Mental Health & Plant Based Therapies: Casey’s Story

May is National Mental Health Awareness Month and we are here to discuss mental health and Plant Based Therapies. An estimated 1 in 5 adults in the United States struggle with a mental health issue. We had the opportunity to talk with Casey, an affiliate for Hawkeye Consulting.

 

Casey’s Story

Casey’s story begins when she was a young girl. She was sexually, physically, and verbally abused by a family member for over a decade. The earliest memories she has of life are of being raped and molested. She endured this abuse until she was 11 years old and learned to disassociate during moments of abuse. The mere fact that this went on for over a decade meant that disassociation was an absolute survival tool. During this time frame, she began to see the world differently than other children her age due to her environment and the abuse she was forced to endure. She never told anyone about her abuse until she was 33 years old. At which point, the trauma of what she had endured had caused undeniable damage in her life.

 

Her twenties and thirties were riddled with depression and anxiety. She suffered from PTSD and never knew what that actually was or what it meant. She was on about 5 different medications for depression and mood disorders as well as being prescribed high doses of Xanax and Valium. She was in the nursing field for 15 years, with this career path leading to a back injury. She ran to her doctor for prescriptions and began receiving monthly scripts of Hydrocodone and Percocet to treat this “back pain.” These 4 regular monthly scripts along with countless antidepressants mixed in with severe trauma all led to one thing: a drug addiction. She was trying to push down the pain and trauma of what she had endured and now was attempting to numb it with narcotics; a cycle that she would chase for the next 15 years.

 

All of this took an immense tool on her personal life. Her adult life had been plagued with horrid flashbacks and post-traumatic stress-disorder (PTSD).  She found herself married and divorced twice. She had severely strained relationships with her children and everyone else in her family. The people that loved and cared about her didn’t know why she was self-medicating; they just knew that she was trying to numb something. This was an especially frustrating and confusing time for her two daughters. This endless cycle of narcotics nearly cost Casey her life—but her goal then was to feel nothing and finally make her mind stop, for it was the only time she ever felt peace.

 

Her Healing Journey

After some time, Casey’s motivation started to kick in; her drive to not be a victim anymore was leading her. She threw herself into plant medicines specifically, for the western world’s view of medicine had failed her drastically and nearly killed her. After reading through several studies that are a proponent of using “magic mushrooms” or other psychedelics for the treatment and healing of depression, PTSD, and other psychological problems, Casey decided to try combining mushrooms and therapy. She began a journey with 4.5 grams of Psilocybin Mushrooms and experienced a long and beautiful ride. She came out of it as a completely different person; wholly transformed with a new way of living, a new way of thinking that she had never possessed before. Her spirit was renewed for she had found a hope inside of her that had been robbed from her long before she could even speak. She was able to leave all of her past traumas there and walk away from it, feeling renewed in a way she had never felt before.

 

She uses Cannabis as daily medication for her anxiety and depression. She occasionally still micro-doses with Psilocybin Mushrooms to help as needed. She also suffers from restless leg syndrome which the Hawkeye Relief Pain Stick has worked wonders for!

 

For more information on Mushrooms and their benefits, contact Higher Health Dispensary by phone, visit them in person, or check out their  website!!!

Higher Health Monkey Island

918-219-5888

26428 E Hwy 125

Afton, OK 74331

 

Higher Health Miami 

918-919-3523

1012 East Steve Owens Blvd

Miami, OK 74354

 

Join Us at The Well

Back in February, we shared Hawkeye Relief as one of several new endeavors here at Hawkeye Consulting and we are so excited to share another of our exciting new adventures! We have finally opened The Well Nutrition – a nutrition club based out of Northwest Oklahoma where we serve healthy drinks and nutritious snacks to help people meet their health goals. We will also be introducing Kayla Lively – a health coach who is based out of Northwest Oklahoma and we are so excited to be working with!

 

The Well Nutrition

The Well Nutrition is located in Leedey, Oklahoma and is the newest small business opened by Jennifer Hawkins and Jodi Mann. It is a nutrition club where they serve energy teas, nutritious shakes, and other healthy snacks. The shakes can even be used as a meal-replacement or just for a high-protein snack. While we can’t post our menu online, you can stop by in-person to see what all we have to offer!

 

 

Meet the Health Coach

Kayla Lively is originally from Tahlequah, OK and has been interested in holistic medicine and food as medicine for close to 10 years; when she realized that food could fix the stomach issues that she has dealt with her entire life. It is a topic she has always stayed read up on and connected with. She was a hairdresser in Oklahoma City, until she moved to Sharon, OK where her husband, Dillon, is originally from – that’s when health became a huge focus in her life as well as her desire to help people achieve true wellness. Kayla puts together 1:1 coaching programs for clients; which she really likes because she can customize the program for them, since each person is different! She is currently offering a Sleep Health program and is excited about The Well Nutrition club because she will be able to work the products offered there into people’s programs. She is offering free Discovery Calls to chat with anyone interested in working with her and those are available virtually to anyone, anywhere. All of her coaching is able to be done through email and Zoom and she also utilizes a video chat app called Marco Polo.

 

What Now?

Stop by The Well Nutrition located at 111 E Broadway St Leedey OK 73654

Call The Well Nutrition at: (580) 940-0707

Keep up with us on social media by following The Well on Facebook and The Well on TikTok!

 

Get connected with Kayla Lively, the Health Coach by checking out her website, following her on Facebook or Instagram, or you can contact her by email at kayla.coach1@gmail.com!

Mental Health & Cannabis: Mallory’s Story

We can’t believe that it is already May! May is National Mental Health Awareness Month and we are here to discuss mental health and Cannabis. An estimated 1 in 5 adults in the United States struggle with a mental health issue. We had the opportunity to speak with Mallory, the 22-year-old daughter of Hawkeye Consulting Founder Jennifer Hawkins and her husband Kent; she is also a Patient Affiliate for Hawkeye Consulting.

 

Mallory’s Story

Mallory’s story begins in childhood, where she struggled with insomnia and a bit of anxiety. However, she was not aware of how severe her anxiety was until she was a senior in high school. She went off to college, with a softball scholarship where she played full time for the first semester. She quickly realized that it was a lot more than she was able to handle at that point in time; especially as she was not able to medicate properly.

After the first semester, throughout the second semester of her freshman year, Mallory fell into an extremely deep depression. While she had struggled with depression prior to this situation, this instance was a lot more severe than anything she had previously experienced. She wasn’t able to leave her bed for days, and at that point had gained over 40 pounds. She wasn’t looking at herself with a lot of love. It was at this point that Mallory decided to reach out to her mom, knowing what all her mom does and how she helps people daily. She told Jennifer that she needed help; that whatever was going on with her she couldn’t fix by herself and that she did not want to be put on pharmaceutical medications.

Her adversity to pharmaceuticals came from watching her teammates be on the very medications that she would have been put on—yet, they endured more ups-and-downs than she already struggled with. Mallory stated that she could handle the downs, but she wasn’t able to handle the constant ups and downs. This is why she chose to look into medical Cannabis. Jennifer took her to some dispensaries and showed her what she needed to look for as far as dosage, intake, and methodology. This is when she found out that edibles help her extremely well as she is able to micro-dose throughout the day with edibles and not have any psychoactive feelings, or what is referred to as a “head change.” She also discovered that when she takes a half of a dropper of tincture, it helps alleviate the bouts of depression she faces. The depressive state brings a feeling that there’s a blanket over her, like a cloud – yet half of a dropper of tincture makes that feeling go right away! When that depressive feeling comes back, it only takes another half dropper of tincture to feel okay again.

Mallory ended up transferring to NOC as a walk-on for the softball team, but she was working with her coaches towards a scholarship for the second semester if she did what she was supposed to for the first semester. Everything was flowing perfectly—her GPA was awesome and she was on the right track. She even considered not using medical Cannabis because of how badly she wanted to play; she didn’t want to risk not being able to play by using Cannabis. Yet, she knew that she wouldn’t be able to be a collegiate athlete and not medicate with Cannabis. She realized she wouldn’t be able to wake up every day and go to practice—that her body and brain hurt too much without Cannabis. Cannabis was what allowed her to make the 6 a.m. practices, all of the player meetings, study halls—there wasn’t a single thing that was negatively affected by her Cannabis use. Ironically, her teammates that used pain meds and opioids to get through their injuries and surgeries were unable to make those early morning practices; unable to even drive themselves to study hall because of the medication they took.

One day, she was discussing with her mom about what she should do: should she quit using medicinal Cannabis or should she keep going with her plant-based journey? Mallory struggled with the feelings that she was lying to her team and her coaches and it wasn’t something that sat right with her. She decided that she would continue to medicate. Three days later, and her name is getting pulled for a drug test. She immediately goes to her coaches and let them know that she is not going to be able to pass a drug test. They reacted like they expected her to say “I just gotta get clean” but that wasn’t the reality of the situation. She informed them that she wasn’t going to be able to pass a drug test that day, in 30 days, or even in 60 days. Mallory said she appreciated how understanding they were, but she still went to take the drug test of which she would have to wait a week and a half to get the results.

Being antsy and nervous, after 4 days she decided to go to the Athletic Director’s office. She told him specifically that she had her medical card, was a medical patient, and had just taken a drug test—so what did she need to next or what should she expect? Unfortunately, his and the coaches’ hands were tied as their athletic program is federally funded, so there was not anything they were able to do for her as a medical marijuana patient. The Athletic Director mentioned that he understood Mallory was trying to help herself and do what was best for her—which was probably the best thing he could have said at that point. He gave her the option to continue to play and be on the team, and be subjected to more drug tests. If Mallory took a second drug test and failed, she would have been suspended from the softball program; and if she took a third drug test and failed, she would have been kicked off the team completely. She didn’t want to do that, so she went with her other option—which was to withdraw from the softball program, and she did so, right then and there. After which, she went to her coach’s office and let them know of her decision, apologizing but stating that she had to withdraw as she had to choose her health; to put her health first.

Other Obstacles

One of the obstacles she faced was that if someone on campus found out that she had a medical card, they treated her like a dealer—asking her to pick stuff up from dispensaries, to buy them flower. But that wasn’t who she was, that’s not what she did—she didn’t get a medical card for those reasons. Not being treated like a serious medical patient as a young person is an ongoing issue she has faced due to the stigma surrounding Cannabis.

Another obstacle Mallory faced was a lack of connection with her teammates and coaches not only because of her Cannabis use, but her family’s involvement in Oklahoma’s Cannabis industry. She was worried about the stigma surrounding Cannabis being attached to her if her teammates or coaches ever found out that her entire family is involved in the Cannabis industry in some aspect.  

Her obstacles didn’t end there. While she is a legal medical patient, she wasn’t treated that way by some dispensaries. She was determined to find the best one in her area and set off to visit several different dispensaries one day. Of the 8 dispensaries she visited that day, only 2 treated her like a patient and demonstrated their knowledge of the plant. The rest treated her like a college kid looking to get high, only showing her flower and using lingo that she was familiar with, but didn’t use.   

What Now?

These days Mallory spends her time working with Hawkeye Consulting to help patients across Oklahoma obtain or renew their medical Marijuana cards. She enjoys spending time with her boyfriend Brendon, as well as going to visit family and friends down in Southeastern Oklahoma, where she can enjoy being on the lake. She uses one of Hawkeye Health’s newest products Relax to help reduce her anxiety as well as the sleep regulation assistance it provides.