Blog — Rachel Havekost

How Storytelling Saves Lives: Moving America's Soul on Suicide

For years I’ve felt the impact of shared stories in safe spaces and I fully believe that because I’ve been able to share my story and hear the stories of others, I’m still alive today. When I was invited to attend the screening of “Moving America’s Soul on Suicide,” I wanted to understand why storytelling could have such a profoundly positive impact on my mental health. How can hearing a complete stranger’s story of overcoming hardship--even if it’s a hardship I’ve never experienced--transform and illuminate my own suffering into hope and possibility?

Making Life a Living Scrapbook

Stories, RelationshipsRachel HavekostMarch 20, 2024travel, divorce, mental health, friendship, relationships, baliComment

How to Make Friends As an Adult (and why we struggle to build meaningful connections in the first place)

Making friends as an adult is hard. Whether we've recently had to start over because of a breakup, relocation, or our values change after therapy or recovery, it can be difficult to know how to make meaningful connections. Here is what I did after getting divorced (and what research says about making new friends).

RelationshipsRachel HavekostJanuary 4, 2024friendship, divorce, recovery, healing, relationships, friends, connection, breakups, starting overComment

35 Lessons From 35 Years

Today is my 35th birthday. And for the first time in a long time, I can truly say, I’m so glad I was born. I’m so glad to be alive. I’m glad that my attempts to leave didn’t work, and in honor of being 35—still alive—here are 35 lessons I’ve learned in life.

StoriesRachel HavekostDecember 29, 2023mental health, depression, trauma, healing, therapy, anxiety, dbt, self love, eating disorder, grief, relationships, friendhspComment

Signs of A Stressed Nervous System (And What to Do About It)

Digestion or gut issues, sleep disruption, insomnia, jaw clenching, anxiety or panic attacks, depression, low mood, irritability, anger, low sex drive, or brain fog may be signs your nervous system needs a reset. Join me for a free 31 day reset and let’s reset our nervous systems together in 2024.

3 Questions I Ask Myself When I'm Lost in Life

In the last three years, I have had HUNDREDS of impasses where I feel utterly lost.

Being a writer/creator/entrepreneur/whatever the fuck my job role is can be liberating. And, the freedom of working for myself and creating my own life from scratch doesn’t come with socially constructed boundaries—there’s no roadmap for my life and I often feel like an architect without a blueprint…

November Community Blog Post

Each month, I will be sharing a guest piece written by someone from my online community. November’s submissions includes a piece about Obsessive Compulsive Disorder by Saleema Lookman. The work of destigmatizing mental health is a community one, and I’m honored to share this space.

community post, Anxiety, StoriesRachel HavekostNovember 29, 2022community post, ocd, obsessive compulsive disorder, anxiety, storiesComment

Shadow Work Exercise

Shadow work may be a familiar concept to you. If it is, this will be a welcome challenge.

If you’re new to shadow work, I invite you to see this exercise as a meet and greet with the parts of yourself you’ve cast away. A dinner party where you’ve invited your personality traits that irritate you, body parts that feel foreign to you, thought patterns that scare you, or behaviors that bother you.

Self-Esteem, JournalingRachel HavekostNovember 23, 2022shadow work, write to heal, journaling, journaling prompts, writing promptsComment

How We Rest: Ways to Reclaim Your Peace

“I don’t know what to DO with myself when I’m not working,” I told my friend. “Like, what do I actually do? What does resting actually look like? It can just be sitting and staring at a wall. Is it baths? Can I walk or is that too active? Do I just lay on the couch? I’m genuinely confused. How do I rest?”

Coping Skills, TraumaRachel HavekostNovember 21, 2022rest, tips, trauma, consultationComment

October Community Blog Post

Each month, I will be sharing a guest piece written by someone from my online community. October’s submission is a poetic piece by guest writer and Wounds to Wisdom alumn, Maritza Padilla. I’m humbled by the writing I received, and I’m proud as hell to share a space with so many courageous individuals who are willing to share their stories. The work of destigmatizing mental health is a community one, and I’m honored to share this space.