On episode 83 of The Mod Co Podcast I chat with Kyira Wackett.
Kyira is a licensed mental health therapist specializing in shame and anxiety.
She is the owner of Adversity Rising, a company who equips people with the confidence and skills to write their own stories.
Her work ranges from one-on-one coaching to corporate wellness sketches with a focus on what she calls the anti-band-aid movement or resisting the quick fix in favor of doing the work necessary to make meaningful and sustainable change.
The highlight of her work is her signature program, That Life AR, where she walks people through her five-step therapeutic process she believes can combat any pain point that comes our way because we all deserve to live a life in which we can thrive.
Kyira: It's always super uncomfortable to hear yourself being introduced, even if you know everything that's on there. It's not new information, and yet it feels like in some way you're being exposed. I'm sure that's shame, so this is a great starter point to this conversation.
I think it's learning to be a fan of yourself, which feels weird.And I think we've been taught it's egotistical or it's uncomfortable, or you're just judging yourself.But I think it is learning how to be a true fan, and a true fan is consuming your own content.
Angel: What made you specialize in shame resilience?
Kyira: I started when I was in doing my master's program, I was really interested in trauma and particularly in working with people with addictions. I got very specific into working with people with eating disorders. I think I was very pulled to want to help people that I could relate to. I think that's what a lot of us want to do.We want to help people that are struggling with similar things as us or that in my case, it was that I never really felt seen and heard through a lot of those things, and I wanted to help change that for other people.They don't talk about shame now, maybe a bit more, but shame was never really talked about at all in my program.It was never a topic of conversation.We weren't hitting on that.We weren't going into sort of emotional intelligence and hitting on what that shame is, this feeling that can be all consuming.
"Shame is an emotion.So it's a reaction to the world.It's triggered by something that activates a fear in our body, is not being worthy, not being enough in some way.Fears really derive from a thought and what we know." -Kyira
Angel: How does shame lead to clutter?And how does it affect our daily lives?
Kyira: I think one of the things that we see for people when it comes to physical stuff is oftentimes we are holding on to things out of some story line. So for some of us that can be that we grew up around clutter and sort of the security of some of those things. For some of us, it's we hold on to possessions because possessions represent some sense of false security, but security in our brains. So we collect all these things. We have all these things.If I can have all this stuff around me, then I'll feel good.I won't feel empty.I won't feel alone.For some of us, that is sort of a reflection of the chaos.
"What happens in entrepreneurship is we want to start a business or we decide to start a business.And there's the balance between needing to learn a process, but then also not getting caught in somebody else's process.And I think that's really the distinction point where we have to talk about shame. So for example, I don't do social media.I don't do Instagram.I don't do TikTok.I used to be on those things.I used to be posting on mostly it was back when Facebook and Instagram were still like the primary points.I got off before TikTok really took over." -Kyira
Learning to be a Fan of Yourself Kyira Wackett
Socials:
IG: @themodcosc
FB: @themodcosc
Pinterest: @themodcosc
LinkedIn: The Modest Company LLC SC
Spotify: The Mod Co Podcast
Apple Podcast: The Mod Co Podcast
Remember: this post is for informational purposes only and may not be the best fit for you and your personal situation. It shall not be construed as legal, financial, or medical advice. The information and education provided here is not intended or implied to supplement or replace professional advice of your own attorney, accountant, physician, or financial advisor. Always check with your own physician, attorney, financial advisor, accountant, or other business or medical professional before trying or implementing any information read here.