We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Christian Meyer a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Christian, 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.
I developed PTSD in 2015 during my first semester in my third year of college. In a matter of months, I went from an outgoing, hard-working badass to struggling to focus, having seizure-like symptoms, severe depression, and was forced to quit my favorite job to focus on getting through my studies. It literally was like experiencing the death of myself. While I managed to graduate, the toll of my traumatic experiences left me frequently suicidal and antisocial. It’s taken me almost ten years of therapy, medication, and actively working on myself to overcome the range of mental health symptoms that I’ve dealt with as a result of multiple experiences.
How did I make it through, you ask?
I won’t lie to you. It was rough. The reasons for me choosing to push through changed depending on the situation. Some times it was relationships and deciding I had to be strong (or at least pretend to be) for others. Some times it was due to the fantasy of a future I couldn’t see. Other times it was literally because I’d already invested in living this long and there was no sense in giving up now. But the defining moment of when my life really changed was my connection to spirituality.
My connection to God, my ancestors and my own spirit ultimately reminded after every turn I took, that I was loved unconditionally and my life had a purpose. When I fully embraced my own truth and could connect to love that was beyond most’s comprehension, everything else felt less heavy. Being a tarot reader and spiritual being in the modern world is a struggle, but when has it ever been? I’m right where I need to be and that gives me just as much comfort as anything else could.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
My story starts from humble beginnings during the pandemic, Year 2021. One day, I said to my friends, “Hey, wouldn’t it be funny if I did a livestream on YouTube where I got drunk, read tarot cards, and sassed people about their relationships?” There was a lot of enthusiasm from others encouraging me and so the livestream happened later that week. The day after, I read comments on my post asking when the next one was. I asked myself, what next one?
What began as a joke ultimately led me to a new lifestyle, identity, and journey. I began my Youtube channel Mind Over Mania with the intention of recording a podcast about my life and relationship with mental health. However, tarot readings became more of the focus as I developed a community of people eager to see my unique reading style and have laughs. After deciding to walk away from 9 to 5 life, I eventually moved to Austin, Texas to start a new journey. I began reading tarot professionally and continued with my YouTube channel.
Since moving to Austin, I became passionate about advocating for better mental health education and connecting professional resources to spiritual communities after seeing the diffuclties my clients faced. I’ve advocated at the Texas State Capitol twice for Social Workers Awareness Day for more connection between social workers and spiritual communities. I’ve also launched a blog where I plan on continuing my advocacy and providing resources and tips to support others about mental health, trauma, and healthy relationship skills.
Aside from the advocacy work, humor has always been my signature, and I needed to incorporate it into my local community. A friend and I have been performing a live improv comedy show called Drunk Tarot, based on my YouTube Channel, where we do what I’ve always done: drink, read cards, and sass people.
Overall, it has been a wild ride. There’s been a lot of uncertainty, bumps in the road, and cursing at the Universe, but it’s all been perfectly in line with who I’m becoming, and I’m so proud of the work that my friends and I have accomplished to help others.
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?
Resilience, self-acceptance, and empathy. I was a very different person before my spiritual awakening. My priorities and goals changed drastically when I stopped following what my family and community wanted and followed my heart. I got hurt many times, but the ability to pursue a life that was authentic to me was more important than the life others wanted for me or what I thought I wanted initially. The more I treated myself with compassion when I couldn’t achieve like I could in the past and learned to connect with others authentically, the easier it was to let go of the pain others had inflicted on me and be reminded that we’re all humans deserving of grace.
My advice?
Stop trying to fit in if it damages you or isn’t in alignment with your truth. You can be effective at something, but it doesn’t mean it’s meant for you. The more I meet incredible people, the more I value myself and the lessons I had to learn in order to recognize what true value and love is. Giving up on something isn’t the same thing as failure, and learning how to fail is a key indicator of how much you can grow into success. Love yourself more than the external validation, and remember that it’s okay to not be okay. Most people aren’t and are probably just better at faking it than you are.
How would you describe your ideal client?
My ideal client is someone who wants to get to the root of what’s blocking them and transform their relationship with themselves. My readings and sessions aren’t just for the feel-good vibes. They’re there for the people who want to engage in the deep work of self-reflection, integrating their shadows, and learning to laugh again during the process. I also share skills and tips I’ve learned over the years for how to keep your head above the chaos and understand your mind when it acts up.
If you love psychology, are LGBTQ, sassy, creative and/or love Scorpio vibes, then I’m you’re spiritual guide.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.mindovermania.com/
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/mind_over_mania
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MindOverMania/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@mindovermaniaspeaks
- Other: Linktree: https://linktr.ee/mindovermania
Image Credits
Daci West (for Business Card Photo) Bryanna Iglesias (For professional Photo)
