Above All Statement
- We are messy together
- We research the research
- We navigate the plot-twists
- We ask the hard questions
- We are not broken
About Us
We are a lot like you.
Look behind you. Do you see that storm?
Those big, dark thunderclouds are chasing your every step.
Are you awake?
Those clouds are not filled with thunder and rain–no. They are filled with an obstacle course of MRI scans, doctors’ appointments, white walls, prescription medication, and unanswered questions.
These clouds are bursting at the seams, looming above, darkening your path, and ready to rein down on the world around you.
This has to be a dream. This can’t be your life. But it is.
This storm constantly chasing you, pushing you to seek shelter from its catastrophic force. But where is the safe harbor, and will you ever find it?
While the running and hiding seem endless, and the clouds in front of you are darkening –an umbrella appears overhead.
It’s held by someone else caught in this storm. She is just as wet, messy, and fearful as you.
But while the dark storms continue to thrash about you both, and the sky gets darker before you, under the umbrella’s canopy, you are both dry, awake, and facing the storm together.
What We Do
Doctors look at broken arms like they are a problem, but nobody looks at broken and messy brains. With so much research out there today between brain scans and mental illness–the bridge between discovery and treatment feels like a fumble.
When issues are identified, we are sent into a waiting room. Talked down to. Diagnosed. Shown colorful pictures of our “broken brain” and spit back out into the system with medicine to “cure” our ailments.
We are not yesterday’s trash; we are more than just brain scans and ketamine treatments. This must be talked about, and that conversation starts here.
We are a community of survivors. Mothers, brothers, sisters, and daughters, and while we walk through our own storms and feel stuck in our messy heads, we need to get out of there. We need to know that there are others who have already been there, who are just as lost feeling, just as stuck.
Mental illness, trauma, and our brains are interconnected. Trips in and out of the hospital, MRI machines, and therapy sessions are heavy burdens. These trips were taken alone. But what if we ask the questions? What if we talk it out? What if we dig around inside our messy minds and find out that we are not alone, and we are more than just a “problem” or a “prescription?” what if we find out together that we’re a helluva lot more?
It’s time to start digging.
How We Do It
We are not medical professionals, but professionals who spend too much time in the medical field—in and out of doctors’ offices, spending time in grippy-sock vacations, and becoming great friends with the MRI tech for another round of brain scans. This is that messy part of our life.
Our stories often feel like fiction – but our experiences are real.
A prescription drug that should never have been given, or a doctor’s visit gone wrong. We gaslight ourselves every step of the way and never feel like we are good enough or enough…enough is ENOUGH.
Sound familiar?
The ominous soundtrack that plays in your head is the same one that plays in ours. We are going to hit the pause button and dissect each and every track.
We will stop comparing ourselves and beating ourselves up over why we feel like failures. We will talk about our past traumas and how they have found their way into our today’s. We will take into consideration that much of our worth and self-depredation was manifested in our own brains – and that brain is being overlooked, fed medicine to “be normal,” and not nurtured.
Your trauma is real. Your experiences are real. We will hold the umbrella together.
About Us/Our Story
The messiness of Jennifer and her head just got to be too much, and it was time to get her thoughts out into the world. That’s how ‘Jennfier Explains It All’ began. With years of treatments, therapies, and unsuccessful doctors appointments to help “fix” problems, Jennifer Explains It All was born out of the desire to connect, engage and grow.
Writing about past traumas and experiences became a way to process and make sense of what happened. These musings and thoughts of “I can’t be the only one who has gone through this” transformed into something more.
Soon, sharing the story became a way to educate others about trauma and to honestly provide a place to explore mental illness and how it can manifest. Writing about trauma is more than a way for Jennifer to get it out of her head. Her way of building a community and advocating for change in the way trauma is understood, treated, and supported.
She hopes to use her experiences to make sense of the medical brain scan experiences: providing those with similar experiences to make sense of their own brain scan experiences and how they relate to their symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment.
Our Core Values
Trauma is not pretty
You might not find the answer you seek. Trauma and mental illness do not fit into a pretty little box with a matching bow. It is messy and sloppy and seeps into our everyday life. Welcome the unknown, but be receptive to alternative views and experiences.
We are not the sum of our flaws
Your flaws don’t make you a bad person; they make you who you are. Your brain might get in the way of seeing your worth, but for true healing, we must look past our mental barriers to reclaim our own worth.
Embrace the power of the brain
Your brain controls your ability to think, create, breathe and feel every emotion in your life. It is your problem-solving powerhouse, your body’s heavy hitter. Don’t disregard this powerful tool, but nurture it, love it and embrace its impact in your life.
It’s okay to pivot
Are you uncomfortable? Does something inside you feel off or not resonate? It’s okay to change your mind. Our lives do not come with a user manual. You are the master of your own life, and if you don’t like the cards you were dealt–prioritize, pivot, and move on.
When it’s time to get loud
When do we talk, and when do we listen? It’s finding the ying to our yang and picking out the perfect moment to give our experiences their voice. Start healing by getting the trauma out of your brain and into the world.
