Confidence is.. Self Care

Photo: Victoria Saperstein Photography

By: Roshanda M. Brown

Confidence Is Magazine: Let’ s jump right in. Where did you get the idea for your two companies?

Roshanda M. Brown: Yes, let’ s do it. According to the Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health, Black adults in the U.S. are more likely than white adults to report persistent symptoms of emotional distress, such as sadness, hopelessness and feeling like everything is an effort. Despite the needs, only one in three Black adults who need mental health care receive it.

I came up with the idea of my Shop last summer when I saw the Black community in need of more options when it came to brands and products that uplifted the spirit and unapologetically supported our community. A portion of the proceeds go to the non-profit, Black Girl Smiles, they are also dedicated to empowering the mental well-being of young black girls and women.

My Self-Care Alchemy program was developed by combining my passion for personal development, mental health, my community, and my natural ability to speak life into people. I aim to encourage clients to heal and take control of their narrative by being co-creators of their lives despite what they ’ ve been through. With the barriers to mental health support that I’ ve personally experienced, I wanted to offer an alternative experience to those who are committed to their mental well-being and healing generation trauma outside of traditional psycho-therapy.

CIM: What is Self-Care Alchemy and how does it relate to mental health care? RMB: That’ s a great question! SCA is a holistic approach to traditional Life Coaching with roots in various therapy, meditation, and counselling techniques. Being trained in multiple disciplines allows me to ask the right questions and gather proper information in order to help my clients identify, reveal, and face mental blocks with a customized solution plan.

I am grateful to be able to teach clients skills and habits that empower them while being respectful of the clients ’ feelings, background, and struggles. Having a complete sense of self boosts confidence and motivation and allows one to live mindfully as opposed to reacting from a space of trauma. Self-care relies on increased self-awareness, which can benefit people who are living with a mental illness and help others strengthen their mental resilience.

CIM: What led you to this line of work? RMB: Short Answer? God and my Grandmother ’ s Prayers. Long answer? I have been interested in personal development since I was a young girl. I frequently found myself speaking life into people, reminding them of the power they had and the ability to care for themselves. I often say I was born for this work because my birthday is April 29th, and the Bible verse Ephesians 4:29 reads: “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. ” I’ ve personally struggled with mental health and finding the right type of support with my struggles. Many aspects of my Self-Care Alchemy program, I’ ve personally implemented in my life and are directly attributed to my mindset shift and success in my life.

CIM: We are so glad you decided to take the leap into full-time entrepreneurship by helping people rebuild their lives and supporting our community with their self-esteem and mental health journeys. Would you share some of your self-care routine? RMB: Absolutely! I start my mornings with prayer, meditation, and bible study. This helps me to mentally prepare for the day by practicing discipline and stillness. There ’ s a saying that praying is talking to God and meditation is listening. I find it important to create that space for gratitude and guidance. It’ s inspired by my late maternal Grandmother ’ s routine of a prayer of Gratitude and prayer upon rising.

CIM: Thank you for sharing that with us. What can we expect from you as a columnist in Confidence Is? RMB: I’ m looking forward to sharing easily digestible insight on the hard topic of mental health and how we can incorporate self-care practices into our lives to support a healthy journey of healing. Let’ s transform the heavy lead of the soul into a bright and pure spirit of gold™ .