Higher Vibes Coaching Blog
Neutrality Is Not Silence: How Coaches and Leaders Can Honor Identity, Inclusion, and Psychological Safety
Explore why “neutrality” in coaching and leadership often becomes a tool of erasure. This in-depth article reframes neutrality as emotional maturity—not avoidance—and offers new research, inclusive frameworks, and self-reflection tools to help leaders, coaches, and teams build real psychological safety.
I Wore a Mamdani T-shirt. You’d Think I Set the House on Fire
When I posted a simple self-care video in a major coaching forum—wearing a Zohran Mamdani t-shirt, nothing political, just human—a “master coach” accused me of being unprofessional and turned it into a public takedown. The fallout says everything about who’s allowed to speak, who’s expected to stay silent, and why true psychological safety scares the people who preach it. This story was inspired by something that happened to me — a small, public moment that revealed so much about the world we’re living in.
Using Genograms To Understand Generational Trauma
“Just live with it” isn’t resilience—it’s survival passed down as strength. This article explores how generational trauma becomes identity, and how coaches can use genograms to trace emotional inheritance, unmet needs, and patterns of silence. By mapping family systems with empathy and boundaries, trauma-informed practitioners help clients replace endurance with connection, creating space for self-trust and intergenerational healing.
The ADHD / AuDHD Recovery Loop: Why You Burn Out After Every Comeback
ADHD burnout isn’t just exhaustion — it’s chemistry, culture, and chaos colliding. This deep dive unpacks how ADHD and AuDHD brains self-medicate with stimulants and sedatives: caffeine, Adderall, nicotine, THC, alcohol, and anti-anxiety meds. Discover why dopamine spikes, sensory overload, and masking create a perfect storm of overdrive and collapse. You’ll learn how the ADHD recovery loop really works — from hyperfocus highs to emotional hangovers — and why it’s not addiction but adaptation.
When People Police You: Their Reactions Say More About Them Than You
When people correct your tone, shrink your expression, or accuse you of being “too much,” it’s not about your behavior — it’s about their discomfort. This article explores the psychology of tone policing, projection, and envy in personal and professional spaces. Learn why people react defensively to authenticity, how silence enables control, and what it means to stand in your power without apologizing for it.
Beyond Sobriety: Recovery Coaching Tools that Work
Trauma-informed recovery coaching goes deeper than therapy—helping you understand emotions, unmet needs, and nervous system patterns. Using tools like the Feeling Wheel, Relational Needs, and attachment-based recovery frameworks, you’ll heal the root causes of addiction, perfectionism, and emotional disconnection.
The Heartache of “Passing”
Passing as white, straight, or able may look like a privilege, but it often feels like exile. Here’s an honest look at the science, strain, and healing of masking race, sexuality, and whatever your identity is.
CARE Framework: A Neuroscience-Backed Way to Manage Time, Energy, and Focus
For creative, sensitive, or neurodivergent minds, traditional time management methods may not be a good fit. The Higher Vibes CARE Framework offers a gentler, neuroscience-informed way to prioritize — one that honors your energy cycles, executive function, and need for rest. Learn to organize your week with clarity, calm, and self-compassion
4-Week Confidence Activation Challenge
Build lasting confidence through neuroscience-informed, trauma-aware coaching tools that strengthen courage and self-trust. This 4-week Confidence Activation Challenge guides you step-by-step from emotional regulation to embodied action—using mindfulness, journaling, and micro-exposure exercises to reduce anxiety, rewire negative self-talk, and create authentic confidence that feels aligned, not forced. Discover how to calm your nervous system, expand your comfort zone, and cultivate courage in manageable, sustainable ways.
The Neuroscience of Self-Leadership: How to Activate Your Inner Leader in 5 Steps
Learn how to activate your inner leader through five science-backed steps that connect your strengths, values, and vision. This guide blends neuroscience and positive psychology to help you lead with clarity, confidence, and purpose — starting from within.
Wayward and “Hot Seat” Therapy: Why These Methods Cause More Harm Than Healing
Confrontational counseling, attack therapy, and “hot seat” methods—like those dramatized in the Wayward series—are harmful, retraumatizing, and linked to poor recovery outcomes. Learn safer, trauma-informed alternatives.
ADHD and Eating Disorders Overlap — and How Recovery Coaching Can Help
ADHD and eating disorders often overlap. Learn how a trauma-informed recovery coach helps with binge eating, food struggles, and ADHD-friendly routines.
Recovery Coaching: How Two Sessions Can Transform Your Mindset and Self-Care
Looking for a food addiction recovery coach? Discover how just two sessions can transform your mindset, support food recovery, rewire patterns, and foster healthier self-care choices.
20 Things to Say to Bros To Take Your Power Back
Sometimes, you don’t want to debate a “bro”—you want to shut him down and keep it moving. Whether it’s at work, on a date, or just existing in the world, here’s how to shut that s**t down. And also, a lady can be a “bro” too…and that’s extra messed up!
It Sucks to Be Scapegoated for Telling the Truth
When you name what’s not working—at work or in your family—you’re often seen as the problem, even when you’re trying to create safety or help. This piece offers insight into why truth-telling can make people defensive and what it can cost to stay honest in systems built on silence.
10 Things Coaches Should Reveal to Clients
Many coaches are taught to ask powerful questions, but they are often not taught to be powerful witnesses. There’s a huge difference between holding space and being real in it. So here’s my spicy, soulful list of 10 Things Coaches Should Reveal to Their Clients—not to center themselves, but to model radical honesty, safety, and shared humanity.
10 Truths About Recovery Every Coach and Client Should Know
Coaching someone in recovery—or coaching yourself—requires more than tools and credentials. These 10 truths cover harm reduction, relapse, identity shifts, and the deep impact of trauma and systemic oppression. If you’re a life coach, wellness practitioner, or trauma survivor learning to lead yourself, this guide lays the foundation for recovery-oriented, trauma-informed coaching that actually supports healing.
Hot Seat Therapy and 360° Reviews Are the Same Bullsh*t
Too many internal coaches and managers still measure growth by how well you conform to other people’s expectations—especially if you’re neurodivergent, BIPOC, queer, or disabled. The result? More masking. More burnout. Less truth. This post offers a radical reframe of feedback. We’ll also dig into why the beloved 360° review process often mirrors a shady group therapy tactic called hot seat therapy—and how both can go off the rails without care, consent, and context.
When “You Got This Feels” Like a Slap
Tired of hearing “You got this!” when you’re barely hanging on? Here are 15 phrases that sound supportive—but can actually leave you feeling alone—and what to say instead to get the real help you need.
BIPOC Managers: Lead Without Losing Yourself
Being a BIPOC manager means balancing leadership, mentorship, and unspoken expectations—often at the expense of your well-being. Here, we break down the unique challenges, burnout risks, and systemic barriers BIPOC leaders navigate, backed by data, with actionable insights on how to lead without sacrificing yourself.