We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Nicole Stroup a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Nicole , 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 was diagnosed with PTSD in November of 2021 after I experienced a birth trauma with our second son. It was a life-changing event for my husband and I since he was born lifeless, and we listened to them perform CPR for eight minutes. Our son was a miracle and pulled through, but after hundreds of hospital visits, and preparing for the worst of what could come, I was left in the throes of being really unwell. It just so happened about 6 months before his birth I had lost my mom to Pancreatic Cancer, and thanks to some events while growing up, my brain just felt like it snapped. I went through 12 weeks of Cognitive Processing Therapy, and in the process learned how to love and advocate for myself. I started our business with my husband’s support and found so much happiness and relief learning how to grow alongside my business, flowers, and my own mental wellness.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
Originally, my husband and I did a small renovation to our barn to get married at about 7 years ago. After my mom had passed away and our son had such a traumatic entrance to the world, I decided I wanted to chase a dream. I spent years staring at the old barn and thinking it would be wonderful to invite people to our space and host special event. I think once you experience so much sadness and trauma it can sometimes be what kickstarts taking big leaps of faith and trying the hard things. I had just saw how fast life could be taken, and I didn’t want to look back and say, “I should have tried.”
We started our wedding venue out as a small business and operation and slowly and steadily grew. I spent countless hours in the garden making the space have an interactive garden feel, and people love to sit and be amongst the flowers. Our social medias started to grow from showing our gardening content, and we have grown a wonderful and inspiring community on there as well. We talk about a lot of different things on our socials instead of just wedding talks, and my favorite is making the connection between expanding on my own mental health journey and growing with the flowers and gardens.
We are opening up our website soon that will offer people many resources on gardening, lifestyles, renovations, and bettering their own mental well-being. We also still offer weddings, but it just amazes me sometimes to see how your business can grow.
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?
1. The willingness to try and fail and try again because resilience is your best friend. When you fall down seven times, get up eight. Embrace your mistakes. Mistakes are better teachers than getting it right the first time. Failures and mistakes are opportunities not here to stop you but showing you the doors that are shut and the ones that are open. Don’t waste your time on shut doors, move on and you will find your way. Being resilient is HARD, and some of the time it’s exhausting, but if you can stand up after a fall and brush yourself off, you will come out on top.
2. Show up- This is the number one thing you need to do in order for the rest to come together. Business, relationships, and goals fall apart when people stop showing up. Sometimes it’s the hardest thing to do, but if you can at least get yourself to the door, you will find the way to let the progress flow.
3, Find your tribe- Even if you are running a business “on your own,” find your people. Find like minded people that you can spin ideas off of, vent to, set goals with, and cheer each other on. It can get really lonely when you are working to better yourself and your own life but surround yourself with people who understand what it takes and are willing to clap along with you.
What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?
When I am feeling overwhelmed, I know I need to analyze my plate and adjust. So I look at things and say, “What needs to be taken care of immediately, by the end of the week, and the end of the month?” Also writing all of it down in a list helps me so much, sometimes the list might not even be that big, but my brain focuses on constantly reminding me of what I have to do so it can seem a bit loud. After I write stuff in a list, I can logically sort things out better.
I am also a huge advocate on building a relationship with yourself. I know when I am getting too overwhelmed or stressed it probably means I have been neglecting some of my needs. I set priorities to spend time and treating myself kindly, so I am rested and recharged to take on the hard things.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://compassacres.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/compassacres/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/@compassacres/
- Other: Tik Tok- https://www.tiktok.com/@compass.acres
Image Credits
Morgan Courtright Photography
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