meet alexandra weiss
What is one of your most important morning rituals?
I’ve been playing around with adaptogens and things I can put in my coffee. I’m really into the mushroom, lion’s mane. The tincture I use is from a company called Rainbo. I mix it with my coffee, and I’ve found over time, it’s given me a little extra boost of energy and focus. I’m always trying new things. But I found that this has been working and I’ve stuck with it.
How does food impact your mental health?
I have struggled with weight and dieting my entire life and have tried every fad diet under the sun. I grew up really overweight. No matter what I weighed, I still needed to try the latest trend or the nutritionist I’d read about. I got to a point where things would work in the short term. But what has really made a difference is eating whole foods and so I became obsessed with going to the farmer’s market.
“Buying things directly from the source has made such a difference in how I feel.”
It’s made me more mindful about eating and not obsessing over calories. I’m by no means a chef. I just enjoy knowing what’s in my food and making things that taste really good, that I know are healthy.
What inspires you and gets your creative juices going?
I go to an art gallery called Karma that’s in my neighborhood. I like taking a step back even when I’m really busy and doing something that inspires me creatively. It helps with my stress levels and with my mental health. It’s meditative and I get to become the observer and not overthink. I find when I take the time to do something, it makes me more focused and makes me work harder, and I actually want to get back to work. It helps get me out of my own head and be a better professional and a better person.
What grounds you?
I believe a reflection practice is really important. We have so many opinions coming at us from other people and voices in our own head. We’re on overdrive, so it’s important to take time and process it. Journaling is the way I do that. I take time in my morning to journal and reflect on what’s going on and process what I’ve been through and how I’m feeling. Some mornings I do a full journaling and some mornings, it’s really quick and I reflect on my successes. I try to set the tone for the day instead of tuning into worrying and overthinking.
During the pandemic, have you brought in any new mental health practices?
A friend recommended I try ketamine. I’ve always been terrified of drugs, but I’d heard such good things, so I started working with Mindbloom to use ketamine as a therapeutic forum to help build my confidence and inner trust, shift my perspective, and approach things in new ways. I would recommend it.
“I have found that it’s really helped with stabilizing my mood, with some anxiety, and being able to approach situations more level-headed than in the past.”
It’s a process that I’m still learning about and growing into, but so far, it’s been really cool. Also, ketamine has definitely helped me be less anxious and less reactive. I feel like when I’m triggered by things, I can pause and process it a little bit.
How would you describe your mental health currently?
My mental health currently is a beautiful work in progress. I continuously discover things and I continuously have days that feel awful and I’m learning how to manage both of them and be really honest and authentic about it because not every day is rainbows. I have learned some tools and practices that make those really bad days a little bit better. That can be journaling or calling a friend. So it’s ebbs and flows, but I’m also learning that by embracing even those bad parts helps me be a full person.
How does intimacy and relationships impact your mental health?
The biggest learning I’ve had with friendships, whether it’s romantic partners, sexual, or long-term partners, is I need to show up for myself first. And I have definitely learned how to do that more and more. Again, I’m a work in progress as I live and learn. But the more that I can practice self-care and implement these practices where I feel good about my mental health, I’m able to be a better person in a relationship. I’m not as reactive. I’m not as dependent. I’m not placing the external weight of the world on them. I’ve learned that we can be independent people who share great connection, emotion, and love, while still being our own person.
What’s your take on medication, like antidepressants, and supplements?
Everybody has a different makeup and a different chemical reaction and personal reaction. If you find that prescription medication works, awesome. If you find psychedelic medication works, awesome. If you find you can do it all without medication, that’s cool too. Everybody should take the time to grow and work on themselves.
What makes you stressed or anxious and therefore impacts your mood?
Some days it can be the littlest things. Some days the weight of the world and current events going on are devastating. It’s about trying to continuously ground myself and help myself. But also giving back and that’s one of the reasons I really love coaching and got into it. I can’t go out and fix the way of the world, but maybe I can help one person and they can help one person. We all do what we can.
When do you feel most at peace?
With friends.
When do you feel your body tense up?
Not having the answers, not knowing it all.
What gives you serotonin?
Laughing.
What does your body language say about you?
Hopefully that I’m inviting.
When do you speak your mind?
When I feel at home in a safe place and with like-minded people.
next story — akilah cadet