Podcast Episode

The Lie That’s Keeping You Depressed, Overweight, and Stuck (And How to Break It)

What if the biggest thing holding you back… is a lie you’ve believed for years?In this episode of Overcome with Travis White, we dive into the lie that’s keeping you depressed, overweight, and stuck and how...

The Lie That’s Keeping You Depressed, Overweight, and Stuck (And How to Break It)
The Lie That’s Keeping You Depressed, Overweight, and Stuck (And How to Break It)

March 23, 2026

The Lie That’s Keeping You Depressed, Overweight, and Stuck (And How to Break It)

What if the biggest thing holding you back… is a lie you’ve believed for years?In this episode of Overcome with Travis White, we dive into the lie that’s keeping you depressed, overweight, and stuck and how to...

Episode Overview

What if the biggest thing holding you back… is a lie you’ve believed for years?In this episode of Overcome with Travis White, we dive into the lie that’s keeping you depressed, overweight, and stuck and how to... This conversation unpacks lie that s keeping with practical insight and lived experience.

What We Discussed

  • What if the biggest thing holding you back… is a lie you’ve believed for years?
  • If you’ve ever felt stuck, lost, or like nothing is changing—this episode is for you.
  • https://www.etsy.com/shop/OvercomeMentalHealth
  • Follow Overcome - a Mental Health Podcast
  • Want to have a real conversation about your mental health? Fill out this form!

Who This Episode Is For

  • Listeners navigating lie that s keeping or supporting someone who is.
  • People looking for honest, practical mental health conversations instead of surface-level advice.
  • Anyone who wants real stories about resilience, healing, and rebuilding after hard seasons.

Key Takeaways on Lie That S Keeping

  • What if the biggest thing holding you back… is a lie you’ve believed for years?
  • If you’ve ever felt stuck, lost, or like nothing is changing—this episode is for you.
  • https://www.etsy.com/shop/OvercomeMentalHealth
  • Follow Overcome - a Mental Health Podcast

Transcript

Show full transcript Timestamps included

0:00

you

0:01

Hello, welcome to Overcome a Mental Health Podcast.

0:05

I'm your host, Travis White.

0:07

This is a place for you to share your mental health stories.

0:10

Tonight I'm speaking with Sheri Arcaria, founder of MOBA, Master of Badassery, certified

0:10

hypnotherapist and NLP practitioner.

0:20

Sheri, welcome to the show.

0:21

Thank you so much for having me, Travis.

0:23

I'm really looking forward to being here.

0:25

Yeah, well, the pleasure is all mine.

0:27

I think we're going to have a great conversation.

0:30

You have a lot of insight to offer the guests of the show.

0:33

So I'm not without wasting any time.

0:35

I'm just going to turn the microphone over to you.

0:38

with no pressure whatsoever.

0:40

em None at all.

0:42

Okay, so I'm Sheri.

0:44

I have an apparel brand called Master of Badassery.

0:48

The acronym is MOBA.

0:49

We've also built an incredible community of people who are all like-minded in wanting to

0:49

utilize the best of mindset.

0:58

And mindset was something that I don't think I ever knew what it was for many years.

1:02

There wasn't a term for it.

1:04

It's just something that I've always utilized.

1:06

from my I became a certified hypnotherapist back in my 20s and just the idea of how the

1:06

subconscious brain works and how putting out good putting out good thoughts will manifest

1:16

into good things and I just kind of utilized that and that idea like my entire life in

1:16

different aspects whether it was from my weight loss journey to overcoming obstacles or

1:28

having like we can all relate to when the rug gets pulled out from underneath you and you

1:28

don't think that you can make it through

1:36

I've had bouts of depression in the past, just situational based on life doesn't go the

1:36

way that it's supposed to go.

1:42

And over time, it was this idea of mindset that has pulled me out of it every single time.

1:49

And so being able to create a community of people knowing you're not alone, whatever

1:49

you're going through, there's always a solution.

1:57

You can always adapt to it.

1:59

You can always overcome it.

2:00

And it's become...

2:02

One of the greatest things that I've ever done for myself, for sure.

2:06

It's awesome.

2:06

I love to hear it.

2:08

And take, I'd love to for you to take us to the beginning of MOBA, that moment where you

2:08

realize something had to change and how you created the brand.

2:17

So it's actually an interesting story.

2:19

So if you remember, I don't know if you remember March of 2020 when the world just stopped

2:19

for everyone.

2:27

And it wasn't just in your little town, the entire world was brought down to its knees.

2:33

as we all like offices closed instantly, everything shut down.

2:37

I was in California, so we were the first ones to completely shut down everything, stores.

2:43

I couldn't work and after only three days of binging like six shows on Netflix and going

2:43

to the fridge every single hour, I was somebody that used to be over 350 pounds and that

2:55

fear and that distress started.

2:58

I had a full blown panic attack.

3:00

Like we had no idea how long this was going to last.

3:03

So I started trying to be proactive and I started every time we had to go and find toilet

3:03

paper, which was scarce.

3:11

in March, April of 2020, every time I would go out to find toilet paper, I would ask if

3:11

they were hiring, like, put me out there.

3:17

I can't sit at home and do nothing.

3:19

I have to be proactive.

3:20

And I ended up getting a part-time job at a Walgreens.

3:23

And number one, I forgot what it was like to work retail.

3:26

It had been like 20 years since I worked retail.

3:28

And to work retail in the middle of a worldwide pandemic um is not something I would

3:28

highly recommend.

3:36

Because if you've ever been in customer service,

3:38

you're going to deal with your share of like angry customers.

3:41

But when a hundred percent of your customers are angry, I realized it was actually causing

3:41

more issues to mental health than what I was hoping was going to come from it.

3:51

And it was getting to the point where people were mad at me because there was no

3:51

thermometers, there was no sanitizer, there was no this.

3:57

And I was getting yelled at on a daily basis.

4:00

And at one hand, I was like, I didn't need this job at the moment.

4:04

I was doing this because I wanted to do something good.

4:06

And I was on the verge of quitting.

4:08

But there was one night, I'll never forget, I was working at the register and I realized I

4:08

had two options.

4:13

I can keep complaining or I can do something about it.

4:16

And there was a man that came to the register.

4:19

He had a mask on, his head was down and I was ringing him up and you could tell he kind of

4:19

had like a hint of an attitude because the sanitizer we had didn't have the correct

4:28

percentage of alcohol that he was hoping for.

4:31

And I said, you know what?

4:32

Hypothetically, everything's open tomorrow.

4:35

the restaurants are open, where are you taking me for dinner?

4:37

And he looked up and he was annoyed as crap and he goes, what?

4:43

And I was like, oh, abort mission, abort mission.

4:46

And I was like, no, I'm committed.

4:47

said, you know what?

4:48

Hypothetically, everything's open tomorrow.

4:51

The restaurants are open, where are you taking me to dinner?

4:53

And he actually thought about it and he said Maria's, which was a Mexican joint down the

4:53

street.

4:59

And I was like, my God, Maria's like, I love their fajitas.

5:02

It's my favorite thing.

5:04

And then all of a sudden the conversation was turning to Taco Tuesday and I was talking to

5:04

about margaritas.

5:09

And by the time he left, cut like he had a mask on, but I could tell he was smiling.

5:13

I could see it in his eyes, his whole entire demeanor change.

5:17

And it was almost like, this was probably like in June of 2020.

5:20

It was like for the first time that he realized this is going to end at some point.

5:26

We might not know when, but at some point it's going to be over.

5:29

And he left and I kind of thought about it and I was like, maybe it's a fluke.

5:33

But the rest of the night, every single time that somebody came to the register, I asked

5:33

them the same question, where are you taking me for dinner?

5:39

Everything's open.

5:40

Then it was turning into sushi restaurants.

5:42

It was turning into the little cafe down the street.

5:45

And one by one, every single person's attitude changed.

5:49

It was like they were no longer living in fear.

5:51

In that single moment, there was hope.

5:55

And it was like focusing on the good that's gonna be on the other side of this.

5:59

And I came home that night and I felt like a badass.

6:03

I was like, I changed opinions that night.

6:05

I changed their attitude.

6:07

And at the time I told my husband, was like, how's a master of badassery tonight?

6:11

Like it was amazing.

6:12

And it was something I say as a phrase, you know, like for years, like if I fixed the

6:12

garbage disposal, I'm a master of badassery.

6:19

I BS my way through a college paper.

6:21

I was a master of badassery.

6:23

And this time he said, you should put it on a shirt.

6:25

And I was like, no one's going to buy that.

6:28

And he goes,

6:28

You never know.

6:29

And I was like, you never know.

6:31

So I know nothing about the clothing industry.

6:34

I know nothing about the fashion, but I decided to go about finding a way to create a

6:34

logo.

6:39

And I created a logo and figured out how to put it on a t-shirt.

6:42

And by December of 2020, we had our first t-shirts being made.

6:47

And it was just as a way to kind of just promote positivity and promote like thinking

6:47

about the bigger picture.

6:53

And you can accomplish what you want to accomplish.

6:56

You just have to believe that it's going to be different.

6:58

in your favor.

7:00

And then ever since then, like I said, it started with a little t-shirt and now we have

7:00

shirts, we have hats, we have beanies, we have bags.

7:07

And then it turned into, I was on social media promoting it on social media and there

7:07

became a following and we started doing workout challenges on lives and we would do pushup

7:18

challenges or wall sits.

7:20

And one by one, I was watching people who ran a wheelchair that were doing a plank from

7:20

their little wheelchair.

7:27

to point where all of a sudden they were doing a wall sit with us.

7:31

I was watching people who were once on oxygen and they had the belief that they weren't

7:31

gonna be on oxygen anymore.

7:36

And then months go by and they're doing a wall sit for the first time in their lives.

7:41

And it was like watching people in real time accomplish things that they never thought

7:41

possible because someone told them it's possible if you believe in it and you put the work

7:51

in.

7:51

And now we have an entire community of people who are just, know, beasting through crap

7:51

and.

7:57

utilizing mindset in every aspect.

7:59

It's not just fitness, it's in every aspect of your life.

8:03

Yeah, that's super cool that you were able to make that connection with people because I

8:03

can remember I've worked retail.

8:10

I didn't work retail during the pandemic at all.

8:14

I would have never wanted to, would never wanted to.

8:17

But I think it's cool because you didn't see a lot of that connection during that time.

8:23

I still think we're still recovering from that time.

8:28

I agree.

8:28

think the part, one of the things I had to understand too is they were not angry at me as

8:28

Cheri.

8:34

Like they weren't mad at me personally.

8:36

It was just projected towards me.

8:38

And I think oftentimes like the hardest part with communication with people is that people

8:38

are communicating from their emotional state that they're in currently.

8:46

And oftentimes we think it's about us on the receiving end, but it's not.

8:50

And when I looked back, they were scared.

8:54

You know, some of those people were leaving their house for the first time because they

8:54

finally ran out of stuff.

8:58

They were terrified of going home and not being able to come back or their loved ones are,

8:58

you know, passing away.

9:06

And we had no idea if this was ever going to end.

9:10

so in hindsight, I realized, okay, they weren't mad at me, but it was like, but when

9:10

you're around negative people like that, it affects you negatively.

9:18

And then it puts you in a net and it becomes very,

9:23

It just spreads like wildfire.

9:26

so during that time, I was like trying to, and I don't know if you remember, but like

9:26

people were fighting on social media.

9:32

People were ending relationships.

9:34

They were breaking up with family members because of the side of the fence you were on on

9:34

an opinion.

9:41

And watching this negative trajectory of people, like we were hate, we had so much hate

9:41

and so much anger, misdirected anger that I started.

9:49

I started going online and posting positive stuff or I would find like a local business

9:49

and I would give them a highlight.

9:54

And when I was working on the logo, I would go online.

9:58

I'm like, Hey, meet Tom.

9:59

Tom is a small business owner and he's a bad ass because he's still showing up for himself

9:59

every single day.

10:04

And I started highlighting people in the community as a way to just have like this glimmer

10:04

of positivity and focus on the good in the world.

10:12

And over time it started spreading like wildfire.

10:14

Those people.

10:16

you know, they were on cloud nine that somebody recognized them.

10:18

And then all of sudden they would make posts and they would shout out somebody else.

10:22

And it was creating like this avalanche of positivity in the attempts of trying to

10:22

overthrow, you know, this scary time that we were in.

10:31

Yeah, for sure.

10:32

And I love that you're making people feel like, you know, that basically they're a badass.

10:38

They can, they have more to them than what's going on in the world around them.

10:43

Absolutely.

10:44

I'm also like I tell people I'm very nauseatingly positive, you know, so just be prepared.

10:49

Well, I love it because my wife will tell everybody this.

10:53

I'm pessimistic.

10:55

Just me.

10:56

m So I'm the opposite.

10:59

I try to be more optimistic and I think since I've been doing this podcast, it's made me

10:59

more optimistic because I hear all these stories and how these people change.

11:08

I'm like, oh, I actually have a lot to be grateful for.

11:11

Actually, there's a lot of good in my life.

11:15

Absolutely.

11:16

My mom used to always, she had this famous phrase, she would say, keep telling yourself

11:16

that.

11:20

So if you said, I'm never gonna be able to do this, keep telling yourself that.

11:23

The more you keep telling yourself, like, it's whether you're right or wrong, you're gonna

11:23

be right every single time.

11:29

If you believe that you can't do that, if you believe that the other shoe is gonna drop,

11:29

it's going to happen, you're putting it out there.

11:37

So it was to the point my mom would say it so many times, it would annoy the crap out of

11:37

me.

11:41

And I find myself as an adult going,

11:44

All right, mom, you're right.

11:44

And now I tell people when they're like, yeah, I can't do a wall sit.

11:48

All right, keep telling yourself that.

11:49

Let me know how that works out for you.

11:51

Yeah, love it.

11:53

It's like you do have to be consistent in the things that you do, or else it doesn't work.

11:59

Yeah, the one thing that we're guaranteed in life is change, whether we want it or not.

12:03

The pandemic was a perfect example.

12:05

didn't matter how much money you had, what your education was, where you lived.

12:09

Everybody was affected the same way.

12:11

And so we're always going to have two options.

12:13

We can live in the pessimism, we can live in the negativity and why me?

12:16

Why is this happening to me?

12:18

Or we can think about why not me?

12:21

This is an opportunity for us to find our strength.

12:23

This is an opportunity for us to conquer something.

12:25

This is an opportunity for us to

12:27

show how strong we can really be.

12:29

the more that you start looking at it that way, the more you start welcoming these quote

12:29

unquote blind sides that happen in life.

12:36

And you're like, all right, universe or God or whatever it is you believe in, I see what

12:36

you're doing here.

12:41

All right, let's see what we can do.

12:43

Yeah, exactly.

12:44

And you, kind of start going into something there, like the, you know, why me?

12:49

So I, you know, I'd refer to that as self-sabotaging.

12:53

What, how do you help people recognize that they are self-sabotaging?

12:59

I kind of, I ask a lot of questions.

13:01

So when somebody says that they can't do something, I go, why?

13:05

Well, because of finance.

13:06

I guess a perfect example is if somebody says I can't lose weight, because a lot of people

13:06

in the MOBA community are people who are on a weight loss journey.

13:13

So that's usually a running theme with people.

13:16

Why can't work out?

13:17

Well, why can't you work out?

13:18

Well, because I don't have money for a gym membership.

13:21

Why do need a membership to the gym?

13:23

You know, well, because, you know, they have machines and stuff.

13:26

said, okay, but do have two legs?

13:28

like do have any like physical ailments?

13:30

There's always stuff that you can do at home.

13:32

And it's gotten to a point where it's almost a game.

13:34

The more people give me excuses, the more it just spurs me on to find a solution to adapt.

13:40

And I remember there was a woman who had reached out to me and she's like, I can't walk,

13:40

you know, like I, cause she was very, she was very obese.

13:49

She was looking to have the surgery, but she wasn't there yet.

13:52

And she's like, my husband has to drop me off at the front door.

13:55

to walk to the front, I can't walk more than a couple of minutes.

13:58

she's like, I can't lose weight.

14:01

And I said, so what do you do?

14:03

And she goes, well, just sit at home all day.

14:05

And I was, okay, can you walk for 30 seconds?

14:08

And she like rolls her eyes like, well, yeah, I can do 30 seconds.

14:12

Then do 30 seconds.

14:13

That's 30 seconds more than you were doing before.

14:17

And I said, if after 30 seconds, you have it in you to do a little bit more, then great.

14:21

But if not,

14:22

you committed to 30 seconds.

14:23

And then if you feel later in the day to set a timer for 30 seconds, then see what

14:23

happens.

14:29

said, but the point is I'd rather you do 1 % than to do absolutely nothing and keep

14:29

yourself behind.

14:35

And she sent me a message about a month and a half later, she was up to three minutes,

14:35

three times a day.

14:41

And she was so elated.

14:43

I'm like, all it took is like, we have this all or nothing mentality.

14:46

We feel like we have to go big or go home.

14:49

And I'm

14:50

total culprit of that all the time.

14:52

But sometimes when you have this go-bigger-go-home mentality, you psych yourself out, it

14:52

becomes too overwhelming to try, and then you do nothing.

15:01

I'd rather you do a portion of it or a little piece of it and be consistent than to do

15:01

absolutely nothing.

15:09

Yeah, and that's one thing that I had to learn because I always thought it was go big or

15:09

go home until I started going to therapy.

15:16

And he's like, no, take, take the small steps.

15:18

Like even if you're going one step forward and three steps back, you're still taking a

15:18

step forward in the right direction.

15:27

So

15:27

you're knocked down, take a step forward every single time.

15:31

Yeah, but then that the story you just told, those are like the trip types of

15:31

transformation stories that I absolutely love.

15:37

So thank you for sharing that.

15:39

Absolutely.

15:42

I trying to think of, I had it in my mind.

15:46

Now let me remember my thought.

15:49

I'm going to go kind of towards hypnotherapy because I think this is a cool subject.

15:57

How do hypnotherapies support you on your journey?

16:01

So honestly, it was because we don't really understand how powerful our subconscious brain

16:01

is.

16:08

to put it like in very, very basic terms, you have your conscious brain and your

16:08

subconscious brain.

16:13

Your conscious brain can only handle one thought at a time.

16:17

So you and I are talking, we're focusing on what each other are saying to each other, and

16:17

then that's it.

16:22

Whereas your subconscious mind, I kind of describe it as this 24 seven computer that

16:22

records everything.

16:29

every sense, every sound, smell, taste, everything.

16:33

So while you are talking consciously, our subconscious brain is listening to the

16:33

background noises, whatever's in our peripherals, the things that we're not thinking

16:42

about, it records that.

16:43

And so we don't realize how powerful our words are and our thoughts are, even if we're

16:43

having them to ourselves.

16:50

So for instance, I'm trying to think of like a really good example, but like the

16:50

subconscious

16:54

brain.

16:55

A perfect example is when, cause I use weight loss a lot cause I have a lot of people in

16:55

the weight loss community.

17:00

So when somebody says I want to lose weight, I'm trying to lose weight.

17:04

Well, subconsciously what happens every time you lose something since you were a kid, you

17:04

lost your socks, you lose your cell phone, you lose your car keys, you actively

17:14

frantically go to search and find them.

17:17

So every time we are losing weight, how many times do we lose 10 pounds?

17:22

We gain 20.

17:24

We lose 10 pounds, we gain 20.

17:26

It's because we're teaching our subconscious is recognizing, crap, she lost weight.

17:30

We have to go find it like quickly.

17:32

And then you gain the weight.

17:34

It can take me two weeks to lose three pounds and then overnight I can gain it back.

17:39

And so it's about retraining your brain on how to talk to yourself.

17:43

Instead of saying, I want to lose weight, I am releasing weight.

17:47

I am getting rid of toxins in my body.

17:50

When you find a way to...

17:52

reframe your vocabulary and certain things, it's amazing how much differently things

17:52

around you start to fall into place to get to the goals that you want.

18:01

So when people say, want to lose weight, no, no, we're releasing it.

18:03

We're finding that crap again.

18:05

And there's like, can use that to a ton of different like examples, but in working on your

18:05

vocabulary, your self-talk, I can't do this.

18:15

I can't do that.

18:16

I am not good enough for this.

18:17

I am not.

18:18

enough for that, I am not thin enough for this, the more that you keep telling yourself

18:18

that, your subconscious believes it as true.

18:26

Our subconscious doesn't know the difference between fact and fiction.

18:30

So if you keep telling yourself that, your subconscious is going to believe it and then

18:30

your body and everything around you is going to start reacting to live up to what is being

18:40

told.

18:40

So once you start talking to yourself differently, talking to outside of you differently,

18:46

It's kind of amazing how differently things around you start to fall into place the way

18:46

that you want it to.

18:51

And it's not magic.

18:53

It's just, the thing with hypnotherapies, I tell people you spend your whole life

18:53

de-hypnotizing people.

18:59

We've been conditioned our whole life on certain ideas and fad diets and this and that,

18:59

that if you just de-hypnotize yourself to what you've always thought you knew and try

19:10

something different, it's amazing the results that you're gonna get from it.

19:15

Oh yeah, for sure.

19:17

And I, I have like firsthand experience with that type of stuff.

19:22

Cause I had some, I've had medical problems throughout the years and last year I basically

19:22

had to change my whole mindset and start eating differently than I ever have.

19:34

But it turned out great for me because my medical problems I've been able, have seizures

19:34

and I've been able to even those out and

19:42

I actually lost a lot of weight by changing the way I eat.

19:46

And I think it was my body saying, you know what?

19:49

I've had enough of you putting that much junk in here.

19:51

So.

19:52

for you.

19:52

And I imagine for you, it was kind of like this aha moment where something happened

19:52

unexpectedly that kind of scared you into having to do something different.

20:01

Yeah.

20:02

I've had seizures since 2009.

20:03

They kind of left for a while and then they came back last year, fall force.

20:07

Like I had a cluster of them and I think my mind and I have during that time I had three

20:07

young kids.

20:15

have three young kids.

20:16

So I was like, I want to be here longer.

20:18

I need to, I'm a provider.

20:19

Like I'm a father.

20:21

And so that was, that was that moment.

20:23

was like, something has to change.

20:26

And so I,

20:29

I did it.

20:29

So, I'm here today.

20:31

That's part of what started this podcast is because I was in that mindset finally, too.

20:37

Like I've always had the idea, but I felt like I wasn't the right mindset because I didn't

20:37

want to sit and hear people's stories when I was going through all this stuff myself and

20:47

didn't think I was in the right place.

20:50

No, and good for you.

20:51

Like I can't even imagine like how scary that is, especially because I don't have kids,

20:51

but I would imagine just being by yourself and having something like that happen is

20:59

traumatizing in of itself.

21:01

The idea that like you have a wife and kids and people who are dependent on you as dad and

21:01

you know, as a provider, I can't imagine the added level of stress that that can add to

21:12

wanting to find answers and wanting to find a solution.

21:16

Yeah.

21:17

And it's, took years, it was years, but like, it's like, I, I'm glad I'm here.

21:23

so you mentioned that, you know, you lost quite a bit of weight.

21:29

and what, what was the biggest mind, mindset shift like for you personally?

21:38

So for me, I was kind of like overweight my entire life.

21:41

I was told at 13 that I was fat by a teacher and had to go on a diet.

21:46

So weight was always an issue my whole life.

21:48

by the time I was in my 20s, early 30s, I was over 350 pounds.

21:54

But you still think you're invincible because I can still do things.

21:58

I was always in pain.

21:59

You never realize how much pain you're in until you're not in it anymore, which was in

21:59

hindsight.

22:04

But there was a day where I had

22:07

blood test done, my yearly physical, and the blood test came back with type two diabetes,

22:07

fatty liver, and high cholesterol, all in the same shot.

22:15

And that was my aha moment.

22:17

And the doctor was telling me, she was about, she was writing me all these prescriptions.

22:21

It was like five different prescriptions.

22:23

This one for diabetes, this one for cholesterol, this one for the fatty liver, and then it

22:23

was like blood pressure medicine.

22:29

I'm like, well, why do I need blood pressure medicine?

22:31

They're like, well, because if you take this medication, then it's going to cause your

22:31

blood pressure to go up.

22:35

So you need this medication to counteract it.

22:37

And I got so overwhelmed.

22:38

I didn't want to be like this statistic.

22:40

I was only like 30, maybe 31 at the time.

22:44

And about six months prior to that, my best friend, who was my childhood brother had

22:44

passed away unexpectedly.

22:52

So now, and he was obese too.

22:54

So watching him die at 27 and here I am getting like this.

22:58

this almost like this death wish on a piece of paper scared me enough.

23:02

And I asked the doctor, said, look, what if I just lost the weight?

23:06

Like I know that I've done the fad diets and everything like that, but I've never had a

23:06

test like this before.

23:10

What if I do everything I need to do and I lose the weight?

23:14

And she was like, well, even if you lost all the weight at this point, you're gonna have

23:14

diabetes forever.

23:18

And I don't know why it just bugged the crap out of me.

23:21

She didn't know me.

23:23

She didn't know my history.

23:24

And so I walked out, she gave me the prescription.

23:27

I told my husband, give me six months, because the diabetes wasn't high enough that it was

23:27

an overall risk.

23:34

I said, give me six months.

23:36

If in six months, I can't reverse this crap on my own, I will succumb to the medication.

23:41

I will be that statistic.

23:42

I will do what I need to do, but you give me six months.

23:44

And he goes, if you know what you're doing, do it.

23:47

And I did for six months.

23:49

I cut everything out of my diet.

23:50

started walking every single day.

23:52

The first month you lost 20 pounds, which is a lot of water weight, and you're motivated.

23:57

The second month, I didn't lose anything.

23:59

But I had a mission to prove that doctor wrong.

24:02

That's all I cared about.

24:03

I didn't care about the weight anymore.

24:04

I just wanted to prove her wrong.

24:06

And I stayed consistent for six months.

24:08

And six months later, I got tested again and there was no more diabetes and there was no

24:08

more fatty liver and the cholesterol was within normal.

24:16

And the doctor said, see, this is why you need to take the medication.

24:20

And I got to be very smug and I was like, I didn't feel the prescription.

24:24

And that was the beginning of my personal mindset journey is I set my mind onto something

24:24

I focus on only that I visualize the end result and I did what I need to do.

24:37

The problem was is after six months, I only lost that 20 pounds the first month and then

24:37

nothing came off.

24:42

So it wasn't.

24:44

for a lack of trying.

24:45

had doctors giving me medications for weight loss.

24:47

I had like different programs and stuff.

24:50

And so that's when I looked into finally bariatric surgery in 2014.

24:55

And so I had a gastric sleeve 11 years ago and it's changed my life ever since.

25:02

I love that you, I just love stories when people go against like their doctors for some

25:02

reason, like it just is, no, no, no, no, I agree there.

25:12

I didn't mean that way.

25:13

Like, um, cause the same thing happened.

25:17

Well, kind of like I got blood tests in my, was pre-diabetic, my liver, had a fatty liver

25:17

and all this other stuff, but I was, I actually started going to a functional medicine

25:27

doctor.

25:28

Mm-hmm.

25:29

And they put me on supplements.

25:30

And that's when I started seeing some of these big changes.

25:33

it's so it's yeah.

25:37

And it's, like, I can't believe it.

25:41

and it's like, and before, you, that's when the mindset kind of changes.

25:45

Like I had this kind of idea of like medicine, like the medical doctors that had to shift

25:45

because before I didn't believe in kind of the functional medicine side of.

25:57

stuff like it.

25:58

I found it kind of hooey and you know there may be people listening that still do and

25:58

that's totally fine.

26:05

And I'm one of those people, I am not anti-medication.

26:08

I'm a firm believer, you need medication, then you take the medication.

26:13

For me personally, I find that oftentimes medication is used to mask a problem.

26:19

Whereas I would like to know if there's a way I can fix the problem, I would like to fix

26:19

the problem first.

26:25

And if I can't, because there's a biological reason or there's a chemical reason that is

26:25

beyond what I can physically, capably do myself, then it's...

26:34

It's like a safety net.

26:35

are medications out there that can help, but I've done it now with the weight loss

26:35

journey.

26:40

I've done it on the mental health journey.

26:43

I've been able to find ways for me personally, to be able to get either off medications or

26:43

to avoid medications by doing, and sometimes it's harder, you know, to get into the root

26:56

of the issues and stuff.

26:57

But for me, it's important enough to try to uproot it to have it never come back again.

27:03

than to just constantly mask it and never know how much pain you're truly in.

27:09

But that's just me.

27:11

know, yeah, I agree.

27:12

And my, from my side, like it comes from, was on a bunch of anti-seizure medication and I

27:12

started hallucinating.

27:19

It's having very, very bad side effects.

27:22

So I, you know, the doctors told me, well, you're crazy.

27:25

You need to go see a psychiatrist.

27:28

And so I got evaluated and they're like, you might have anxiety, you're not hallucinations

27:28

are coming from the medication you're on.

27:35

So I tapered without the doctor's permission.

27:37

I tapered myself off.

27:39

I went back to him said, no, like everything's fine, but I cannot take this medicine.

27:43

So I tried a couple of different things and some of them like made me like really stupid.

27:50

Like I couldn't get through a false sentence without slurring my speech or stumbling over

27:50

my words.

27:56

So I was like, you know what, fine.

27:58

then that's, that's where my, like, like I said, like you said, I'm not anti-medication,

27:58

I, but.

28:07

I'll take stuff here and there, but it's like, I found things that work for me.

28:11

So.

28:12

yeah, and I also hate that, know, doctors who don't know you that well, I feel like we

28:12

often make a blank, blanketed statements based on patterns or based on, you know, the

28:22

average person.

28:23

But I would, I had a nervous breakdown many, many years ago, long before my weight loss,

28:23

no, after my weight loss journey.

28:30

And they had put me on medication because I knew at that point, I had no other option.

28:34

I could not function on a daily basis.

28:37

And it worked, but again, when I got to a place where I was in a good place, I wanted to

28:37

get to the root of it.

28:43

I didn't want to live like this the rest of my life.

28:46

And I would ask the doctors, what can I do to wean off of it?

28:50

And they would tell me, well, if you get off the medication, you're gonna have panic

28:50

attacks for the rest of your life.

28:54

And just like that other doctor, I got very, very stubborn.

28:58

And I'm like, let me prove you wrong.

29:00

So then I started going to therapy.

29:02

I started working on my issues.

29:04

I knew what it caused.

29:05

my situation.

29:06

was a situational occurrence.

29:08

It wasn't a chemical thing.

29:10

And over time, and I kept like one or two pills in my purse.

29:14

I kept it in my purse for years.

29:15

It was like this added security blanket.

29:18

But every time I felt like I was starting to get nervous or starting to get anxious, I

29:18

knew that it was in there if I needed to.

29:24

But what can I do in the moment now on my own?

29:26

And if I can't handle it, I knew I had something to fall back on.

29:29

So like I said, I'm not anti.

29:32

medication but since then I've never had to take that pill ever since.

29:36

I love it.

29:37

I think it's fantastic.

29:39

I'm totally a big believer in taking medication to get out of those ruts and to push

29:39

through stuff.

29:49

So why would you say like throughout your journey, what roadblocks were the hardest for

29:49

you to remove?

30:01

I think a lot of it, the hardest thing for me was when it came to relationships in

30:01

general, friendships, family, marriages and stuff, I realized that when you are not happy

30:15

with yourself, your relationships are never gonna be healthy.

30:19

And so one of the things, when I was going through my weight loss journey, I had to really

30:19

look deep inside myself and kind of own up who I was, the good and the bad.

30:29

and understand like, I don't know about you, I was a people pleaser.

30:33

I was a yes person, know, even if I didn't wanna do it or if I didn't do it, they're gonna

30:33

be upset.

30:39

If I didn't respond to that phone call right away, they were gonna be upset.

30:41

And I think the biggest transformation for me was learning how to set boundaries and

30:41

learning to decide I'm numero uno in Sheri's world, Sheri's numero uno.

30:52

Everybody else is secondary and it...

30:55

It still feels like it's a very selfish thing to do, but I feel like it's something that's

30:55

very necessary for us.

31:02

We have to put ourselves first.

31:04

When they talk about filling people's cups or pouring from an empty glass, it gets so

31:04

true.

31:09

It took a long time to get to a point where you learn to tell people no, and you learn to

31:09

set your boundaries.

31:15

And during that process, there are people who will leave your life and it's a hard pill to

31:15

swallow.

31:22

But then you have to look at how valuable what were those relationships if they were only

31:22

around because they were getting something from it and they were not contributing as much

31:32

or anybody who doesn't support you wanting to be the best version of yourself doesn't have

31:32

your best interests at heart.

31:40

They're probably not your people.

31:42

And it's been hard, know, I've had family members and friends and stuff over the years

31:42

that you kind of have to just.

31:50

sever the tie with or just kind of cut the string on it.

31:53

But once you do, you feel like a huge weight has been lifted.

31:56

And then the more that you do that, the more you attract the right kind of people who are

31:56

going to be supportive, who are going to walk alongside you and not try to step on you to

32:07

get to the top or not try to use you for their own benefit.

32:10

And you kind of start being more selective on the kind of people you want in your

32:10

immediate surroundings.

32:18

Yeah, I love that because I think that's important.

32:21

it's set in setting batteries.

32:23

Like you said, it's very hard.

32:24

And I have a quick story that totally resonates with that.

32:28

so I have this friend, he was a co I was a roommate.

32:30

He's my college roommate and I kept in touch with him.

32:33

I mean, that was 20 years ago now, but I'll text him here and there.

32:37

I don't see him that often, but anyways, it'd been a couple of years since we'd spoke.

32:40

So I texted him.

32:41

It was like, how are you doing?

32:43

You know, like

32:44

Being roommates back in the day, we spoke fun of each other all the time.

32:49

And which was fine back then, but now like I was in a stage of my life where I couldn't

32:49

take it.

32:53

He brought up lot of this past stuff.

32:56

This was all through texts.

32:57

He sent me a song texts, like making fun of me.

33:00

So I pulled out my phone and this is before like I was going to major therapy and actually

33:00

knew what setting boundaries was like.

33:08

But I looked back and I was like, this is totally me setting a boundary.

33:12

And so he, I texted him back and I said,

33:14

Okay.

33:25

Okay.

33:27

back a month after that.

33:28

He apologizes and said, sorry, I'll never behave like that again.

33:31

Like we are better friends than that.

33:33

And it's been cool ever since.

33:36

And it's because I set that boundary.

33:39

Yeah.

33:40

You have to.

33:40

It's interesting.

33:41

And one thing that we have to realize too, whenever you're on your own personal journey

33:41

and the more you start elevating yourself, we have to remember that not everybody is on

33:50

the same playing field or on the same level of their journey as us.

33:54

And so sometimes

33:55

people are gonna fall to the wayside.

33:57

And it's not because you're better than them in any way, or form.

34:01

It's just some people will look at your success and either make it about themselves as

34:01

like an inferior or an insecurity thing.

34:08

Like, oh, she's lost 150 pounds.

34:11

I can't lose five pounds.

34:12

And then they start creating this different vision of you, based on it's a reflection of

34:12

them as a person.

34:20

Or sometimes people will be inspired by the changes that you're making.

34:25

and they want to walk up at the same level as you.

34:28

And those are the people you want.

34:30

But if you had never said anything, he would have continued to constantly do it to the

34:30

point where either you would have popped off or you would have completely ended it or said

34:38

something that you regretted because you're afraid to speak up because you're afraid if I

34:38

speak up, then he's going to make fun of me more.

34:45

He's going to get mad at me or not be my friend.

34:48

Well, is he really your friend if he's constantly putting you down?

34:52

Or is it because you're allowing it?

34:55

And if you're not saying he doesn't know not to do it, sometimes they don't realize that

34:55

what they're saying or doing is hurtful because it's never been brought to their

35:03

attention.

35:03

So if nothing's being said, it's a free pass.

35:06

They keep doing it.

35:07

I've been made fun of my entire life, but I also realized I made fun of myself as a

35:07

defense mechanism for so many years that I gave people permission to put me down or to

35:17

say, you know, hurtful things.

35:19

Do I have anyone to blame?

35:20

No, I allowed that to happen.

35:22

I never said anything about it.

35:25

and or I would beat them to the punch by um making it worse.

35:29

But the minute you speak up two things could have happened.

35:32

He learned that, okay maybe he doesn't like it when I do that.

35:35

You have a conversation about it or he gets defensive and then he doesn't talk to you ever

35:35

again.

35:39

Yeah.

35:39

And it's, and it's, it's crazy because as I can remember that, and it's probably been at

35:39

least five years ago, maybe longer that happened.

35:48

And I still contact him to this day, but it's like, I feel like since I said that our

35:48

relationship actually improved and now we're like more open with each other about what

35:58

we're going through.

36:00

I love that.

36:04

So how do you today stay grounded when, you know, through unexpected obstacles that

36:04

appear?

36:16

Some days are a lot easier, a lot harder than others, I will say.

36:20

It's just like we can all relate.

36:21

I love writing.

36:22

I'm very big on journaling and writing out your feelings and getting out of you.

36:27

I was somebody my whole life that always held everything in and like you just kept pushing

36:27

it, pushing it, pushing it.

36:33

Whereas now, one, when I'm going through these obstacles, I take the time to acknowledge

36:33

the roadblock that I'm facing.

36:40

just acknowledging I'm in a really crappy situation right now and sometimes I have to feel

36:40

the feels.

36:48

Sometimes you have to cry about it, you have to get angry about it, but you don't wanna

36:48

live there.

36:53

That's the important thing is like so many times when crap, I don't know if you can curse,

36:53

I'm trying not to curse.

36:58

When stuff happens, it's very easy to live in the suck and to let it completely consume

36:58

you.

37:04

So one, I acknowledge that it sucks.

37:07

I'm allowing myself, I was never a crier my entire life.

37:10

I was always the tough cookie, but I'm allowing myself to feel the feelings.

37:15

And then from there, I write it out.

37:16

I write out what I'm frustrated by.

37:18

write out what I would like to see happen.

37:21

Sometimes I'll try to manifest.

37:23

I do a lot of meditation CDs, just ways to kind of help me get grounded.

37:27

I find that working out or doing any kind of workouts or going for a walk is very, very

37:27

good for mental health.

37:34

It just naturally raises your hormones in a good place.

37:38

I will, like I said, I'll meditate.

37:40

Sometimes what I've been doing lately is every single day I'll write down a worry that I

37:40

have and then I rip it up.

37:47

So I'm really worried that such and such is not gonna come to fruition and then I write it

37:47

up.

37:52

Or I'm really worried that I'm not gonna lose the few pounds of regain that I have and

37:52

then I rip it up.

37:56

And it's kind of like acknowledging it's okay to have fear, it's okay to be scared.

38:01

but we're ripping it up so that we're releasing it out into the world.

38:05

It's not gonna live in this negative space in our body.

38:09

And then I'll replace it and I'll write something I'm grateful for that day.

38:12

I'm grateful that I have a roof over my head.

38:14

I'm grateful that I have money in the bank.

38:16

I'm grateful that I have somebody that I can call at three o'clock in the morning if I'm

38:16

having a rough time.

38:21

And I just try to all of these negative feelings that you have, you throw it out into the

38:21

universe and then you replace it with something good to help keep you.

38:30

more appreciative of what we have now in the moment.

38:36

Absolutely love it.

38:37

And you mentioned, you know, writing there and how you've always written stuff.

38:42

So, and you've written a few books.

38:45

So after becoming an author and sharing your story, what surprised you the most?

38:52

healing it is when you write your own story.

38:56

When we've all had stuff happen in our past, but there's something about writing about

38:56

your past from your current place.

39:02

It kind of just brings like this different perspective and reflection on how far you've

39:02

come.

39:08

So the first book that I wrote was unzipped, which was all about my weight loss journey.

39:13

And going back and reliving a lot of those moments and writing it from a place where I

39:13

wasn't that person anymore.

39:19

and realizing how your past shapes who you are today.

39:24

It doesn't define who you are today, but it does help shape the person that you become.

39:30

And so for me, I found it to be kind of like the biggest, I feel like the freest version

39:30

of therapy that I've ever had is to tell my story.

39:42

That's awesome.

39:44

And you have two books.

39:47

Yeah, I currently have two books.

39:48

second.

39:49

So the first book unzipped is about my weight loss journey dealing with obesity and in

39:49

overcoming that.

39:54

The second book is called Blindsided.

39:57

And it's just a lot of stories of every time in my life that I've been blindsided by

39:57

something and how I either found humor or how I found a way to adapt around it and how

40:07

even a lot of those blind sides later on in life served a purpose.

40:12

And sometimes you don't realize I say it all the time.

40:15

Everything's for a reason.

40:16

Whether we understand the why yet, it all happens for a reason.

40:21

I am a firm believer in that.

40:25

It's, I, totally believe it like 110%, like everything is for a reason.

40:31

It is.

40:32

Like I said, whether you're religious or spiritual or none of the above, I've had too many

40:32

instances in my life where if things did not play out the way that it played out back

40:41

then, it would not have come to fruition the way that it needed to right now.

40:47

yeah.

40:48

it's, I can say the same thing about myself.

40:50

And it's like, even look back because I work in the tech industry and I was laid off three

40:50

times in seven years.

40:57

And each time I was laid off, like it was like a hit to my ego.

41:01

Like it was a hit to my self esteem and everything.

41:03

And, but it's like every time that I found a new job, it was just a little bit better than

41:03

the last one.

41:12

Mm-hmm.

41:12

everything.

41:13

I looked back and I was like, you know, there was a reason why I got laid off because I'm

41:13

actually bettering myself.

41:21

Absolutely.

41:22

I love that.

41:26

So for someone listening that feels stuck, know, ashamed, overwhelmed, what's the first

41:26

piece of advice that you would give them?

41:38

you are not alone.

41:40

Like first and foremost, whatever thoughts are going through your head, those thoughts

41:40

have been in somebody else's head before you, they'll be in somebody else's head after

41:50

you.

41:50

The hardest part when you're dealing with going through hard times or people who've dealt

41:50

with depression, you feel like nobody gets it.

41:58

You feel like that you're truly alone.

42:01

I've been there, I've deleted the contacts in my phone, I've sat on the grass at five

42:01

o'clock in the morning with a certain special hotline, waiting to get some kind of

42:10

assistance, you feel that there's nobody there.

42:12

But I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt, there is always somebody there for you to

42:12

talk to, and you're not alone in whatever you're going through.

42:22

And when you kind of remove the fear of being truly alone in it, uh

42:27

it becomes slightly easier to help navigate the next steps after that.

42:36

100%.

42:36

And because I remember being in that, I actually just overcame a depressive mode, probably

42:36

within the last month, I was in a kind of a rut for about two or three months.

42:49

And I, it took me a while to get out of it.

42:52

Uh, but it's, it's like, once you kind of remove that barrier and actually let people in

42:52

to help you and admit that you need the help, that's when you're going to see and feel

43:03

like.

43:03

yeah, the hardest part is admitting that you have a problem.

43:06

I think that when you're dealing with depression, and obviously we're not professionals in

43:06

that regard, but it's been in my experience in having dealt with depression, the best way

43:17

to get over depression is to acknowledge it.

43:20

Say it to, I'm depressed right now.

43:22

I'm having a really up and hard time right now.

43:25

And just acknowledge, stop trying to fight it, stop trying to play it cool with your

43:25

friends and family or,

43:31

posting on social media, everything is good, even though you're dying inside, own where

43:31

you are right now.

43:37

And once you can own it, you feel a sense of relief because you're saying it.

43:42

It's like when you have an addiction, anybody who's had food or drugs or alcohol or

43:42

anything, the moment you admit that you have a problem, that you have an issue is the

43:52

hardest part.

43:53

After that, it's not always a cakewalk.

43:56

but it gets a little bit easier to get to the next phase.

43:59

So people who are struggling own your feelings, say it out loud, talk to yourself, write

43:59

it down.

44:06

Just stop kidding yourself and just say, I have a problem.

44:10

And then start looking into resources on how to get to the other side of it.

44:16

And I can attest to that because that's when I actually admitted that I had a problem and

44:16

that I was going through all this stuff.

44:24

That's when I saw the biggest change in myself.

44:28

And it seems like the change just never stops now.

44:31

it's always something.

44:32

I mean, I'll still kind of fall back into some old ways because I'm still working through

44:32

stuff, but the change is there.

44:38

Yeah, of course.

44:39

When you're in a negative headspace, you find the negative in everything.

44:42

Like, your coffee wasn't, of course my coffee wasn't warm enough because the nothing I

44:42

can't have anything.

44:48

And you just start creating, you just start finding the negative in everything.

44:52

But instead, like, hey, I had money to buy myself a cup of coffee today.

44:57

You know, like I have a car that I was able to drive to a drive through.

45:01

There are people who don't have and like, once you start putting things into perspective

45:01

and trying to find

45:06

a glimmer of something positive in all of this.

45:09

And maybe I'm askewed because I've always been someone that whenever the crap has hit the

45:09

fan really bad, the universe always finds a way to put humor into it.

45:18

And this is a serious topic, but I was on the hotline on a live chat waiting for my turn

45:18

to have somebody to talk to.

45:27

And when it was my turn, my phone froze.

45:30

And I would look down and I'm like,

45:32

And I'm like trying to touch the phone and nothing worked.

45:35

And I'm like, the one time that you need somebody to help you and there's nobody there.

45:39

I literally laughed out loud because of course, of course the one time that I decided to

45:39

turn to this hotline and it doesn't even fricking work for me.

45:48

Of course it's not going to happen for me.

45:50

And then I started laughing and I was like, if I can laugh in this moment, I'm going to be

45:50

okay.

45:57

I might not know how.

45:59

I'm gonna be okay.

46:00

just know in my heart I'm gonna be okay.

46:03

And it's always, my whole life has been like that.

46:06

It's like whenever something crappy happens, something funny in my world happens, and I'm

46:06

just like, yeah, that makes sense.

46:14

Yeah, I'm the same way.

46:16

I think humor is one of the best things ever.

46:19

But I'm the type of person that I always laugh at the most inappropriate times.

46:26

it's like, see, I'm trying to think of how to word it without me sounding absolutely

46:26

terrible.

46:34

You know, my wife will get after me for something or we'll have a little disagreement or

46:34

whatever.

46:39

And instead of trying to figure it out, I kind of start laughing and get a smile on my

46:39

face.

46:43

And sometimes it's like a nervous thing, but my wife absolutely hates it.

46:47

I'm like, I'm sorry.

46:49

Like it's just be trying to get through the moment.

46:52

Like, and it's not even, yeah.

46:55

I don't, don't like when things happen, like I always I'd say it's a dark sense of humor,

46:55

you know, and you have to you have to know your audience.

47:04

Yeah.

47:04

And I always make the joke that like, if, if I was ever, put up on the stand for a crime,

47:04

I'd probably be found guilty because I would start smiling and smirking.

47:15

they'd automatically say like, he's guilty.

47:17

I'm a terrible liar.

47:18

I get really uncomfortable and then I start like giggling.

47:22

Yeah.

47:22

it's not even that like it's it's more like somebody calling something out or me getting

47:22

like nervous like I have this little smirk and I know that I'm doing it but I can't help

47:32

it.

47:34

Listen, I'm a firm believer, like just be you, you know?

47:39

and people need to accept you exactly as you are.

47:44

I agree.

47:46

Sometimes I feel like I've gone through life and sometimes that's easier said for some

47:46

people than done.

47:51

great, I've learned in life that I no longer have expectations on people because like I

47:51

can expect someone to stop doing certain traits or not to be a certain way, but then I'm

48:01

gonna keep getting disappointed.

48:03

I can't change other people.

48:04

They have to change themselves.

48:05

So I've learned to pick and choose my battles.

48:08

And if it gets to a point where it's just too much for me to handle for my own personal

48:08

peace, then I can walk away.

48:13

But I've learned to accept people exactly as they are.

48:17

Quirks and all.

48:19

that's awesome.

48:21

I love that.

48:21

And I think that's something that I need to, for the most part I do, but there's sometimes

48:21

that like certain quirks or whatever like to really bother me.

48:30

And I just can't get over them.

48:32

I can't think of any examples, but there are some that I like.

48:36

it depends on the person, because like I said, you know your audience, you know how people

48:36

are gonna respond or not.

48:41

I'm learning in my older age to confront and be on, I have a right to be honest with you.

48:47

If I care about you, if I love you as a friend or a family or whatever, I owe it to you to

48:47

be honest with how I'm feeling.

48:54

So if I'm feeling a certain way about something, I'm being, there's ways you can approach

48:54

it without being a jerk about it, but.

49:02

I've learned to be more vocal about it.

49:04

And if you truly care about me, then you're gonna care about my feelings too.

49:08

And other than that, if it's something that I can't overlook, like I said, I have no

49:08

problem walking away from it, but sometimes people don't realize those quirks.

49:17

They don't realize that it bothers you because you don't say anything.

49:21

Exactly.

49:24

So I just have a few more things here.

49:26

This is awesome.

49:27

I feel like I could keep talking to you.

49:29

There's so many different ways we could go.

49:31

I love this.

49:31

I'm having a great time.

49:34

So what's one belief that you see people often carry that you just love to dig in and help

49:34

them unlearn?

49:43

that they can't do it, whatever it is.

49:45

The biggest thing that I hear often is they can't do something.

49:48

Whether it's in a professional setting or in a relationship or in their weight loss

49:48

journey or just in like a general thing or whatever, I love when people say I can't do it.

49:58

I was like, why?

49:59

Why can't you do it?

50:00

And then we start peeling back the layers.

50:04

Yeah, that's fantastic.

50:06

Cause it's like, I just automatically think back to my therapy experience.

50:10

It's like, it's one of the things I had to unlearn was, well, I can't do that.

50:15

I can't do this.

50:16

No, you can.

50:17

You're just not putting your mind to it.

50:19

Right.

50:20

Now some things, people can be sarcastic.

50:22

If it defies the laws of physics, then maybe likely, but even then I'm like, what?

50:28

Maybe there's a way.

50:30

Maybe we don't know the way yet, but maybe there's still a way.

50:31

Like you're, I'm still gonna, I'm still gonna combat it.

50:37

Yeah, I absolutely love it.

50:40

So you've, I'm to go back to, you know, mobile stuff here.

50:45

So you've been living mobile for years.

50:48

What keeps you motivated to continue evolving?

50:52

Honestly, I think it's the people.

50:54

I think it's the people that I meet.

50:55

Like I said, it started with a single t-shirt and then it got to getting messages from

50:55

people.

51:01

I've had people from all around the world.

51:04

I've had clients in Italy and Australia and Canada.

51:07

It's getting messages that tell me that when they're having a rough day or if they're

51:07

about to do something really hard, they put on their MOBA hat or they put on their MOBA

51:16

shirt and it's what it represents.

51:18

They're like, beasted it.

51:19

because I wore MOBA today.

51:21

And I've had people send me photos of them doing 10 Ks or five Ks or running for the first

51:21

time and they wear their MOBA gear.

51:29

It's not about, yeah, the shirts are nice quality.

51:32

I do a lot of tri blends.

51:33

I don't believe in cheap products, but it's more than the shirt.

51:37

It's what it represents.

51:38

It represents the belief that you can do this.

51:42

And with MOBA, like last year, we did a tough mutter.

51:47

in St.

51:48

Louis, Missouri, in I think it was uh September of, no, April of last year, where we had

51:48

like 10 or 15 people that were all formally obese, some were at one point over 500 pounds.

51:59

And we did 10 miles together in mud, in obstacles, and watching people in real time

51:59

conquer something that they never dreamed ever possible, that we just did it again this

52:10

year.

52:10

We just did our second Tough Mudder in Nashville in October.

52:14

And uh

52:16

And it was a whole new slew of people who had never done it before, who were terrified and

52:16

watching people accomplish something that was impossible.

52:25

Some like there was people that I've met that their goal was to get a driver's license as

52:25

an adult.

52:30

They hadn't gotten one yet and they were terrified of the process and they would wear

52:30

their MOBA shirt.

52:34

And then they went out and got their driver's license or people that had like health

52:34

scares that were told that, you know,

52:42

kind like with you and me, that they were gonna have to succumb to this for the rest of

52:42

their life and it was able to overcome that.

52:47

And so for me, it's far more than what the t-shirt is.

52:51

Yes, I would love to make sales and push my product out into the world.

52:56

It's more of like the people who have embraced the movement.

53:00

That's what keeps me going every day.

53:05

That's fantastic.

53:08

Most of the time it only takes a few of those people to keep things pushing forward.

53:13

You're like, oh yes, that's a huge win for me.

53:16

Mm-hmm.

53:17

And they're turning around inspiring other people just by embracing a mindset that they

53:17

can overcome anything that they set their mind to.

53:28

So what would you say is the biggest stigma when it comes to mental health?

53:34

that it's weak to seek help.

53:36

think, and like, and in fairness, I think that I looked at it that way for a long time,

53:36

you know, like I grew up having to figure everything out myself and I didn't talk to

53:46

anybody and I kept everything in and like, just suck it up and keep going.

53:50

And it gets to a point where you can push it down as much as you want.

53:54

Your body's gonna make it come out of you at some point, whether you're ready for it or

53:54

not.

53:58

And I think...

54:00

I think people take the term mental health as like this negative connotation.

54:04

Mental health does not necessarily just mean depression or anxiety or bipolar or some

54:04

clinical.

54:11

Mental health is also a positive mindset.

54:14

It's also positive thoughts.

54:16

It's a positive, it's mental health, having a good mental health, having a negative mental

54:16

health.

54:21

But I think, I think the term is just, it's been synonymous with something negative for so

54:21

long that people are afraid to admit that

54:30

they're feeling off, you know?

54:32

It's normal.

54:35

Yeah, that's great because I think it's important to point out the positive side of mental

54:35

health.

54:40

Like you said, we don't do that a lot.

54:42

So that's very well said.

54:45

So where can people find you?

54:49

Um, so my website is moba mentality.com.

54:53

That's where you can find the apparel and you can find a link to the community.

54:56

have a community on discord that people join.

54:59

Um, I'm on tick talk.

55:01

I'm moba.shari.

55:02

I think the same on Instagram.

55:05

I think those are the three most main places that you can always find me.

55:08

Like my website has contact information.

55:10

You can reach out to me.

55:11

You can always send me a message.

55:15

And the last thing is we've discussed quite a few topics here tonight.

55:21

Is there anything that you'd like to bring up that we did not cover?

55:26

Mmm.

55:31

The biggest piece of advice that I haven't yet put it on a shirt, but I'm gonna put it on

55:31

a shirt, is that we always have two choices.

55:38

You will always have two choices in life.

55:41

I don't know, can you curse on here?

55:43

I don't think you can curse.

55:44

But be, okay, bitch and complain or adapt and change.

55:49

We're always gonna have an option no matter what we are being faced with.

55:52

And like I said, the one thing that we are guaranteed in life is change, whether we want

55:52

it or not.

55:58

How we navigate through that determines our mindset.

56:01

and determines our character.

56:05

Awesome.

56:05

Love it.

56:06

Sheri, thank you for spending an hour with me and coming on and being a badass.

56:11

Well, thank you for having me!

56:14

I've really enjoyed the conversation.

56:15

This is all great.

56:17

Stories like yours, the reason that I keep going.

56:20

I also get an added thing where it's almost like a free therapy session for me.

56:26

So thank you.

56:28

do to help.

56:29

And you have my contact information.

56:30

You can always reach out to me anytime as well.

56:33

And if you ever want me to come back, I'll just invite myself back.

56:35

That's fine.

56:37

That sounds great.

56:39

I love, I love people who want to come back.

56:42

It makes me feel like I'm doing something right.

56:45

So.

56:46

I love that.

56:46

Well, you're a very welcoming host.

56:48

like I said, I love the flow of conversation and not feeling so like cut and dry.

56:55

Awesome.

56:56

And thank you to all those that have been listening.

56:58

If you resonated with this episode, please share it.

57:02

You can find us on all major podcast platforms.

57:05

Thanks again.

57:06

Until next time.

Want more real conversations?