Hi, I’m Jessica Shaker, and I’m so glad you’re here.

Three years ago, I went through a severe mental health crisis that nearly took my life. I reached a point where the way I had been living was no longer sustainable, and I had to completely reevaluate my life—not just to make it better, but to survive.

For years, the qualities that earned me accomplishments, recognition, and praise were the very same qualities that were hurting me the most. My perfectionism and people-pleasing tendencies had been celebrated as strengths, but I eventually realized they were keeping me from living a healthy, authentic, and fulfilling life.

I had to start over. I had to figure out who I was without the expectations, perfectionism, and constant need for approval—and, perhaps most importantly, I had to decide whether being liked by everyone was even something I wanted anymore.

Sometimes, it takes reaching your absolute breaking point to realize that something in your life needs to change.

If you’re there right now, I want you to know that you are not alone.

I know what it feels like to be trapped, stuck, lost, and completely depleted. I know what it feels like to believe there is only one way out—a permanent answer to pain that feels impossible to escape. I remember people telling me there was hope and not believing them. I remember thinking, “What could they possibly know? They’ve never been in my shoes. They don’t know how painful it is just to exist.”

It got very dark before it got better.

But eventually, I got the help I needed. And once I was in a safer place, I began doing the work of rebuilding my life from the ground up. I had to define new values, establish boundaries, and create a life that actually worked for me.

The old system wasn’t working. In fact, it was hurting me.

So I had to do things differently.

That meant learning that boundaries are not selfish. Protecting your peace is not selfish. Choosing yourself is not selfish.

And sometimes, the people you love most will struggle with the changes you make. Especially when they benefited from you having few—or no—boundaries.

I want you to hear this clearly:

Do it anyway.

The people who truly love you will learn to respect the boundaries you need in order to be healthy and well. And if someone cannot accept the changes you need to make to take care of yourself, it may be time to reconsider whether they belong in the life you are building.

If you’re ready to change your life but don’t know where to begin, you’ve come to the right place.

Glowing Up is about lighting up your life again—one small, manageable change at a time.

This isn’t about overwhelming transformations or completely reinventing yourself overnight. It’s about the small shifts that gradually add up: setting one boundary, changing one habit, asking for help, practicing one new coping skill, or simply choosing yourself one more time.

Small changes can create a very different life.

And if you think I have it all figured out, I can assure you—I don’t.

I’m just one person doing my best, learning, growing, and sometimes failing along the way. Progress is rarely linear, and I’ve learned that failure isn’t the enemy.

Failure means you’re trying.

Sometimes, trying is the biggest victory of all.

Welcome to the Glow Up Community—a community of people committed to healing out loud, protecting their peace, breaking the stigma surrounding mental health, and spreading hope.

I’m so glad you’re here.

If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health, help is available. In the United States, you can call, text, or chat with 988 to connect with the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.

There is hope—even when it doesn’t feel like it.

Take your power back. Create your glow.