We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jennifer Hill a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Jennifer, 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.
It’s been a day-by-day task in battling depression, anxiety and most recently being diagnosed with ADHD. All of these things I identified as being part of me as an adult, but I can easily see how this affected me as an adolescent and as a young adult. The first step was identifying that I needed help and taking the step to seek therapy. Though seeking therapy is more widely accepted, as a woman of color it was once looked at as a stigma rather than someone simply trying to take good care of themselves. I initially searched for a therapist in my early to mid-thirties and it took a few attempts to find someone that really was able to help me.
Battling mental health challenges can directly affect business but somehow, I was often able to compartmentalize my mental health and still take the steps to continue to run a successful business. That worked most of the time but sometimes it would absolutely merge into my work as an entrepreneur. Once I learned how to address depression and anxiety with helpful coping mechanisms that was a game changer for me. Doing things such as being present and learning to manage my emotions better has helped tremendously.
My recent ADHD diagnosis was the most triggering, especially being diagnosed in my fourth decade of life. I am now working with my mental health professional on how to manage ADHD so that I can live the life I desire. It’s been so helpful meeting with her on a regular basis.
If anyone reading this can relate and has not collaborated with a therapist – I encourage you to take the steps you need to take care of you. Your mental health is your responsibility. You also do not want the residue of what you are going through merging into your business and holding you back from the amazing potential that you have.
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?
I’m a senior licensed cosmetologist in Maryland and I primarily focus on natural, healthy haircare. I spend my days partnering with clients and helping them to understand and maintain their healthy hair. The most exciting thing for me is always the ah-ha moments the clients have once they have better understanding and find natural styles that fit their lifestyle. Many women struggle with their hair, especially those that are natural and also trying to live a healthy lifestyle and work out regularly. My career is also special to me because I always had an interest in doing hair, since I was a young girl, but I never knew how it would work out in the long run. I had no idea I’d be focusing on natural hair with a heightened focus on the health of the hair.
My brand, Crown of Love, is hyper focused on educating our clients, supporting other stylists, and providing useful resources for both clients and stylists.
One new and exciting thing we are working on is our partnership with the STRAND network – I recently joined the team as an ambassador to help with ongoing education for stylists and sharing the importance of partnering with dermatologists so that we can better service our clients.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Faith, Mentorship and Determination were the most impactful on my journey as a business owner/entrepreneur.
Having the faith to believe it could happen was important to maintain – even when I could not see it. It really encouraged me to rely on God that this would manifest into what I envisioned it would be. I am blessed today to be able to see the life I once dreamed about.
Mentorship also played a huge role in my success. I knew that I needed support along my journey. When I started out, I did group coaching to assist with things like setting up my business, understanding the importance of branding and marketing and having a community of people that were in various places within their business, but we could support each other. Even to date, I remain in communities with like minded individuals to gain coaching and I also seek mentorship on a one-on-one basis at times.
Being determined is very important because it’s not if but when will things not look ideal. I have pivoted a few times and though it was scary I continued to take the steps forward even though I didn’t necessarily know the outcome.
These three things have helped to propel me to where I am today. I encourage anyone just starting out to partner with a mentor that you trust – someone who has been there before and who can guide you along the way. We are not created to do life alone. You must believe in yourself before you can expect anyone else to. Never lose hope of your dream. Often, it’s not a straightforward path, there will be some twists and turns but that will build character and prepare you for the day when everything makes sense.
What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?
No matter who you are or what you are doing the feeling of being overwhelmed will come. The first thing you have to do is identify that you are, in fact, overwhelmed. From there I evaluate the following:
– What is overwhelming me?
– Is this something I can control or not? If not, should I be spending precious energy on this?
– Is there anything that can be put off until later?
– Have I taken the proper steps to care for myself?
I enjoy doing brains dumps where I’ll spend 1-2 minutes writing down the things on my mind. From there I determine what I can work on and what is outside of my control. I like to use a planner and add things to my calendar for the current week. It’s always interesting to go back and see what was overwhelming me and often times a few of those things work themselves out.
We have to be in touch with our emotions so that we can understand what we are feeling and why. From there we can work to address what we need to accordingly.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.iamcrownoflove.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_crownoflove_
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CrownofLoveHair
Image Credits
Roy Cox Photography (main photo)
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