May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and host Cynthia Garcia is kicking it off by doing a deep dive on one of the main pillars of the ITN model: mental nutrition. Cynthia gives a recap on how the Transformational Nutrition model was created after she hit rock bottom and realized that she needed to take care of her overall health一including what was going on in her mind. She gets candid about her lifelong struggle with anxiety and depression, and shares some tools that have worked for her to manage her emotions.  Experiencing poor mental health can affect so many aspects of life, including how you react, handle stress, and relate to others. Factors like brain chemistry, genetics, and trauma often contribute to mental health, and unfortunately, they’re mostly out of our control. Like Cynthia, many people were raised in environments where mental health wasn’t taken seriously or talked about, and that can lead to serious repercussions. Slowly by surely, that narrative is changing and there are more techniques and practices to help cope with negative emotions.  Join Cynthia as she discusses her mental health journey, how she’s learned to process her emotions, and tools that have been instrumental for her healing.  In today’s episode, you’ll discover:  How mental health fits into our overall view of wellbeing and nutrition Information and statistics about the mental health crisis in the US today  Why nutrition coaches need to focus on more than just diet and exercise  Learning how to process pain instead of numb it  Ways to get out of your head and into your feelings  Important Links: Show notes for this episode Resources Mentioned: Transformation Generation Facebook group Learn more about becoming a Certified Transformational Nutrition Coach Watch the Dream Career video series  Follow Us: Visit our website Follow us on Instagram Follow us on Facebook Connect with ITN student, Eric Hall, on his website