We believe self-care is vitally important, and living free of stress and pain is essential. We also believe that your products should smell fantastic, feel amazing, and add pleasure to your wellness and daily routine.

Soul Purpose Portal For Mental Health Resources

Be Well … An Overview

I have spent my entire career of 35+ years working with women and their families. I have worked in community social services, education, as a clinical psychotherapist, and as an entrepreneur. My most recent work as an entrepreneur has led me to believe that many of the women that I served had personal, family, and mental health issues. Some were open about it and others just live in pain, shift, and put a good face on their challenges and pain.

Because both of my companies Warm Spirit and Soul Purpose were focused on self-care, wellness, and pampering, I felt that I had the product lines to address self-care and wellness but I was not able to provide the dearth of services that many needed. We began offering weekend retreats, serenity sanctuaries, and spa weekends to help women find a space to get together, talk, share, rest, and heal just a little. They were extraordinarily successful and I knew that we had hit on something… a place and an opportunity for many women to work on their mental health issues.

First, I created the Be Well campaign, which is a line of products for stress, pain, and relaxation.

During COVID we expanded our model a little and started providing support groups or 0nline/virtual sanctuaries for women to get together and talk about their challenges. These groups were not designed to be therapeutic in the clinical sense or to replace professional mental health treatment, but it was a support group designed around the AA model, providing a safe place for women to talk and share what ails them.

In 2020, I also created the Entourage line of CBD products, to provide some additional products to address self-care and wellness for our customers. The cost of CBD has made it unaffordable for many people in the black community to afford CBD. The Entourage CBD line makes it possible for them to afford it, but also provides an entrepreneurial opportunity for those who want their own home-based businesses to sell the product.

I have also been profoundly inspired by Audre Lorde’s work and her writings on self-care and its importance, particularly for black women. Her quote, “Caring for myself is not self-indulgence. It is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare,” Lorde wrote in A Burst of Light and Other Essays, which inspires most of my work and my commitment to self-preservation for women of color.

I invite you to take a look at Soul Purpose’s self-care and wellness products, as well as, our Be Well and CBD product lines as well. If you think that you can benefit from one of our support groups, simply sign up here.

We are honored to welcome you into our community.

Be Well,

Nadine Thompson, MSW

Founder and CEO of Soul Purpose Lifestyle Company

How It Works!

Support Groups: Check out our support groups page and email us if you would like to sign up. We will email you with details and a link to join the group.

Business Opportunities: Our Soul Purpose Entourage Affiliate program creates an opportunity for people to have their own online CBD store. Imagine sharing the benefits of CBD with friends, family, and customers, while having your own online dispensary. The Affiliate program will allow you to purchase products at a 30%discount and re-sell to your own customers or purchase them right online and ship them to your customers. Click here to sign up and receive more information.

Black women and their mental health.

There are many issues affecting black women and their mental health which include stigma, socio-economic disparities, a lack of community-based resources and COVID 19 has presented a new range of challenges as well.

Are you okay?  I’m Fine!!!!

The willingness and courage to admit the truth to yourself and those closest to you can start you on the road to healing.

You can begin by thinking about what the accurate answer to the question, may be… “are you really fine?”

I will survive!

I will survive!!!! Has long been the battle cry for many women of color. But we now know that many of us succumb to mental illness, aids, heart disease, stress-related illnesses, cancer and now COVID 19.

Our power lies in our resilience and creating adaptive defense mechanisms in order to cope with the variety of stressors that are thrown at us every day.

Some of us try to hide our vulnerability, through shifting, deflecting, minimizing, avoiding, and denying our reality.

We need support in order to survive!

The Intersectionality of Stress

Both short and long-term stress can have detrimental effects on your body. Research is starting to show that high-stress levels can trigger changes in our bodies, making us more likely to get sick. Stress can also worsen existing conditions, which in turn causes more stress, compounding in a cycle of physical and emotional distress.

BOTH MEN AND WOMEN are affected by the challenges of stress in our lives. Soul Purpose’s market is mostly comprised of black women, both as consultants and customers. Black women in particular face extraordinarily high levels of stress due to the intersection of gender, race, socioeconomic status, and social injustice. Providing support around these issues can be a blessing for this community, and well-informed consultants will be excellent brand ambassadors for CBD-based products.

Minority Women and Stress

What is stress?

Stress is a feeling of emotional or physical tension that can emerge from any event or thought that makes you feel frustrated, angry, or nervous. In short bursts stress can be positive, such as when it helps you avoid danger or meet a deadline. However, when stress becomes chronic, it can have detrimental effects on your wellbeing.

Stress is triggered by external factors called stressors. Anxiety is stress that continues after the stressor is gone. Chronic stress is stress that lasts for longer than weeks or months.

You can become accustomed to chronic stress, and you might not realize it is a problem, unmanaged, until it leads to health problems. Over time, chronic stress puts you at risk for a wealth of ailments including high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, obesity, depression, anxiety, menstrual problems, and skin problems such as acne or eczema. If you already have a health condition, chronic stress can make it worse.

CBD can be an effective tool in the reduction and management of stress.

Black Women are the cornerstones of their community.

“Black women are the cornerstone of their communities; they take care of children and extended family members. They take care of their partners. They’re usually, holding up a lot of different things at once, including being more frequent breadwinners than women of other races. Still, many times their voices and experiences are lost in the wilderness.”

Race-Based Traumatic Stress

Traumatic stress is the RESPONSE to an event or situation, NOT the traumatic event itself

Events that may trigger a traumatic response:

Sexual or physical assault/abuse

Car accidents

Serious illness or death of a family member

War

The target of racism, sexism, classism, etc.

COVID 19

Racial Pandemics

The evening news

Shades of black…

Identity & the politics of color.

Black women in the US marry less than others – and the numbers are even lower for darker-skinned black women. Is colorism – favoring lighter skin – to blame?

‘We are not as valued as our lighter-skinned counterparts.’ Dream McClinton:

Covid 19    The new pandemic

During times of great crisis, the systems in America that fail Black people on a normal day become even less reliable and the COVID-19 pandemic is no exception. From mutual aid efforts to disaster relief, Black communities know what’s best for Black people.

Resilience, Spirituality, Self-Care and Wellness.

We find a variety of ways to cope, some ways are healthier than others, but never-the-less they are all coping mechanisms.

Individual psychotherapy, group and peer support groups, coaching, and mentoring are all healthy ways to support our own natural coping skills.

Mental Health & CBD

Stress can arise for a variety of reasons and pervade our lives; it’s in our daily life, the workplace, family, and relationships. A traumatic accident, death, or emergency situation can be a trigger, or stress can be a side effect of a serious illness or disease. It’s become increasingly difficult to stay calm and relaxed in our hectic lives. As women, we have many roles: spouse, mother, caregiver, friend, and/or worker. With all we have going on in our lives, it seems almost impossible to find ways to de-stress. But it’s important to find those ways, because your health depends on it.

Stress can take on many different forms, and therefore contribute to symptoms of illness. Common symptoms include headache, sleep disorders, difficulty concentrating, irritability, digestive issues, apathy, low morale, depression, and anxiety. Chronic stress is real and can increase the risk for health problems, like depression, heart conditions, and chronic digestive issues to name a few.

Why CBD?

  • Reportedly miraculous for treating everything from inflammation to chronic pain, anxiety, and insomnia, CBD oil has taken the health & beauty world by storm. Our skin has native receptors for cannabis extracts, which means they’re quickly recognized by the body and utilized accordingly.
  • CBD oils can be swallowed or applied topically – blend it with your face oil, add it to coffee or place two drops under your tongue and get ready for miraculous results.
  • An ideal way to introduce the health and beauty benefits of (non-psychoactive) cannabis extracts (this year’s ‘it’ ingredient). Taking the wellness world by storm – and swiftly shrugging off their links to marijuana – cannabinoids are jam-packed with a cocktail of nutrients and antioxidants, instantly identifiable by the body’s inbuilt ‘ecannabinoid’ system, and proven to help re-establish systems’ equilibrium.
  • CBD is also brilliant for skin (it’s ideal if you’re plagued by sensitivity or scaly skin conditions such as eczema) – replenishing cells’ reservoirs and boosting their reserves of precious beneficial nutrients.

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN
INGESTIBLE AND TOPICAL CBD PRODUCTS?

Topical CBD

Topical products are applied right to trouble areas so that the CBD oil can work directly on the area where it’s needed most. With CBD topicals, the healing compound and other hemp-derived nutrients are almost immediately absorbed directly through your skin, allowing them to target the affected area for quicker and more focused effects.

A quality CBD topical cream provides the advantage of being able to apply the active hemp extract directly to the site of aggravation or discomfort. This is particularly useful for application to joint areas or superficial muscle tissue, as the cannabidiol compound will diffuse across the dermal layers directly to the site of annoyance.

Ingestible CBD

Ingesting CBD products orally causes CBD and other compounds to enter the bloodstream, which elicits full-body effects and takes up to 2 hours or more before those effects are experienced.

Soul Purpose Online Virtual Support Groups

Soul Purpose – Be Well Support Groups

We have a variety of groups from meditation to group mental health support. A support group provides an opportunity for people to share personal experiences and feelings, coping strategies, or firsthand information about diseases or treatments.

Our online support groups are an accessible service for a community that needs it now more than ever. Connecting with others is an important part of caring for ourselves that not only allows us to talk things through, but feel heard and understood. We offer several types of groups weekly:

Groups meet once per week for 1.5 hours for 8 weeks.

Participants will be selected on a first-come, first-serve basis.

  • I’m Fine! Confronting your pain while being resilient.
  • Telling Her Story
  • Co-dependence
  • Domestic Violence
  • Your Spiritual Life
  • Antidote: Finding community during social distancing and isolation
  • Discover Your Passion
  • Guided Meditation and Reflection
  • Master Mind for Entrepreneurs
  • Mediation for couples in conflict
  • Al-Anon – support for families living with addiction

Group Requirements

  • All groups are confidential
  • We use Google Meet which is a HIPPA compliant platform
  • No insurance needed
  • Sliding scale fees available
  • We have a limited number of spots in each group for people unable to pay
  • A participant can be removed for breaking rules of confidentiality or bullying group behavior
  • Groups start on time and end on time.

Worrall et al. (2018) found that support groups are effective at reducing symptoms, substance misuse, hospitalizations, and use of services, as well as improving social competence and increasing healthy behaviors, self-esteem, and perceptions of overall well-being.

We’re Here For You. Get In Touch!

1 + 2 = ?

Helpful Resources & Links to more Online Support

44 Mental Health Resources for Black People Trying to Survive in This Country

Because we need and deserve support. https://www.self.com/story/black-mental-health-resources

Seeking Support

Finally, a few things to remember as you seek support

First things first: I want to commend you for looking out for yourself. I know finding mental health support is hard. I know doing it as a Black person can be much harder. But I also know it’s important and that you—even if I’ve never met you—are worth it. Your Black life, happiness, joy, and wellness are worth it. With that said, here are a few things to keep in mind as you search:

  • It might take some time to find a therapist you click with. Hopefully, some of the other resources on this list can supplement the care you need while you search. But if you’re thinking of harming yourself and need immediate support, reach out to free resources that are available 24/7, like the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (800-273-8255) and the Crisis Text Line (text HOME to 741741).
  • It can be confusing to sort through all the different degrees mental health practitioners can have. Ultimately, what matters most is finding someone you click with and trust, and the specific mental health degree they have is typically secondary. But if you’re interested, we have a ton of information about what all those degrees mean right here.
  • Starting therapy with someone new can feel really awkward, and you might have a ton of questions you wish you could ask them but think that you can’t. (1) It’s okay to feel awkward as hell in this process. (2) You definitely can ask your new therapist, whatever you want, including how you’ll even know if the two of you are a good fit. Here’s more information about questions you may want to consider asking your new therapist.
  • Many therapists offer sliding scales, so if you’ve found someone you think would be great, but you don’t have insurance or they don’t take your insurance, ask if that might be an option. Here are more tips for making therapy actually affordable.
  • Teletherapy can feel foreign, even if you’ve been seeing your therapist for years, but especially if you’re starting with someone new right now. There are some ways to make the whole process go a little more smoothly, like writing down the things you’d like to cover in your sessions beforehand. Here are more tips for having good teletherapy appointments.
  • Even if you’re very used to therapy, the devastating and destabilizing events we’re living through can make it feel like therapy suddenly isn’t working, you’re not sure what to talk about, you have no clue if it’s effective, or any other number of situations that can make it hard to feel like you’re getting the most out of therapy right now. That’s normal. Here, you’ll find tips for sorting through those feelings and figuring out how to get as much mental and emotional restoration from therapy as possible.
  • Historically, we are such strong people. As I mentioned above, we shouldn’t have to be. Being Black shouldn’t automatically mean we belong to a group of people who have overcome centuries of atrocity to somehow still be here, fighting for change and begging to be seen as the humans we are. But the truth is that we have persisted in the past, and I know we will again. That doesn’t mean we don’t suffer terribly, including by having people taken from us far before their time, or that we won’t be wounded, that we won’t be changed. It doesn’t erase that or make any of the injustice we suffer okay or less painful. But Black people are, perhaps above all, resilient, and I do have hope that, eventually, as many of us as possible will be okay.

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