Hello.

I am an open book, shaped by the events in my life that have brought me to this point - The Mimi Collective.

 

I was born on Christmas Eve of 1981 on Fort Ord in Monterey, CA, as both of my parents were serving in the Navy.  During my earliest years I spent time in California, Illinois, and Guam.  At five, we moved back to Sunnyvale CA, where my parents divorced. My mom relied on government daycare while struggling to make ends meet. Lucky to have a supportive mom, I didn't know the hardships.  At seven my mom met Mickey, my Dad, one of the greatest gifts in my life.  He adopted me and my brother and married my mom when I was nine.  I had a strict but very happy childhood in California.  As a junior in high school my family moved to Austin, TX at which time our lives were taken over by drama and strife.  

 

I always knew I would move back to California, so when I had the chance to finish the last semester of my bachelors degree online I immediately came back ‘home’!  In 2005 I began working at Stanford University in cancer clinical trials and found the work absolutely fascinating.  Eric and I were set up in 2006 and our relationship flourished from then on.

 

A year later I found myself feeling very anxious and began seeing my first (best and only) therapist at Stanford.  I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety and continued seeing Carol.  It wasn’t until 2010 that my anxiety and depression intensified.  We faced difficulties starting our family, and my unsatisfied desire to be a mother consumed me.  While my friends were entering that stage of life, I found it challenging to be around them.  Finally, in August of 2013 we found out we were going to have TWINS!!  We enjoyed every moment of pregnancy.  The first three months of twin parenthood was a whirlwind, but luckily we were all healthy.  Not long after I realized that the ‘baby blues’ were not going away and started on antidepressants.  At this point I was also diagnosed with PMDD (premenstrual dysphoric disorder), a much more severe form of PMS.  After being on birth control for a while with the goal of steadying my hormones, symptoms seemed to improve a bit.  I was still experiencing very painful lows that were debilitating at times.  During a flight home from Europe I developed a blood clot in my calf, which required me to stop taking birth control.  This worsened my PMDD symptoms.  During this time, I had both lovely moments and unimaginable lows. I distanced myself from friends and felt incredibly alone, as I felt that nobody could truly understand what I was going through.

 

For the next few years I searched for answers, trying to understand the cause of my emotional rollercoaster.  Was it chemical depression?  My biological father dealt with that….. was it my PMDD?  My mom likely had it before she had her hysterectomy at 35.  Will I be stuck feeling like this forever?

 

In 2018, my supportive boss and friend of 12 years retired, and I made a jump to the IRB (Institutional Review Board), reviewing various types of research. While challenging, I was excited for this new opportunity to apply my expertise in cancer research to other medical studies. However, by November 2018, I found myself more depressed and debilitated than ever. I vividly remember sitting at my desk, crying, contemplating whether I could continue. I requested a leave of absence.

 

Over the next few months I worked with Carol, my angelic therapist. It became clear that I didn't want to return to Stanford, and that's when the idea of Spruce Travel emerged. In February 2019, I attended my first travel advisor conference and was thrilled to start my own business. However, the timing was unfortunate as the COVID-19 pandemic hit shortly after. My goal was to improve my clients' mental health by helping them have stress-free vacations and incorporating mental health education into their trips. However, most of my clients were more interested in general vacation planning.  This kind of work wasn't as fulfilling as I had imagined, and the financial returns weren't sufficient to sustain the effort I put into the business.

 

I have a very vivid memory of my first suicidal thoughts in winter of 2021.  I had family surrounding me wanting to help but not knowing how.  I didn’t know how to help myself or how to advise them on how to help me.  A few days later I was online searching for an inpatient program because I didn’t want to keep living if it meant feeling the way I was.  I ended up finding Canyon Ranch, a wellness resort in Tucson, AZ.  Dr. Judith Orloff was conducting a weekend retreat called “Thriving as an Empath”.  I had no idea what an empath was, but as soon as I read the description I thought, “that’s ME”!  A few days later I joined a group of about 10 other empaths and began my education on surviving as an empath.  It was great to meet others that were experiencing life similar to how I was.  Dr. Orloff has such an amazing spirit.  I ended up extending my stay at Canyon Ranch which is when I first learned about meditation and yoga.

 

Upon returning home I felt like I had some tools to use to make my life a bit easier.  I was really discouraged when my depression and anxiety peaked their heads right back up into my life.  So much of this period of time is blurry.  My concept of time was totally distorted as there would be days in a row when I wouldn’t want to get out of bed.  When I would start feeling better I didn’t know where time had gone.  I would reconnect with friends and then disappear again in my next slump.  My best friends have stayed with me in and out of these slumps.

 

In November of 2022 I had been considering guiding international trips and wanted to experience this first hand.  One of my dearest friends Elle and I went to Bali and split our time between a guided group trip and some time on our own.  During the guided trip all of the attendees bonded right away which made the entire experience so much more fun and meaningful.  We had some incredible and extreme experiences together!  After the guided portion of the trip Elle and I spent some time at Ulaman, a magical eco resort in a quiet part of Bali.  We befriended the owner which again enhanced our time there.  He showed us so much more of Bali than we would have otherwise seen.  We connected with all of the friendly staff there and did tons of yoga in the most beautiful open aired shala.  The yoga instructors were incredibly inspired and shared their hearts with us.  We attended multiple sound baths and spent a lot of quality time learning about mindfulness.  During our stay I was also able to read “Good Vibes, Good Life” which is now my favorite book of all time.  The combination of all of this wonder allowed me to return home feeling super inspired and excited to start my mindful life!

 

This inspiration was wonderful, but I was still experiencing very low lows after returning home.  In April of this year (2023) I had my ovaries removed in hopes that my hormones would level out, thinking that PMDD was the biggest contributor to my rollercoaster.  I remember being wheeled out of the recovery area with my hands up as if I was on a rollercoaster.  I was hopeful!

 

I distinctly remember the day that the idea of The Mimi Collective was born.  I was doing yoga in my back yard in June and wrote down “Local Mental Health Concierge”.  Little did I know that after job hunting for something in my old industry that I would finally come to realize that this little idea of mine would become a reality!

 

On October 3rd my cousin mentioned to me that he read an article about empaths.  I asked him to send it to me.  The article consists of 15 signs you might be an empath: https://www.healthline.com/health/what-is-an-empath.  I strongly identified with all 15.  This article has changed my life forever.  Although I knew I was an empath since 2020 I hadn’t made any changes.  This article empowered me to feel justified in my feelings.  It gave me something to point at and think that I wasn’t crazy.  This IS a real thing.  I realized that I had spent my life catering to everyone else’s needs and not my own.  I had felt like being an empath was a curse and it had caused me nothing but pain.  This article was one source that empowered me to make major changes in my life.  It also allowed my family to understand where I was coming from and why I would feel certain ways at particular times and places.  Since then I have set many new boundaries, taught myself to incorporate self care into every day, and have started spending much more time alone without feeling guilty.  It hasn’t been the easiest transition and it is still a work in progress, but the last months have been SO much better than I could have imagined my life being!  

 

Later that month I learned that one of the girls I had bonded with in Bali was starting a coaching business.  I jumped on the opportunity to work with her. When we first started working together I felt very overwhelmed with ideas swirling through my head, emotions were rampant and unclear, and I didn't know where to start.  After working with Robyn for a short time stories made it onto paper, I began to observe my thoughts instead of believing all of them, my vision became clearer and I was finally motivated to take action!  

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Although my vision has changed from the initial vision of creating a nonprofit in the Bay Area, the new vision has been designed by me, for me.  I will be allowing myself flexibility to work from anywhere, do absolutely meaningful and fulfilling work, while getting to embody my teachings that bring me pleasure!  Though I have come this far, I am still working with Robyn and I know so many coaches that have their own coaches!  I love how happily this story concludes.