I don't want to take your money for an issue you and I might not be able to resolve together. So maybe before you see me, try resources below, many of which are free, lower cost, and based on studies (in links). You might heal more if you try different beliefs about the power you have to heal, and tips on my homepage and below:
- Breathe: 90% of people aren’t breathing well, which can cause stress and other health issues.
- Crisis counseling
- Mutual aid, social services
- Why everyone needs therapy sometimes for almost anything
- How to find a therapist that you won't need therapy for
- Holistic medical tests covered by some health insurance companies
- Lifestyle tips
- How to eat and sleep as well as you can
- Tips for specific health issues
- Treat yourself: energywork, acupuncture, hot tubs, and saunas
- Bodywork that's trauma-informed
- Comedy-tations (comedy + meditation) for less pessimism, prejudice, pollution, or pain for all creatures
- Green, ethical tips, food, products, services, travel
The earlier you get support from trained professionals, most likely the better.
(Note: I mention health diagnoses below in a nonjudgmental way. I mention them using terms used by sources in links below. Personally, I like the way some cultures around the world use different terms and approach healing differently. For example, in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), your mind, body, and spirit are viewed as one. So TCM refers to energetic "imbalances" instead of say, mental health "diagnoses.")
Breathe
See why and how to inflate and deflate like a blowfish.
Safer crisis counseling
Call organizations recommended by Inclusive Therapists. Sometimes the police are not trained to help people in crisis.
Mutual aid, social services
Get or give food at free fridges:
- National Mutual Aid Hub map
- CA:
- Berkeley and Oakland Town Fridges
- LA Community Fridges
Reduced-cost food or other supplies, housing, transit, job or financial assistance, health care, legal services, and more: Call 211 or search via your zip code at FindHelp. If you live or work in San Francisco, you can get free:
- Financial coaching from the Office of Financial Empowerment.
- Legal advice from the SF BAR's Justice & Diversity Center’s Legal Advice & Referral Clinic (LARC) for low-income Bay Area residents.
Black, Brown, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) immigrant communities and their defenders experiencing crisis can get extra-confidential mental health services or legal aid from providers in Inclusive Therapists list.
People who are BIPOC, nonbinary, lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer, intersex, asexual, or two-spirit (LGBTQIATS+), deaf, or disabled can get more resources listed at Wombat Mental Health Services.
Why everyone needs therapy sometimes
Ever catch yourself saying, "Is it me? Am I the drama? Am I the villain?" Watch a fabulous video on why talk to someone who won’t judge you. That link also lists how about 75% of people who go to therapy show some benefit.
How to find a therapist that you won't need therapy for
See why you might benefit from trying these support groups, or individual or group therapy. That link also lists trick questions to ask therapists, free or low-cost therapy, and studies on modalities you might not have heard of.
Holistic medical tests covered by some health insurance companies
Get tested for nutrient or biochemical imbalances, heavy metals, and fungi like yeast and mold overgrowth in your body. Here's a small list of candida yeast symptoms. If you have a fungal infection that can present in many different ways, maybe work with a functional or integrative medicine doctor who also prescribes anti-fungal pharmaceuticals because natural remedies alone might not work. The most affordable way to see them is to search in your health insurance provider directory for "functional" or "integrative." More affordable practitioners with good reviews include medical doctors and more at Modern Holistic Health. They work holistically with limiting beliefs and trauma.
Relationship tips
- If you trauma bond with people with similar trauma, you both might re-traumatize each other. (That article defines trauma bond differently from experts in domestic and sexual violence. Experts describe it as when a victim can't leave someone that abuses them and then shows kindness.)
- Avoid starting relationships where they're toxic in disguise or where you feel a "helper's high" but helping them isn't helping either of you in the long run. And if you put other people's needs before your own without receiving something of equal value in return, it's called emotional labor. It can affect your health. Almost everyone is able express empathy: The top predictor of how long Harvard undergraduate men from different socio-economic backgrounds would live was not their salary or degree but the empathy they gave and received.
- Notice what you tell yourself and if it's coming from you or people judging you. And notice your physical sensations. For example, do you often change plans because of other people or say things like, "I'm not good at...," "I shouldn't have...," or "I can't do or have..."? Breaking news! You might be abusing yourself. There’s hope! Set an intention to have a balance of self-love, self-worth, and self-esteem.
- Be careful who you touch or hug: Once you touch someone, your body releases oxytocin (the “cuddle” or “love hormone" that promotes attachment and trust). Estrogen promotes the effects of oxytocin bonding. Testosterone discourages it. So people like women can have a harder time leaving a relationship. Also, if you're with an abusive person when they say they'll "change," your body releases dopamine, which tells you to "do it again."
- Instead of toxic positivity, it might help to feel your full range of feelings and let them physically flow through and out of you.
- If you forgive someone but you feel annoyed by them or want to avoid them, that could mean you didn’t truly forgive them. And they could feel confused by you. Or if you forgive them because you think you're better than them, that might be contempt instead of forgiveness.
- Instead of jumping straight to forgiving someone, maybe your feelings are saying you need space from that person. Forgiveness might give the perpetrator permission to continue to cause harm.
- If you feel emotional or physical discomfort, confusion, distraction from your goals, fear, anxiety, shame, guilt, powerlessness, or hopelessness, you might be experiencing emotional abuse (and you might benefit from tips to heal). Or if you don't feel consistently well around someone else, you can leave before it gets really bad. You might feel better in the long run if you take a long break from a relationship.
- There are health benefits of forgiving someone. But you don't have to engage with them.
- Be the change you'd like to see in the world in three easy steps! (Or at least watch "Are You the A*hole?") For example, people distance themselves from people with characteristics they fear or suppress in themselves. So first, think of three things you've tried to change in someone because they caused you pain. For instance, maybe that person was judgmental. Second, ask yourself and others when you've been judgmental (which can also present as demanding, precise, and hard to please). Maybe someone who raised you was judgmental of you. You might not judge them—but you might judge yourself and others, which can lead people to leave you. Third, if you feel judgmental, notice without judging yourself. Easy peasy! Or better yet, explore shadow work, its risks and why you might want to do it with a trained psychotherapist.
Lifestyle tips
- When people have a life purpose, they have more energy and are more resilient. Out of 16 coping strategies, drinking alcohol or venting were negatively associated with sense of purpose. Seeing the big picture and impermanence of everything, walking in nature, and engaging in family or spiritual rituals were strongly associated with a sense of purpose. Also, those who practiced peace, kindness, love, and compassion (such as towards others) had less brain activation of fear and aggression, compared to people who focused on their appearance or wealth.
- Have just enough awe to not get into trouble.
- If you have three minutes a day, meditating (or watching inspiring content, such as watching someone overcome adversity), can helped people feel significantly more hope, compared to just watching comedy.
- A sea salt bath can help with mental and physical conditions. Maybe try Himalayan salt, which most likely has little to no microplastics found in sea salt. Here’s how to do it. You can also add a cup of baking soda.
- Try free, surprising things you might be able to do wherever you are now.
- Write down your thoughts and feelings because that can help you let them go.
- If you can, spend time only with people, places, and things that give you long-term happiness.
- Live your life authentically: Do what your true self wants (not what you think other people think you should do). And mean what you say and follow through. Highly authentic people are more likely to report feeling happiness, life satisfaction, high motivation, and better social interactions and they're less likely to exhibit anxiety.
- Try tips below to be happy. People Google "how to be happy" more than "how to get rich." After combing through thousands of studies, the top tips to be happy are to thank people, be a little more extroverted, smile, and if you can, give money away.
- Listen to music that matches your mood and then end with music with the mood that you want to feel. Studies show that it can help to not dwell on a song that reminds you of someone or something bittersweet or sad. But I find it can help to listen to a song like that repeatedly in a row until you take your power back by being desensitized to it.
- Try doing almost anything in sync with someone, especially someone you've got issues with. Studies show it can help, especially if it's synchronized dancing. Plus, exercise can help with almost anything, even cancer. Aerobic exercise can lead you to feel calmer and more in control.
How to sleep and eat as well as you can
Try to eat by 5 PM, sleep by 10 PM (I don't make the rules!) and other tips, such as:
- If you don't like car accidents, then don't drive sleep-deprived with less than seven hours of sleep. Not getting at least seven hours of sleep can also affect your short- and long-term health, your work, and others.
- For depression, fatigue, morning headaches, or sleep issues like nightmares, you might need to get tested for sleep apnea. You can have sleep apnea even if you don't have a higher body weight or snore. To help with sleep apnea, proceed with caution if you tape your mouth with surgical tape. Or try a sexy sleep apnea CPAP machine, which can reduce nightmares. Also, maybe think happy thoughts during the day. If people ruminated with repetitive, distressing thoughts during the day, they had more negative dreams, especially when they were highly concerned about global issues.
Eat
Acupuncture might only help if you try food as your first medicine.
Ingest warm or hot things. Cold drinks impairs cognitive function and promotes Alzheimer's disease development and progression.
Eat intuitively: Chew each bite of food at least 32 times to help your body absorb nutrients. Chewing is good for your brain.
Hydrate safely (and not just with water).
Try to say goodbye to caffeine because it can cause anxiety, headaches, sleep issues, irritability, increased heartbeat, increased thirst, frequent urination, and chest pain. Also, coffee cannot ward off all of the effects of long-term sleep loss. If you drink coffee in the morning, first brush your teeth, drink a cup of water mixed with a cup of potassium-rich aloe vera juice with a pinch of salt, eat protein, and wait 90 minutes after you wake up.
Eat more plants:
- Vegans are more likely to stay happy and are more lovable than ever, and happier people more likely to become vegan (which is the top thing to reduce our climate crisis). Also, a healthy plant-based diet is associated with optimal sleep quality.
- How to be a malnourished vegan (joke!) and get the recommended 20–30 grams of protein a day, more reasons to be vegan
- Recipes:
- My traditional Chinese medicine recipes with food waste & foraged ingredients, no plastic, palm oil, endangered species, slavery
- Seasonal, zero waste recipes
- Ask me to write about the yummiest vegan recipes from people from the cultures of their recipes.
Avoid processed food that's high in salt, sugar, fat and calories and low in fiber and vitamins, or if it has high-fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated oils, hydrolyzed protein, or additives such as artificial colors, flavor enhancers, emulsifiers, anti-caking agents and thickeners. They're associated with an increased risk of cancer and more than 30 different conditions, such as mental health (anxiety, depression, sleep), wheezing, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal and metabolic health.
Tips for specific health issues
Alcohol or drug dependencies or suicidal ideation
Peer-reviewed studies show that people who are open to the idea of the afterlife are 80% less likely to have addictions and 82% less likely to take their lives.
For addictions to emotions (such as worry, overly caretaking, guilt, fear, anger, judgment, blaming others, jealousy, victimhood, martyrdom, etc.), work, your phone, sugar, caffeine, other substances (such as about an ounce of alcohol a day or more), or gambling:
- Try medication for alcohol or opioid use disorder.
- Join lots of people who don't drink alcohol at all. The World Health Organization stated that no level of alcohol consumption is safe.
- Try newer recovery approaches or Tempest, which is by and for women and marginalized people (and by the author of Quit Like a Woman).
- Only be around people and things (such as music) that trigger your addiction if you work with a music therapist.
- See what's in the 2021 book Dopamine Nation: Ask yourself if you want to be living that way in 10 years, five years, or one year. If not, start by weaning off the addiction for a month. Research shows that when people with depression or anxiety became addicted to something and took a month off from it, their depression or anxiety lifted without them doing anything else different. Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous work because you have a community (and a person who's your sponsor) that you can talk to regularly. Those who stayed sober the longest were most open to telling the truth about everything, not just about their addiction.
- If you have cannabis or nicotine cravings, try eating more lentils to get the amino acid NAC (N-Acetyl Cysteine).
- If you have a drug dependency and are unhoused, formerly incarcerated, low-income, or indigenous, get free detox, food, and natural healing from Essential Food and Medicine.
Other health issues
- For addiction, depression, schizophrenia, and more, studies show animal-assisted therapy can help at rescued animal sanctuaries, such as with horses near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, or where you can be a cowhugger in California.
- For anger, make sure you're eating enough vitamin B. For aggression, maybe get more omega-3 fatty acids (nuts, seeds, seaweed), vitamin D (ideally from the sun at noon), and zinc (oatmeal, soy, cashews, etc.). Low levels of those nutrients are associated with increased aggression. Or invite angry or aggressive people to a seaweed-sprinkled oatmeal picnic or give vitamins to them as birthday presents without telling them why! Just kidding. Kind of. Research has found that if you express uncontrolled anger and aggression, you can get sick and not resolve the situation. But tips in that link might help! Also, people eliminated almost all their anger when they wrote down what triggered their emotions and got rid of the paper. That helped more than holding on to the paper.
- For anxiety, bladder issues, digestive issues (such as cramping, bloating, and constipation), dizziness when standing, chronic fatigue, slow skin healing, easy bruising, pain, numbness, tingling, muscle spasms, frequent joint injuries, increased range of motion, joints that click or crack, get checked for hypermobile joints.
- For anxiety, maybe drink more water and eat more produce instead of caffeine (and other stimulants).
- For anxiety, ADHD, or Alzheimer’s disease, autism, behavioral issues, bipolar disorder, depression, schizophrenia, biochemical therapy can test for nutrient imbalances. A small trial showed that a ketogenic diet can reduce with Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and schizophrenia symptoms.
- For asthma or eczema (which can mean you tend to have dry skin), avoid all fragrances. Try less-toxic skincare and cleaner brands.
- If you have bloating, constipation, nausea, no pain or pain in your lower back pain, or during bowel movements, you might have endometriosis. It can affect people assigned female or male at birth. Here's what did and didn't work for some patients.
- Prevent blood clots, constipation, icontinence, sexual issues, deformities, and heartburn. Have good posture. For example, Instead of sitting cross-legged, sit with both feet on the floor with knees forward. Here's how to tell if you're sitting on your sit bones without accidentally tucking your pelvis.
- If you're about to catch a cold, flu, or COVID (or if you already have it), try these tips.
- If you think you have a concussion, try light physical and mental activities after the 24- to 48-hour recovery window, if that does not worsen symptoms.
- For constipation, definitely make a makeshift "squatty potty" with something like stacked books. Or try the Ayurvedic triphala herb. You can buy it plastic-free and put it in your own container at any California food business, such as apothecary or herb stores, or natural grocers like Rainbow Grocery Co-op in San Francisco, CA. Unless you love bitter herbs, drink it with sugar-free monkfruit (a fruit grown in China). It’s safe for diabetics. The only plastic-free and organic monkfruit I could find is by SweetLeaf.
- For depression, try vegan omega-3 fatty acids or see a functional medicine doctor for potential hypothyroidism, vitamin B deficiency, elevated homocysteine levels, or medication side effects. Also, a molecular psychiatrist, functional medicine doctor, or nutritionist might be able to test for gut microbiome issues or help you feel better with supplements like amino acids (non-addictive).
- For hoarding, maybe find a therapist trained imagery rescripting. It can help you rescript memories that may have triggered hoarding.
- For physical pain:
- Try only exposing yourself to warm things (temperatures, food, drinks, clothes, etc). Some people experienced headaches, menstrual pain, and increased blood pressure after they experienced cold things.
- If you have a headache and/or neck pain followed by dizziness or facial numbness, see a doctor in case you have vertebral artery dissection. It can lead to a stroke.
- If you have flat feet, you might benefit from stretching, strengthening, and custom orthotic insoles.
- If you have back pain, try sitting on a natural latex coccyx cushion, which is less-toxic than other foam.
- Try free physical therapy from the ODC Dance Clinic in San Francisco, CA, and Freedom Community Clinic in Oakland, CA (which also gives free massage, acupuncture, and herbs).
- Poor oral hygiene is associated with heart disease, diabetes, certain cancers, preterm birth, and shrinkage in the area of the brain essential for memory. Brush your teeth first thing in the morning before drinking or eating. And before bed, floss first and then brush your teeth using your sink.
- I've worked with people who didn't floss, brush their teeth, or see a dentist twice a year. And my energywork didn't work as well. I can't do the work for you.
- You can try dentists that can help you relax through hypnotherapy. Or try green dentists that use less-toxic materials.
- If you have swelling or inflammation, try "METH" — movement, elevation, traction and heat — or “POLICE.,” protection, optimal loading, ice, compression, and elevation, as long as you're not in pain.
Get paid to be part of clinical trials, even for complex post-traumatic stress disorder (C-PTSD). For example, you can sign up at the University of California San Francisco.
Treat yourself: energywork, acupuncture, hot tubs, saunas
Diverse, meditation and activism community
- East Bay Meditation Center, online or in-person, donation-based
Free qigong healings and classes, such as from some of my teachers:
- Online events for all and healings for kids under 15 with cancer or autism with Grandmaster Chunyi Lin
- Online full moon meditations with Grandmaster Nan Lu, OMD
- In-person and online classes by Grandmaster Dr. Alex Feng, PhD, OMD. You don't have to have cancer to attend his Tuesday online and in-person class for people with cancer. His Tuesday class seems to include more seated positions than his Saturday in-person only class.
Free reiki sessions and classes from people I haven't worked with:
- Online:
- In-person and online:
- Freedom Community Clinic, Oakland, CA
- Feathered Outlaw, Alameda, CA
- HCH Institute, Lafayette, CA
- Open Doors, Braintree, MA
Free sound healings and classes:
- Online with Biofield Tuning forks
- In-person at Globe Institute open houses in Sausalito, CA
Visit lower-cost People’s Organization of Community Acupuncture Clinics. Sometimes acupuncture combined with herbs is more effective than trying those modalities separately. So try to find an acupuncturist who can customize herbs for you.
On your birthday, enjoy free hot tubs, and steam and dry saunas at Archimedes Banya in San Francisco, CA.
If you're a low-income woman with cancer and can get to Oakland, CA, get free acupuncture, bodywork, energywork, nutrition education, movement therapy, and herbs at Charlotte Maxwell Clinic.
Bodywork that's trauma-informed
Since physical touch can heal your body differently than talk therapy, consider also trying neuroscience-based trauma-informed massage. They're offered by the Pacific Center for Awareness and Bodywork or Trauma Touch Healing by the Colorado School of Healing Arts, where massage therapists work with psychologists. Or try a Somatic Experiencing massage therapist, such as Ama Greenrose.
Legalese
Jessian Choy's website and communication with you are not meant to treat or diagnose any condition or situation (e.g., medical, legal) and are not a substitute for medical or other services. By using this website, you acknowledge and agree that you do so at your own risk. Jessian Choy, employees, and agents shall not be held liable for any damages or losses of any kind arising from or in connection with your use of this website. You agree to hold them harmless from any claims, liabilities, or expenses arising from your use of this website, including but not limited to direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, or punitive damages.
Updated March 28, 2026
This content is not available for artificial intelligence (AI) training. All rights reserved. Copyright © Jessian Choy 2022-present
