36 - Turning Your Hardest Chapters Into Your Life's Work with Brooke Marie Bridges

In this episode, the inspiring Brooke Marie Bridges—storyteller, mental health advocate, author, herbalist, and mama of two—shares her incredible behind-the-scenes journey from child actor to multi-passionate entrepreneur who turned her darkest chapters into her life's most meaningful work. 

If you've ever felt like you were holding the most beautiful and the most overwhelming experience of your life at the exact same time, this episode is for you. It's less an interview and more like the kind of talk you have with a cool mom friend who just gets it.

Here's a peek at what we cover:

• Brooke's journey from child actress to mental health warrior and how a dark night of the soul led her to the healing work she does today
• The reality of postpartum anxiety and what it actually feels like to hold the joy and the fear of new motherhood at the same time
• Her short film, The Letdown, and the cultural conversation around postpartum mental health she's hoping to spark
• How she manages multiple entrepreneurial pursuits without losing herself
• Her filtering process for knowing what to say yes to as a creator 
• Her intuitive approach to herbalism, cycle syncing, and using nature as a living landscape for healing
• The pivot from "I need to make money" to "I want to help people" and how that shift actually opened more doors than anything else she tried

This one is soul-nourishing from start to finish. I know you'll walk away with something meaningful. 

Follow along with Brooke and keep up with all of her amazing projects and offers:

Brooke's Instagram: @brookembridges

Brooke's Website: unearthingwellness.co

The Letdown (short film): theletdownfilm.com

Brooke's book recommendation: When Things Fall Apart by Pema Chödrön

mompreneur, motherhood, postpartum anxiety, mental health, cycle syncing, mom business owner

Get access to the Success Recalibration Ritual here! You deserve to feel good about the way you're doing life and business and motherhood no matter what season of life you're in. 

Are you an ambitious mom looking to start or grow your business in a way that feels aligned? Here's what to do next:

1. Follow me on Instagram @MomBossFreedom and subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss the newest episodes! If this content really resonates with you, be sure to leave a review and star rating as well<3
2. Come meet other mom business owners at an informal virtual Mompreneur Meetup on July 28th! Register here. Connect with other mom biz owners who just get it, who you can add to your squad, and who you can potentially collab with. 
3. Schedule a Momentum Mapping Session to break through your current business roadblock! 
4. Access the Success Recalibration Ritual so you can start feeling more successful more often as a mom and business owner!
5. Head here for helpful freebies like 5 Mindset Shifts to Re-energize Your Biz as a Mompreneur and 3 Nervous System Shifts That Unlock Sustainable Growth for Mompreneurs! 

If you're reading this, our paths were meant to cross :) I can't wait to ...

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hey mama, welcome to the Mom Boss Freedom Podcast, where ambitious moms come to build and grow businesses that give them the freedom and flexibility that they deserve as both a mom and an incredibly talented human. Whether you're brand new to entrepreneurship or scaling a business you already started, you're in the right place. I'm your host, Paige Figueroa, mom of two and former English teacher turned online business owner. Around here, we talk about making space for both your big dreams and those little moments you don't want to miss as a mom. So reheat your coffee one more time and let's dive into today's episode. Welcome to another episode of the Mom Boss Freedom Podcast. Today I have a really incredible interview to share with you with none other than Brooke Marie Bridges, who you may or may not have seen on TV growing up in shows like The Young and the Restless and Ned's Declassified. But Brooke is just an incredible storyteller, a mental health advocate, a mom of two, and she has so many incredible entrepreneurial projects that she is involved in, including some nonprofit work, herbalism, creating a new film kind of rooted in postpartum anxiety, and just like the experience of becoming a mom. And so, in this conversation together, we kind of explore the gamut of her experience in the entrepreneurial space, her behind the scenes of um, you know, being a mental health warrior, and also just some of the fun and cool and deep and nuanced aspects of being a woman and a mother in this day and age. And so I really hope that you enjoy this episode. She has so many incredible insights and um inspiring uh aspects of her journey to share, and just so many pieces of wisdom. And I I really hope that you take I know that you will take something important away from this listen. So enjoy. Hi, Brooke. Thank you so much for joining us on the Mom Boss Freedom Podcast. I'm so honored that you are joining us today. Me too. I'm really happy to be here. Me too. This is uh very exciting, and you have so many things going on in your world right now, and you just have such a rich history of like cre like things in the creative realm. Um, and so I'm really excited for listeners to get to know you a little bit more today, like your behind-the-scenes journey, and then some of the cool projects that you have going on right now as well. So I'd love it for you if you could take us back on this episode. We like to like kind of like go back to the beginning and just kind of get some context about people's journeys. Now, I know since you have, you know, been a child actor in some like cool shows, you some of your like journey is already out there for people to know, but it's always fun to hear from like your perspective. So, can you give us a quick rundown of like your entrepreneurial background? What wherever you feel like that starts for you?

SPEAKER_02 2:58

Yes. So I love that question actually, because my entrepreneurial journey started when I was like seven or so, maybe. So I was a kid that wanted a lot of stuff. You know, I'm a Leo. I my grandmother was also Leo's. She was very fancy. I always wanted to be very fancy. I loved stuff. So, you know, I was quite the consumer as a young child. And my parents were great because they were very much like, we're not just gonna give you stuff. Like, we're not gonna just buy you everything you want. That's not how the world works. You know, you have to earn it. You know, like obviously, birthdays, Christmas, like those are those moments where we give you things without you asking. But otherwise, you need to figure out a way to like make some money. And of course, even though I was an actor for a long time, most of the money that came home was going towards like our mortgage and taking me down. So it wasn't money that I was like going into my pocket. And I didn't know that was even happening anyway. So my I started to do entrepreneurial things. I was like, okay, I'm gonna clean your guys' cars. You know, how much money do you give me for that? And then as I got older, my aunt was a teacher. So I was like, okay, can I help you grade papers? Like, I'll use the answer key. And so I would start doing that. And so I was just like pulling together all these little odd jobs so that I could buy whatever it was at the time that I wanted to buy, which to be honest, most of the time it was baby dolls or clothes or something like that. And I was obsessed with children, babies at the time when I was younger, even though I was a baby myself.

SPEAKER_00 4:26

So I feel like we were in like the Barbie generation and like all the dolls, American girl dolls, barbies, all of the dolls.

SPEAKER_02 4:33

Oh, yeah. And there was another type called the choo shoo shoe or something, which was like, you know, it was like a little infant baby doll, very obsessed. So that's really when it started was when I was like a little kid, just like wanting things and understanding that I could help people in some way, and they would toss me a couple bucks to make their life a little easier.

SPEAKER_00 4:54

That is so fun. And I feel like um that's the part that people don't see is like it's not just how you're like making money and you're like living or your career, it's like the things behind the scenes that you're like drawn to, and you're like, oh, I I just like I feel inspired to do this. I'm also very jealous that you're a Leo. I think I have my Chiron in Leo, so that's something that I'm like destined to like overcome and get better at, but like something that's a little bit of a challenge and takes work for me. So you're you're lucky in that sense for sure. Um, I feel like it's that's like a common thing for actors to be a Leo, I think, too.

SPEAKER_02 5:28

Yeah, I think so. Yeah, that's an extra version. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 5:33

Super cool. Um, okay, so after like working as a child actor for so long, I you have your hand in so many different like areas in the entrepreneurial space. Can you just give us kind of like an overview of some of the before we talk about like getting into the project that you're working on right now with the the documentary and the film, can you share a little bit about like some of the different um things that you're doing and that you have that you can serve with people?

SPEAKER_02 6:01

Yeah. So my my like for some background, even though you know I was a child actor, it was fun at times, but it was also quite challenging for my mental health. As you can imagine, like being in the world of performance is there's a lot of pressure and a lot of self-worth and self-value issues. So my journey very quickly in in my late teens turned a little bit darker where I was like really struggling with my mental health. And when I came out of that mental health kind of crisis and I got better, that's kind of when I realized I could help other people. So what I'm doing now is like you're the best teacher on things that you have personally experienced. Like you are a master at something that you have overcome. And you know, so I could talk about a whole bunch of stuff, I could learn a bunch of stuff in books, but most of the stuff that I talk about deals with mental health, deals with motherhood, deals with just, you know, overcoming those feelings that sometimes we don't understand. So right now, my predominant work, you know, I've done so many things. I've done cooking, I was a kicker, I had a business in LA called Your In Home Chef for a while that was doing fairly well. Um, I was a preschool teacher, like I've done a bunch of stuff. But what I realized and like what everything has really landed on and has felt inspiring is work that where the underarching theme is mental health, mental, emotional, physiological well-being, like just whole holistic well-being. So my one of my big roles right now is I am a public speaker and I speak in schools about mental health uh through this agency called Minding Your Mind. So a nonprofit organization. The whole goal is to destigmatize conversations on mental health. So there's that bucket. And then I also have my business called Unearthing Wellness, where essentially I help people through story cognitive work and embodied practice and earth-based work overcome some of their roadblocks, you know, heal burnout, um, and just kind of come back to themselves and mothers, especially as well. And then I have, you know, um my short film that I'm working on. I'm also an author. So I have a book deal going, and my first book is sort of unearthing wellness, my business in like book form. So it's well working title. We don't know what we're gonna call it yet, but working title is Wild Healing. So it's like you know, embodied practices and mindful foraging for mind, body, earth wellness. And then I'm also working on some thrillers. So I'm kind of all over the place, but through every single thing, like the one thread, or there's a couple little threads, but the threads are all mental health and honestly womanhood and motherhood, and you know, navigating this world as a woman and all of the bigger pressures that are expected of us as you know, who we are and how we can work with them in a way that's actually gonna help us heal.

SPEAKER_00 8:56

Yeah. I love that. And I also love how you're you're not like pigeon holding yourself in like a particular line of work necessarily, because it's like your it's almost like your soul's development and is drawing you to what is important to you, and all those pieces like fit into that bucket, as you said. Um, because I feel like for entrepreneurs, I feel like there's this like pressure sometimes. People are like, you need to like find your niche and like get good at this one specific thing. But I feel like as humans, we're drawn to a lot of us, at least I should speak for myself, we're like drawn to so many different areas or like you know, your work manifests in different realms. And so to like kind of cut yourself off from something just because it's like not in your niche per se, I feel like can do a lot of damage. Um, so for you, having balancing all of these, you know, different, like having your hand in so many different lines of work, you know, says different quote unquote lines of work. How do you make space in your schedule for all of those interests and things that you were just genuinely drawn to?

SPEAKER_02 10:02

Yeah, it's a good question. You know, I my entire life, everybody told me, pick a thing, pick a lane. I was like, no, you know, I really rejected that. And I think, you know, for people who don't pick a lane, the growth can sort of feel like slower because, you know, if you pick a lane, you know, you focus on this one thing, you can kind of, you know, have a trajectory that's kind of a more of a straight line. Obviously, entrepreneurship's all over the place. So not really a straight line, but you know, metaphorically speaking, a bit more straight. And now I have all these little branches, but now I feel like I'm building this like big giant tree, you know, so it's taking me a little bit longer. And but now I'm starting to see like all of it paying off. For instance, you know, this book. I was a photographer in LA for like a couple of years, so I know how to work a camera. So this book, I'm like also doing the photo some of the photography for it, you know. Somebody back then told me to not do the photography because it's not related to, and I was like, no, I'm gonna do it. And so now I have this beautiful camera, and you know, so it's like all of these, I'm starting to notice all of these little buckets kind of feeding into each other. I will say I have matured a lot though in my approach to like managing them all because I used to get an idea and immediately just like run with it. I can't remember. It was a podcast I think that I listened to. I cannot remember who it was, but they said you need to figure out if this idea that's coming in is like noise or if it's signal, you know. So like I have had to really tap into my like bigger theme of mental health, of storytelling for mental health, of mind-body listening, you know, and like that's the theme. So if I get an idea and it fits into that theme and it helps move that theme forward, and it is, you know, of service to others because that's really important to me, then I'll follow it. Yeah. If it does it, I'm like, oh, that's fun. And like maybe I'll do it in my off time if it feels like a fun hobby, you know. So like my novel, for instance, I started that in 2023 because I love to write and I've always loved to write. And so I would do it at night. I wouldn't, it wouldn't be a part of my work day. Yeah. And now, you know, it's with my agent and she really likes it, and we're probably gonna submit it soon for publishing, you know. So it's like the I try to, if I have a deadline, I focus on that and everything else kind of gets the moments of a little inspiration, but I don't fit it into my workday anymore. Whereas before, I used to just the thread would come even if I had a deadline or had something else going on, and I would just kind of follow it, and so I'd be kind of panicking and moving really fast. Yeah. And now I've like kind of settled where I'm like, okay, I'm gonna give proper like space to these things. The deadlines are important, and then I fit in the other stuff as it makes sense.

SPEAKER_00 12:54

Yeah. That I really love how you explain that. It's almost like you have like a like a conscious filtering process of like prioritization. Like this is mainly aligned with like my like life's purpose and my life's work versus like this is kind of like an auxiliary interest almost. That's super simple.

SPEAKER_02 13:13

Also, too, I think I used to really operate from a place of like, oh, you know, because a lot of it is based on my own story and my own experience with mental health challenges, where it's like, oh, like, you know, I want to use this to make money, yeah, you know, because I don't want to get a job, you know, like a job job. But now I've kind of shifted my thinking where it's like I'm gonna use this to help people, to be of service. And I feel like that shift has opened up a lot more doors for me than trying so hard to make money. Like there's an ease and kind of uh surrender that has to happen in entrepreneurship, I feel like, where if you're fighting and and and trying so hard, and there's like at least for me, there was an underlying feeling of like not being able to do it. And so I panicked and stressed, and and now I feel like there's a lot more ease where it's like, okay, I'm gonna like let these things flow in. I'm gonna take the opportunities as they arise, but I'm not gonna be like chasing so much or like forcing things that don't fit.

SPEAKER_00 14:16

I feel like so many women and moms that I talk to need to hear that because it's like I and a good friend of mine, um, who I would say like help has helped me mentor me in like a spiritual sense. She kind of what you're saying seems to me like a like an ego self versus a soul self, right? And it's like when we're trying so hard to force things or like chase things, it's usually coming from a place of ego versus like when we're like um like opening our channel and like letting things come out from a place of love and service, it's like more in tune with like our soul's purpose and our soul's work. Um would you say that you categorize things in that way? I mean, you have such a wealth of knowledge in like the mind-body um earth connection. Like, how would you kind of describe that this that like the difference between like ego self and soul self and what that feels like for you?

SPEAKER_02 15:10

Yeah, it's a good question. I think, you know, I feel like it's become more of an integrated part of my process now, where you know, like stuff will come up and I'm like, oh, that would just be for, you know, whatever. Like it's not really aligned with with me. But I feel like maybe before I it was more of a conscious process of like, oh, you know, or maybe even it was less conscious in a way where I would take opportunities even if they didn't feel aligned, and then I would get really thrown off my path. So I think now it's probably just integrated because I know I know what I'm going for. And also, you know, like I'm not afraid to pivot like at all. Like I can't tell you the ways that my businesses have like morphed and changed so many, so much. Like, I have done so many things. People sometimes are like, Well, my mom all the time is like, write them all down and like find pictures because it's kind of insane, you know. Like, you need to like remember this when you're 85 and you're like looking back on your life. Um, but it's never I've never been that entrepreneur that was like, if something I really was enjoying at the time failed, I was devastated. That just wasn't my I was like, all right, well, that didn't work, you know, trying time to go for something else, you know. Um, and I think that is probably a part of that ego shadow self and and the true self, because the true self knows that like things change and you know, you gotta morph and you've gotta you gotta move with the the flow and the current. Um and that it's not even even if it quote unquote fails, you learn so much from those moments in time and those businesses and those pursuits that uh it's all worth it in the end.

SPEAKER_00 16:58

Yeah. I that's such an that's such an important part for a lot of the entrepreneurs I work with are in like the earlier stages of like their first business or like the the first pivot to like something new. And I feel like that's so important because sometimes there's this sense of like, oh, like I wasted all this time and energy or even money doing X, Y, or Z. And it's like, no, it's all for a larger purpose, right? Like the lessons still come with you and like they make the next part of your journey more like richer, and um, yeah, I love how you worded that. That's so so wise. I definitely want to talk about some mental health pieces here because you know, with that being such an important part of the work that you do in all of the different areas. Can you give us a rundown? You you mentioned a little bit of like, you know, at in your childhood, even in your teen years, struggling with mental health. Can you give us like a an overarching rundown of your journey with mental health and why it's so important to you?

SPEAKER_02 17:57

Yeah. So, like I mentioned, I was a child actor, like you mentioned. Um, and so I very early age, maybe 10, 11, started to really feel like there's something up. Like I was struggling with self-worth, so my like my self-value, my self-perception. And there's something that can happen in childhood called uh identity foreclosure, where if you push a child into something, this is really important for parents too, not even just parents of potential actors, but of everybody.

SPEAKER_00 18:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 18:30

When you push a child into something early and you make that their entire identity, it could be a sport, it could be even just academics, you know, what happens is they miss out on opportunities to actually explore who they really are at their core. And so they become this one thing. And for most of us, whether we're actors or athletes, like once you end high school, unless you go to college for like at athletics or something like that, that's kind of it.

SPEAKER_00 18:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 18:59

And then you've spent all of your, you know, most of us are not gonna go on to be Olympians, most of us, even myself, I booked well, but I didn't go on to be an A-lister or actor. And so we've spent all our entire childhood, our entire identity formation years focused on one singular thing. And so when we reach that, you know, graduation point, we don't even really know who we are at all. And so I got out of high school not knowing who I was, what I liked, if I enjoyed even acting at all. Was that something I wanted to do? I don't know. I didn't know. And so that was like destroyed my mental health because now I don't know who I am. I don't have acting anymore because I quit. I just don't know what's going on. So my my mental health was in shambles for many, many years. And it wasn't until I moved from Los Angeles to the East Coast in 2017 where like I had my dark night of the soul where I went into this deep depression. I had been in and out of therapy up until that point. Some very helpful therapies that I'll talk about in a second. Um, but overall, I was still on my journey. And so when I got into New England and it was winter going into winter, and I'm from Los Angeles and darkness, gosh, I just fell apart. I was a mess. And I ended up checking myself into a program at this hospital called McClean Hospital in out near Boston. This program specifically for women who are struggling with anxiety, panic attacks, you know, just like intense feelings of stress, really, not knowing who you are. And um, they used a program called or a modality called dialectical behavioral therapy, which helps you rewire your brain, helps you be mindful, helps you come back to the present moment. And it like changed my entire life. Like changed my entire life. And when I got out, that's when I was like, I need to tell young people that there is something else for them. Because when I was younger, I thought I was gonna just be miserable forever. And that's when I started speaking. And, you know, I've had my moments, I still struggle with anxiety at times, but like I have so many tools now that it does not upheaval my life in any way, shape, or form. And so I think that's why it's so important to me is that I remember what it was like for anxiety and panic and like all these thoughts that I just felt like these intrusive thoughts that were just entering my mind without my permission and feeling like I there was no way to get control of it all. And I know that there is a way to get control of it all. And we have a lot more power at our, you know, our fingertips than we think. And so that's why it's so important to me because I I know what it's like to suffer, and I also know what it's like to overcome. And I just want people to know that there's help, but it it takes hard work because I think too in our culture, a lot of times we want that magic pill, we want that magic thing, and it's just not it's not real, it doesn't exist. Because even if you get the right meds, like if you're not doing the inner work, you're still not gonna be as happy or as fulfilled or as authentic as you could be. You might just A little bit dumber, it might be a little bit easier to handle, but you're not really going to be your full actualized self. And I think that the way, the only way that our society is actually going to overcome the craziness that is going on is if we all become our own, our full, actualized, authentic self as much as possible in our lifetimes, you know, because they're not that long. But I think that the inner work, the embodied work, the mind-body connection, taking care of ourselves, tending to ourselves, like that is going to be the way. Because when we can do that, we can connect with each other, we can connect with the earth, we can have more compassion, more empathy, all these emotions that seem to be out of our capacity right now because we don't have them for ourselves. And that's why it's so important because it's easy to be miserable towards others when you're miserable inside. Um, then I want to see something different for my children and future generations. Um, and hopefully I can make even the tiniest little dent in that with the work that I do.

SPEAKER_00 23:02

I I definitely think it's safe to say that you have already made more than a dent. Um but I think that the way that you described that that piece of like, I think our society now wants everything, like you said, to be a quick fix. We want everything to be convenient. And I was actually thinking of this the other day when I clean my kids' little like water bottles and stuff. Like sometimes I just want it to be over with, and I just do like a quick rinse, but like to make it really clean and it's best version, you have to like take the scrubby thing inside and get all that grimy gross stuff out. And I feel like you described it as like you had your dark night of the soul. Like, I feel like if people aren't willing to do that work, as you said, like that self-actualization, you just never get to that part. Um, and that's really how the world will be better and how each of us will be better in our own little worlds first. So that's yeah, so powerful how you said that. Um you mentioned now to uh motherhood, obviously, brings its own new bag of like mental health challenges, especially for those of us who may have already been dealing with uh, you know, a level of anxiety or other mental health challenges prior to motherhood. So, can you speak to a little bit of your motherhood journey, like when you became a mom and what that experience was like for you within this, you know, the world that we live in, and then with all these other, you know, you've already gone through some of your journey at that point. So, what was that like for you?

SPEAKER_02 24:28

Yeah. So I had my first baby when I was 30. So in 2021, so it was right in COVID-ish time still. And so everything was really stressful. I already, so I grew up uh pretty much a hypochondriac, like a health health anxiety pretty badly because I was having physical sensations in my body that I didn't know were anxiety, and I thought I was sick all the time. So I really have struggled over the years with health anxiety. So having a baby at that tail end of the pandemic was super stressful. Um, I was really, I was definitely struggled a bit with postpartum anxiety. And I have, it's interesting because I'll look back on videos sometimes, you know, looking at my babies and I'll have said things in the videos like, you know, why is she breathing like that? Or like there's always this like little inkling, like underlying just anxiety about like, is she gonna die? You know, and I think a part of that is normal because especially if we've never had kids or we haven't spent a lot of time around newborns, they're weird. Like they breathe weird.

SPEAKER_01 25:33

Yeah, they they make weird sounds, they can't talk, you know. So like sometimes they really look like they're not doing well. They're like, you know, making all these like clicking, yeah, sounds.

SPEAKER_02 25:46

So I think a part of it is like absolutely normal, and like we just have to get used to it. But I do think that at times, and for me, it got a little bit worse, where it was like it's all I could think about, you know, my and if my phone was full of Google searches, you know, of like you know, just all sorts of things. I can't even remember them right now. But and and then I would have intrusive thoughts too, where I was upstairs and I actually I had this TikTok go like a little bit viral once. And I was like, whoa, so many other moms feel like this because it was just like, you know, what if my baby chokes on the pancake downstairs with her dad while I'm upstairs working on my business, you know, because it was like the first time I was like getting back into work and stuff, and you know, like hundreds of thousands of people shared it and liked it, and I was like, whoa, okay. So we all have these thoughts. And for me, since I had already gone through a lot of mental health work, like I knew that the thoughts were anxiety, I knew it was intrusive thoughts, like I understood what it was, but it's was still really stressful, you know, and so it did color early motherhood with my daughter in particular in a certain way that was just tough. It was just tough, and I think too, there's a lot of um expectation in motherhood to for it to look a certain way. And when it doesn't look that way, you're like, ooh, is this am I doing something wrong? Or like, is this baby wrong? Or like, you know, what's what's happening? And it was also, you know, the the dual side of that was it was also the most joyful time of my life. Like my daughter is really it was an easy baby, beautiful, laughed, smiling all the time, slept okay, you know, like, but but it was so joyful, and yeah, so for me, it was really those that dual side of like, how do you hold these two realities? Where on one end, I am freaking out and I am worried she's gonna die, and on the other hand, like this is the best thing that's ever happened to me, and I am I wouldn't have it any other way. So I was really like working on holding those two realities at the same time, which can be hard to do.

SPEAKER_00 27:57

Oh my gosh, yeah. The the holding the both and for me has also been, like you said, like my babies were also born a little bit later in the pandemic than yours, but we were still wearing masks, and like I feel like that exacerbated so much anxiety, and like you said, it's like such a beautiful experience, and it's also riddled with so many, like you know, the intrusive thoughts and the fears. And um, for me, I had so much anxiety growing up as well. And if I actually didn't realize until becoming a mom that that wasn't normal for me to have felt that way my whole life until I was like it just got to the extreme during motherhood. Um, and so I feel like it's so comforting. I feel like that's probably why that video went viral. It's so comforting now to see so many moms just being so much more honest and like willing to voice what their actual experience of motherhood is because I feel like otherwise, and for I feel bad for you know, for my mom and my grandmothers, like this, they were suffering in silence for so long. Like, and now we see so many moms speaking out. And so, yeah, uh, I I would love to hear more about this film that you are creating and how it's kind of connected to what we're talking about here with this experience of motherhood and mental health.

SPEAKER_02 29:17

Yeah, so the film is called The Letdown, and um it really just came about because I was writing this short story. I just wanted to write a short story. I was like, I just feel like writing a short story. And I and I was thinking about the moment because so my daughter I had her in a birthing center, my son, I had him at home. So it was a home birth, and I was just remembering this moment where you know, I he he's coming out and he's like, there's a uh this towel below me on the bed, and I'm like grabbing his skin, and it was just like this visceral memory of his wet, you know, sticky, warm skin in my hands, and like how intense that felt, you know, like intense in in many ways, intense in like, oh my gosh, yay! I have this baby, this was amazing. I just had a home birth, whoa. Uh, you know, my body did that, and also intense in that now I'm gonna have a boy and raise a boy in a patriarchal, misogynist society. And whoa, what's that gonna be like? And so I had this like dual feeling, and so I wrote a short story about that, and then I started thinking more about you know, like, wow, this this might be something people could relate to if they could actually see it, you know, or if if they could see it, and then it started morphing into like, okay, not so much about raising a boy, but just the the intensity of giving birth to a being and then needing to raise them and like make them be hopefully a good person and uh uh you know, a valuable member of society. And then I started thinking about all my postpartum anxiety, and I was like, okay, I want to put this all into a little short story where it's really discomforting, like it's it's uncomfortable, it's a bit disorienting because I think a lot of moms have that experience where everything is so disorienting, and they're like, shit, I'm the only one who feels this way, you know, like I'm alone. And so it really I do want to show this this woman. Her name is Marie. My middle name is Marie. So I'm not very creative when it comes with names. Okay. Um, so her name is Marie, and it's not a fully biographical, like autobiographical story. It really is like an accumulation of mothers who have told me things and put that into one person's experience. So there's a little bit of a touch of like postpartum depression kind of feeling to it. There's a touch of the postpartum anxiety, the intrusive thoughts are there, but there's not very much dialogue. It really is just going to show this woman having her child and then having these thoughts. And it's gonna be uncomfortable and close and intimate, there's gonna be a lot of sounds, and I want people to know what it's like to be in the body of a woman or of a birthing person who has experiences postpartum anxiety, and it isn't all supposed to be uncomfortable at the end. There is like a light where you know she's with a midwife, and there's a moment of hope where she's like that. That first moment of acknowledging that something isn't right and something isn't normal, um, is the first step to healing. So there's that moment there too where it's like if we can acknowledge it, we can heal. And the hope for the story is obviously to show, you know, what it's like, but also to just have more conversations about it because you know, that's that's why I don't want to end it on some like bigger note. I want it to be really subtle because then it's like, ooh, what happens next? Yeah, and I want that to be a real community conversation of like if somebody comes to you and says that they have postpartum anxiety, what do we do? Not just as a per practitioner or a clinician or whoever, but as a as a culture, as a society, as friends, as family, as community members, how do we support this person? Yeah, and so my hope is that, you know, once we get funding and can produce the film, because it's I've only just shot the teaser, um, then when we have start to have viewings, it'll be like a viewing of the short film, which will be like between 10 and 12 minutes, and then a community conversation where there's actually like organizations that can benefit from um the conversations, you know, and and and we can give them like this is research from the community. These are things that the community is saying that they would need or that would feel supportive, um, so that we can actually like make some some changes so people can feel like they're not so alone in this very common experience of postpartum anxiety.

SPEAKER_00 33:54

Yeah, no, that that sounds incredible, and I am so excited for this to come out. Um, the teaser is amazing. So, for anyone listening, definitely go check that out. I'll I'll have you at the end share where all like listeners can find all that. But um, I I didn't realize that piece at the end, how like your vision for having the conversations afterward. I think that that's so the piece that's missing, right? Because it's not just like all of these women and mothers, especially nowadays, who are like going through this process, they're people who are trying to help, but it's like until it happens more on a mass scale, and like we're asking at like a societal collective level, like what can we do to like make this be better? Like, there's still a gap between like how beautiful motherhood could be and like what it actually is right now, or the experience of it right now. Um you you've mentioned lots of different projects that you have worked on up to this point. I'm wondering from like a creative perspective, like what is your creative process like and how like from like the ideation piece to like execution? And how do you kind of tap into or connect to your like higher self during that process in a way that feels good for you?

SPEAKER_02 35:13

So I am a creature of inspiration, like you know, the inspired action piece. I don't know if you if anybody out there has listened to uh Abraham Hicks, but she talks a lot about like inspired action and not forced, like that is me entirely, which can sometimes be a challenge because then I'm like, oh, well, I need to get something done, and I am not, I have no motivation to do it at all. Uh so that is one lovely thing about being self-employed and being an entrepreneur, is I can kind of make my own choices and schedule. Yeah. Um, part of that really does align with my cycle, my menstrual cycle. Like in the week before my period, like writing, trying to like be creative and have like a really good creative output is just it's it's not there. So I try to focus though that time on literally just resting. And like, no, you shut off, you know, you just focus on rest so that once your period comes, you can kind of like pick back up. Um, but literally, that's my been my whole life is like if I feel inspired, I do it. And I can encourage myself to feel inspired, you know, getting up early. Like I also got up early this morning and before my kids and had my little moment to do some writing. I went to the gym and you know, and so like that can help get me in the right frame of mind too, is like having that moment to myself. So then even when I'm like if I have to get something done and I'm before my period, like I can still do it if I treat my body the way that it wants to be treated, uh the way that it needs to be treated. Um, so that's kind of there. I also try to align sometimes with the moon cycles of, you know, like even just like little tiny moments of meditation. Like, you know, we had the big full moon last night. And I just try to like, I don't necessarily go outside or do anything, but just like, okay, you know, like now it's a moment of release, and you know, I try to tap into that to give myself some like anchor moments, you know. So it's like my a my cycle anchors me, the moon can sometimes anchor me so that I have kind of like a flow. Yeah, and then the seasons also anchor me quite a bit, you know, like where spring is really the time of like, okay, these ideas, what do I want to see? What do I how do I want this year to look? You know, and these are the ideas. Which ones am I gonna pursue? Which ones am I not gonna pursue? Winter is really that time of like taking stock. Okay, what did it what did I like? What did I hate? What did I not even do? What do I need to clear out? And then summer is really like, okay, let's let's go, you know, let's do this. Um, and then fall is sort of again, like taking stock, kind of clearing out. So those are the ways that I try to anchor myself. I do meditate a bit, not as much anymore with kids, to be honest.

SPEAKER_00 38:00

So hard when they like, especially if they climb in your bed all the time and you're you wake up and they're already right there, you're like, oh my gosh, where I'm from.

SPEAKER_02 38:07

It's impossible. I used to do, I do sometimes still do like five minutes before I get out of bed and five minutes as I'm laying down to go to sleep. But lately the kids have, especially because it's like, you know, the sun comes up earlier, so the kids are like in often when we wake up. So that hasn't been happening. Um, but we we also are very much nature lovers. So being outside, like walking, like trying to just be mindful, you know, not be on my phone, but just like focusing on being there can also be a way to like realign with my higher self. Um yeah, we we like nature is our like the living landscape for everything, healing, play, joy. And that's really like the the book I'm working on, the nonfiction. That's really the premise. It's like the land is a living landscape for everything. And if we can come back to that, we can reconnect with all sorts of parts of ourselves.

SPEAKER_00 39:01

Um, yeah, so it's a big anchor. I I think there's this really big shift that I've been seeing in my relationships with other women um and mothers, where we are kind of doing what you said. I feel like for so long we were in this, um, I mean, I as also a millennial, I'm I think I'm the same age as you, like minus a couple months. Um, I feel like those of us who grew up as millennials, we very much grew up in like um like our minds, right? Like a very intellectual culture. And I feel like there's this big shift that I'm seeing with women where we are becoming more in tune with nature. Uh, I high I have conversations regularly with other women and moms, like about like moon cycles, like you were saying, and like cycle sinking. And I feel like when we're able to like integrate all of those things that are happening in our mind and like these ideas that are coming to us, but also have a respect for it from like a human nature like connection, that's that's the piece that is gonna like really take our um evolution as you know, as humans to the next level. Um, so I I love all everything you're talking about. It's it's like speaking to my soul. Um, and I I know that so many other women are feeling that too. So outside of cycle sinking and um, you know, you like meditating and some of the maybe like paying attention to to moon cycles, what are some of the things? Because you're also an herbalist and you know so much about like nature, what are some other holistic approaches or um, I don't want to call them remedies, but like just like holistic approaches to well-being that you have seen be really impactful for you as a woman?

SPEAKER_02 40:45

Yeah, you know, leaning on herbs has been a huge part of my journey. I one thing that I notice about herbalism and herbal medicine is, you know, I think sometimes we want something that we can take daily. And like, you know, I but I don't use herbs in that way. Like I don't have like a daily herbal protocol that I use all the time. I lean on herbs when my body really calls for it and like really needs it. You know, like I also use food as quite a bit of medicine. Like my food changes depending on where I'm at in my cycle, and like how when I eat changes depending on where I'm at in my cycle. Um, and then the herbs come into play depending on where I'm at in my cycle. So, you know, I I love nervines. So there's a uh a type of herb called a nervine or a type of plant medicine called a nervine that's really supportive of the nervous system. So, as somebody who's always been quite anxious, um love nervines when I'm feeling like I need it, you know, like good for sleep, good for uh just anxiety, stress, burnout, lemon balm is my absolute favorite. That's my girl. Like we've been together for you know quite a while now, a decade. Excuse me. She was the first plant that I ever saw growing out of the ground in my first farm job in Northern California. Um, and so I instantly fell in love with her. And she and then I found out she was good for anxiety, and I was like, oh, we're a match made in heaven. Oh yeah. So she and I are like real long-term homies. Um, but I also really love wild foraged medicinal plants, you know, like I really love to be out and be able to gather food around me. So, you know, right now, dandelion root is really good for me. It's really good for your gut. Um, gut health is also something that I think a lot of us have struggled with who are millennials. I think one, because we're in our minds all the time and our minds and our cycling thoughts can literally make your stomach more acidic, you know, like it can trigger stomach acid and anxiety when you have anxiety. Um, and so I love to lean on my like prebiotic rich herbs to support my gut. Chicory is another one that I love. Burdock root. Um, I drink them in the morning often as a coffee substitute. So dandelion, burdock, chicory, and then some cacao nibs. And then I'll just brew it like coffee and drink it with like coconut milk and almond milk blend together. It's delicious and it's really good for your gut. It gives you a little bit of energy, but you don't have the crash. So in the week before my period, I don't drink coffee because I know it can trigger more menstrual cramps and like more pain. And also, I don't sleep well. Um, so I substitute it entirely for that herbal coffee. In my luteal phase or in my uh ovulatory phases, I'll put a little bit of espresso in that herbal coffee blend, and that's delicious. Um yeah, so I think that's the ones that I lean on the most, but I really try to like I'm also quite a bit of a kind of a woo woo woo woo like earth listener kind of person. So I try to see feel What's like what herb is calling to me, you know, and then I'll be like, huh, I'm really craving this, or like I keep seeing this on the on my walks, you know, what is it? Or if unless I already know what it is, then I'll be like, Oh, maybe my body needs fill in the blank, you know, and so I'll do some research and I'll see. Oh, yeah, I have been feeling blank lately. I'm gonna hang out with this herb for a couple weeks, you know, and see like how we get along. Um, and so that's kind of how I approach my herbalism is like I'm not necessarily using stuff all the time, but I'm ebbing and flowing in and out with with plant medicine, depending on what the body is calling for.

SPEAKER_00 44:39

I think that makes so much sense from what you were describing earlier, though, too, with just like taking things in seasons and cycles and like being in tune with that. Um I just feel like we so many different approaches to health, especially like the ones from you, I don't know, just like a male health perspective, especially. It's like so like rigid and like almost like you have to like work really hard to like make things work, and then like people can't make it past like a week with these like different habits that they're trying to tell you to adopt. So I think that like softer, more in tune with the flow approach is so much more helpful for women. I also would love to try that concoction that you were talking about that you replace your coffee with. Is that something that um people can find on your website or like um somewhere in your realm?

SPEAKER_02 45:29

Yeah, so I I yes, I posted the recipe on my Instagram. Um, I don't have it on my website. Do I have it on my website? No, I don't think so, but I do have it on my Instagram. Okay. Um I can repost it too so that it's up at the top before this airs. Yeah. Um and I also have an I I forgot to completely forgot to mention, I do have a upcoming um like uh six-week kind of intensive called the integrated route, where we do this exact thing. Like we learn how to like settle into our own bodies so that we can more energetically connect with herbs, but also with ourselves and each other and the earth. Because, you know, the way that I teach herbism is really like finding your flow, it's like very intuition-based. Um, and you know, somebody told me, or I was reading this or something, I can't remember who told me. But a lot of times we try to turn herbalism into the same thing as allopathic medicine and western medicine, where it's like, okay, you know, you need to take this thing, but like I'm not lemon bomb deficient, you know, like I'm not like we're not, we don't have these deficiencies, so we don't necessarily need the plants, especially if we're eating a well-rounded meal, but we can lean on them in moments of both energetic and physiological need, you know, and so a big part of a plant to me, plant relationship is the energy, more so even than what the plant is actually gonna give me. Because I very rarely drink like plant medicine in medicinal doses. So, you know, that's something I wanted to mention too is like a medicinal dose of a plant is a huge, like a pint, you know. So like most of us are not doing that. Most of us when we're having a tea, it's like a small cup, maybe once a day, maybe our bed, maybe it's our chamomile. And so I think that really gives you a good insight into like we're not really using these things as medicine in the way that you think of it because of their chemicals. We're using it for ritual, for relationship, for relaxation, and it's more of an energetic exchange with plant medicine than the actual chemical constituents. Um I think is a nice way too. So it's like when you make, you know, when I when you brew that concoction, like something about it that feels more exciting than just making a cup of coffee. Yeah, like you'll see, I'll share the recipe, and like you'll you'll feel it because it's like a little more involved. You have to grind some things and you have to, you know, and it's different, smells different. You know, it's a play, you know, it's just like you can see the dandelions outside on your front lawn. You know, it's like a more connected experience.

SPEAKER_00 48:04

I love that. My my kids have been collecting all of the dandelions outside lately. So I'm like, maybe instead of throwing these away, I'll actually turn them into something magical. Like that. I love that. A few more questions for you, Brooke. Um, as someone who has found, you know, so much success in your entrepreneurial endeavors, but in a way that I feel like just feels good for you and like feels aligned to your journey. What would you say is one of the most important lessons that you've learned as a business owner?

SPEAKER_02 48:38

Don't be afraid to pivot. Like honestly, like don't be afraid to follow inspiration. You know, don't try to follow the trends, try to follow the inspiration. Um and make sure that your your your story has a like there's a purpose behind it. Um I think that's the nice one too. It's like because when the purpose is there and like the story is there, then pivoting is much easier to do. Um kind of you know what you're going for, even if it changes shape, maybe it changes industries, even you know, you kind of know as long as the story and the foundation are present.

SPEAKER_00 49:16

Yeah, that that that's very helpful. And I think many, many, many people need to hear that for sure. Is there a book or a film that you have watched that you think all moms or all business owners should see? And I know those are like two different buckets, but because you are both of these things, like I'm curious, like what has spoken to you the most?

SPEAKER_02 49:36

So there's a book actually that I love called When Things Fall Apart by Pete Chowdron. And like it's not specifically about entrepreneurship, but again, I I'm of the mind that everything comes down to our mental health and how we are able to manage emotion and manage challenge. And most of us are not equipped with the skills. So that book was the life-changing book for me because I was so busy always trying to logicize everything. And so that book really gives you this approach to like, whoa, when things fall apart, like what do you actually need to do about it? You know, like yeah, like letting things fall apart so that you can change your perspective as opposed to like running around and chasing and trying to fix what fell apart because maybe it was a gift, you know, like things like fell apart. Um, so I love that book. I think it's really great for mothers too to like come into this place of grounding because we're constantly trying to like keep things from falling apart. Um but sometimes that's just what needs to happen for transformation and lessons and whatever.

SPEAKER_00 50:46

Um I love that. I I haven't read it, so I'm definitely adding that to my list. But it makes me think of something that a mentor of mine shared where you know we are supposed to evolve in seasons in our lives, whether as people or as you know, business owners. And I think the way she described it was like you can't have something new come together until the old pieces fall apart. I even see that, you know, just in society, right? Like as a collective, like we are very much going through the part of the dismantling and the falling apart of the outdated systems of oppression that are crumbling around us, and it feels uncomfortable, but it is all also like these pieces are rebuilding to something better. Um, so I'm excited to add this book to my list because I yeah. It's quite short too, so it's easy. Oh, it's even better. Yeah, highly recommend. Even better. Um, and then my last question is you have so many cool things happening in your world. You were just mentioning this six-week um program that you're doing, and then you also have the letdown coming and some books that are coming. Um, where would you like direct people to come, you know, like follow your work and just like be able to track down all of the cool things that are coming on in your world?

SPEAKER_02 52:01

Yeah, so a good place is my Instagram. So at Brook B R O O K E M as in Marie Bridges. Um, you know, everything is I post everything there, my link tree's there. So it has links to all the different um workshops and keynotes and books and film and all of that. And then also my website, unearthingwellness.co. So that is a good one to also check it out because that has more detailed information about like my public speaking and the workshops that I do with organizations and individuals and herb garden stuff. And it just has a little bit more robust stuff around my land-based work and my body-based work. And then the letdown, the short film, has its own dedicated website, which you can also get to from Instagram or my other website. But if you want to go there directly, it's the letdownfilm.com. And that'll give you all the information about the letdown links to the fundraiser, the teaser, um, yeah, and some statistics about postpartum anxiety and intrusive thoughts and kind of the overarching goals of the film itself. Amazing.

SPEAKER_00 53:15

Well, I will absolutely be linking all of those links, plus your your book recommendation and some of the other um nuggets of wisdom that you shared earlier in the show. But thank you so much for taking the time to chat with us today to share some of your behind-the-scenes aspects of life and business and motherhood. And um I'm excited for all these creative projects of yours to come into being around us in the next couple months, years, however long it takes for them to come full circle. But um, and also just thank you for being a light to the world. I feel like you are, you know, there's lots of people you can like follow along with out there on the internet these days. And like some are definitely more inspiring in like um like an actual way that's moving the collective forward than others. And so I just appreciate all the work that you're doing and how willing you are to, you know, just like share it with others. So thank you for being here today, Brooke. Thank you so much for having me. It's a beautiful conversation. I agree. I know if I could have um more conversations like that. I mean, this is what I do for for part of my work as an entrepreneur with helping other moms, but like I where you were saying, like, I get to, I think I saw you do this on your Instagram the other day when you were like out in a field and you were doing something with like an herb. You're like, I like I can't believe I get to do this with my life. Um, and I just like that's my hope for for women and mothers in particular, because I feel like we have been, you know, relegated to these roles, you know, in in past lifetimes and generations, even of like servitude and doing things for others. But it's like, well, what do we actually want to do for ourselves and how can that, you know, better the world around us? So um I'm so excited that I get to do this as part of my work. So thank you for being here. Thank you. If this episode resonated with you, be sure to check the show notes so that you can find Brooke and all of the incredible projects that she is working on. Um, find her on Instagram, find her website, and continue to follow along with her work because she is doing so many incredible things for our world and for women and for mothers and for everyone in the mental health space. And so definitely check the show notes so that you can find what she's working on. And if you are an ambitious mom looking to start or grow your business, also check the show notes for some helpful freebies like mindset shifts, nervous system regulation practices, and even booking a one-to-one call with me so that you kind of have a real human to talk through your next right step with so that you can make sure that you are growing and building your business in a space that feels really good for you in the season of motherhood that you are in. I hope that this listen was empowering for you, and I hope you have an incredible week. I'll see you on the next episode.