Mental Health Day 2023

🧠 I'm finally sharing my thoughts after missing out on posting for Mental Health Day. I’ve been recovering (mentally and physically) from an epic road trip - visiting close friends, biking over 100 miles, hiking in National Parks, and exploring the stunning landscapes of the Southwestern United States - and sharing some of my favorite places with my favorite person. I’ve struggled with my mental health for years, with my earliest memories of the struggle starting around 10 years old. This year I've been on a transformative journey, both mentally and physically.

🏋️‍♀️ My mental health has always severely impacted my physical health - with my weight and strength fluctuating very significantly during challenging times. Instead of stress eating, I stress starve. I get nauseous and completely forget to eat or properly fuel my body - a huge challenge for someone whose favorite things to do are snowboard, bike, and hike.

🗓️ Early in 2023, I hit a breaking point. It was a low I hadn't experienced since my teenage years. My daily routine had become a grapple. Showers became optional and less common. My daily diet consisted of 3+ cups of coffee and a snack. I would go to sleep anywhere between 3am - 6am. I had lost my passion for participating in any of my physical or creative hobbies. I impulsively decided to sign up to climb Mt. Rainier with SheJumps, and set a major personal goal for myself with this climb, but the weight of my corporate career and mental health were crushing me. I began to lose my excitement for Rainier - slacking on my physical preparation. Doubt and fear crept in. I felt defeated again. Could I really conquer this mountain? Was I prepared both physically and mentally? Was I going to let my climbing team down the way I was made to feel I had been letting my corporate team down? Did I set myself up for failure?

🎢 At the same time, my career had become a relentless rollercoaster, with late-night meetings, 8-10pm work sessions, and a round-the-clock connection to my phone. Obviously, this severely impacted my mental health. Slack was my constant companion. I didn’t use the bathroom or make another cup of coffee without bringing my phone to check Slack. My partner and I typically walk our dog each evening but I started to miss most of those walks, glued to my desk. I checked my phone from bed each morning, with instant anxiety in my chest and a sense of impending doom. My day often started with a full ugly cry, before I even put my glasses on. Sorry Slack, I love you, but it was time to break up.

I prioritized myself. I took agency. I set reasonable boundaries. I knew I had to eat, sleep, and be active again - for my climb if for nothing else! That wasn’t well received. All the self-help podcasts preach boundaries - they don't tell you that you might be encroaching on someone else’s. I beat myself up - was I letting my team down by taking care of myself? They were facing the same burnout that I was.

✖️This wasn’t working. I looked into help, a daunting task I had procrastinated out of fear. But I needed to save my own life and regain some autonomy. As a recovering people-pleaser who prided myself on climbing the corporate ladder, taking time away from work and leaving my team even more short-handed was an incredibly large hurdle in my decision making. Was I disrupting the entire career path I had built my personality on? How disappointed and impacted would my team be? I was petrified. But I did it. I took some personal time, and sought help through an intensive therapy program. I began to regain confidence and direction. I enjoyed time with my partner and animals. I ATE! I SLEPT! I returned to the gym! I was reminded of the life and headspace I could have.

⛰️The same week I finished my program, I summited Mt. Rainier with an incredible group of women with SheJumps. It was an empowering experience, scaling both mental and physical mountains simultaneously. An all-encompassing culmination of my uphill battles. You know I had a full ugly cry at the summit at 6:30am - this climb was SO much more than any other outdoor adventure. With snot running down my nose and freezing to my chin, and the sun rising on the horizon, the happiest tears of my life flowed down my cheeks and I embraced my dear friend Jessie at 14,411’. We did it.

🤔 It became clear that my life didn't have to revolve around a corporate ladder or conform to the "outdoorsy badass corporate girl boss" persona I had crafted for years. I took agency in my mental health journey and realized that living life on my own terms could be my reality. I didn’t have to live my life this way.

🎉 With that realization, "Hello Alex Garcia LLC" was born in August 2023. I received my official documentation on the second anniversary of my aunt Naomi’s passing. I know she’s proud and celebrated with me. I’ve had my domain as a personal blog and somewhat of a showcase for a long time, and have worked on many project-based freelance gigs over the years. Now I've officially taken the plunge by establishing my LLC, marking a new chapter in my life. I celebrated this milestone with a bottle of Veuve - something I received in lieu of the bonuses, raise, and promotion I’d been promised for over a year. It felt fitting. I promoted myself to a new life.

📝 Currently, I'm channeling my skills into copyediting, copywriting, and media QA on a contract basis, and I’m loving it. I’m enjoying my work again! I even had the freedom, energy, time, and fervor for life to take this incredible 2 week road trip - while still working and supporting my little family. 

🙌 Shameless plug: If you need a marketer with a decade of experience (six of those years in the outdoor industry), someone who loves writing, editing, content creation, and more, I'm here to help. I’m skilled in copywriting, branding, social media, content strategy & creation, large-scale photo & video production, project management, SEO, and e-commerce. I'm dabbling in design work as well and returning to my creative roots. Let's make great things happen together, and enjoy it!

🚀 If you’ve made it this far, thank you for reading, learning, and supporting my journey. This isn’t my whole story - we all know the internet cannot showcase a person’s entire existence. We never know the extent of what someone is dealing with, through the good times and bad.

This isn’t to say I’ll never return to corporate life - I have had some incredible experiences, teams, co-workers, leaders, and mentors - even in the most challenging workplaces. Each of these has taught me so much and brought me to where I am today. I’m open to the right fit where I know my work makes a difference!

Feel free to reach out, connect, or share your own story. Ask for help. Prioritize your well-being. You’re not alone.

Shoutout to Jenna Celmer, Ali Carr, and the entire Basecamp: Outdoor Jobs, Freelance Gigs, Networking community. While I've mostly been a silent lurker, the community and conversations have given me so much knowledge, inspiration, and confidence over the years - particularly through this challenging one.