We were lucky to catch up with Adrián Cavada II recently and have shared our conversation below.
Adrián, we are so deeply grateful to you for opening up about your journey with mental health in the hopes 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.
Before being able to manage my mental health in a “healthy way”, I struggled quite a bit. It was as if I woke up one day and all my problems suddenly were on the surface. All of my neglected childhood trauma, all of my neglected adulthood trauma, along with my overall negative attitude towards myself was crashing on me like tidal waves. Clinically, people could say I was manic or simply experiencing PTSD or even psychotic. Family members could say I was just not letting go of the past or that I was overthinking too much. Personally, none of that even mattered because my daily life felt so meaningless and was filled with so much despair. And the ironic thing of being in such a low mental state, my chosen path was to help people within their own health and wellness.
The inner battle I was fighting meant more than just brushing it off and calling it a mental health issue. The inner battle was me uncovering my inner light within the darkness that was my mental health. It was that moment of realization that I had a mission to accomplish. One greater than all of my traumas, all of my worries, and all of the opinions of others. I had to create a change for myself because that was the only way for true liberation to happen within my life. I created my own purpose to live because I realized I am the only person living the life that I am living. And with that realization came true vision that I am not the only person in this world who’s going through some level of inner battle between the light and dark. So I took it upon myself to take full responsibility of my life and create intentional changes for the better. Not only was I bettering my own life, I quickly saw how my inner work radiated into the lives that I was a part of in both a professional and personal manner.
I came to my own personal truth of what life is truly about, “Life is the product of how we use our energy on a daily basis”. And equipped with that true helped me step into my own sense of freedom because in my current daily life; I move with intention and without hesitation when it comes to living. Whereas before, I was wandering aimlessly and did not give myself a purpose to believe in. Where now my purpose is to open doors for those wanting to better their own life as I continue to better mine.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
I am believer in self-evolution. I believe that we all have the ability to create the life we want for ourselves, especially when we are intentional about it. I know first hand about the power of self-evolution and how anyone can hold the power in their hands to make their dreams into a reality.
I grew up in a neighborhood where traditionally a young Hispanic boy wouldn’t get too far in life simply because of the environmental pressures that were present. Along with the accompanied trauma of life, things didn’t seem too bright for my future. However, something that always stays in my heart is what my dad taught me growing up, “to be stronger than my circumstances”. Some days may be a living hell and all we want to do may be to hide or run or even end it all so we won’t have to suffer but, that’s not the answer to our problems.
Which is why I’ve committed my life to open doors for healing, for wellness, for connection to happen in our world so we can all build our strength to overcome our circumstances. I’ve developed a holistic transformative experience through my company Kokoro Health that helps create a greater sense of harmony within people’s lives so they can continue to show up for themselves and those they love and care for. Hence, creating a generational line of health and wellness for those ready to walk through the doors.
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?
Looking back, I would say the physical act of walking, breathing, and connecting with other humans as the most impactful skills in my journey.
Walking at its core is such a great way to be present with myself as it doesn’t necessarily take too much effort to do and it isn’t the fastest mode of travel yet I get to experience myself, the environment as well as get some movement in my day which all feeds my heart and soul with some micro moments of fulfillment. And over time, those micro moments all add up to one big smile on my face. My advice for this skill, go on a 10 minute walk or whatever feels the most natural to you and just listen to what your body is communicating with you, listen to what the environment is communicating with you and once you listen, you too will feel that micro moment of fulfillment.
Breathing in my opinion is something underrated. Despite it being something that happens daily, breathing is such a wonderful experience. The fact that we have the ability to control our breath is even more of an amazing quality of the skill. A mantra of mine is “you control your breath, you control yourself”. Especially in high stressful situations, when we feel like we are not in control, the only thing in that moment we could is breathe thus keeping ourselves a bit more calm to handle the situation at hand. A piece of advice for this skill would be to practice some deep belly breaths by imagining you are inflating a big ballon within the belly region and expand the belly walls all the way around with each breath and do your best to feel the power of your breath with each inhale.
Connecting with others is an art. And the reason why I find this such an impactful part of my journey is because the only way we can genuinely connect with others is when we are making the effort to connect with ourselves in a genuine way. And as a byproduct we get to share our love, our light, and our worlds with one another thus opening doors for others to do the same. Connection with each other is liberating and honestly, it’s a lot of fun when you’re around amazing people! Some advice for this skill is to simply love yourself for who you are and make efforts to genuinely connect with yourself so you too can share your love, your light and your world unapologetically.
How would you describe your ideal client?
My ideal client is someone who sees themselves as a leader and provides some level of care for others whether be the role of a coach, social worker, healer or anyone who sees themselves as a contributing member to the growth of our world. The main characteristics that would make someone an ideal other than what was previously mentioned is someone seeking an efficient and holistic approach to personal development.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://kokorohealth.org/
- Instagram: @kokorohealth & @coachcavada
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/show/2yqqAYJYD0UEhmF0wnDmzj?si=VQ7Ch6wtSRuE82OWGtZEGQ
Image Credits
@artdesigndrive
