you are right now. No more hiding. You are worthy, always." -S.C. Lourie

"Confidence isn't walking into a room with your nose in the air and thinking you are better than everyone else, it's walking into a room and never thinking about or needing to compare yourself to anyone in the first place."

"Other people are going to find healing in your wounds. Your greatest life messages and your most effective ministry will come out of your deepest hurts." -Rick Warren

"How you make others feel about themselves, says a lot about you!"

"When I get choked up, it's because I thought we had this great love yet you abused me. I'm not mourning you. I'm mourning that I couldn't rescue you out of the depths of your hell. I couldn't save you and my love couldn't turn you into a decent person. I thought I could. I thought it could." -Jane Doe

YOU ARE MAGIC, DON'T EVER APOLOGIZE FOR THE FIRE WITHIN YOU!!