J.E.M.
Life Services
My Story
By the time i was 40 I had tried to live and work in an ever increasing negative society. One that rejected diversity and caused countless people to hide their authentic selves. Communities no longer worked together but fought amongst each other over anything possible. Distrust, suspicion and malice intent was the norm.
By 2022 my mental health had suffered from countless traumas and experiences brought on by the current society’s negative mindset. I had served in the US military, experienced combat and fought my way through a corporate career in a modern capitalist environment. During which I had lived behind a mask, afraid to express my authentic self. I was struggling to maintain it and was facing an irreversible decision. I had to make a change.
I had lived with gender dysphoria my entire life. As a child I knew something wasn’t right but it wasn’t until my early 20’s that I knew what it was called. Since then I had quietly researched and learned that while transitioning the body is very possible, many transgendered individuals still struggled. Not just because of the society we lived but because of the negative mindset that had taken root in their own thoughts. Many individuals had low self esteem and continuously considered themselves less than everyone around them.
This taught me that changing how I looked wasn’t the only part of the puzzle. I had to change the way I thought and manage my feelings and emotions. Learn how to be myself without feeling scared or ashamed of it. However, I didn’t have any current resources that would assist me, or so I thought.
Having grown up with the internet, I found it to be an inexhaustible source of information. Social media was on the rise and connecting people around the world faster than ever before. Using these valuable tools, I learned how to manage my own stress and adopt a more patient demeanor. I also found techniques like affirmations to help my self esteem and breathing exercises to manage stress. It was working and I was starting to see the Authentic Me, inside and out.
Some of this information came from research someone had already done. Lessons taught by therapists and research studies performed by other health professionals. Most importantly though, it was coming from everyday people. They were simply online, talking to each other and sharing their experiences, lessons, traumas, failures, successes, jokes, laughter, achievements, losses. They were sharing their unique lives and experiences along with the solutions/results that come with it.
Durring my journey to find ways of correcting g my mindset, I learned that each and every one of us has the ability to teach. It was simply a matter of sharing the lessons I have learned and the experiences that created them. Those who were willing to listen only needed to apply themselves and utilize the resources that were being provided. I decided to take the example being set by those on social media and begin my own positivity workshops and Projects.
By 2004 I created and lead the “JEM Support Network”, a community based social project with the intent of sharing information and bringing people together that shared similar obstacles. Using their experiences, they could provide positive support to each other and reduce the negative impacts.
Within 18 months, the project had been very successful and many of the members began their own social groups to continue the projects mission. Since then I have been working with individuals providing life coaching skills and resources to help them find better ways to manage obstacles while also learning to express their authentic self.