For my first blog post, I thought I would start at the beginning. I don’t mean an autobiography of my childhood but a brief overview of what really inspired my Instagram account, which later led me to my business name.
My first post as @Therapy.Girl on Instagram was on September 15, 2015. It was a photo of clouds as seen between two trees with the caption, “Slow down and appreciate the in-between moments of life.”
I had moved back from Los Angeles a year earlier after an experience in Vienna, Austria where I learned what it meant to “say yes to life” — but that’s a blog post for another day. I moved back with the intention of finishing my licensure hours and then move to Vienna to attend the Sigmund Freud University and really, to build a new life in a completely new place.
A year into my return home and I was really enjoying getting to know my home state for the first time. In reality I was getting to know my adult self for the first time, as it was my first time living in Arizona as a single adult — also a blog post for another day.
I decided to create a public therapy-centric Instagram account after finding myself living more present in the moment.
I was working for a nonprofit agency where I provided in-home counseling for the older adult population in the East Valley of Phoenix. During my long drives between client houses, I found myself enjoying the beauty in the clouds and mountains around me. I found a deeper sense of calm and grounding in those moments, as I would refocus from the traffic or drive time to how incredible nature is.
@Therapy.Girl started as a way for me to document those in-between moments and provide tools for others (and myself) to refocus on the right here, right now.
However, @Therapy.Girl was really born on March 26, 2017. It was on this day that I felt a seed of uncertainty grow within me. I felt my anxiety creep up for no concrete reason at that point. But it was intuition that led me to worry and was validated the next day when I experienced an unexpected loss.
This loss threw me for a loop for much longer than I would like to admit. I entered a long period of constant, daily anxiety. Not only was it difficult to redirect my thoughts but also I felt constantly physically unsettled. I experienced a slew of physical manifestations of anxiety and a deep sadness that made each day a struggle.
I started to post more at this time, as a way to distract and cope.
Most importantly, I started to hike in an attempt to actively face my anxiety in a more conscious and purposeful way. Although the anxiety felt while hiking was not related to what was really making me feel like I was crawling out of my skin, I found it to be a very helpful practice.
I always loved photography, so I would make sure to take photos on these hikes in order to:
- Document that I, Linda Ruvalcaba, was out in nature doing something outdoorsy and active.
- Find inspiration in the beauty of the landscape I was in.
- Use for my Instagram posts
- And often, to take a moment to catch my breath during hikes.
These hikes were my time to process. I would cry it out on those desert trails, whether I was with someone else or alone. Life felt really hard and heavy at that time and as I processed all of this while scaling mountains, I found myself going a bit deeper on my Instagram posts.
I tried to not write directly from my experience, as I would use general terms. However, when I wrote about anxiety and grief, I was really writing about my own process. I think some of my authentic self did seep through and into those words on the screen. It was this vulnerability that people started to connect with online — whether they were friends, family, or strangers.
Honestly, I’m still surprised by the kind words I hear from people about how much they enjoy my posts and the lessons they learn from them. I thought the increase in “like” count was due to the change in photos to mountains, cacti, and trees. I never dreamed that anyone besides my immediate family was taking the time to read the words in the caption.
Now just over four years after my first post, I find myself still really enjoying the connection with others through this social media platform.
This account has helped me to find the type of therapist I want to represent myself as — one who is down-to-earth, authentic, and “gets it.”
I have shown more of myself on that public account (although still sometimes using general terms) than I ever have on my private social media accounts. It’s taught me so much about the kindness in this world. It’s easy to remain anonymous online and I’m so grateful for those who choose to comment or direct message me about their own struggles or how something moved them. It has led to some great friendships made — online and in person.
This year, as I moved towards achieving my ultimate goal of starting my own practice, I knew that I wanted to fully embrace this account and turn it into a business — Therapy Girl LLC.
I decided to start a blog in order to better tie together the magic that I have experienced on Instagram with my private practice. I intend for this to serve as an extension of my Instagram posts, where I might dive a little deeper, get a little more vulnerable, and save all the technical, clinical stuff for the people with more patience to read research studies.
I hope at least one person finds these posts helpful.
Thank you for following along!
