Meet Kaleigh Rogers

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Kaleigh Rogers. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Kaleigh, so great to have you with us today. There are so many topics we want to ask you about, but perhaps the one we can start with is burnout. How have you overcome or avoided burnout?
This is a powerful question Mike, thank you for asking it. I first thought to myself “I wish I could say I avoided burnout but I didn’t.” However, I realized I do not regret the journey to getting burnt to a crisp and the redemption walk back. It’s my story. And God has been using it to shine His light on the path forward for me, and for others. In 2018 at the height of my workaholism addiction, I hit “a wall” as they say. I wanted to continue serving in my job and be present for my family yet I couldn’t. I found myself paralyzed in my work office unable to pick one leg up after the other to go see one of my clients. I thought I was broken and believed it was all my fault. I didn’t know what I didn’t know. So I asked for help. I told my supervisor something was wrong. I needed a change. I was offered 7 days off work. I felt better during the week. But within a week of returning, I was back to where I was. No band-aid would fix this. I kept asking for help…
In the coming month I randomly received a piece of mail that was showcasing a Qi Gong conference in Downtown Phoenix with an attached 7am social work ethics class. I begged my boss to send me. It was then that I faced truth: I was in full-blown compassion fatigue and PTSD re-activation. I came back to my job with answers.
If you’ve ever set down an addiction you know that it’s an emotional roller coaster of dealing with what you didn’t previously deal with. Addiction freezes emotional processing and often adds additional traumas into the mix – this was true in my case. I survived a major car accident in 2015 when I was so stuck in my mind I didn’t even see the car coming, my body was damaged from so much overwork that I required intensive physical therapy to function normally, and my cognitive mind was now unable to function at fast rates as well as being more prone to “go offline.” I had all this mess to deal with. On top of all the undigested trauma from the last 25 years. In overcoming burnout, I faced all of it.
Here’s how I did it:
• I got around horses. Horses are incredible. They see our inner self, not the mask on the outside. Horses taught me how to become present. They were present with me while I dealt with realities, hurts, and hangups. They showed me how to soar again. They helped me recalibrate my body back to a place of joy and peace.
• I got into nature. Rivers, lakes, trees, and mountains – nature is real medicine and one of our most solid co-regulators. I sat with my back against many trees. I asked nature what I needed to know and what it was revealing about God. I released toxic chemicals that had been stored up in my body as climbed. I came back to a rhythm of breathing that sustained a pace of ease. I laughed in full abandon floating, swimming, and kayaking down the river. I had some real good times.
• I dealt with complex PTSD. I went to therapy. Really good therapy. My advanced trauma therapist utilized Thought Field Therapy (see Roger Callahan book “Tapping the Healer Within.”) My life is forever different. I’m not frozen back in the 1990s or 2000s. I am right here, right now.
• I found fellowship. I gained a family of solid, godly friends that showed me that life isn’t all about work. It is also about rest, joy, and recreation. We hung around horses, spent time in nature, ate sandwiches, watched the campfire, wrestled with the pain of the world, and swapped stories about Jesus. It truly was and is the best.
• Jesus. I turned to my Heavenly Father for help. I learned to fully be in relationship with Him, guided by His loving Holy Spirit. I developed consistent rhythms and routines for studying the Word every day. Lately I’ve been studying Philippians and now Nehemiah. I prayed – a lot. And I sung at full volume worshipping the God that never abandoned me and taught me to rest. I rediscovered through His Word that rest is a command, not a suggestion and that even Jesus rested and spent time with those He loved. I faced emotions with God for King David taught us in the Psalms to be honest about our feelings. I also learned I don’t save anybody – Hosanna Wong’s book and Bible study “How Not to Save the World” helped with that. I learned The Savior saves. I am tasked with shining His light, wrangling the lost, and He carries the rest. Thank you Jesus.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I believe all people deserve to know they are loved and they matter. All people have plans and purposes for the life they are given. And yet life beats them down, diminishing their shine, and for some, taking them out by suicide or overdose. I’ve walked with the hurting as a nationally certified trauma therapist for the last 10 years on the frontlines of the suicide, drug, and trauma epidemic. And I’ve seen how the mental health system needs fixing. That’s why I founded Shine His Light LLC, a safe place for the lost and hurting and became a Lead Wrangler & Executive Builder in local nonprofit Broken Arrow Wranglers. I am focused on building out our scholarship fund so everyone knocking on the door can get the care they so desperately need. We have a local fire department, EMS team, aged out foster youth, and the Chandler Unified School District that all need some financial gap coverage to access what they need to heal through Broken Arrow Wranglers.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Curiosity, courage, and compassion are some of the top three attitudes necessary to make it in the field of mental health as well as recovering from burnout.

• Curiosity. Curiosity means asking yourself questions like: How am I really doing? What am I missing? And asking others, will you help me through it? What ways do you navigate through this? I was curious about God, horses, nature, and people. All three helped me find my way back.
•Courage. Courage means that even though you are scared enough that you might crap your pants, you still choose to move forward. You draw from the deep well of strength that is the God that loves you and you face whatever it is you need to with compassion.
• Compassion. I had very little compassion for myself, especially early in my journey. That led to me treating myself like a workhorse with cruelty. I shouldn’t have done that to myself. Don’t do that to yourself. Have compassion for your mind, your body, and your spirit. Those you love need you to show up in authentic, loving leadership.

Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?
Yes! Thank you Mike for asking this. I am asking for your generous support to cover my monthly salary as a lead wrangler and executive builder for Broken Arrow Wranglers, 501c3. My role as lead wrangler is to notice and passionately advocate for the lost and hurting. A lead wrangler speaks on Jesus’ love and invites the hurting into relationship with our Lord and our growing community. The Broken Arrow Wrangler’s community offers God’s Kingdom here on earth through loving relationships and therapeutic experiences. An executive builder is responsible for ensuring the health of Broken Arrow Wranglers and its ability to meet the needs of God’s people. For me this includes the following responsibilities: – Growing a healthy scholarship fund for those in our community that need effective equine and trauma therapies but cannot cover the cost on their own.
– Community outreach including local churches, business owners, and behavioral health organizations.
– Community partnership including local churches, business owners, holistic practitioners, and behavioral health programs adding effective therapies through our providers.
– Lead trauma and equine therapist.
– Program designer for trauma and equine therapies.
– Speaking engagements that advance God’s Kingdom through kingdom living and spiritual nourishment.
– Social media voice for Shine His Light LLC, local partner of Broken Arrow Wranglers.
Contact me at 480-414-3916 to discuss ways you can support me as a modern day apostle spreading the healing love of Jesus. I am about 4k short per month as of this writing.
Thank you so much!
Love, Kaleigh

Contact Info:

Image Credits
@KaitlynBundyPhotography @RyanHarney @JonwithShoott

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