Subscriber Spotlight: Brain Balancer Sarah McDowell
If your noodle isn't operating optimally, I'm betting Sarah can help.
IN CASE YOU’RE NEW HERE, Jenna’s Side Subscriber Spotlight is a perk for paid subscribers who have something they’d like to share with the class. Think of it as show-and-tell for grownups—except instead of your invisible ink decoder ring or the Mona Lisa statue made out of macaroni you bought in Paris, it’s your business, project, purpose, or genius idea. Upgrade today and get yourself on the list!
One amazing side-effect of this series is that every time I profile another subscriber, I learn something fascinating. Today it was a brand new word: aphantasia. (If it’s novel to you, too, I’ll let Sarah explain it to you in her inimitable words below.) Sarah has been “very happily married” for 29 years [let’s get the lovebirds a trophy!] and has two young adult kids she describes as “living their very best lives” (which Sarah admits look absolutely nothing like what she had imagined for them).
Like most of my spotlight superstars, Sarah was a stranger until today. Now she’s someone I might just drive to Lubbock, Texas, to visit so we can share natural health tips while she whips my old lady gray matter into shape. In the meantime, I’m positive you’ll enjoy getting to know her as much as I have.
(*All memes chosen by me.)
WHO EVEN ARE YOU?
Answering the question "Who even are you?" as I approach my 50th birthday in the next few days feels quite deep and important! Career-wise, I am a Licensed Professional Counselor and I own two businesses: a counseling practice and a Brain Balance franchise. I also am a Christian, a wife, a mom, a daughter/sister/aunt, a business owner, a boss, a friend... but those are roles. (Other than being a Christian, which is more of an identity. And my identity as a Christian has become increasingly complex as life marches on!)
Maybe who I am is more accurately this: I am someone who wants to help, heal, comfort, bless, and support others. My heart's desire, my life's purpose, is to assist people in moving along the path towards wellness in every way: to achieve physical and mental health, to reach their fullest potential, to live life more abundantly, and to know their deepest, truest identity and connect with their Creator.
PITCH THE [BLEEP] OUT OF ME.
Professionally I do two things: Mental health counseling and “Brain Balance.” I am also extremely passionate about all things natural health including nutrition, supplementation, exercise, sunshine, sleep, and functional medicine (i.e., finding the root cause of symptoms). But I'm going to pitch Brain Balance because it’s the least well known and so completely transformative.
Brain Balance uses the principles of neuroplasticity to help anyone, child or adult, improve self control, attention, emotional regulation, social skills, sensory processing, and learning. By maturing and integrating sensory, motor, and cognitive development through specialized activities that engage multiple brain functions simultaneously, gaps in development are reduced, resulting in improvements across all areas of brain development.
We know that environmental stresses, toxic overload, and genetic tendencies can cause disruptions in healthy brain development, which is why we have an epidemic of “neurodivergent” people. We all have strengths and weaknesses in different areas, but when weaknesses are disruptive and hinder someone from living the life they want or reaching their full potential, Brain Balance helps. It builds connections and improves whole brain integration by engaging physical, auditory, visual, and cognitive functions simultaneously to mature and synchronize all aspects of neurological health and development.
GIVE US SOME DIRT.
I have aphantasia—which is the inability to visualize mental images. I think in words, concepts, and facts, but never pictures. The part I don't like to admit is that I often don't recognize people that I should when they are out of context! In context and when I'm expecting to see someone, I usually (but not always) remember enough factual details about someone that I am able to recognize them. Like I will go to the waiting room thinking to myself, I'm looking for a young guy with olive skin and short dark hair. But if there are two guys in the waiting room with those same details, then I don't know which one is the client I saw last week. Things like noticeable and unique tattoos or colored hair help me a lot! 😅
I spend my life faking it in public when someone recognizes me. It makes me super uncomfortable because it feels awful to not be recognized, and I hate making people feel that way. Once I'm pretty close to someone, then I recognize them readily, regardless of context.
NOW YOU GET TO BRAG!
The thing I am most proud of is that I make people feel heard, understood, and accepted. I truly believe at a gut level that most people are doing the best they can in this world with the hand they were dealt. I think people can feel from me (whether they are a client or not) that I believe that. In psychology it's called “unconditional positive regard” and it is the factor that has the highest correlation with successful outcomes in therapy.
WHAT’S A HILL YOU’D DIE ON?
I do not believe that there is one solution or answer to any problem or question that applies to all of humanity. Anytime someone says something simplistic and absolute, there are exceptions that can be found, because the factors that impact a person are seemingly infinite. Whenever someone makes such a pronouncement, I have a perverse desire to point out any exceptions that disprove the rule—even if I generally agree with the statement!
GIVE US SOMETHING GOOD.
I have to share two things because they go together in my world: The YNAB app (a budgeting tool) and 10xTravel. I play the credit card points and miles game, using 10xTravel, and the only way I keep things straight is by using YNAB. It’s the best financial system I have ever used! It is incredibly fun and satisfying to travel for very close to free and know that my financial world is still in order.
WHY DO YOU SUPPORT JENNA’S SIDE?
I look forward to reading your newsletter every day! I think you are hilarious and obviously we are like-minded. You are sometimes preaching to the choir, for me, and sometimes you make me aware of something new or give me a different perspective. I really appreciate that!
WHAT IF WE WANT MORE?
You are welcome to visit my counseling practice page or the Brain Balance website.
There are Brain Balances all over the United States. If you happen to be near Lubbock, Texas, mention Jenna's Side and you can schedule a 1/2 price assessment, plus a "Jenna's Side discount" on enrollment!
Note that Brain Balances are all independently owned, so this only applies to the Lubbock, Texas location. No other Brain Balance will have any idea what you are talking about. But you could ask!
I’m enormously grateful to Sarah for her support, and for sharing her purpose, passion, and thrifty travel tips! Feel free to tell her how awesome she is in the comments. :)
Another fascinating and kindred spirit! Jenna has the most amazing and smart subscribers! It’s wonderful to meet these souls and I’m grateful for the shared spotlights. It’s nice to know you are out there in this kooky world.
I have engineering degrees from Texas Tech University.
I read: "Brain Balance" and think, "Oh..."
Then I read "Lubbock, Texas" and it's like, "Do mine! Do mine!"
I feel the embarrassment of not being able to recognize people from even small distances away. I had advanced cataracts by the time I was 50, and I should have worn a T-shirt reading, "I can't see well enough to recognize who you are if you say 'Hi' to me unless you come closer." [I wear XL.] I had developed the habit of keeping my head down when I was out of the office, as if lost in thought you know, so I could ignore people and yet not have them feel ignored. I was contemplating just keeping them and going blind, for one reason because I was the only conservative on a staff of slavering libtards and I wanted to give them an opportunity to express their, personal, "charity" towards an American with Disabilities. (You're right; because I knew they'd hate-hate it...) However I knew my wife would too, so I had the surgeries, both eyes, and the following retinal detachments, both eyes, but good came of it: I could see like I'd never seen since before the second grade.
I have a question for Sarah. As I age into the "Crotchety Old Man" of destiny (...hold a second: YOU KIDS GET OUT OF MY YARD!!!... ok, back) in virtually every aspect of life, I see a majority of people who are CONVINCED they are powerless. It seems to be a symptom of being a modern, and the 24/7 focus of victim-ness reinforces the thought. Having proven to myself, in a few important matters, that I was NOT unable to act or to change, I am convinced everyone--except for the obvious exceptions--has it within themselves to grab themselves by the shoulders, give themselves a good shake (and a Batman-to-Robin-slap) and pull them forward, inching at first, but ultimately over time effortlessly.
My question: 𝐃𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐁𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐁𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐒𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐫𝐝?
(Hey, it can be a compound question.)
Thank you for being you and what you do.