Brooke Bridges grew up in Los Angeles California as an actress, appearing on TV shows like The Young and the Restless, 90210, Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide, and more. Now, she works as a mental health speaker, having spoken to over 10,000 people ranging in age from 5-65 years old, she works as an entrepreneur making herbal remedies for skin, hair, and self-care through her small business Brooke’s Botanicals, she serves her community as a CSA Assistant Manager at an internationally recognized nonprofit Soul Fire Farm, and she Mothers two young children.
Brooke speaks about what it was like growing up as a child actress and all of the anxiety and worries about perfectionism that came with it. She discusses her own experiences with mental health challenges throughout her childhood and into her young adulthood, and how those manifested in negative coping behaviors such as alcohol abuse and self-harming behaviors, hoping they’d help her escape from the pain she felt.
She discusses how after a cross-country move and a soul crushing breakup, she had planned to take her own life, but miraculously chose to seek help instead. She talks about how feeling completely hopeless actually opens doors for you to do things you never thought possible, and once you begin to realize that real change is available for you, you can be vulnerable and figure out how to turn your challenges into your greatest tools.
Brooke speaks from a place of understanding, love, and a reverence for nature, plant medicine, and an unwavering faith in our own ability to connect with our true selves and with one another to bring about personal and collective healing. Loves to speak about anxiety, vulnerability and healing through storytelling, the impacts of social media on our mental health, how you can’t judge a book by it’s cover, especially yourself, and anything about herbalism and nature immersion and how those things can contribute to our overall wellbeing.
Speaking Topics
Don’t Judge A Book by it’s Cover
In this talk, Brooke discusses what it was like growing up as a child actress, and her own struggles with mental health challenges when she was a teenager. She talks about how looks can be deceiving, and how the stress of saying and doing things the way other people wanted her to impacted not only her childhood, but the rest of her life.
She hopes that her vulnerability will allow others to truly see her, and to feel seen themselves, and she shares tips for developing self-care and self-compassion so that others might show us the same.
Do I Hate My Body? Or Am I just on Social Media?
Studies show that the average US teen spends 4.8 hours a day on social media, and nearly 70% of those teens are on it, despite it causing them to feel anxious, stressed, and depressed. 3 out of 4 children as young as 12 say that they dislike their bodies, because of triggering content they see on social media.
Growing up as an actress, model, and entertainer, Brooke endured severe disordered eating, unhealthy self-image, and body dysmorphia as a teenager. In this talk, Brooke talks about the parallels between being an actress and being a young, impressionable social media user who is presenting a curated version of themselves in order to be accepted, how these pressures inevitably lead to feelings of inadequacy and self-doubt and how to overcome body image issues through being mindful and present in your amazing body.
Shame: Our Imperfections are Perfect
In this keynote, Brooke talks about how Shame has played a role in her healing, and how at times it has made healing hard because she almost felt like she didn’t deserve to feel better because of the negative coping mechanisms she used in the past to deal with her anxiety and depression.
Brooke shares the scary feelings of shame, and how to overcome them through recognizing behaviors that trigger feelings of shame and how to breed self-compassion despite those feelings of shame.
Healing through Nature
As an herbalist, farmer, and nature-lover, Brooke shares the magic of nature with audiences in hopes they utilize it as a resource for healing. This is a presentation best done outside when the weather is nice.
Brooke will lead participants on a foraging walk where they will identify wild medicinal plants, and learn grounding techniques in nature.
If desired, a gardening workshop where participants can plant their own flowers with pots, seeds, and soil provided by Brooke will be present.
To book Brooke Bridges, contact Rob Firing at rob@transatlanticagency.com