Sheridan
Content Warning*: Brief discussions of an eating disorder
“You can use the challenges that life throws at you as opportunities to connect deeply with yourself, cultivate radical self-compassion, and remember the power and strength within. That is how you, too, can get through anything.”
Sheridan is insightful and encouraging, setting out on a mission to help others prioritize mental health and mindfulness. Having battled the effects of alopecia universalis, an eating disorder, and severe anxiety coupled by grief, she has now used these adversities as vehicles of self-love and acceptance. Through sharing her raw experiences with her online community, she is able to offer others dealing with similar struggles tips and tricks to maneuver hardship and self-sabotaging behavior. In doing so, she pinpoints the value in healing one’s past to make for a prosperous and empowering present and future. This is Sheridan’s story.
K: Please introduce yourself!
S: Hey, I'm Sheridan and if I were to define myself in my own words I would say I am a dynamic, resilient, wise woman who likes to experience everything in life so that I can learn and grow!
On top of that, I’m someone who has alopecia universalis - an autoimmune disease that means I have no hair. This all started when I found my first bald spot, one rainy afternoon, at the hairdressers when I was 7 years old. In the years that have passed since that moment, I’ve battled the ups and downs of self-doubt, anxiety, insecurity, trauma, body image and mental health challenges.
For so long, I felt disconnected from my body and inner wisdom and was unsure about what to do and where to go, until I found my way through the challenges and to empowerment.
I’ve learnt through years of study (and much trial and error) how to move from self-doubt, procrastination, anxiety, and unhealthy coping mechanisms to fully embracing my uniqueness, easing my anxiety, finding and using my own voice and deep, and empowered living.
Today, as a certified yoga therapist, meditation facilitator, anxiety coach and more, I’m helping others manage anxiety, move through hair loss with ease, understand and trust their inner authority and be fully present in their lives. I do this through a deep understanding of the connection between the mind and body and with a unique methodology I created that unites esoteric teachings with evidence-based western sciences, such as psychology.
K: Tell us a story. Have you had an experience that’s defined you or made you stronger?
S: While I had been practicing yoga for years by myself at home, I had never actually gone to a yoga studio to take a class in person. For a long time, I never even considered this option because I was so nervous that people would stare or make comments if I showed up to a yoga class without my wig. The only way I felt comfortable practicing was sneaking my yoga mat into the spare bedroom at home, laying it down next to the sunny window and putting on YouTube videos. I would fantasize about the day that I would love my body so much and feel confident enough to go into a yoga studio and take off my wig - without feeling like my heart was going to leap out of my chest.
At the time, I was part of a women’s circle and shared with the women there that I really wanted to start practicing yoga in the studio, but was really nervous because I’d had so many experiences where people had said weird things about my hair. I vividly remember saying “I just want to be able to take my hair off as easily as if it were my shoe.” One woman responded saying “Well, why don’t you?”
So, I did it. I went to my very first yoga class. The entire time it felt like my stomach was in my throat, my palms were sweating and I was petrified by all of these fears that I had internalized over the years.
When I took my wig off, the teacher actually asked me “Do you have cancer?” and “Are you strong enough to do the class?” I assured her that yes I was, but it was all very awkward and in fact, I didn’t even enjoy the class very much.
It wasn’t really about that, though. That moment of stepping into the yoga studio, rolling out my mat the same way I had done at home for years, taking my wig off and going through the practice like everyone else there - that was big. I saw that I could do it. I realized how strong I really was.
It was the start of learning that people will respond to me the way that I feel about myself. If I deeply love myself, they are going to see that radiance coming through. If I feel awkward and uncomfortable, then they’re going to feel that and they’re going to ask me if you’re okay. That is true for everyone.
After going through the experience and coming out the other side, I had the life-changing realization that I really could get through anything. It reminded me that all of the courage, resilience and confidence that I need is already within me, and when in doubt, to just keep going.
K: What is one piece of advice you’d give to your younger self?
S: “There is no failure. There is only accumulation of wisdom.”
Each time you ‘fail’ at something, it is not bad, it’s simply an opportunity to gather more information about yourself, what you want in life and how to get there. Some of the biggest failures in life are the best opportunities to gain wisdom and knowledge to keep going. The only real way to fail… is to give up.
Learning this, and being able to role model it to other people so that they can experience more freedom in their life is probably one of my favorite things about myself.
K: What does being a woman mean to you?
S: Being a woman means being in touch with all of the different parts of yourself. You can allow yourself to flow freely between all of your different expressions - you dance between the strong, warrior, get-stuff-done, #bossbabe part of you and the part of you that is soft, intuitive, and connected with Earth and spirit. Being a woman is also about the connection that we have with other women. We all have similar experiences as women, even if our backgrounds are different. Being part of this shared identity as women means knowing that you are part of a community all across the world. You will always have that oneness and that connection with people who identify with being a woman.
K: Who is one woman that inspires you? What would you say if they were here now?
S: All of the women who have ever felt self-doubt or anxiety and are reading this right now inspire me. If they are here, it means that they are starting to get in touch with their inner strength and empowerment. If I could say anything to them I would remind them that each person on this planet holds a deep sense of resilience, personal power and peace inside. And if reading my story inspires you, know that I am not any different than you. I have taken my experiences with an autoimmune disease, loss and heartbreak, an eating disorder, and low self-esteem to actually feel more empowered and confident in my life, rather than less. You can use the challenges that life throws at you as opportunities to connect deeply with yourself, cultivate radical self-compassion, and remember the power and strength within. That is how you, too, can get through anything.