Author: Impower You

Healing through art & therapy! I used to be depressed and codependent with very low self worth and many unhealthy habits. But several years ago I started the healing process and am sharing what I learned with gratitude and hope for each of us. Peace & hugs, Leah
podcast

Episode 4: Losing My Codependency

Impower You

What is your self-care win this week? In this mini-podcast I talk about my self-care win of not being codependent. After a lifetime of acting codependent. Here is a story of how I lost my codependency last summer.

Listen to the podcast on Breaker.com

When a few of my friends moved away last summer, I was feeling sad and lonely. One of those friends didn’t say goodbye. I was hurt. For about two weeks I felt sorry for myself and wondered how soon I could make new friends. Then I remembered the quote “Just because you think you’re stuck, doesn’t mean you are.” (Coincidentally this was from a codependency group.) I meditated and set boundaries. I removed the phone number of the friend who didn’t feel the need to say goodbye and stopped following her on Instagram. The first two weeks were rough. I wanted to reach out, but I knew that I had reached out enough. I knew deep in my bones that it was time to let them go on with their journey. This happened quickly, but in reality it was years of therapy that brought me to this point.

Six months later, I haven’t feel codependent towards them or any of my friends. When I occasionally start feeling the need to reach out I first search for other options, like going for a hike by myself, or stopping at a cafe for a drink and a book or language study session. It’s amazing because I never realized that I could feel this way. I didn’t know that I was codependent or that I needed to work on this issue, but I am feeling like a real winner about it.

  • What is one if your self-care wins?
  • How are you at setting boundaries?
  • How often do you place your needs first, second, third to others?

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Thank you to all my patrons for supporting this podcast. Whether you give $1 or $32 per month, your support is inspiring. I hope you feel good about supporting the free healing projects I share with others. If you’re not a patron, consider becoming one for as little as $1 per month at Patreon.com/Loviedo .

podcast

Episode. 3: I’m a Fat, Ugly Loser

Impower You

I challenge you to stop that thought right now. Go look in the mirror and tell yourself “I am not a loser. I am a unique, beautiful, imperfect being and that is the truth.”

This mini-podcast is about challenging how we perceive ourselves and changing our inner dialogue. I believed the worst about myself for years and it totally wrecked my life.

Listen to the podcast on Breaker.com

Mirror work isn’t some fluffy idea, it’s used in professional therapy. Here is a link to learn more about mirror work. “Because the mirror reflects back to you the feelings you have about yourself. It makes you immediately aware of where you are resisting and where you are open and flowing…” from Louisehay.com/what-is-mirror-work/

I hope this podcast is helpful. If you have a comment, write it below and I will respond when I’m online.

Thanks to all my patrons for supporting this podcast and all my creative projects. If you’re not a patron check out the rewards you receive when you join me at Patreon.com/Loviedo.

Peace and hugs, Leah

Art

Nature Art: Hearts, Magic and Adornments

Impower You

I’ve been on a roll making nature art this winter. I can’t walk anywhere without seeing potential. Mother nature’s palette is abundant, always transforming. Leafs change color, flowers bloom, rocks brighten with rain drops, branches fall. There is no lack in the material available. I was almost late to work the other day because I stopped at the park and began making a wreath with some beautiful, bushy, bright yellow flowers that had fallen off of a tree. Of course I had to arrange them. I couldn’t just walk on by. Luckily when I pulled out my phone to take a photo of my art, I saw the time and rushed off to work, arriving just a minute late. I hope you enjoy these pieces as much as I do.

  • “Magical Hues”
  • “Lucky Love”
  • “Yellow Brick Road”
  • “Adornment”

If you want to buy an 8×10 print for $35 or a high resolution digital print for $15, send me a message with the Contact Us page.

D.I.Y. Therapy, podcast

Podcast: Ep. 2: Setting Your Intention

Impower You

The start to any journey begins with a commitment. The start to a healing journey starts with setting an intention. This mini podcast is about setting that intention so that we don’t backslide into our unwanted habits. 

This is the second episode in my mini-podcast series about healing depression. I want to say a big THANK YOU to my patrons on Patreon who support my creative healing work. You can meet a few of them on the Wall of Fame page.

I’m an artist and writer with an interest in art therapy. If you would like to support my heart work, please consider becoming a monthly patron on Patreon.com/Loviedo. For $1 a month*, you can fund programs like my D.I.Y. Therapy: Healing Journey E-course, my monthly “Radical” e-zine and other free creative healing projects, like “Cultivating Radical Self-Love: A Collaboration of Healers, Artists & Writers“.

Art, D.I.Y. Therapy, Empowering Discussions, Journal Prompts

Surround Yourself With….

Impower You

Surround yourself with loving words, thoughts, and actions. Just like I surrounded this pine tree with protective pine cones.

– What do I need to do to feel loved and supported?

– Do I have loved ones who support me?

– If not, how can I support myself?

Self-care means diving deep into our mental, emotional, and physical health. You can do this with journaling, meditation, and creativity. Do what feels healthy. Set boundaries with your addictions. If you need extra help, reach out to a loved one or mentor. Don’t hide when you need loving support. Ask for it.

Trunk of pine tree surrounded by carefully laid out pine cones in a circular pattern by Leah Oviedo

Peace and hugs, Leah

Find me on Patreon.com/Loviedo and on Ko-fi.com/Loviedo.

 

D.I.Y. Therapy, Empowering Discussions

Journaling & Art Therapy Course – Try It Free

Impower You

I’ve updated my Dive Deeper course to include more art and journaling. Check it out if you want to expand your self-care & dive deeper into feeling balanced & loved. Try the first lesson for free: .

If you want to continue the 3 month course it’s $9 per month. If not, you won’t receive anything more from me, won’t be added to any lists, and your email address will not be saved.

Banner with words Dive Deeper Course, uncover the root of your depression or apathy.

Empowering Discussions

When You Feel Broke, Friendless, As If You Have Wasted Your Life

Impower You

A friend who is in the heavy part of her emotional and mental health recovery sent me this letter and response post. It resonated with me so much I had to share. 

Here is part of the letter that really stands out to me, “..I truly feel like a ghost. No one knows who I am or where I’ve been. I haven’t kept a friend, lover, or foe around long enough to give anyone a chance. What’s the point? I don’t care for my job. I’m not building toward anything, and I don’t have the time or money to really invest in what I care about anyway at this point. On top of that, society is telling me my value as a woman is fading fast…”

Here is part of the response to a woman who felt broke, friendless and as if she had wasted her life. “When you face your shame with an open heart, you’re on a path to art, on a path to finding joy and misery and fear and hope in the folds of your day….but you can take that feeling and keep it company instead of letting it eat you alive. ” – https://www.thecut.com/2018/11/im-broke-and-friendless-and-ive-wasted-my-whole-life.html

  1. Dive into your emotions, fears, regrets and scars.
  2. Feel your shame, doubt and self-hatred.
  3. Learn why you feel so many unwanted things.
  4. Seek help and research how you can heal.
  5. Commit to changing the direction of your story.

I’m an artist and writer with a focus on art therapy. If you would like to support my heart work, please consider becoming a monthly patron on Patreon.com/Loviedo. For $1 a month*, you can fund programs like my D.I.Y. Therapy: Healing Depression E-course, my monthly “Radical” e-zine and other free creative healing projects, like “Cultivating Radical Self-Love: A Collaboration of Healers, Artists & Writers“.

A multicoolored background with the words "Dive deeper Self-Care Challenge - uncover the root of your apathy or suffering."
Radical Magazine

Issue Ten of Radical Zine is Here – Creative Healing and Independent Artists

Impower You

Oh my gosh it’s 2019! How amazing this seems to me. I’ve been publishing Radical for more than a year now. It feels wonderful. I want to keep it going for years, maybe even decades. I’m filled with awe imagining all the ways it will evolve.

This issue is focused on the winter months theme of hibernation to allow us to dive deep into our self-care and fires to keep us warm. Do you like to hibernate during the winter months? I find myself saying No to activities with others and Yes to time with myself. This is my third year of living with the seasons and it grounds me in a way that I never experienced before. I highly recommend giving it a go.Maybe you have a real fire pit that you warm your hands around on the cold days and nights, or maybe you’re focused on the fire inside of you. Either way fire is a powerful symbol of rebirth.

In this issue I’m stoked to introduce a new artist Lauren Elizabeth, whom I had the joy of working with at the San Diego Museum of Art. She is a talented and colorful artist that shares emotions both happy and sad, in her work. I hope you enjoy it. Regular contributors include the always fantastic Kendal Fong, Inisa Fajra, Wendy Rodriguez, Erik Reyes, Chief Lady Bird and myself.

Download this issue at Patreon.com/Loviedo or read it on Issuu.com/RadicalArt.

I’m an artist and writer with a focus on art therapy. If you would like to support my heart work, please consider becoming a monthly patron on Patreon.com/Loviedo. For $1 a month*, you can fund programs like my Healing Journey E-course, my monthly “Radical” e-zine and other free creative healing projects, like “Cultivating Radical Self-Love: A Collaboration of Healers, Artists & Writers“.

Social Action

Helping Handful – An Easy New Years Resolution

Impower You

How about a new years resolution to clean up our planet? Will you pick up a helping handful to kick off this new calendar year?  Will you commit to picking up a helping handful once a week?

In 2019 I encourage you to value our oceans, parks, rivers and mountains over the convenience of single use plastics and plastic packaging that can’t be recycled and isn’t biodegradable.

 Here are a few of my recent helping handfuls during my pollution patrol. I hope this inspires you to pick up trash, consume less, and think twice about how we treat nature. Remember, we are part of nature, not apart from nature.

If you really want to make a difference, commit to reducing your waste footprint. Choose to not buy food and products packaged in plastic or aluminum. You can go all in or start with replacing a few plastic packaged items in your shopping list with glass or paper packaging.

You can support my pollution patrol project on Ko-fi.com/loviedo.Have you picked up pollution in your neighborhood? I’d love to hear about it. Leave a comment.

I’m an artist and writer with a focus on art therapy. If you would like to support my heart work, please consider becoming a monthly patron on Patreon.com/Loviedo. For $1 a month*, you can fund programs like my D.I.Y. Therapy: Healing Depression E-course, my monthly “Radical” e-zine and other free creative healing projects, like “Cultivating Radical Self-Love: A Collaboration of Healers, Artists & Writers“.

Empowering Discussions

We Are The Problem; We Are The Answer

Impower You

You’ve heard it before. I’ll repeat it as often as needed.

WE CANNOT CHANGE THE ENTIRE WORLD, BUT WE CAN CHANGE OUR SELVES. 

Your power is inside your core. It is rooted in your intelligent, your compassion, your health. Each time you make some bullshit excuse and say yes to convenience over sustainability, each time you allow the hate of people like Trump and his supporters, or the greedy policy of corporate backed democrats, or that rude, gossipy person in your life push you down and hurt you and you say “I give up”, you are NOT being part of the solution. You are not living from your truth.

When you confront these decisions and people and stay strong in your heart space, you win. We all win. I didn’t want to believe that inner peace was the answer. It sounded too new age, too out of touch. Inner peace doesn’t stop a violent partner or a racist police force. But years of learning about the whole world instead of just my bubble has taught me that our personal actions are extremely powerful.

I’m understanding this message more each day. We are the problem and the answer. Together we thrive, but only if our individual self is communicating from a place of compassion and intelligence.  

>>>>> What do you think about that? <<<<<

Illustration of a hand and arm with roots extruding from the arm, placed behind rib cage, single eye located on top portion of rib cage. Art by Leah Oviedo
Follow Leah Oviedo on Patreon.com/Loviedo

I’m an artist and writer with a focus on art therapy. If you would like to support my heart work, please consider becoming a monthly patron on Patreon.com/Loviedo. For $1 a month*, you can fund programs like my D.I.Y. Therapy: Healing Depression E-course, my monthly “Radical” e-zine and other free creative healing projects, like “Cultivating Radical Self-Love: A Collaboration of Healers, Artists & Writers“.