Meet Amanda Klassen

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

Amanda, we are so deeply grateful to you for opening up about your journey with mental health in the hops that it can help someone who might be going through something similar. Can you talk to us about your mental health journey and how you overcame or persisted despite any issues? For readers, please note this is not medical advice, we are not doctors, you should always consult professionals for advice and that this is merely one person sharing their story and experience.

A few years ago, I was in a mental health spiral. It turned out that I had Bipolar Disorder (type ii) and didn’t find out until I was 32. At first I was crushed by the diagnosis due to how I had been taught to look at mental disorders. I had basically been taught that either they were not real or they were a sign of extreme weakness and an excuse to dismiss anything the mentally ill said/did. I didn’t treat others that way, I knew that way of thinking was highly flawed, but I found myself having a harder time treating myself with the same kindness. Honestly though that diagnosis was one of the best things to happen to me. As I learned more about bipolar disorder and how my brain works a little different, so many of the things I saw as flaws in myself made perfect sense. As I got into therapy and a psychiatrist to treat it, I gained more control over my life than I ever had. Don’t get me wrong there are still hard days, but with understanding came the ability to treat myself with more kindness and grace. It helped me not to dwell on mistakes, but instead strategize with myself how to better handle similar situations going forward. With treating myself with more compassion, came a confidence that I had never had before. My life is so fulfilled now and I’ve found myself to even be able to help others who are going through similar things. So what seemed like the end to me (the diagnosis) turned out to be just the beginning of wonderful things in my life.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

My biggest passion (outside my family) the last few years has been being a mermaid. I actually started my own mermaid entertainment company, Siren’s Serenade Entertainment, 2 years ago. Becoming a mermaid performer has been a big part of helping with my mental illness. It’s a fun way to exercise which helps keep my mood stable. It is almost like meditation for me when I dive, I visualize all my worries staying above the water and I am free to swim without the cares of the day bogging me down. It also has helped my confidence in how I see myself. I am plus size and have been most of my life. When I looked in the mirror, all I could see was the extra weight and saw it as ugly. When I started mermaiding, I found a group online called “Society of Fat Mermaids.” To be honest when I first found them, I was so insecure that the name alone seemed offensive. But then I joined the group and suddenly I was seeing tons of mermaids that looked like me, and I couldn’t help but to see them as beautiful. They were these magical creatures that normal society’s unrealistic standards couldn’t touch. It’s been a journey, but those women changed my life and how I see myself. It began with just feeling more confident while dressed as a mermaid, but that grew to the rest of my life too and my normal way I carried myself. I went from wanting to blend into the background and not be noticed to feeling confident in my own skin and enjoying letting myself shine. I still get the occasional hater/internet troll trying to tear me down, saying I don’t have the body to be a mermaid, but what would have crushed me before rolls off my back now. I know how hard I have worked to get where I am, the skills I had to develop to be able to perform underwater and that confidence isn’t easily shaken anymore. If you want to follow my journey I am on IG as seraphina_mermaid or on Tiktok at mermaid_seraphina

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?

I think the biggest advice I can give is to be kind to yourself. Give yourself the space to learn and grow. I think my desire to learn has had a big impact on my journey, the more I learned the more puzzle pieces fell into place. And lastly, don’t be afraid to step outside your comfort zone, you never know what good things can come from it.

We’ve all got limited resources, time, energy, focus etc – so if you had to choose between going all in on your strengths or working on areas where you aren’t as strong, what would you choose?

I think both are important. Focusing on your strengths is great for confidence and refining those skills. On the other side I think being more well rounded often makes you even better in your strengths and gives you a better understanding and vantage point. Many times skills you don’t expect can lend themselves to other areas. I never knew the ballet classes I took as a child could help with underwater performance for example. Or that cake decorating skills would help in costume design. I am a big advocate to never stop learning, you never know how things can connect overall.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Www.sirensserenade.com
• Instagram: @seraphina_mermaid
• Facebook: Mermaid Seraphina
• Other: Tiktok: @mermaid_seraphina

  Additional IG: @sirensserenadeentertainment