Today, a friend and I wrapped ourselves up in layers: hats, scarves, coats, and sunglasses to hike up a steep trail by my house. I am motivated to get in shape for my upcoming vacation to Yellowstone with my beautiful, billygoat daughter.
The chilly, 25 mph winds grew fiercer as we slowly walked up the side of the hill. For most of the way my head was down, my hand gripped my hat, and all I saw were tan rocks on the dirt trail; but, when I glanced over at my friend, I noticed that her nose was turning red, and the wind was blowing her nearly off her feet.
"I can't go on any further," she said when we were three-fourths of the way up the hill.
She looked like she was about to have an anxiety attack. I astutely assessed that being blown off a steep hill would be rather unpleasant. Being built differently, the wind didn't have any chance of blowing me anywhere, that's for sure.
"Okay," I said, as I moved over to her side, "Just hang on to me, and we can head down."
We got back to my house where she could calm down and drink some water. After her dizziness subsided, we laughed about the wind nearly lifting her off her feet, and she grinned and said, "Well, that was an adventure!"
So much for our Hero's Journey today, but that is how life goes sometimes.
Read on for further reflections on the Hero's Journey, wounded healers, and more on the second part of Dr. David Kopacz's podcast interview. This week, we will be exploring all of these topics as we holistic psychiatrists shoot the breeze on all things abstract and mental. 😄
Have an adventuresome week!
On Building Resilience
CliffsNotes for your Hero’s Journey
Mark Hyman, MD—world-famous, nine-time #1 New York Times bestselling author on integrative health, and an internationally recognized leader in functional medicine—began his Hero's Journey when he became deathly ill.
David Kopacz, MD—a brilliant, creative integrative psychiatrist, author, and artist—began his journey after flunking calculus. He was aiming to be an engineer and felt lost and humiliated by his experience.
I specialize in holistic psychiatric medication withdrawal and have freed many patients from being patients—I like to think of myself as the "Harriet Tubman" of psychiatry. However, my journey began with my own frustrating struggle with Zoloft withdrawal, after experiencing severe withdrawal side-effects from 1996-2002.
We wounded healers are not shy about sharing our own healing journeys in our writings, presentations, or podcasts.
In our next podcast, Dr. Kopacz and I explore the ideas of the "wounded healer" and the "Hero's Journey." The two concepts are interconnected because the wounded healer must go on their own Hero's Journey in order to overcome their suffering.
Along the way, the wound transforms as we gather the insights and resources we need to heal. We become stronger and more resilient. In time, we bring our wisdom and experiences back to the group to help others overcome their wounds as well. It's a joyful, poignant, and love-filled cycle.
In addition, Dr. Kopacz and I discuss the idea of the Medicine Wheel, a concept that he writes about in his and Joseph Rael's book Walking the Medicine Wheel: Healing Trauma and PTSD. We explore the way life goes in circles (but, if you're an optimist, one can think of life as a spiral—going up).
When faced with the challenges of suffering, we are called to our own Hero's Journey. Where will it take us? What will we learn? How will we change? The hero in us may feel at times as if the winds of life might blow us off our feet and down the mountain. Sometimes, we have to quit for the day and go back to our home base—until next time, when we give the trail another try.
May the hero in you take you on many grand and wonderful adventures to places you never imagined possible.
Have an amazing week!
The Holistic Psychiatrist Podcast (Ep. 9):
Exploring integrative and holistic healing
at all levels of being with Dr. David Kopacz (part 2 of 3)
In part 2 of our 3 part series, Dr. Lee and Dr. Kopacz explore the idea of the medicine wheel and how life evolves through circles. The discussion centers around the “Hero’s Journey” and the “wounded healer” and how to create resilience in the face of suffering.
Dr. David Kopacz is the author of three books: Re-humanizing Medicine, Walking the Medicine Wheel, and Becoming Medicine. He is a holistic psychiatrist practicing in Seattle, WA in the VA system, helping veterans heal from trauma.
Click here for the full episode available on Wednesday.
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Click on the picture below to listen to the teaser.