About Me
My name is Laura and I'm a a ghoulish gal who is a licensed mental health professional with a large passion for creative expression! I've been a licensed therapist for almost 10 years, have nearly 15 years of experience in face and body paint, and am a certified and licensed Liquid Motion 1.0 (floorwork) instructor.
As a makeup artist, I've created looks for numerous music videos, photoshoots, and have even had my work published in several magazines. As a floorwork dancer, I've competed in the Pole Sport Organization twice, bringing home a gold and bronze medal for two different categories. As a therapist, I currently work with adults who live with mental illness that attend an outpatient day program.
But my life wasn't always this way...
I spent over 10 years feeling like shit - spending too much time in other people's heads anticipating what I could do to make sure their needs were met, feeling anxious about connecting and sharing my hobbies and interests because I didn't think anyone cared, having difficulty standing up for myself with many people in my life when I didn't want to do something because it bothered me or I felt uncomfortable, and I was the queen of invalidating my feelings. I could talk myself out of why I shouldn't feel a certain way so easily and would feel crazy for even thinking it in the first place!
And when I wasn't talking myself out of feeling a certain way and people pleasing, I was busy turning down any attempts from others to help me. I veered into hyper-independence territory because I struggled to trust that people had my best interest at heart, and felt like a needy person for not being independent enough that I "required" help, and therefore spent a lot of time doing things on my own even though I want mentally maxed out and could have really used the help.
My anxiety and worry got the best of me. I would second guess things, overthink things, feel crazy, and often alone. I stayed in many relationships, and at jobs, for way too long and certainly justified toxic behavior. I felt committed to turning over every stone and exploring every possible solution and had a difficult time walking away from people, places, and things I invested a lot of time in. I felt like a bad partner, friend, and coworker at the thought of "letting things go" without giving it my all, to my own detriment. Wondering "what the fuck is wrong with me?" was a daily activity.
I was exhausted from not feeling brave or bold enough to express my interests, desires, aesthetic, hobbies, or what was going on in my mind. My mind was tried from overthinking all the time. My body was exhausted from spending way too much time and investing tons of energy into things that didn't make me happy. I hated how much fear got in my way and how much control I felt it had over my life. The fear of push back, of not being liked, of making someone mad, of having to defend myself, being rejected, the list goes on and on...
And after those long and dreadful 10 years I couldn't take it anymore! I was done feeling so disconnected from who I wanted to be, and from the pieces of me I wanted to share that were buried deep down. My stress was so high that I became sick and was having routine issues with my body that I am still recovering from today.
Waiting around for it to get better, or for me to feel brave enough or ready enough to actually take that first step is what kept me in it for so long. I eventually learned that nothing was going to change for me if I didn't start acknowledging what was going on and take steps toward getting this under control.
So I took the plunge of getting myself in order! I was horrified, but I decided to start saying yes to more up makeup projects, started pole dancing and doing floorwork, and began practicing what I had been preaching to my friends and family - to take action and ask for what you need. I needed to remind myself that I too am worthy of feeling good, cared about, and that I deserve to be surrounded by people who support me, not just the other way around. I was so worried about how it was going to go, and if it would even work, but feeling how I feel now made it all worth it!
Combining my love for overcoming people pleasing, overthinking, over giving, and "Ill do it myself" mentality and creativity I am here as your Confidence Coach and Creative Expression Expert to help you break patterns that are keeping you stuck!
I believe that awareness and tacking action are key - so let's get started managing your brain today!
