WOMAN IGNITE spotlights trauma, mental health, and healing
IN THE Christian community, discussions about mental health have traditionally been confined to the innermost corners of one’s mind, with the prevailing sentiment to ‘give it to God’ and avoid addressing it directly. However, for the speakers at the recently held Woman Ignite Success Summit 2024, faith without works is dead. Through a series of presentations, seminars and motivational talks, the all-woman speaker line-up shun light on mental health and tools to ‘accelerate’ oneself on to a new path.
Hosted at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel in Kingston, the two-day event filled the room with the tears and laughter of women who say they have overcome. With titles like ‘From Broken to Breakthrough ’,‘ You were created to win!’ and ‘Trauma Transitions in Triumph’, the days’ illustrious panels included speakers like the renowned Dr Caroline Leaf, Natalie-Taylor, Dr Latanya Moore and Pastor Sara Conner.
Conner, who presented on day one, shared her testimony of how divorce did not not alienate her from God.
Explaining her process, she told The Gleaner, “You can have trauma in your life and it keeps you stuck, or you can have trauma in your life and you use it as a launching pad. So I have just been able to do that.”
Further highlighting that her method has always been a topic of conversation, she said, “Of course we’re always dealing with trauma but there aren’t safe spaces for it because we don’t talk about it and there’s not a lot of vulnerability and transparency. So it’s all of these cultural things around privacy which sometimes ends up causing us to create more walls that entrap us rather than doors that free us. So for me, I began to realise that sharing it, like the Bible says, overcoming by the word of our testimony, was actually the way to freedom. We actually overcome our life’s trauma because we share the testimony.”
Similarly, communication pathologist and cognitive neuroscientist Dr Caroline Leaf explained that her NeuroCycle App is one way for people to get rid of ‘toxic stress’. The programme is designed to help overcome anxiety, stress, depression, and toxic thinking by helping to rebuild a healthy thought pattern and habit to change behaviour.
Following her presentation she told The Gleaner, “I wanted to understand the mind, brain and body connection. That was really important to me and to help people.”
Expounding on the technique she spent 38 years developing, she said,“It’s for everyone – woman, man and child – because we’ve all got to manage our minds. That’s how we live. Our minds drive everything so if we aren’t managing it we’re a mess.”
While the mind/body connection was well explored throughout the day, Natalie Taylor explained how business can benefit from walking in faith. Drawing from her experience assisting God-centred businesswomen in reaching their highest potential, she highlighted the importance of putting in the work for success and healing.
Taylor shared,“I have always been in business and ministry has always been in me, I just didn’t realise that. A lot of persons pursue money because they thought‘if I had more money I can buy food’or‘if I had more money then this person might like me or love me’. But when they only chase the money ... the more they get, they won’t have rest. And what I started realising while I was doing my business seminars was that the problems that people were having did not need money, it needed healing. And so when I started bringing healing and deliverance into my business, I started getting better results for my clients.”