A LITTLE ABOUT ME
Hello to all my little mental health loving beauties! I’m Samantha (she/her), but you can call me Sam! I’m notorious for being the friend you’ll first turn to when you need advice, a vent sesh, or just the best hug you’ve ever had in your life. My unconventional way of thinking and creative process has led me to chase after my passion for crushing the stigma that mental health often holds in society today.
As I currently am pursuing my Master’s degree in Social Work, it is my goal to increase the accessibility and availability to mental health resources and provide an introduction to the therapeutic healing space. My purpose here is to help others shed themselves of their self limiting beliefs + negative self talk and have them questioning, challenging, and reframing their core values in order to live a life as the most authentic version of themselves.
I’m 27 years old, born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona, and after graduating in 2021 with a Bachelor’s in Behavioral Health Science, I knew I wanted to use my degree and newfound knowledge to its fullest potential and help improve the quality of life for as many individuals as I possibly could.
The idea of NXT Candle Co. actually came to me in the middle of 2019, but I let my fear of failure, perfectionism, and debilitating imposter syndrome get the best of me. I couldn’t stop thinking about how much something like this would have helped me while navigating my own personal mental health struggles, especially when my mental health was at complete rock bottom- and so I believed that if I can help just one person, it would make everything worth it. If you’re reading this, just know I am so grateful for you and I am so proud of you.
SAM, WHAT WAS YOUR “WHY?”
Learning to navigate and improve your mental health and overall wellbeing can appear to be a daunting task; I know it was for me when I was starting out. I was easily overwhelmed by the amount of readily available self-help books and shadow work journals that crowded the shelves in stores. For me, having access to so many shadow work prompts all at once did more harm to my mental health than it did good, because I would try to work through too much, too quickly. I curated these candles specifically to help you manage the pace at which you will work through these prompts. I wanted people to allow themselves to slow down and sit with these prompts while exploring their deepest thoughts and emotions. I want to create a safe space to freely express and explore anything and everything that rises to the surface without boundaries. I want people to take their time to be completely vulnerable and honest with themselves, which can be very uncomfortable (hence the skipping around in journals in an attempt to avoid the questions that bring up uncomfortable feelings we often experience through shadow work). With alternative shadow work journals and self-help books, it can be so easy for us to skip ahead or rush through these guided journals when there are so many prompts right in front of you. Often times, our curiosity gets the best of us and we end up with several half answered prompts and it remains unfinished and leaves us questioning ourselves. I know how overwhelming it can be to try and find ways to better yourself without diving all in too quickly and essentially drowning yourself in feelings of confusion and uncertainty. Working on becoming your highest self is without a doubt very hard work, but the benefits you get out of investing time and energy into yourself is unmatched. I know traditional therapeutic interventions can be very pricey and out of budget for many individuals, and although I do not claim to be a Licensed Therapist, I wanted to create something that can help those struggling, and for those that just might want to get to know themselves on a deeper and more intimate level. I do it for little me.
