The Freedom Mentor

**EXCITING ANNOUNCEMENT... HAPPENING TODAY!!**
I'm super excited to share this amazing event! Not only will this be held live in person but Im also going to Facebook live into my Group:
Healing + Empowerment = Freedom!

This is part of the domestic violence awareness and fundraising campaign that I've been working on in collaboration with the yoga studio that I work at. It is raising awareness of the 16 days of activism against gender based violence and a fundraising campaign with all proceeds raised going towards the printing and publishing cost of my book My Life on Eggshells. Sooo keen to get this out! It is about my 10yr experience through domestic violence, providing reflections at the end of each chapter with examples, defining terms and showing an inspired way out!

It's all happening today:
Saturday 10 December
2:30 - 4:30pm ACDT local time, in studio

Or join the Facebook live in this group:
8:15pm PDT
11:15pm EDT

This marks the final day of 16 days of activism against gender based violence, it's also Human Rights Day. This is going to be a big community celebration with:
⭐️ Panel discussion with industry experts
⭐️ Book reading from Amy, the author of My Life on Eggshells

I am unbelievably grateful for our panel. They are incredibly passionate and knowledgable speakers in this area, I can hardly believe they will be spending their time with us today! Check out their Speaker Spotlights 👉👉

Join in live, can't wait to share this very special event with you ❤️

This commenced on Friday 25 November on the International Day of Elimination of Violence Against Women. The 16th day is tomorrow, which lands on 10 December, Human Rights Day.

This is an annual global domestic violence awareness campaign initiated by the UN.

I have been coordinating an event with my local yoga studio for an event to recognise this and raise awareness with funds going towards the publishing & printing costs of my book, My Life on Eggshells. My 10yr journey through domestic violence.

I have been holding community donation classes, with my final one tomorrow:

Saturday 10 December
230-430pm


I would love to see and connect with as many people as possible. I invite you to this beautiful class which will be themed on Ahimsa, the sanskrit word for non-violence, in recognition of this campaign.

I hope to see you there 🙏❤️

**Last FREE seminar for the year! For anyone who resonates with my story or know of someone who may benefit**

Have you ever lost, emotional pain or disconnected from yourself?

For far too long we have been taught to play it safe, seek comfort not challenges, look for someone or something to solve your problems..

I have found that you don't have to look outside, the answer is inside. Healing yourself, your habits, your thought patterns, from the root.

It is estimated that 75% of Australians have experienced some type of trauma, according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare aihw.gov.au/reports/mental-health-services/stress-and-trauma Exposure to trauma is more common among specific groups such as people who experience homelessness, young people in out-of-home care or under youth justice supervision, refugees, people experiencing family and domestic violence, LGBTIQ+ people and certain occupation groups such as emergency services, armed forces and veterans (Bendall et al. 2018; Phoenix Australia 2013).

Until recently, I always looked externally to solve any problems that arose. I would have panadol for a headache, medication for anti anxiety, stomach aches, remedies for iron, magnesium, the list went on. I was filling my body to help with its discomfort. I was also filling it with alcohol to numb the psychological pain. These aren't a good mix.

I'm a domestic violence survivor. I went through 10 years of domestic violence. Having experience physical, financial, verbal, emotional, legal and psychological abuse, as well as my ex being a narcissist and an alcoholic, I got to a point where I felt like a shell of a person, I did not know who I was, I was just surviving each day. Nothing actually helped me, nothing made me feel better. Until I found something that provided freedom from my mind, healed my body and soul! I have never felt so liberated before, so free & at peace.

Now is the time to break free from past entanglements, discover your true self and connect with people experiencing the exact same thing, yes there are many of us. I invite you to join this FREE seminar to feel inspired, create action in your life & feel connected 💫

Workshop facilitator for domestic violence survivors ✨️

I was honoured to be asked to facilitate a workshop last week as part of the Healthy Communication program.

We discussed about disconnecting from the body, taking back ownership of your body, dissociating and how to use grounding techniques. I then took the participants through a breathwork exercise and some brief reflective journalling questions to enhance their self connection.

After we completed the breathwork exercise, we went around the circle with 1 word to describe their experience. The general consensus was calm and relaxed. To get further feedback such as:

"this is the first time Ive felt sleepy after suffering from insomnia for 12 years"

"I have been unable to do meditation although I had done it for years. This is the first time Ive actually felt relaxed."

"it was evident the participants were very receptive and benefitted from it"

To make an impact, to help other survivors and to hear that Im making a difference in their lives inspires me.

Im so grateful for this opportunity. Especially to come full circle as I was a client of Zahra Foundation when I was going through domestic violence, so meaningful to me to give back 🙏❤️

I'm so pleased to announce that I'll be holding space for domestic violence survivors through teaching yoga regularly moving forward. AND the best part is, I'm offering this for FREE!

The first class is today! Wednesday 28 September

12:30pm at Human.Kind Studio on Halifax St, Adelaide

“Yoga was huge for me. As soon as I got back onto the mat, all of these emotions came out of me, and I had the opportunity to connect back to myself… because for such a long time when I was experience DV, I was so disconnected with myself. While I didn’t initially start going to yoga to heal, the practice had a profound, positive impact. So much so, that I was inspired to gift this nourishing experience to other survivors."

If you're in the Adelaide area, come down and join this practice with us. It really helped me with my healing journey and I know it will help so many of you too. I hope to see you there! Simply search The Freedom Mentor in Eventbrite and sign up for your FREE ticket!

What does it mean to you to heal from domestic violence abuse?

Healing can be a tough journey, but its so important to all aspects of your life and the lives of those around you that you begin healing.

If I had not have started to heal, using all the tools including a great support network, self care techniques, reframing my abuse and gaining clarity around the situations I was placed in during my DV relationship, I would never have felt safe, happy or fulfilled with life.

Healing trauma can be scary. Facing the situations and the abuse is one of the hardest things I have ever had to do, but it is also the best thing I have done.

Letting go of trauma has allowed me to find who I really am, and has brought me to a place where I can now help others to heal.

What does it mean to you? Let me know in the comments below.

What does domestic violence really look like?

It can be tough to recognise. This is because it comes in many different forms and a lot of the time it is either hidden from sight, behind closed doors or even the victim themselves don't recognise what is happening.

It wasn't until my therapist said to me 'Amy, this is domestic violence' did I even realise that that was what was happening to me.

We often think about domestic violence as physical abuse. Because this is the easiest to see and recognise. But there are so many other forms that go unnoticed and unacknowledged.

Drop in the comments below and tell us about your experiences.

The more we share as survivors, the more we empower others to both recognise and remove themselves from abusive situations.

Who agrees with this?

It was certainly true for me.

When I finally decided enough was enough with my domestic violence relationship, I knew I would have to be the one to change my situation. I knew I would have to make those difficult steps to leave and start my healing journey.

No matter how many people had told me I needed to leave or I deserved better, I had to take that first step to freedom.

And since then, I have never looked back.

Finding the courage inside to take that step, to make that decision to not be a victim to a situation that didn't serve me was hard. But it was one of the best decisions of my life.

You can change your life. You can become a survivor. You have the strength within you to take that first step.

And know that while it is up to you to make the change. You are not alone in this. You are fully supported if you choose to be.

Drop me a ❤️ in the comments below if you're ready to make that change!

👣

This week I'm hosting a FREE webinar on Narcissism to empower survivors to heal their trauma and empower those still suffering at the hands of a narcissist to seek help and know that they are not alone.

This webinar will be hosted by Myself, Amy HIll, author, speaker, survivor and mentor for domestic violence survivors and Dawnelle Davis, blogger, survivor and mentor.

During the discussion we will cover off the below topics:

✔️ Define what it is

✔️ Dispel narc myths

✔️ Research and statistics on narcissism

✔️ Facts and tips

✔️ Impact on society

✔️ Stories and examples

We will also be discussing our own personal journey's with narcissism and how we were able to heal our trauma to move into an empowered and confident life after years of abuse.

Details of the webinar are below:

Friday 19 August 7:30pm EDT //
Saturday 20 August 9:30am AEST

To join the webinar, make sure you get yourself into my FB group Healing + Empowerment = Freedom.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/359310532178222

You won't want to miss this conversation. See you there.

Living with a narcissistic partner is tough.

But often, that's not how it all starts out.

In the beginning, my abuser was very charming, charismatic and treated me like I was the only girl in the world. I felt so blessed to be in his presence and that he chose me to spend his time with.

He treated me to dinners, nights out and expensive trips away. He was very loving and kind. Considerate to my needs and my feelings. I was so in love with him so quickly, it was like nothing I had ever experienced up until that point with anyone.

Then slowly things started to change. He began to start pointing out my faults and was overly critical of everything I would do. He questioned me on everything and I started to doubt my own mind consistently.

Then the isolation started. We relocated interstate, away from friends and family, lost touch with all of the people who I had considered my support network and came to spend more and more time alone. Out of touch with the world and what was happening around me.

It was during this time that the financial abuse also started. He gained access to my bank accounts, was taking my money and questioning what I was spending it on.

He became increasingly angry and frustrated. He would take out this anger on our home and the relationship. I rationalised this thinking that it was due to his alcoholism.

It wasn't until I was standing in front of a trashed house from one of his outbursts that I realised that this behaviour was not ok. We sought help and I will never forget the exact moment I heard these words from our therapist "Amy, this is domestic violence".

My realisation through this psychologist was also my salvation!

It was after this that I began my journey to removing myself from this toxic situation and began seeking help to heal the trauma of years of abuse.

My experience with a narcissist is a similar story to all of the survivors I speak to and its important that we speak up and share our stories to create awareness that this is not ok and we will no longer be controlled in this way.

My mission now is to continue to raise awareness and help as many survivors as possible.

If you would like to learn more about narcissism or gain support, join my Facebook group Healing + Empowerment = Freedom.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/359310532178222

This community is a place for survivors to feel safe, share experiences and help each other to heal. See you in there!