lifestyle

Getting Unstuck with Traci Edwards

Nathan Smith3 Comments

CW: This post discusses mental illness and suicide.

One thing I enjoy about this blog is the chance to learn about other people’s approaches to mental health and wellness. Today, I’m sharing an interview with Traci Edwards, who recently started her own digital project, Let’s Get Unstuck, to create an online community in support of others who feel “stuck.” 

In your own words, how would you describe Let’s Get Unstuck?

[Let’s Get Unstuck] is a space for people who feel stuck and are looking for ways to get their lives back on track.

It’s a safe place to be vulnerable, free from judgement, and supported. A place to share their stories without criticism or fear. To learn from others how to gain back their power from painful moments. How to turn their pain into purpose and power. A place for shared stories to help others work through struggles. I want to find the right voices to tell the right stories that can relate to as many people as possible and pull them back into a place of hope and get them believing in possibility again. 

What do you hope people will gain from your project, and from your perspective?

Image of woman in chair, smiling
Traci Edwards (image courtesy of Traci Edwards)

I want people to gain a true connection with me, but also with other people who share similar values of spreading goodness and compassion to others. I want people to gain a new safe space in a digital community where they can be vulnerable, honest and feel unjudged. A place to tell their truth and to know that they will receive love and kindness in return. My space is not for harsh critics and to tear others down. I also want people to gain perspective from others about topics they struggle with. Tips, tools, advice that helps them through a tough time. I know this exists in more established websites and I want to make this one of those sites, but always upholds integrity and authenticity. 

If anyone can gain anything from me, then I am doing my part. I had no expectations when I started writing; only that I want to help others through dark times and in return, I can learn something new that can perhaps help me. I want people to walk away with hope. To find their confidence and self-worth again. I want them to know it’s okay to be off track and stuck, that they aren’t alone. I also want them to feel supported which is why I share relatable stories and tools that can help them move toward getting unstuck. I only know what has worked for me, which is what I want to share with everyone.

When it comes to mental health, why is it so important for people to share their stories?

[People’s] stories can very well be the one thing that gives someone struggling another day to live. People really do not fully understand the power behind their words. I literally had a young 25 year old girl write to me the other day asking me for help. She had connected with something that I wrote. I had to explain to her that I was not a therapist but I would most certainly be there to listen. The sweet young woman was unsure about her life as she felt unloved, unwelcomed and unneeded. She was in a very dark place of depression and told me she isn’t sure if she wants to live anymore. The first thing I did was provide her with a group for people that could guide her to the right therapist b/c she asked me for help. Then I just listened to her and asked her simple questions. She was so taken back that I was willing to give her a stranger time to unload and to just be heard. We spoke for a while. She said “thank you that you care thank you”. This all stemmed b/c of a story I shared. That is the power of our writing. That in one moment it captured someone in a way that helped pull someone back from a ledge. That is why people should share their stories. To help others. Bottomline. 

Why does mental health matter to you?

I lost my best friend to suicide when I was 14 and he was 15. Far too young! Then another one a year later to suicide. Similar in age. Throughout my years, hearing friends lose friends or family members to it as well. Then you see well-known celebrities broken on the inside when appearing well put together on the outside taking their own lives as well. Then recently I lost an ex who I once loved very much to this as well. 

People feel broken, this world feels so small to them, that pain will not pass and they feel alone. This breaks my heart! I am a person who wants to help, it’s just part of who I have always been. When I see someone I know feeling empty inside I want to be that person to help pick them up. So, when suicide keeps coming up it makes me feel like I could have or should have done more. 

I personally have been battling with anxiety since my 20s and I have family members with major depression and I see them struggling a lot. It scares me to think that one day they won’t be here because the pain outweighs everything else.

People feel helpless and don’t feel safe to speak about what they are struggling with. There needs to be more compassion in our crazy world, more places to allow for vulnerability and non judgement. All of this is connected to mental health. I want to provide that space! More people should want to provide that type of space.

Is there anything else you’d like to add?

I started this journey to get unstuck. Now, I’m meeting so many inspiring people who are teaching me (indirectly) how to inspire others. I am not a coach or a therapist, but I do want to become a voice in the personal development and growth space. I feel my story could help others learn to never give up, that there is hope again and possibilities are all around us once we can shift our mindset and be more open. And even in the darkest of moments you will eventually find that light that takes you into your new chapter with grace and confidence. You will reestablish a relationship with your self-worth again and become that driving force that always existed within. 

You can follow Traci’s journey on her blog Let’s Get Unstuck, as well as her Substack.

Moving Forward with Our Mental Health

Nathan Smith10 Comments

What do you say when you feel like you have nothing to say? As the saying goes: “something is better than nothing.”

It’s no secret that lately, I’m not writing here as often as I used to (I’ve actually written about that specific feeling, funny enough). There are a million and one reasons as to why I haven’t been doing so. There is, of course, the *gestures vaguely everywhere* of it all. Living in the United States in 2025 is…well, I don’t actually know how to put it into words. At least, without going on a long rant. If I did, maybe I would have been able to write something here in the past few months! But I digress.

But it’s not just that (although truly, that would be enough). Every now and then, I feel like I’ve plateaued in doing this project. When I started My Brain’s Not Broken, I was in my early 20’s, and just figuring out myself and my mental health. I had more bad days than good, and I felt like the blog was a place to figure out those challenges in real time.

Look, I won’t pretend that everything is all sunshine and rainbows these days. But I am much more confident about how I handle my anxiety and depression, and am confident in the tools I’ve acquired to help me deal with those challenges. I’ve become stronger, more confident, and more prepared to talk about my own mental health, and talk about mental health with other people. I’ve written it countless times on this blog: we are stronger together, and I am so thankful that I can add my story and my experience to the millions of people who experience mental health challenges every single year.

So this is my re-entry to the space. I don’t quite know what I’m doing, and I don’t quite know what my goal is. Since I started this blog, the world’s changed a great deal, and the contributing factors to the mental health crisis in America (and around the world) are much different than they used to be. Smart phones, AI, politics, pandemics – it’s almost hard to even remember the type of person I was back when this blog was started.

But that’s part of why projects like this matter. Because beyond offering tips, tricks, and advice, this blog is a chronology of my life and the major happenings in it. It’s my journey with mental health; my ups and downs, the joys and struggles. It’s captured my unique perspective at specific points in time. There are posts I can turn to when I need a boost. Posts that I’ll look back on and say, I can’t believe I wrote that (hopefully in a good way!). And while I know that this blog has never played the role of an online diary or anything like that, it’s been fascinating to see the way I’ve grown and changed over the years, through what I’ve written.

Mental health – as a topic, a public health issue – as a community – isn’t the same as it was when this project first started. It’s morphed, it’s changed. There have been good aspects to this, and there have been bad ones. We’ve hit milestones and faced serious setbacks; in this moment, it feels like it’s more setbacks than successes. So I will continue to write, and share my perspective on mental health – the good, the bad, the ugly, and everything in between. Whether that makes a lick of difference in the vast abyss of the Internet, I do not know (most likely, no). But as long as I’m in this corner of the Internet, you can count on this being a space that prioritizes those things. Because mental health matters. I matter. And you matter. And these are important things that I never want us to forget.

Mental Health Awareness Month 2025

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Well, here we are again – it’s Mental Health Awareness Month! Even though I feel like I say this every year, mental health is more important than ever. Whether it’s our own mental health or supporting others, there is a lot of awareness to raise and stories to share. So, as I do most years, I want to highlight a few campaigns to follow during Mental Health Awareness Month. Hopefully they resonate with you or someone you know; regardless of how you get involved, I hope this month is a helpful one in learning more about your own mental health, or mental health in general.

Mental Health America – “Turn Awareness Into Action”

Mental Health America is the organization that founded Mental Health Awareness Month in 1949. Since then, they’ve done an amazing job highlighting different aspects of mental health. This year, their theme is “Turn Awareness into Action,” which I love. The theme was chosen with the goal (Per Wikipedia) of:

“Celebrating the progress we’ve made in recognizing the importance of mental health — and challenging us to turn understanding into meaningful steps toward change.”

If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a million times: awareness is important, but it’s just the first step when it comes to mental health. Turning awareness into action is a catchy tagline, but it’s harder than it sounds. You have to overcome so many challenges to get from awareness to action – things like bias, stigma, your own struggles, understanding the challenges…the list goes on. By emphasizing how we can take meaningful steps, MHA is driving change with action – a cause we can all get behind.

National Alliance on Mental Illness – “In Every Story There is Strength”

Since you’re reading a mental health blog this won’t shock you to read, but I still need to say it: I love this theme. I’ve always believed that each of us has a story when it comes to mental health, and every story matters. I’m glad to see NAMI agrees! From their website:

“In Every Story, There’s Strength,” highlights the resilience and diverse experiences that shape mental health journeys within our community. NAMI’s campaign celebrates the power of storytelling to fuel connection, understanding, and hope for those navigating their own mental health path.

Sharing our stories is brave. It’s important. It matters. There are no unimportant stories about mental health; you never know what sharing your story will mean to someone, what it could teach them about mental health or about themselves. There is power and strength in talking about mental health and the more we do it, the more we shrink the stigma and bring the conversation to the forefront.

SAMHSA – Mental Health Awareness Month Toolkit

What I love that SAMHSA (the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) does during Mental Health Awareness Month their toolkit! This toolkit that gives you everything you need to know and features vital information and resources about mental health. Key messaging, content, and messages of support just a few of the things inside, providing everything you need to raise your voice this month! SAMHSA’s work highlights an important connection between substance abuse and mental health challenges. This connection is often ignored or misunderstood, and one that all of us should pay more attention to.

What You Can Do During Mental Health Awareness Month

I won’t pretend that it’s an easy time to talk about mental health awareness right now. Things are changing faster than we can react to them, and they are constant. Everyone is just trying to stay afloat, and doing things like raising awareness and talking about hard things may not be ideal for you right now. That’s okay! Another good thing this month brings is a chance to check in. Whether it’s checking in on ourselves, our loved ones, or how those around us are taking care of their mental health, this month is a good time to try and reset on our approach to mental health and set us up for success in the days and months ahead. As I wrote this time last year:

“Whether we acknowledge it or not, mental health impacts us all. Mental Health Awareness Month is a time to shine a spotlight on this fact, to learn to live in a happy and healthy way.

And as always, that is the main takeaway. I’m sending positive thoughts and vibes to my readers as we continue to shrink the stigma and raise awareness on the topic of mental health.

What will you be doing to raise awareness during Mental Health Awareness Month? I’d love to hear it! Let me know in the comments.

How to Focus on Mental Wellness During Winter

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We are currently in the middle of one of my least-favorite times of the year – winter. Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of aspects of the wintertime that I love. But very small amount of those things tend to happen in January/February. Whether it’s seasonal affective disorder or a natural reaction to the lack of sunlight and generally cold weather, the wintertime can be difficult and lead us to being more prone to mental health challenges. At times like this, I often feel like I want to take my foot off the gas when it comes to my mental health. But in fact, this is actually the time of year when our mental health toolkits can do a huge amount of good. While I always recommend to try new techniques and strategies to improve your mental health, it changes a bit during this time of year. This time of year, I try to stick with what works.

Now what does it mean for something to “work” for us? Maybe it’s that something is easy for us to handle, or that it comes naturally to us, but I have a slightly different perspective. When it comes to my mental health, knowing what works for me depends on one thing above all else: what symptoms, if any, are being triggered in that moment.

When I say that my symptoms are being triggered, I don’t just mean how I feel in that moment. I actually take a step back and try to think about how my mental health is impacting me. This could mean running through the long list of symptoms of anxiety or depression. It could also mean thinking about if these symptoms feel new or are happening more than they used to. It’s a self-assessment of sorts, to try and understand the problem at hand. If you don’t understand the problem, how can you find the solution?

If I can figure out my symptoms, than it’s time to take the next step and attack them. Over the years, I’ve collected several mental health tips and techniques, all of which are solutions to specific symptoms or problems. With time, I’ve been able to identify the right technique for the situation, and am able to figure what’s needed in that moment. Am I always successful in doing this? Absolutely not. But I am doing better than I used to, and that’s a big win.

Whether it’s building mental wellness or combatting mental health challenges, this is a time of year where people are particularly prone to feeling worse than usual (and that’s not even factoring in *everything* that’s going on in the world today). While we should be paying special attention to our wellness, we should also remember what works for us, what heals us, and what helps us. The spring or summer might be the time to try something new or off-the-wall for our mental health. But if you know that reading a book brings you peace, or building a to-do list of little items to knock off will help you feel accomplished, please go for it. Little wins add up and this time of year, I know I could use all the little wins I can get.

Are there any special ways you take care of your mental health during the winter time? Do you think this time of year is harder on your mental health than others? Let me know in the comments!

"One kind word can warm three winter months." - Japanese Proverb

Reflecting on the Idea of Permanent Solutions

Nathan Smith5 Comments

When it comes to problems and challenges in our lives, we all want the perfect solution. We want to know what we have to do or say to make the problem go away. Maybe we can buy a product that helps us overcome the challenge; other times, building a new routine is the way to go. Finding a solution to a problem is a daily occurrence for most people. It happens in every area of our life — and it is especially apparent when it comes to our mental health. But these solutions aren’t always permanent, and that’s the challenge that brings me to this blog post today.

Finding the Right Solution

So, what do I mean when I talk about mental health solutions? I’m using that term to describe all the things we do in our day-to-day life to take care of our mental health. While this includes activities like therapy, exercise and meditation, it goes beyond that. There are smaller choices we make every single day that impact our lives and our well-being, and finding mental health solutions, to me, means figuring out the best ways we can move through our day.

For example, my anxiety can make decision-making quite difficult. I also can feel pressure to communicate with people in the “right way” (spoiler alert: there isn’t one right way, as it turns out), or want to make sure I’m giving someone the correct answer every time they ask a question. Over the years, I’ve found solutions to these issues, both in terms of how I deal with the problem, but also in how I view it. And while I’ve spoken about these solutions in previous posts, it’s just as important to remember how to best approach these solutions. I’ve found that the most important thing to remember is that when it comes to our mental health challenges, not all solutions are permanent.

Embracing Impermanence

Embracing the idea of impermanent solutions is difficult. A permanent fix to our problems would be ideal: you identify the issue, you find a solution, and you make sure that when the problem comes up again, you remember how you solved it before. While that is all well and good for most problems, it doesn’t always work with mental health issues. And that is because not only does our mental health change, but we change. Sometimes, a solution that used to work for us doesn’t anymore. And that’s okay.

Maybe this post is just inspired by the meditation app I use, which places a heavy focus on the impermanence of things. I used to view this approach as troublesome and hard to navigate, but I’ve learned to embrace it. Every moment is different because we change, grow and adapt to new situations throughout our lives.

Focusing on What Works Best For You

But even though most solutions aren’t permanent when it comes to my mental health, there is a freedom in that. I used to think that if I gave up on something (a new mental health technique, a different type of therapy, etc.) when it came to my mental health, I was failing; that there was something wrong with me. I’ve now learned to have the courage and foresight to know that not every mental health tip is going to work for me and that when it stops working, I don’t have to keep banging my head against the wall until it does.

Now I do want to be clear that I’m not encouraging folks to make major life changes or major changes to their mental health plans without consulting anyone. It would not be good to stop proven solutions like medications or consistent talk therapy at the drop of a hat (in fact, stopping SSRI’s abruptly can be dangerous to your physical and mental health). This post serves more as a reminder that sometimes when things aren’t working, it’s okay to explore other solutions. Our mental health ebbs and flows throughout the course of our lives, and it’s important to respond to those changes when they occur.

And though it is likely that not all mental health solutions will work for us forever, it’s possible they will. Everyone’s mental health journey is different, and as long as you’re working to find healthy solutions that work for you, while respecting and being mindful of the people and world around us, you’re on the right path.

"After every storm the sun will smile; for every problem there is a solution, and the soul's indefeasible duty is to be of good cheer." - William R. Alger

Reflecting on the Seven Types of Rest

Nathan Smith7 Comments

After writing my most recent post about misunderstanding the meaning rest, the idea continued to sit in my mind. As I wrote in that post, it’s clear that many of us know we’re not getting enough rest. Even the people who are getting enough rest feel like they aren’t. And in the way the world has changed in recent decades, there are more reasons than ever for exhaustion. But did you know just how many different types of rest exist? In the spirit of trying my best, I decided to look into these various types and share what I’ve learned.

The seven types of rest

The inspiration for this post came from a TED article titled “The 7 types of rest that every person needs.” I learned a lot of things reading this article, and not only that there are different types of rest! We tend to think of rest as inaction, as not moving or being alone. Whether that’s an American way or a Western way of thinking, that’s how I’ve seen rest portrayed in my life. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say resting is synonymous with sleeping – but actually, it’s much more.

Something this article opened my eyes to is the fact that rest happens when we have the time and space to do so. It’s difficult to rest if you’re stressed, don’t feel comfortable, or have pressing things to do. Removing yourself from situations is often seen as the optimal version of rest. That said, it was interesting to learn that rest can also involve enjoying things you love or being around people who fill up your cup.

While physical rest is important, it’s far from the only type. Other types of rest include mental, sensory, creative, emotional, social, and spiritual. What I love about this variety of rest is that each type of rest fills a unique need for people. It reminds us that we’re all different and that we need different things. As someone more introverted, focusing on sensory rest and social rest might be more important to me than other people. At the same time, some people value having more or less emotional rest than myself. We are all different, which means we have different needs.

Shifting how we view wellness

This lesson on rest not only helped shift the way I view my mental health, but wellness in general. There are so many ways we can take care of ourselves and in that same vein, there are so many ways to rest. Rest is more than sleep, and sleep alone won’t always give us the restoration we need.

It can be frustrating to learn that sleep isn’t always the answer, but I’m choosing to lean in. When you think about it, rest and mental health have a lot in common. Just as there is not one way to rest, there isn’t only one way to take care of our mental health. The more we learn, the more we grow, and the better equipped we are to get what we need. In whatever ways you rest, I hope you learn how rest can provide restoration and rejuvenation – something each one of us deserves.

"Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can." - Arthur Ashe

A Reflection on Comfort Zones

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When you read the words comfort zone, what comes to mind? You might think of the way people tell us to leave them; you might wonder if you’re in one right now. A comfort zone might not be a place at all; it could be a feeling or a moment in time. It could even be a way of doing things you’re comfortable with, a routine or rhythm. Every year around this time, the idea of comfort zones pops into my head. I reflect on my own, but I also think about the idea itself. Why is it so important that we go out of our comfort zones, and why do we talk about it all the time?

As with many of the terms I talk about on this blog, I like to start with a definition. According to the Cambridge Dictionary, a comfort zone is defined as:

“A situation in which you feel comfortable and in which your ability and determination are not being tested.”

Cambridge Dictionary

When I think about how often I’m in my comfort zone, I have a hard time coming up with a good answer. It’s possible (if not probable) that I’m in my comfort zone a majority of the time. It makes sense; people have their daily routines, and finding a rhythm in my daily life is important to me. For some people, the problem might not be that they’re stuck in their comfort zone; it could be that they can’t even determine where that is.

Sometimes, we don’t know we’re in our comfort zone unless we’re removed from it. And that removal can be abrupt, swift, and uncomfortable. But it’s also where we can find out new things about ourselves, who we are, and what helps us grow. It’s that growth that can provide meaningful change in our lives, that can move us to take charge and take action.

As we start the new year, it would be easy for me to write a post urging you to get out of your comfort zone. How it’s important to get out of our comfort zones, why it’s necessary for growth, and why enough of us don’t do it. But that type of post leaves out a key aspect of comfort zones, and about change in general. Creating change and getting out of your comfort zone can happen to you, just as much as you can make it happen yourself. Encouraging someone to ‘get out of their comfort zone,’ while helpful, puts the onus on a person to create change (which is hard to do).

When it comes to comfort zones, we all have different challenges to face. What might feel impossible for one person is easy for someone else. But the thing is, if you’re looking to get out of your comfort zone, I’d encourage you to look for the opportunities that will inevitably come your way. Because the truth is, opportunities to get outside your comfort zone exist all around us – we just need to keep our eyes and hearts open for these moments.

What is your take on comfort zones? Do you think they help people grow, or do they cause stress and create burdens? Why do you think it’s so important that we break out of them? Let me know in the comments!

"One can choose to go back toward safety or forward toward growth. Growth must be chosen again and again; fear must be overcome again and again." - Abraham Maslow

One Foot in Front of the Other

Nathan Smith2 Comments

Time can be tricky to manage. Sometimes, it feels like time is moving at a snail’s pace. Other times, it feels like our life is moving faster than we can keep up with – weeks, months (even years!) might feel like they pass in the blink of an eye. Regardless of how it moves, my least favorite aspect of time is when I tend to lose track of it.

This fall, I celebrated six years of blogging. In fact, this is my 500th post on My Brain’s Not Broken – a number so high I can’t even process it at the moment (and no, I didn’t intend for this post to be number 500, but here we are!). At some point a few years ago, I got into the rhythm of writing two blog posts per week. It felt manageable, I had a lot to write about, and I felt like there was a ton of experience to pull from in writing my posts. But in the past few months, I started to feel pressure when it came to my blog, and it was a new experience for me.

I’ll be clear, though; all this pressure was internal. I don’t quite know when it happened but somewhere in the past few years, I started to feel the pressure I’d put on myself to churn out two blog posts every week. For all you creators out there – you know what it’s like to put out content because you’ve made a commitment and you told yourself you would do it. The goals I set for this blog are entirely internal and up to me to create and yet, I feel extreme pressure from myself all the time to live up to the expectations I set – even if those expectations aren’t always realistic.

This post is my way of trying to return to this space feeling a little fresher, a little more rested, and ready to get back into blogging. But in the spirit of honesty, that’s not entirely true. Sometimes, taking a break from something can give us the rest we need. But it can also become a source of anxiety and stress if we don’t know what our break is for or how long we’re doing it. When I take a break from something, that’s usually what happens.

Unfortunately, I am not returning to this space refreshed, or ready to tackle this project with a fresh sense of perspective. However, I am returning with a renewed purpose. Going forward, I might not be posting as much as I’d prefer. But I’ve determined that continuing to write, to continue sharing my story and the stories of others is ultimately more important than not posting at all. I’ve seen the power and strength that come when people speak up about mental health and mental illness, and it’s these moments that continue to fuel me.

However this journey continues for My Brain’s Not Broken, I am excited. I want to give myself the grace and understanding I give to others because we’re often kinder to other people than we are to ourselves. Even though mental health awareness has improved in many ways since I started this blog, people’s mental health and wellness are being tested in ways that I couldn’t imagine a decade ago. All I can do now, in this moment, is to keep moving at my own pace, deliberately, head held high, one foot in front of the other. And I hope that when you have these same moments when you feel like you have no more to give, you can find it in yourself to do the same.

“You simply have to put one foot in front of the other and keep going. Put blinders on and plow right ahead.” - George Lucas

MBNB Song of the Month – You Are Enough

Nathan Smith1 Comment

As part of a new recurring series on the blog, I’m going to be sharing a ‘Song of the Month on MBNB. It might be a song I can’t stop listening to at the moment, or a song I have a history with. It could be a song I don’t know much about, or I’ve listened to a thousand times. Regardless of the reason, these songs have inspired me and my mental health, and I want to share them with you. Whether you’ve heard of them or not, I hope these songs give you more insight into my world and my approach to mental health. This month’s song is “You Are Enough” by Sleeping at Last.

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Why Habits Don’t Need to Be Permanent

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On this blog, I have a tendency to write posts that build on each other. After writing about habits last week, I thought more about how we create and maintain healthy habits. In my research, it’s clear that any type of significant habit formation takes time. And during that time, we can become extremely committed to these new habits and the impact they’ll have in our life. But it’s important to remember that even though habits take time to create, these habits are as permanent as we need them to be for our mental health.

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