About Hanna.
WELCOME
I'm glad you're here. Here's a little bit about me based on what's most asked. A lot of questions you might have are answered here. Experience leads the way. Sometimes, there is no safety net. I am an experimental cultural anthropologist of sorts. As a traveler, I've helped build, lived in & learned from communities all over the United States. My input has been fundamental time & again in myriad situations to keep peace, raise spirits and offer counsel and mediation for people from a variety of socioeconomic and educational backgrounds. ***|***|*** For a long time I traveled with other travelers, none of us had access to mental health tools such as therapy, not that we thought about it much, who needs therapists when you have friends? The internet wasn't yet a thing, not back when I was Wayfaring on the regular. Our method became coping. I had a good handle on coping as I was orphaned and left mostly to my own devices as a "ward of the state" at a young age. There were people, there was distant family. I don't know them very well, they have done what they can to make sure it stays that way, distant. The security and "family" I never had as an orphan was traded in for the fascinating and oft times harrowing life I've had instead. It's been filled with people & situations that I still reflect on. For some people, unique experiences can create a unique perspective, I'm blessed with both. There is a certain freedom in being dismissed. I didn't have to perform as expectations were below low, in point of fact, the expectation was failure. This isn't a guess or an assumption, this is what I overheard and was told growing up time and time again. People's treatment of me is also a giveaway, of course that says more about them than it does about me. Sometimes, what you're meant to do finds you, that's the case with many of my pursuits. One point of focus for me is that I aim to put the "self" back into "self-help." Helping people to feel self-empowered rather than self-medicated is one of many goals. There's no program for sale here since no two people are the same. What works for one person most likely will not work for another. There is no "one size fits all" pill or program, and I have no conveniently labeled boxes including symptom lists and prescriptions to stuff anyone into. As mentioned, I had entertained thoughts of working in the field of mental health, my plan in college, bright eyed and bushy tailed, ready to help. Instead, I've been here and everywhere else helping people those flawed, dusty traditional methods have failed, I help people recover from modern clinical psychology and psychiatry. I want to be clear, I do understand the difference between chronic and acute conditions. That being said, there is a LOT a person can do for themselves to supplement whatever else they do in their mental health care routine. I'm here for that. Here there are no platitudes or flowery sayings from books with people wearing bright colors and brighter smiles on the cover. No monks sitting in Lotus position with serene faces, no specialized diets or newfangled yoga plans and poses. There will be no distribution of victim cards here, we're survivors, we don't need cards. No potions, lotions or notions will help long term with mental health unless what's learned is productively applied & that is where people find the most difficulty, especially in this backward culture that glorifies mental illness and worships mentally unstable people. . Old, tired platitudes from ancient Religious philosophies repeated over & over, retreats for gaining false titles and clout, these are not sustainable over the long term because they can't teach you how to live what you learn. It's one thing to learn something, quite another to apply it. Intent is paramount. It isn't that people are unaware of the sentiment in those old platitudes, people "get it," it's innate. Unfortunately, current culture only works because people have been taught to ignore the innate and have their opinions assigned to them. The resultant mental anguish is impossible to ignore. I'm here to help get you back to the trailhead, not tell you which way to go when you get there. Hopefully, the journey there will make the decisions along the way easier, just do the right thing. Where people seem to get hung up time and time again is in the "living the lesson" part. Living those lessons when no ones looking, when the ring light is off, when the phone is in the other room on the charger and it's not even Sunday. I can help with that. ***|***|*** I am currently a self-employed freelance writer & editor. I'm also a mediator, herbalist and reader, among many other things. I go where needed & do what needs to be done. I often give my time and efforts without compensation. For me, experience is as valuable as anything else. I am the Founder of Mojo Mountain Medicine, good for what ails you since 1990. And of course, The Union of Mad Scientists, Telling it Like It Is and sometimes Singing It Like It Is since 1987. You won't find a shiny internet presence for the Union or Mojo Mountain, they don't exist in that way, they've been around too long. At the end of the day I've always traveled too much to maintain an internet presence but that hasn't stopped me from being where I'm needed. From home visits to the festival circuit. From bus stops to dusty train stations and even high up in the mountains where you can only get there on horseback. My visits aren't by appointment, they're by necessity, often, emergency, and I will always take the time. I do feel compelled to say now that I am not responsible for anyone's actions & I don't claim to be any more expert on this crazy thing called life than anyone else. I offer keen insight, choosing what to do with it is up to the individual. I've found that life isn't about having the right gear, it's about how you handle life without it. ***|***|*** IT'S ABOUT CONNECTING WITH PEOPLE POSITIVELY AND ABOUT SOLUTION ORIENTED THINKING, SO... When you're ready for real, sustainable, solution oriented healing, its free or donation based, so you really have nothing to lose. You dig? ***|***|*** OH!!! Just a thought... There's music too, great therapy. Take an issue that's on your mind and write a song about it. The process of doing that, whether you are ever going to actually put it to music or not, is cathartic. It can change your entire perspective on said issue. I'll be adding my own original and "Weird Al style" classic songs to my Bandcamp over time if you're interested. You'll find many of the Weird Al style lyrics I've re-written right here under Maxwell's Musical Mixes. There'll be podcasting as well, so stay tuned! Music is where issues become insight, THAT is part of its power, it can turn mental breakdown into mental breakthrough. And don't worry, I'm not intolerant nor too sassy. I am trying to restore some balance in a world full of people who are either falling apart mentally or actually wish they were though. LET'S PUT THE "SELF" BACK INTO "SELF-HELP!" ASK ME HOW. |
The "Axiom of Choice" page has a contact form at the bottom to contact me. You might also catch me in these other places...
https://linktr.ee/highwayhanna
https://linktr.ee/highwayhanna