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Hi! I'm Marissa
I did not quit my job to travel the world. I quit my job because it was slowly sucking out my soul. I couldn’t imagine living out the rest of my days in a cubicle doing something that meant nothing to me.
My time in corporate America lasted 10+ years. The path to change careers from finance to mental health was long, unpredictable, and terrifying. But now I get to spend my days supporting people on their own personal journeys to better their lives, which is pretty much the best thing ever.
Getting to travel more has been a unexpected perk. It has also been the gateway to what has helped my own mental health the most – hiking and adventure.
If I’m not currently on a mountain, I’m planning my next trip. Probably with a too-detailed spreadsheet. I’m a National Park geek on a hell-bent mission to visit them all. I usually don’t feel my age unless I’m trying to figure out how many years I have left to visit the thousands of places I still want to see. I also have 2 cats, who are opposed to adventure of any kind.
Adventure & Therapy
There are a lot of modalities out there for healing. I’m a firm believer in doing “all the things” and seeing what works best for you. After trying almost everything, being out in nature has been the one most consistent healer I’ve found.
Adventure doesn’t have to be jumping out of a plane or backpacking in Europe for a summer. It’s whatever your definition is. What gets you out of your comfort zone, helps you feel connected (or disconnected, for that matter), ignites your senses, or makes you feel alive.
Like many people, I’m on the never-ending journey to improve my mental health and overall quality of life. I love sharing what I’ve learned with clients, and want to use this platform to do the same for anyone else who needs it.
Embrace Adventure
It is my personal belief (one that is constantly being supported by research) that adventure and being in nature can alleviate symptoms of depression. When we travel, explore, see, experience, wander, and open our eyes to new things, it ignites something in us. Adventure sparks feelings of joy, happiness, wonder, awe, empowerment, and humility. As humans we are created to experience stress and negative emotions. How much would it improve the quality of your life if you could learn to create and sustain positive emotions to offset the inevitable challenging ones? I am a firm believer in practicing what I preach. You can read more about adventure as therapy and related mental health topics by visiting my blog.
MY ADVENTURE P.I.C.
This is B. He’s the “we” in my story. I wouldn’t be able to do as much as I do without him. From trip planning to website engineering, to always driving so I can look out the window, he has enhanced every part of this journey.
This was our first time hiking the Grand Canyon rim-to-rim, one our our most memorable adventures ever.
