How OCD Inspired a Jewelry Line
In this episode, I chat with Emily and Lindsey, two sisters who both experienced OCD differently. Emily didn't recognize her symptoms until adulthood, while Lindsey's were more stereotypical but no less impactful. They share their inspiring stories and how they navigated OCD, from existential fears to therapy and exposure work. Learn about their journey, the creation of their meaningful business 'Presently Bracelets,' and their advice for those struggling with OCD. Tune in for a mix of heartwarming revelations, business insights, and powerful encouragement.
00:00 Introduction and Guest Overview
02:15 Lindsey's OCD Journey
07:50 Emily's OCD Journey
12:42 Therapy and Exposure Work
17:32 Starting Presently Bracelets
28:26 Navigating Relationships with OCD
29:18 Support Systems and Living with OCD
33:40 Success Stories and Impact of Bracelets
34:54 Engaging Therapists and Mental Health Professionals
38:40 Advice for Aspiring Mental Health Entrepreneurs
49:34 Promotions and Discounts for Presently Bracelets
51:39 Conclusion and Upcoming Programs
Their website: https://presentlybracelets.com/
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[00:00:00]
Erin: Welcome back. So today is going to be such an exciting episode where I'm going to be chatting with Emily and Lindsey, who are two sisters who both had OCD and the OCD showed up differently for each of them. So much so that Emily didn't fully recognize her symptoms until later in adulthood. Their story is so inspiring
[00:01:00] and during the COVID years, they turned it into something special.
Hang around for the entire episode so you can hear their incredible story and do support them by going to their Shopify store at presentlybracelets. com.
Erin: I want to welcome some special guests today on the bossing up overcoming OCD show. These ladies are the CEOs of a company called Presently and they're sisters and also just like, sound like best friends in life and, , definitely buddies when [00:02:00] it. And accountability partners when it comes to OCD. So I'm really super excited to bring their story to the listeners. And I just want to thank you ladies so much for being here today.
Lindsay: Thank you for having us.
Emily: Yeah, thank you so much. We're excited to be here.
Erin: Yeah, so super curious about your Individual stories around OCD like how it got started how you knew that's what it was and how it's impacted you
Lindsay: Yeah, do you want me to start? Yeah. Okay, so I'm the older sister. I'm 35 um, I Kind of have just always remember having some sort of Some aspect of OCD.
In the beginning, it was more of like your stereotypical OCD. , when I say that, I mean like, turning on, on and off a light switch or making sure to check things to make sure that I shut something off or lining up something
Erin: [00:03:00] Lindsay, you noticed that your OCD kind of took the form of the more stereotypical OCD, lining things up, washing your hands, those kinds of things. Emily, how about you?
Emily: So, I didn't know I had OCD until I graduated college. So, yeah. And so, I mean, Lindsay, if you want to finish. Yeah. Because there's a little bit more to
Erin: Oh, got it. All right.
Lindsay: There's a twist. That was just the beginning. So that was like when I was in middle school and you know, having the thoughts that if I didn't do something, somebody in my family would get hurt or I hurt or there would be some sort of like negative impact that I, that my obsessions, or if I didn't do a compulsion, it would kind of, react to that. But then that kind of like always kind of lingered around and I never went to therapy.
[00:04:00]Just because I was able to manage it, it didn't take so much time away from my life, but it was definitely was there. And then in high school I had a very strange occurring occurrence that happened. Like I was Just at my house and all of a sudden I think it was, you know, when I was applying for colleges and all, all this other stuff I had, you know, smoked pot. I tried and then you know, it was drinking with my friends. So there was just like a lot of like changes happening.And I had this out of body experience where I thought I had this question of like, how do I know if I'm alive?
Or how do I know if? I'm not alive and my parents are dead or like, how do I just questioning reality. And, you know, experiencing that as somebody in high school [00:05:00] where there's so many other, you know, influencing factors into your life scared the shit out of me. So I. I kind of like, kind of got shooken.
And that's just a little bit like a lot.
Erin: Yeah. I can tell it's still like impacts you,
Lindsay: yeah, so that, that was my experience. And then I didn't realize that that was part of OCD. I didn't realize that that was like called existential OCD and no idea that was a part of it. And I think that was the part that scared me the most because I just was like living with this uncertainty in my mind and. think, finally, my mom she was doing research, you know, while I was going through this, and this took, like, months and months and months but finally got me talk to somebody, and, and we realized that that was part of existential OCD, and my OCD kind of has, has had that OCD, but also you know, mixes in with like contamination OCD and other different types of OCD.[00:06:00]
But that's like the major one that I kind of deal with on a day to day basis.
Erin: Very impactful story, Lindsey, and I really appreciate you sharing that because I'm sure a lot of listeners struggle with similar, if not the same types of questions, because the existentialism can really cause you to question your own reality and who you are and what's real, not real.
And it's very scary.
Lindsay: Yeah, it's very frightening.
Erin: Yes.
Lindsay: It's something that like I, I to this day will always talk about because I never want anyone to like the experience that without having somebody, you know, there by your side saying like, no, this is like, it's normal. Like, it's like, that's part of OCD. It's not just..
Erin: 00:07:00] Yes. And that it's manageable. There's a way through it.
Lindsay: right. Right.
Erin: Yes. So I'm sure that felt very well, just frightening and also isolating at the same time, because when you haven't been in therapy or you don't know how to get better from this, I can only imagine how heavy that must have felt.
Lindsay: Yeah. It took me like a long time to feel comfortable enough to like, start going back to school and doing little things like changing my clothes, eating, like it, it literally paused everything in my life. And change me in a way that like I had to kind of like relearn how to do things
Erin: Right. Absolutely. Yes. So, Emily, for you, your story is your own, and you didn't realize you had OCD until after college.
Emily: [00:08:00] right, so I you know, I remember a few things from like this time period and Lindsay's OCD journey I remember you know got we went one time we went to go see Wicked and we had to leave in the beginning of it because You know, Lindsay had some sort of you know, this not real, and she's in a dream, and whatever.
So, little things like that. But I, so I always remember being just like an anxious kid. I had separation anxiety, I didn't like to go to school and I couldn't sleep over at my friends houses. I would call my mom to get picked up in the middle of the night. Um, I, You know, so like I was just, I would say like a cry baby if you will.
Erin: Oh.
Emily: and
Erin: Or sensitive.
Emily: or sensitive. Yes. And then I started needing to, I think this was more so like middle school where, you know, you're starting to grow into yourself and you have all these like
[00:09:00] questions about growing up and adolescence. And I started needing to confess things to my mom. So I I would, you know, call her into the room and Be like, I I'm struggling. Not, I wouldn't even say these words cause I didn't have the words, but I would sort of just cry and tell her something's wrong. And she'd have to pull it out of me. This was every night, according to Lindsay, this was every, every, night. What I think is interesting is that like she had OCD at the time. No, we just didn't, it wasn't a connection made.
Erin: Huh.
Emily: through the fact that my behaviors were typical of OCD. And so I dealt with that all through middle school, and then high school, I think the anxiety was more channeled into schoolwork, didn't feel like any, it wasn't like super, it was, right, it wasn't like super stress, it wasn't out of the norm of the stress that most people feel, so I didn't, it [00:10:00] didn't, you know, I wasn't struggling as much as I was in middle school.
Lindsay: But I think you definitely did push yourself to having OCD, like not realizing that you had OCD, but continually to study till you couldn't
Erin: Compulsively. Yes.
Emily: Yeah. Like I didn't eat dinner until I finished studying.
Erin: boy.
Emily: Again, still no idea, OCD. And then I went to college and I think it was freshman year and I had a psychology class. They mentioned something about you know sexual orientation and like how that develops when you're like in middle school and I had a flashback moment of that being one of the things that I like confessed to my mom like how do I know if I like girls? How do I know if I like boys? And Like same with Lindsay I mean obviously not the same intensity but like an outer body experience where I like panicked because I totally forgot that I think I just blacked it all out what I was going through in middle school.
Um, and a dark hole of life.
Emily : [00:11:00] Yeah. So it was like, I had to shut up away, and then this psychology class brought it all back, which then brought, you know, all these other anxieties if I'm drinking, how do I know if I didn't black out, and I don't remember certain things,
Erin: Oh. Like the false memory stuff.
Emily : Yeah, yeah, yeah. It was just a whole slew.
Contamination OCD, like, all of it.
Erin: Oh, my.
Emily : And I didn't really talk about it much because the sexual orientation OCD was, like, really heavy on me. I
Erin: hmm.
Emily : I, I definitely held it in for four years, I would say.
Um, And then, I think I just got to the point, because I was afraid to go to therapy and have to talk about it because I didn't know I, I think I was, I was so confused, and I had a boyfriend at the time, and it was just like, a very deep struggle for me, that I just tried
Lindsay: to like,
Emily : I tried to do
Lindsay: it on your own.
Emily : Right. Or like I would do things to try to figure it out. So I'd [00:12:00] check my feelings. And if I saw someone that was pretty, would I be like, well, would I want to date them? You know what I mean? So it was like all these actions I was doing compulsions now that I know. And then I graduated. I went to therapy in my first session. My therapist was like, you have OCD. And I was like, Are you sure about that?
Erin: Right,
Emily : had it her whole life, and you know, it was just, it was just very eye opening.
Lindsay: It was very different in the way that we, We had OCD and that the OCD, you know, came up in our lives and the way that like we kind of work through them I guess too.
Erin: Huh, sure. So, for both of you, it sounds like once you got into therapy, or at least you knew, well, Lindsey, for you, your mom kind of spotted it through her research, but it sounds like with the therapy, you kind of got a jump start and, We're [00:13:00] paired with a therapist who already figure out what it was yes, about what it was.
That's great because I mean, you're so lucky in that aspect because so many people go to therapy and think it's just anxiety when it's a totally different ballgame.
Emily : Right. Mm-Hmm. . And I think that's why it's important to go to the right kind of therapist. 'cause I think even even like Lindsay you were saying, like you, the first therapist she went to was like a talk therapist
Erin: okay.
Emily : So she just wasn't helping in the way that like someone who is has experience treating OCD and so It's important to get to the right place to begin with to know that if you're having these symptoms It's best to do like You know a cognitive behavioral therapy or some sort of therapy where they give you stuff to exposures, right? To do as opposed to just like talking through things because I think a lot of
people have that experience.
Erin: Yes. And it, I mean, the [00:14:00] therapist is not meaning to, but if they're not trained in OCD, they'll give you reassurance.
Emily: Right, exactly.
Lindsay: Yeah
Erin: So, okay, well, and in talking about your experience with therapy, how was it doing exposure work? I see the sighs. Yes. Mm hmm. Mm
Emily : I'll go. Um, it was definitely difficult at first because my exposure therapy Like yes, there were some like, you know going to the bathroom and not washing your hand situation that was like hard but I was like, okay I can do this, but then there was the other part of it where it was like Imaginals, and I would have to like, imagine what it would be like if I, you know, found out I was gay
or something. Or What it would be like if, I guess it depended on what I was afraid of at that time, but. Trying to think oh, [00:15:00] imagining if I, you know, cheated on my boyfriend maybe I did cheat, maybe I didn't it was like those, those specific exposures where you have to put yourself in a situation and not reassure yourself is very difficult.
Lindsay: It's kind of like, Dipping your toe into something where it makes you feel so uncomfortable. Yeah, and like you don't know how to react to it Because you kind of avoided it all your life
Erin: Seriously. Yes. So, Lindsay, what was it like for you?
Lindsay: For me, it was definitely challenging and hard, but I could I always felt relief after I'd Did the exposures with my therapist, because I could, I could feel how much by not doing them and kind of avoiding them, I was like, it was adding stress to my life and adding like weight that I, you know, needed to carry on and, and by [00:16:00] doing the exposures, I became more like confident in myself that I was able to like, Kind of. Do these exposures and, and be okay and like, know that like exposures are actually helpful and they get you through anxiety and OCD.
Erin: Right. And at first it can likely sound counterintuitive. You want me to do what?
Lindsay: Yeah. I remember right there, it was like, there was one time this was in high school and he was like, okay, we're going to go, we're going to go outside and we're going to take a little trip to the dumpster. And I was like,
Erin: Oh
Lindsay: okay. What are we gonna do with it? It was like, we're just gonna,
you know, touch it, and not wash your hands, and, and then drink a cup of water, and eat something, and I was like, hold on, I'm paying you what?
To do what? And yeah, it was just like [00:17:00] stuff like that where it was like, you know, you had to like kind of give, have a level of trust with your therapist too. It's you know, that was
hard too. And like the support of your family or friends that are surrounding you, to that, you know, they wouldn't put you in a situation that was like dangerous or put you in a,
Erin: Yeah. That would hurt you.
Lindsay: That would hurt. That would hurt me. Right. Yeah, it was just funny.
Erin: Wow. Yes. The funny, not funny
null: Yeah.
Erin: version of it. Yeah. So let's talk about your business. I mean, you ladies are co owners together of Presently. And you're creating bracelets with affirmations that are related to OCD, which in checking out the website, it's lovely, lovely website. Yes. And I love the bracelet about embrace uncertainty.
Emily : [00:18:00] Yes, that is our most popular
Erin: Oh, okay. Awesome. I can see why, because uncertainty is so challenging and I love your mission behind the bracelets because all these other, You know, fluffy kind of affirmations out there. They don't really resonate the same way as like embrace uncertainty.
Lindsay: Emily had a poster in college above her bed
Erin: Yeah.
Lindsay: said, Good vibes only. Good Oh, okay. So you've experienced that.
Emily : Yeah, it's funny because it was like a joke with my friends because I would say it out loud like good vibes only and Now obviously that was before I went to therapy and realized I was obviously doing something very wrong but yeah, so my My relationship with the phrase good vibes only is, we should make posters for our thing.
Yeah, that'd be nice posters Is [00:19:00] it's a very like? tumultuous relationship
Erin: Oh,
Emily : and Yeah, and I had to break up a few times and get back together.
Erin: And are we broken up now?
Emily : We're broken up. Totally, totally on to, on to, to better phrases. and so, you know, the reason that we started it or what caused us to start presently it was during COVID. We were both living at home. And I was struggling with a few different things, obviously COVID in itself. Super stressful, especially if you have contamination OCD. And I was also, my boyfriend was starting law school in DC. And so that was going to start a like three year long distance relationship. , so that was super stressful and I wanted, And I, I know that like in therapy, when I'm with my therapist, I understand and I can fully the things she's telling me to do. But for some reason, like when you're in, [00:20:00] when you're by yourself and you're in your head and your anxiety is super high, like it's very, very hard to remember what to do. I'm like, I have all these tools from my therapist, why can't I just You know, snap my finger and do what she would tell me to do.
Erin: Well, yeah. You're too anxious. Your nervous system is like in full force
Emily : Exactly. So, I thought, you know, it might be a good idea for myself to get a bracelet with a phrase that might help me remember what she taught
Erin: Oh, wow.
Emily : And, it couldn't, I couldn't find one. I, I just, I couldn't. I was looking up what phrases, what's one phrase that would help me with OCD? Or what's one phrase that describes cognitive behavior that encapsulates cognitive behavioral therapy? and so, I couldn't even find that to put on my own bracelet. And then, I remembered a phrase that Lindsay had taught me
Erin: Oh.
Emily : was, yeah, [00:21:00] that was, my thoughts are passing clouds.
That, that was the first one that, that, you know, that was one I made for myself. I, you know, put beads on a bracelet and, you know, just made one of those basic bracelets.
And, you know, then I sort of like ran downstairs to Lindsay, who was working in like the living room. And I was like, I think we need to like make these. Cause at the time you were making bracelets, I think for fun, like you were beading. And I was like, I think I have an idea. We should make these bracelets for people because they're, they don't exist. And I'm sure so many people would want them. And yeah, that's, that's how Presently was born. That's how the name Presently.
Erin: Mm hmm.
Emily : and the logo of the cloud sort of came
Erin: Oh, I definitely see that. Yes. And I love the idea of presently because it reminds me of the mindfulness techniques of being present in the here and now. So very well done on the branding.[00:22:00]
Emily : Thanks. Thanks. I am in advertising, so I will say I had a little,
Erin: You had some experience. Yeah. Oh my gosh, that's awesome. Well, definitely a leg up on most people for sure. So out of my own curiosity, how did you like go about creating like mass amounts of bracelets, you know, to, to make jewelry sounds complicated and then to sell it to a large audience. I can only imagine. How did you do it?
Emily : So we had zero experience.
Erin: Huh.
Lindsay: We had a huge whiteboard at our parents house. Did we? A whiteboard? Yeah. Where we like took, we made all this. Remember that's where we like. Oh,
Emily : that's where we bring. Oh, but you're talking about the phrase development.
Lindsay: I'm just talking about. Oh, yeah first like initial That's our office.
Yeah, I mean we had our office at our home. And we would just like literally just write on this whiteboard of all these like [00:23:00] Thinking about all the phrases and like the strategy of how how do we like sell it to? People like sells
Emily : people it was like what are what are Common things that people worry about and what would be a helpful thing to say to them during those times During that time. So the phrasing coming up with the phrases was like, sort of like the fun part. And then actually making like, and because, so we didn't want to make just beaded bracelets you know, Those letter, letter beads, um,
Erin: are good for VBS, but not
Emily : right. And it would have been right. It would have been super easy to do, but we wanted something that was like, Beautiful and like trendy and something that you could wear every
Erin: Yeah. Honestly, they look very classy. Like you wouldn't know that it's like some type of self help bracelet. Right.
Emily : Right, right because typically you see the silicon bracelets or you know a beaded bracelet But we wanted something that was like actual jewelry that
[00:24:00] I would want to wear and so just by googling and just Googling, figuring out how this process works of finding a manufacturer, and all the
different materials, and trial and error, like you should see the first plaque that we made.
Lindsay: I have it.
Emily : Oh my god, yes, I, we have
Erin: the sample of like your first
Emily : like, yeah, it was a sample, but we completely mis, totally misguided in like the size of it. It was like a plaque that was like this big. And
Erin: Ha!
Emily : like, it just, we were like, Oh my God, we don't know what we're doing. So we had to make it smaller.
Lindsay: So we had to make it smaller.
But it was a lot of trial and error. And I think Emily is she's like a super woman. Like she literally just Googles anything. And the next minute we have a,
um, a
Erin: prototype kind of
Lindsay: Yeah, like a prototype or a lighting a lighting expert at our [00:25:00] door. I don't know. I'm just like, we're like,
a product expert at our door.
Um, so she's just very like agile in that way. But yeah, it was a whole learning process of trying to figure out how to get these to people.
And like how we were going to use like social media as like a way to. Share our story
Emily : too. Yeah, that was another big thing was like we wanted to use this as a platform to share What we just shared with you
because it took so long for me to figure out I had OCD and I had someone living with living with OCD in my house So like just imagine how many people are suffering silently that need, you know To hear someone else's story to realize they could you know have a more enjoyable life You By getting help.
Erin: right. And even when they do realize that it's OCD, not everyone is going to therapy because it likely, and I'm just assuming, right, [00:26:00] it may sound very intimidating to do exposure work. So maybe having like the support or the tool of a bracelet. Might be helpful. [00:27:00] have you guys thought about having a more masculine type bracelet, or do you already have one on your line of stuff?
Emily : yeah. So we we currently have a men's beaded bracelet or we have three men's beaded bracelets. But we are potentially looking to make a more masculine plaque with like different engraving cause the style right now is very dainty.
Um, we have customers who are men that, that order these bracelets. So
Erin: I'm sure.
Emily : yeah, they're, I mean, They like them. But yes, we, we have, we have thought of that. And we just added kid sizes as well, which,
null: you know,
Erin: Wow. That's special.
Emily : yeah, the little tiny little
Erin: Yes. Well, and you know, parents would even benefit from having this because it's [00:28:00] hard. I'm sure for your mom, like once she knew what to do, it still didn't make it easy. Like having to not reassure you or to not give into the compulsions because it's a whole family dynamic.
Emily : Yeah, it really is.
It extends outside of therapy. It's almost You're not in therapy. Someone else has to do the right thing to help you get better.
Erin: Yes, yes. So, Emily, did your boyfriend kind of come on board and do a couple things differently once you started to realize this was OCD?
Emily : Yeah. So I had I had met him in 2019. So I was already a couple of years into therapy.
Erin: okay.
Emily : The boyfriend I was talking about was totally different. Josh was the one that you know, started long distance, went to law school.
Um, now we live together, so it's great. I survived that three year period.
Erin: Huh.
Emily : But yeah, he's, he's definitely I think [00:29:00] I told him I had OCD on our first date. I'm just like an open book. And so he definitely right away was like, Oh, you told me I'm not supposed to answer you. So I'm not going to answer you. I don't like, I don't know what you want. You know, I'm, I'm not answering this question because I know it's OCD. So he's very good in that sense.
Erin: Lindsay, do you have a support person or a go to whenever? Mm
Lindsay: Not, not a boyfriend at the moment. But it's really like my mom, my sister
that, you know, I use everyone to, and they all know that I have OCD and people are just very supportive of it. And get it.
Erin: What did your friends have to do different?
Lindsay: they just know that if I'm. If I'm quiet or if I'm like, you know, asking something where they like, kind of have a thought that it could be an OCD question. There was a lot [00:30:00] of times where like being abroad and at school with my friends, like if you were like living with me, you kind of kind of saw it more because a lot of OCD is more inside your head. So not everyone can really see it. But when you're like living with somebody and yeah. They can kind of like start seeing certain things or noticing certain questions. Like I'd be in Italy and questioning what the white stuff was on the bread. And my friends would be like,
Erin: Were you worried that it was like asbestos?
Lindsay: no, I just thought it was drugs.
So I was Just concerned
Sister 1: about,
Erin: Anthrax. You know, something really lethal. That Italian bread.
Sister 1: So, I would start to, you know, ask just like questions like that, where they, you know,
Lindsay: look at me a little bit and, and I can, I knew that they knew that that
was OCD,
Erin: a moment. Yes.
Lindsay: but they got, you know, I kind of had to teach them that if I have those [00:31:00] questions, try not to like reassure me let me figure out if
I'm going to eat the bread or not, um, not saying
Erin: Right. So it may, it may or may not be drugs.
Lindsay: Right, right, exactly.
so it's just, yeah,
Erin: Where in Italy were you?
Lindsay: Florence, in Florence.
Erin: Okay.
Lindsay: I lived in Italy for two years in Vicenza.
Emily : Oh, so I was just visiting,
Lindsay: but yeah I studied abroad in London.
Erin: Wow, London. See, I never got to go to London, but I've heard it's, it's nice.
Emily : I actually lived in, in Italy, in Florence for my study abroad.
Erin: Oh my gosh. You guys are amazing.
Emily : Yeah. So, so I am a big fan of Italy.
Erin: Yes, I
Emily : but yes, at the, at the time I wasn't think I, I mean, obviously I must've been doing something when I was [00:32:00] abroad. I actually should ask my, my friend who I roomed with if I did anything like. You know freaked out about something
Erin: had a cycle of some Right, right. Wow. Well, very cool. And that's truly amazing to be struggling with OCD or, you know, just knowing that an episode could happen or you could find yourself in a spiral, yet you're living in a cycle. Overseas in a different country, essentially away from your support system.
Lindsay: Yeah, that was like I think the biggest Thing or the thing that I kind of like always kind of remind myself is like how much i've gotten through
since like Going to therapy. It's like I I didn't think I was going to college like there's no way I couldn't even like I wasn't even able to go to school to eat lunch Like I
couldn't I couldn't go outside my house without and and drink something someone else had [00:33:00] given me or like You know, something at a restaurant, like there was no way I was going to college.
And so the ability that for me, like going to college and like experiencing all that I experienced and then going abroad, and then I actually went to go see the wicked play in London. My family wasn't too happy about that just because then they couldn't see
it. Cause I, you know, had to like, I couldn't go when we were in New York, but
Erin: you made it.
Lindsay: yeah, but I did it.
Yeah, exactly. So there's just a lot that it's, it's, there's a lot that we've accomplished.
Erin: Yeah. So you two have both experienced a lot of success from your therapy and with your customers, have you received some success stories from them, you know, because of your bracelets?
Emily : Yeah, absolutely. Just, I thinking of one person in [00:34:00] particular, she, she's purchased or she's gotten a bunch of bracelets. And she had recently told us how she uses. a different bracelet based on what she's going through at the
Erin: Yes. The theme.
Emily : kind of, right. It's kind of nice to hear that you know, they, these bracelets can be used in, you know, any situation and can be swapped out and, you know, but, but she said that that's, that's really helps her.
And we've gotten messages over the years you know, What you're going through is exactly what I'm going through, and so I feel so much less alone, and so thank you, and know, just and just hearing people say that they've actually felt more mi mindful, and felt more present knowing that, you know, this bracelet was on their wrist.
Um, so it's, that's the best part,
Erin: That's so cool.
Emily : people appreciate. You know
what we're doing.
Erin: And in noticing the details on your website, you've got a section [00:35:00] for therapists, counselors, doctors, providers, etc. Tell me more about that.
Emily : Yeah. So, we actually put that on there because so we we went to the New York mental health counselors association conference. The convention I think it took place last April and we went there because, you know, who better to understand what we're doing than therapists themselves? Cause this was inspired by them by the work that therapists do. And so we went there, we had a table we met a ton of people and everyone totally understood what we were doing. You know, what we had to share and what our bracelets were about. Because sometimes when you go to a holiday market, for example, people who don't go to therapy don't necessarily understand. the importance of the bracelets. Like it takes a really, like it takes a lot more explanation to get there than when you're, you know, present, right. Then when you're presenting a bracelet to someone who has [00:36:00] OCD or has anxiety or is a therapist. So we wanted to go there and just meet people and, you know, get their feedback.
And so, you know, in realizing that, you know, these therapists. would recommend these to their patients. And you know, It's a great tool for them to recommend and for them to just you know, this is what I'm teaching you This is what the bracelet says. I'll
practice at home sort of thing So we wanted to make a page that was easy for therapists to understand our mission and for them to maybe order Some you know brochures to put in their office that's
Erin: Got you.
Emily : So,
Erin: Yeah. Do you find that some therapists or practices will order in bulk to give to patients or resell to patients or what?
Emily : we hope that that would be the outcome cause we had just put that up. So, you know, that's [00:37:00] the goal, right, is to get, you know, a bulk order for a therapist to give to their patients or, so, We haven't had that yet. We've had people order like a bunch in one order, but it wasn't necessarily like a wholesale order.
Erin: Well, I could totally see it being a great client graduation yeah, exactly. That's, yeah. That's what a lot of people were
Lindsay: saying
Emily : at the, at the convention was like, this would be perfect for graduating or for completing a certain something. I think it's more so just like getting the word out there about it. That's, that's the hardest part is,
you know,
Erin: The marketing.
Emily : Exactly.
Erin: Yes. Yes, totally feel you there. It's, it's not easy with all the noise
null: Exactly.
Erin: that's happening in the world.
null: Yeah.
Erin: But, I mean, The [00:38:00] mission and the intentions that you ladies have behind this product, I think is going to go very far.
Both Thank you. Really
appreciate that.
Erin: OCD is not going anywhere, and if anything, we need more awareness and more support for OCD.
And so, I mean really, if this bracelet helps someone go to therapy or Live with that uncertainty or have success in a stressful moment. I mean, that would be a huge accomplishment. I mean, you can't put a dollar on that.
Both: Right.
Erin: Yeah. So this is such a special idea and I just really love it.
Both: Thank you so much. I mean,
Erin: Yeah. So considering all of the things you've been through and maybe part of this answer will pertain to the marketing, but how would you.
Advise someone who wants to create like a meaningful business around mental health or a mental health message. What advice would you give them?
Lindsay: you [00:39:00] know, Being as open and honest with, with Your clients and you know, making sure that that you're sharing your mission with them and making sure that yeah, kind of open and honesty
would be like, it's
Erin: Just being authentic.
Emily : yeah, authentic.
Yeah.
Erin: Yeah.
Emily : And I, and I think again, like going back to that authenticity, like people who, you know, can relate to you or maybe not, they just really appreciate when Especially as a small business when they, you know, there's, they see the intentions behind like the business owners or they just really appreciate the, the effort going into the business.
And I think if, you know, and the other thing I was going to say actually was if you're interested in starting a business, you know, related to mental health, start with your own [00:40:00] experiences because When you share what you've been going through, that informs so much of you know, what do you need as a, as someone with OCD or anxiety?
Because if you need something, odds are someone else needs something.
Erin: And it creates that relatability,
Emily : yeah. So, just finding that true, I mean this is like such an advertising thing, but finding that one human insight to connect to is
like, key.
Erin: Yes. Yeah.
I mean, exactly. And that's not something people normally teach you in any class. I mean, I don't, of course now, Emily, you've got the advertising experience, but I don't remember hearing anything about niching down or talking to your ideal client, like none of that. So
Emily : I didn't even learn that and I studied, you know, for advertising,
Erin: my gosh.[00:41:00]
Yeah, I mean, you really learn it through experience and trial and error in trying to run a business and then you're like, how do I scale? How do I make more growth? How do I create more reach? And it's then you start to uncover those layers. And it's like, why is nobody talking about this? I think it's probably a scarcity mindset thing, which that's for another day. I really value the abundant mindset. Freely give and share and cause it's going to help people and it'll ultimately help you, but that's like soapbox. But anyhow, and so ladies, how can people support your business and the mission behind presently?
Emily : So, you can go to at Presently Bracelets on Instagram and give us a follow because I think, you know, we've been struggling just to so many people and to just get new followers. Like our current followers are very engaged, but we want
to [00:42:00] reach more people. So please give us a follow. We also have funny videos on Tik
Tok, um, That they've, some of the videos have gone viral, I will say, thanks to Lindsey because I've read a lot of her OCD moments, with her permission, obviously, and it really just people an inside look into, you know, what we do on a day to day basis.
Or what it's like to have OCD. Or what it's like to have OCD, right, and then visit our website and just take a look around. We have a quiz that you can take that helps you figure out which phrase might be best
Erin: Awesome.
Emily : And, you know, people really like that because it just, a lot of the times, like the one that they're thinking of getting is the one that. The quiz spits out.
Erin: They need that reassurance. Huh?
Emily : Yeah, I guess.
Erin: Imagine that.
Lindsay: And also there's also one, if you like having someone that you think would need the bracelet, there's a quiz for them as well. So taking it for,
Emily : To give us a gift, it's like a perfect, [00:43:00] perfect gift.
Um, they're wrapped super cutely. I think we have one of the pouches over here. Let's see. And we wrap them
Lindsay: ourselves. Handwritten, hand wrapped
Erin: Wow.
Lindsay: note.
Erin: Oh, how special.
Emily : Yeah. So it's all coming from us. Just us two. Just us two. There's no, it's funny actually because there's people that will say something about like customer service. And I don't even remember what it was, it was so long ago. And we're like, they're like, we'd really to speak to the customer service team. And we're like, this is us. This is it.
Both: Yeah.
Erin: already there.
Both: Yeah.
Erin: Oh my goodness. Wow. Well, I mean, that's definitely a powerhouse move because that's a lot to design, fulfill, package. Oh my goodness.
Emily : yes.
Full time job. I know.
Erin: and you have a full time job.
Emily : Yeah. The
Erin: Wow. [00:44:00] Wow. Yeah.
Emily : goal is to quit our full time, no.
Erin: I mean, it'd be, I'm sure it'd be nice.
Emily : Yeah.
Erin: Yeah. Well, and so the website it's presently bracelets. com.
Both: Yes.
Erin: Okay. Well, I'll be sure to put a link in the show notes and I'll mention the website on all of the Advertisements that I'll be doing for today's episode. I'll have some clips up on LinkedIn and YouTube.
So
Emily : Perfect.
Erin: yeah.
Emily : Very exciting.
Erin: Yeah. So ladies with your experiences with OCD, you know, it, while you did get help. From an OCD therapist pretty early on, it was still a struggle and it sounds like there are times when it can still be a struggle even after you've started therapy. What are, you know, some messages of encouragement that you would have for the people listening [00:45:00] today? Oh,
Lindsay: I think it's kind of like when you're experiencing an anxious feeling or moment, or feeling that you're like, I just said that twice, but if when you're experiencing something that gives you such anxiety and it makes you uncomfortable, kind of, I would say, my one suggestion would be like, check check within yourself.
This something that I've been through before? Is it something where? I was given the tool to use so that I can, you know, get through this because a lot of times I think we get in this we get into this mindset of Oh my God, this feels very different, the new and
Erin: this one's worse.
Lindsay: right. Like, And but I
Erin: can't conquer it. Mm
Lindsay: ultimately, I know from like my experiences, like I've been through this before I've gotten through this before, what are the views? And. Like just because it [00:46:00] is dressed up differently or just, you know, give an example just because it has a different name doesn't mean it's, it's not from the same OCD.
Erin: Yeah, Emily, any words of wisdom or encouragement for people who are struggling with OCD?
Emily : Yeah. I think, you know, I would say very similarly, just remember what you've been through before. And also I think just like sharing your story is so helpful. And just talking about it really, really helps. Like it, you know, separates you from your, you know, your internal intrusive thoughts and, you know, just helps you get out of your mind almost. It's, dual sided because once you share your story that helps someone else and it's like a ripple effect.
null: Yeah,
Emily : [00:47:00] so I I think you know sharing your story Telling someone about it.
Lindsay: Yeah
Emily : is super important and we see like
Lindsay: the amount that it has that it has by just sharing your story and and And your own experiences how much it has Resonated with other people and even if they don't tell you that it's helped them like You They could just be like, you know, helps quietly.
I feel like it, it is not necessarily like you need someone to reassure you that that, oh, what you've said to them has helped me. It's just like knowing, you know, that it's helped them. Yeah. Yeah.
Erin: Right. Right. Kind of that confidence that you're planting a seed that will help someone. Whether they tell you or not,
Emily: exactly.
Erin: planted something. And that's it. Emily, the other thing too, as you were sharing, I was thinking about how, you know, back in college, you [00:48:00] were silent in your struggle for years.
Both: Yeah.
Erin: so, and Lindsey, like for both of you, it sounds like just full circle. It has really changed your life to talk about it.
Emily : yeah. Yeah. Exactly. I think it's interesting because I. I. also think that starting presently has helped me talk about it more because Lindsey has always loved to talk about it and to You know, I feel like you've been in moments where you've shared and someone has been like, wow, like I can't believe I've been living like this and someone else is living just like me.
But it's really not even therapy It's been like running this thing Company and like creating these bracelets, that's helped me really talk about it. And I think like the first time I like said the things that I said to you, I said on a different podcast and I think that's the first time my friends had heard about what I was going through in college.
So, yeah, I think it's really [00:49:00] helped me share and come out of my shell and you know, just easy. It's easier to talk about the more you
Erin: Well, and you're bossing back to the OCD because it no longer is your boss.
Emily : Exactly. We're, we're the boss.
Erin: Absolutely. Absolutely. Well, and I really appreciate both of you coming to speak today because it really takes a lot of courage and bravery and vulnerability and just love how you ladies are stepping out to try to create change.
null: Thank you. Thank you so
Erin: Yeah. Now, are there any special promos or discounts or anything for the listeners for the presently bracelets?
Emily : So there's that there's for the holidays, you know, we like to do discount just to encourage people to not only gift to themselves, but gift to other people. So if you use code give presently it'll get you 20 percent off when you buy more [00:50:00] than when you buy two bracelets or more. And Yeah, I think, I guess depending on when this episode comes out, for Black Friday, we're doing a tiered discount so if you buy three bracelets you get 30 percent off, if you buy four bracelets you get 40 percent off, so, yeah, a lot, lots, lots to To save and the other thing I wanted to mention is that we donate 5 percent of every bracelet purchase to mental health nonprofits.
Erin: Oh, wow.
Emily : Yeah, so there are four different ones that we donate to, and you have the option when you select your bracelet to select which charity you want that portion of the bracelet to go to.
Erin: That's amazing. You ladies thought of everything.
Emily : Sure did.
Erin: Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Well, thank you so much again for being here and I can't wait to see what the future holds for the both of you and your business.
Both: Thank [00:51:00] you so much. So nice meeting
Erin: You too.
Erin Again, what a lovely conversation and such a pleasure meeting these ladies. Through their bracelets, I hope their story and their bracelets give you the encouragement you need to take the next steps on your own journey. I encourage you to sign up for my upcoming program launching in January [00:52:00] 2025 called Obsess Less, Love More, Rethinking Your Relationship Without Doubt. This is a 12 week group coaching program designed to help you get support in your relationship, whether you're going through doubts about have I found the one?
Or how do I know they're the one for me? Am I really in love? Or maybe you're in that singlehood space. And staying stuck because you don't know how you're going to welcome a partner into your life. You don't have to have OCD in order to join the group. This group is primarily focused on the relationship doubts and those relationship worries. So if those worries have you spun up or stuck, and you're ready to move forward into deeper love, more connection, Go to my website at value driven therapy. com, click on the tab that says work with Erin, and go down to Obsess Less Love More Program. And get signed up for this special pilot program pricing because I want you to be the first group of people. [00:53:00] Ladies, to go through the program, give me feedback and not only help improve your lives and your relationships, but potentially the relationship of others. This group is going to give you community and support
like you've never had before. I'm here for you to help you show up in the best way possible. For you and your true love come back next week, where I'm going to be sharing with you a concept. I've noticed, and I have created a word around it. It's all about divorce ideation. This is a new term that I'm introducing to the world. I guarantee you haven't heard it before. Come back next week to hear more about divorce ideation so that you can get support and staying in your marriage and get the strategy and get the strategies and tips to love your spouse again. Okay. Happy Friday and have a great weekend. [00:54:00]
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