It always starts with a seed, a thought that tumbles to the edge of the mind.

I love writing. I always have.  Ultimately, I have wanted to write a book for my children. They grow alongside us, on our journey. They do not have a lot of choice but to come along for the ride. As children, they will have a slightly different memory bank to mine. I, therefore, wanted to put context around their memories for them to fully see the journey we were on and just how much I love them.

The catalyst for speaking my truth now was reading a book called This is Not How it Ends by Jehan Casinader October of 2020. This book reinforced my own beliefs that we all have the power to change our own stories every day. A lot of us will have similarities; being able to function at a high level whilst at the bottom of the despair pit. Here it seems easier to stay and simply wait for a solution or for someone else to decide for us what the next step is…. except no one can truly decide what that next step is except us.

The phrase ‘the power of the mind’ is not just a bumper sticker. Our minds have the power to do anything we tell it to. Hundreds and thousands of signals are sent all over the place to keep our engine running. However, for some of us, at certain times or under certain pressures, the wires get crossed and our signals get mixed up. It will not necessarily present as the same cookie-cutter one-size fits all deal.

There may be some similarities, but it is not like you can walk down the street and just label those who have anxiety, depression, or post-traumatic stress syndrome (PTSD). If you have someone in your life that is stuck in a cycle of brain fog or a heavy suffocating cloud, keep checking in with them and holding space for them. Mental illness can be a lonely place. It can be where the fixation is going over all the possible ways a situation could go wrong, even if that situation has been and gone, or might never happen.

My journey is sadly not mine alone, there are many moving parts and by sharing I hope to bring education, comfort, and real change.

Lets start the difficult conversations around trauma.

Kia Maia means to be bold, capable, and strong. My vision for Kia Maia is to reach frontline staff, their families, friends, and organisations highlighting vicarious trauma, the risk factors, and healing.

On the flipside, Kia Maia will also be supporting education within the community around boundaries, resilience, consent, and sexual assault narrative change.

If this sounds like something that would benefit your school, work or group contact me to discuss the options of tailoring an event.