Meet Nina Garcia

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Nina Garcia a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Nina, thank you so much for making time for us. We’ve always admired your ability to take risks and so maybe we can kick things off with a discussion around how you developed your ability to take and bear risk?

Living with ADHD, I had to confront my own emotionally turbulent landscape head-on, not just to survive, but to exist as my most authentic myself. Navigating the extremes of my emotions became an act of necessity — and eventually freedom. Each risk I took was a declaration that I wouldn’t be defined by the chaos within me. Today, I guide others through their own emotional landscapes, helping them engage with the parts of themselves that hold them captive or cause self-sabotage.

Before I could extend my hand to anyone else, I had to face my own fears. I ventured into the depths of my experiences — PTSD, the intensity of ADHD’s emotional swings, the complexities of growing up mixed-race in America, and the added layer of being a woman navigating spaces where I was often seen as ‘different.’ Existing authentically in a world that isn’t always ready for you is a risk in itself. But I learned that embracing my differences, rather than hiding from them, was the ultimate act of courage.

As Brene Brown says, ‘Courage cannot exist without vulnerability.’ True courage demands we face uncertainty, risk, and emotional exposure. Every day, I continue this journey, not only within myself but alongside my clients. Together, we cultivate the courage to stand in our truth, to heal, and to belong — everywhere we go.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

I bring a lot of passion and love to my work, and my Empowered Human Courage intensives focus on helping men who are struggling emotionally. I guide men to heal, become confident, and feel secure in all their relationships.

As a Drama Therapist and Empowerment Specialist based in Houston, I am deeply committed to helping people embrace their authentic selves and heal from invalidation trauma. My goal is to validate how you naturally exist as a person, not how society says you “should” exist. At the core of my work is the belief that no one should have to hide parts of themselves to make others comfortable.

Invalidation Trauma, which is rarely talked about, occurs when aspects of your humanity are repeatedly minimized, misunderstood, or rejected to the point that you start believing you’re not enough, and that these parts of you must be hidden to survive. This can stem from factors like gender, socioeconomic status, or background, and often leads to deep shame.

That’s where Empowered Human comes in. The Empowered Human philosophy promotes choosing courage over fear, healing over harm, and belonging over rejection. It reinforces the belief that you are enough, just as you are – and that there’s always room for growth.

Our Empowered Human podcast provides tools to help people grow in this area, our Courage intensives are designed with men in mind, and we offer hourly therapy sessions for anyone ready to embrace the Empowered Human life.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

When I consider where I’m at and where I’ve come from, Curiosity, Transparency, and Leaning In to my edge have been critical for my success as an Empowered Human, single mom, and solopreneur.

At the beginning of your own Empowerment journey, Curiosity is what helps challenge any rigid ideas that you might have developed to keep you doing the same thing over and over again. Think about something you’re unhappy with and get curious: what if there was another way to go about this – would you want it?

Transparency involves being honest with yourself first, so that you can then be honest with others. It removes judgment from the equation, and invites you to simply own your truth “So this is what I’m noticing – is that what you’re experiencing also?”

Leaning In to your edge involves leaning slightly out of your comfort zone so that you can grow in the discomfort. Who doesn’t love a growth edge?!

Any advice for folks feeling overwhelmed?

Absolutely > EMOTIONAL FUNNELS are structured activities that over time help you take unmanageable emotions and make them manageable. So the next time you’re feeling overwhelmed…

Start with Transparency: “I’m feeling overwhelmed!”

Move to Curiosity: “Hm…how can I emotionally funnel these unmanageable feelings into manageable ones?”

Then Lean In and commit to an emotional funnel: “I can jog around the block for five to ten minutes, and funnel this!”

Emotional Funnels can be physical, creative, musical, spiritual – any structured activity that over a relatively short amount of time can help you take unmanageable emotions and make them manageable. I recommend you make a list of your top 5, and commit them to memory for the next time you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just make sure they’re not keeping you up in your head – you need to be down in your body, feeling, moving those feelings through you! You’ve got this!

Contact Info:

Image Credits

Developed and taken by Nina Garcia.

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