Watching Mental Health Episode 3 | Casey Jade Levine

This is a transcript of Watching Mental Health Episode 3 with Casey Jade Levine which you can watch and listen to here:

Katie Waechter: Hi everyone, and welcome to the next episode of Watching Mental Health. I'm really happy to have you here today if you're watching us live or on the replay. And today's a really exciting episode because I'm going to bring in a super, super close friend of mine and she's a professional photographer. She's been working here in Las Vegas for a long time, and I know that she is going to bring a really interesting perspective. And so I'm going to go ahead and do a little bio for her, and then we're going to introduce her and we're just going to jump right into it. 

So Casey Jade is my guest today, and Casey thrives on empowering women from the boardroom to the bedroom to have more confidence in their bodies and to make more money in their businesses. She currently works with small business owners on branding and rebranding themselves with photography. And at the same time, she loves the human form and wants every woman to be able to see how beautiful she really is, especially on the days that are the hardest for them to hold their heads high, which I think we've all had those days. And so on this episode of Watching Mental Health, we're going to talk about how your self-image impacts your mental health and how she can help as a photographer step in to help her clients to really see themselves as the amazing individuals that they truly are. And so without further ado, I'm going to go ahead and bring on Casey Jade. Hi!  Thank you so much for being here.

Casey Jade Levine: Hi, I'm so excited to be here! 

Katie: Thank you. So I gave a little bit about what it is that you do, but I want you to tell us in your own words what it is that you do and what you love about your job.

Casey: Absolutely. And by the way, thank you for the beautiful intro that was so well worded. I love it. That was perfect. I grew up with a single mom and I was a tomboy my whole life. So my whole world was kind of comparing my experience with my mom's. She was always more fashionable than I was, all that stuff. So then getting into photography, there were so many limiting beliefs that I got to help my client kind of reframe from where they came from, anything that was coming up from how they were treated or how they treated themselves growing up and found that almost all of us have the same limiting belief, stopping us from feeling good in our bodies and having a lot of self-worth. So I love helping all of my clients really get out of their own way and get out of their mind and get into their heart so that they can live their best lives, have the best relationships, get the best results in their businesses, and all the things that we really want to accomplish in our lives.

Katie: Yeah, absolutely. And it's probably something that you see patterns in when you go out into the world, and it seems like we all feel alone in our own insecurities, but you're, I think, seeing a lot of these insecurities pop up in beautiful women and amazing people all over. And it seems like we're all kind of running around with this self-image problem where we're just looking at ourselves maybe in the wrong light, we're not seeing what everybody else is really seeing. And it seems like you really love bringing that out in people. So tell me a little bit more about that part.

Casey: I do love bringing that out, and I really think that social media has had a really big impact on how we see ourselves and how we think in comparison to other people. So no matter who your favorite Instagram account is, their life is not as fabulous as you think it is. All of us go through the same things all the time. And one way that I see that is when people show up for photo shoots, I can't tell you how many of them say, I'm not photogenic. You're lucky if I don't break your camera. Hope you have a great lens. I'm not photogenic. I don't like having my photo taken. I don't like any photos of myself. And a lot of times that's really because we were indoctrinated from all of our school photos every single year to wear what our parents wanted, do our hair the way they wanted, do what the photographer wanted us to do for that five seconds, and we hated the photo of ourselves that ended up in the yearbook.

You're like, that's not a representation of who I'm. So I think after going through that for usually 12 grades, we kind of have the same limiting beliefs, and we just don't think that we like photos of ourselves because we don't think they represent who we truly are, or we don't feel like we look the way that we should to represent who we feel we are. So it's a really interesting process to be able to break those down and kind of make sure that people are feeling that they have everything they need to be beautiful and worthy and successful and abundant and feel good in their bodies and in themselves without having to compare to anybody else.

Think that it's really important, and in all honesty, and there's actually a fact from Psychology Today, they wrote an article and they said that 85% of not only adults, but adolescents struggle with low self-esteem and self-worth.

Katie: Yeah, that's really hard. And it seems like we all are running around thinking that we're alone with this image, with this image problem. And I think that as a photographer, you went through school not necessarily to be people's champions, but it seems like that's what you need to be in order to get the best of people who maybe are coming in who were really struggling with their self-image. You weren't taught through education that we need a mental health aspect to this job, but it seems like there is a real strong mental health aspect with being a photographer and with bringing out the best in people through photography that a lot of people just don't even think about.

Casey: I definitely think that that is definitely true. It's funny because every photographer, every person is made differently. So there's somebody that can take photos and they love taking photos of buildings or of products or of food. And really people have always been my favorite thing because I love seeing the smile on their face when they see a photo of themselves. They never thought they could look like I love bringing a tear to their eye and saying, oh my God, I never knew I could look like this. And it's interesting because I run a women's group every month where we come together, get vulnerable, share, ask questions, talk about our successes, and also talk about what's our biggest obstacle or what's our biggest speed bump of the moment. And you would be so surprised to see all the heads around the table going like this. So it makes everyone feel seen, heard, and not alone in everything that we go through.

Katie: Yeah, that's so true. And I'm in that group, so I can attest to that. We have some really, I think, powerful moments breaking down, crying and thinking that I feel so alone, and then looking around and seeing that everybody else is right there with you. And I always find it interesting that especially in that group, that patterns emerge. So every single month we all seem to be kind of struggling with something similar without really realizing, and then we get together and we're able to just kind of let it out and then to walk away feeling heard and authentic and beautiful. And so I love your women's group. I'm really glad that you brought that up. I think that it's powerful. Tell us more about when that women's group is and how we can get in touch with you or in touch with that group if anyone wanted to join.

Casey: So the group is called Her Collective, which is an acronym for Holistically Empowered and Rising. And we hosted the fourth Saturday of every month at a space that I co-own called The Dark Room in Las Vegas. And if you want more information on it, you can always find my information and anything that I'm up to at caseyjadephoto on Instagram, on Facebook, on anything. So you can always find me consistently at caseyjadephoto for literally all the things. I love it. I really, it's super easy, and I really think that especially with mental health, one of the issues that so many people struggle with, especially during covid, is everybody felt so disconnected and so alone they had to stay inside. So I think that people are really still coming out of that and being able to get back into their bodies, back into their friendships, back into, I know it's been a while now, but it's funny because I still see it pop up with mental health and everybody still feels isolated.

So being able to bring the energy of support into our daily lives, you never know what somebody's going through or how they feel when they leave your presence, what they go home to. So it's always really important to keep in mind to try to just spread as much light and love as possible because there's so many mental health issues out there. And it's funny because with self-worth that can result in depression and anxiety, eating disorders, social phobias, ADHD, substance abuse, it can spiral. It's so interesting how self-worth and mental health just really go hand in hand.

Katie: Yeah, it can absolutely spiral. That's so true. And it can be surprising in which ways our problems with self-worth will show up in our lives. And so people think it's as easy as talking to yourself negatively, but there's so much more that goes into it that I'm sure you've seen. So you're the photographer and you're coming in and let's say I'm really struggling. I'm having a tough day. How do you, from a professional in your lens, come in and try to then turn it around and to give me that confidence, that boost that I need in order to create a good experience that leads to a good image?

Casey: So in what was that book? How To Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie? He said that, and I'm going to butcher the actual quote, but something to the point of the sweetest sound to anyone's ears is their own name.

In all honesty, being curious about what people are going through, how someone's day was, is the key to really having a deep connection with them and then feeling seen and heard. So the first thing I would do in that situation is sit them down really like, Hey, let's take a second. Let's have a moment. Tell me about your day. Tell me about what happened. Ask them questions, see, how would you like to feel at the end of this session? Then how can we help? How can we shift that energy? Is there something that keeps popping up for you in your head that I might be able to help you reframe so that we can focus on what you'd like to get out of the situation versus maybe what triggered an emotion or triggered a trauma response or whatever it is to them having a bad day?

So I always try to ask as many questions as possible. And then if they're going through something that I've gone through, I always share like, Hey, I went through something similar. This is what happened with me so that they really feel seen, heard. And also, I'm not coming out from left field. I actually understand where they're coming from in their heart, and that usually really softens everything. And then I try to help really say, that's the reason that we're here. Because getting you in front of this camera and having you feel empowered, having you listen to a song that you love, be in an outfit that you feel is fierce and amazing and awesome and fun, and you feel good in all of that is going to shift your energy. So by the end of this, you're going to get out of your head, you're going to get into your body, we're going to laugh, we're going to dance, we're going to have fun.

And then you're going to have these photos to look back on forever. And the point of the photo shoot is not to take photos. It's not to post them. It's not to get attention. It's really to have something to look back on, to anchor back into how you felt in the moment you were taking those photos, getting your power back, getting your ferocity as a woman that is strong and empowered and can do things and has done things and only has proof of things working out, right. We are here. We are stronger for everything we've ever been through. So to be able to shift the energy and have those empowering portraits of themselves, hopefully in a day, whereas it's a harder day than others, they can pull it up and go, this is who I am. I am my superhero. This is the version of me that I'm going to breathe into. I know that she's a part of me even if this day is out of my control. And hopefully that gives them a tool and a resource to really come back to have that inner strength.

Katie: Yes, absolutely. I love that. I love that. And I've personally seen you in action. I know that even people who really clam up, that you're able to bring them out. So do you see that a lot, people who are clamming up, people who are nervous, maybe just being in front of a camera, and that's a boundary that we have to get past?

Casey: Every single time. 99% of the people, I actually say that I work with all humans who don't know what to do with their hands. So anybody that's really awkward in front of the camera doesn't feel good. It's all about, so, okay, I always say the reason we don't like a lot of our photos is because when we take a photo, we have this JC Penney deer in the headlights.

I have to be on camera right now, smile. So the key in really getting out of that energy is kind of getting your body in motion, having a little happy dance, shaking it out, and then making the other person laugh. If you can make a person laugh, really their true personality comes out, and then they'll really like those more if they're not just standing there and you don't tell them what to do, and they're just like, I don't know how this picture is coming out. How do I look? How do I stand? I guide. I use movement. I really get them out of their heads and tell them. I'm like, I hate having my photo taken too. Right? It's not something that's natural, okay, we're not all just like, hello, I'm ready to stop my day. I woke up like this. No, it's not. It's a process. So getting them out of their heads into their bodies, really helping them know that it's not only them that doesn't like their photo taken, and here, let's try to take one that really represents you that you feel good about, so you can have something that you can then change the narrative like, oh, maybe I do. Maybe I can have a good photo taken of myself.

Katie: Yeah, absolutely. And I love what you said about laughter. I think for me, that's how you get me to get that smile going. You need me to laugh, otherwise, I'm kind of awkward looking, and I'm sure we're all the same way. We're not sure what to do.

Casey: Well, it's awkward, it's funny. It's not awkward looking, right? We can see the awkward energy in our bodies if we're feeling weird, if we're not feeling like we know what's going on, it's going to come across in our microexpressions. So humans are so smart. We can read microexpressions. So body language, that's a study. There's a study of body language. If somebody you're talking to starts leaning away and out of the conversation, they look like they're disengaged. They don't want to be there. But if you're talking to somebody and they're leaning in and they're really like, oh, yeah, that leads you to want to even share more. So think about how that portrays through in a photograph. There's so many things we can do to really change the energy in a photograph with microexpressions, comfort, laughing and body language.

Katie: Yeah, absolutely. And I mean, it's like that Cocos, a picture says a thousand words, so you can really pick up a lot on that. Well, I'm going to go ahead and shift gears here for a second, because you're outstanding at your job. But what you are as an entrepreneur in many ways, so every day you have to get up and that hustle, that mentality that we need to work, work, work is there as entrepreneurs. I think we both feel that some days are more than others. And so I think I want to get your perspective on what self-care looks like to you as somebody who does have to be on pretty much seven days a week potentially, who does have to be out there in the world and really getting business following through on that business, delivering that business. It can be tough. So what does self-care look like to you and what's just your journey as an entrepreneur during these first, what, 10 years that you've been at it? So I know we've been doing it together, so I want to get your thoughts on it. 

Casey: Number one. Yes. So number one in self-care definitely comes with support and having a group of people around me that I know are going through the same things as me, who are on the same path, who are like-minded and who are open and they want to share and they want to communicate. So I have an amazing tribe around me that I know if I'm having a bad day, I can call somebody in my tribe and be like, Hey, do you have space for me to just talk for a minute? I just need to let something off my chest. And I think that that also aids with the help of not feeling alone, because there's been times in my life definitely that I felt like I didn't have anybody to talk to or share my struggles with, and I would just be in my head and I would overthink, or I would have imposter syndrome, or I would have self-worth issues, or I would have self-esteem things pop up or have situations play from the past.

So being in the now, I think is the thing I've been working on for the past year or two, because in the power of now, they talk about the fact that guilt and shame live in the past and fear and anxiety live in the future. So if you're ever feeling any of those emotions that you're not focusing on just now. So trying to focus not on anything coming up or anything that I had in the past, but really focusing on whatever's in front of me and being present has really helped with my mental state for sure. And I realized that moving my body and having a good exercise routine and breath work, meditation, doing practices that really get me to slow down, be in my body, calm down and listen to myself. All of those things really are important to my mental sanity and clarity every day.

And my energy levels too. If we're not taking care of ourself and we're just feeding into other people, then our cup is going to be completely empty and we're going to get burnt out. And I know I've been on the edge of burnout many times as the roller coaster goes of, there's no routine in my life because every single day is different based on a client's needs, meetings, things like that. So I have to bring the chaos under control in any way that I can. So I try to do that with the spiritual practices, breath work, meditation, exercise, and talking to friends.

Katie: Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. Support is so important. The part of the reason why I love that women's group, it's really entrepreneurial focused. So I really love that. So continue. I think talking to me a little bit more about that idea of value of valuing yourself and your services. I know you see it from the photographer's lens with your clients who come in with these self-image struggles, but then also as an entrepreneur, it can be hard to go out there and to ask for your price and to demand your value and to say, no, this is what I'm worth. So talk to me a little bit about how you have evolved. I think that you really have in the last few years evolved your value. And I think as a photographer, a lot of people can attempt to take advantage of, oh, you can take a few pictures for free at my baby shower. Oh, we're friends, right? You can go do this. And I think that that's the hard line to cross. So talk to me a little bit about your value and how that's come around to you.

Casey: So yeah, like you mentioned earlier, I will have been in my photography business in December for 10 years. So when I first started out, I was still in college for photography, and I wanted to get my business going so that I could make sure that I actually pushed through with this because I saw so many friends graduating and not doing anything with it. So I know that I'm now trained as a photographer, but now I have to be trained on the actual business end of it too. So I'm trial and erroring through all the things, figuring out how to price myself, figuring out how to value myself, doing a ton of free shoots to figure out what I want too. So I think that one of the biggest realizations in my career was what I love shooting and what really feels good when I'm photographing and when I'm working, when I'm in the flow, and I know I'm in the flow when I lose track of time and I look at the clock and it's been an hour and it feels like 10 minutes.

So that is a really good anchor for me to know, this is what I love to do, this is what feels good. And then getting the courage up and the knowledge that everything will be okay if I say no to the gigs and the clients that are coming to me that are not aligned with the types of services that make me feel the best, because there's always friends and family. You were saying like, oh, just take a few pictures. It's like, Hey, number one, you don't realize how much time this takes. Not only on, hey, getting the equipment there, getting it ready, prepping all the gear, getting the lighting right in the photography. Everybody thinks it's just a cell phone thing, but it's a lot of energy exchange too, and hyping the people up, making 'em feel good, doing the stuff. So… time is worth energy, and energy is money, so your time is worth money. So being able to really know that I bring way more than photography, I bring my personality, I bring my spirit, I bring my posing, I bring my everything, all the tools I have in my toolkit has really helped me set the boundary and say, Hey, I would love, say the example of the baby shower. I would love to attend your baby shower. I'm so excited for you. I can't wait to get you presents and celebrate with you. Oh, do you mind taking a few photos? I would absolutely love to talk about what it would look like if you want to hire me for half an hour or an hour so that we can get some coverage. But I don't have the resources right now to be able to offer that just for free.

Katie: Right? Yeah, absolutely. 

Casey: Being able to stand in that and know that you are valuable is what you do. It's like when you go to the grocery store, you wouldn't ask for your milk for free, would you? So I think everybody's valuable.

Katie: It is, and it all, I think leads back to your mental health. Like you mentioned before, you spend all this time pouring from your cup, then you're not going to have left for yourself, and that can severely negatively impact your mental health. And so with just the six minutes or so left, let's bring it back to the power of your self image and how that impacts your mental health really. I think that you have seen, I think family and friends and clients all struggle with mental health struggles. It's important to see a positive light in that. I want to bring it back to how would you recommend somebody who is struggling with self-image with their mental health? What would you recommend that they do? How would you recommend that they get the help that they are needing?

Casey: Having support is the number one key. Absolutely. I think that the hard part is for most people, they don't feel like they can talk to anybody or that they want to share that part of them with anybody. But there are so many resources for free or low cost, mental support with professionals that I think it's very, very important to ask for those resources and to really research into that because talking to your friends is amazing because they will support you. They love you. Also, talking to somebody who has more of an objective look on things is really, really important. And I think that for self-worth and self value, there's a couple of things that you can work on without talking to a professional. I think that almost all the clients that I work with that struggle with self-worth and self-value, hard for them to look at themselves in the mirror, which I know sounds really basic, but it can be really hard when you don't like what you see or when you've been told that what you see isn't right or not beautiful or isn't enough.

So I think that one of the most important things that you can do is practice looking at yourself in the mirror and saying something to yourself that you believe. So if you don't think that you're, I'm the most beautiful girl in the world, don't say that as too much for you to wrap your head around the place, then I believe it, right? But I appreciate my beautiful smile. My smile makes other people smile and just looking in the mirror and saying something that you can really believe about yourself, that you really love about yourself. And I think that that can be one step to really start the process of starting to love yourself again, and then also really listening to what comes up in your head when somebody compliments you. I think that's a really huge tell of how you can feel about yourself. Because if immediately when somebody compliments you, you're like, oh, they must be seeing it differently.

Or, oh, I must be just having a good day or something. Or Oh, if you downplay compliment and you don't accept the compliment, start really listening to what your limiting beliefs are or what comes up. Because if you are saying, oh, whatever it is, like, oh, but my nose is so big, or, oh, but I'm having a bad hair day, or what? So have you write that down and see if you can change it and be like, oh, I'm trying my best today. I'm doing the best with what I had today and I'm feeling better in my body. Just something that you can really work into and lean into versus what we see, see every day and think, because most of our thoughts, unfortunately, can be detrimental and they can be negative. So listening to what you're thinking and saying, and what's coming out of your mouth about yourself and others can really help you figure out what you feel about yourself.

Katie: Yeah, absolutely. I think that's really true, and those are all really great advice, really great points. And I think learning to look in the mirror and be okay with what we see, I mean, that in itself is tough for a lot of people. And so that's a good place to start when you're really trying to look at your self image a little bit differently. And so I really appreciate that, the perspective. I think that it's so important to be able to look at yourself and love yourself no matter what your body shape or size or anything, you have to love your body before your body I think will be able to do what you want it to do. And that could be losing a few pounds, but it could also be something as simple as, I just don't want to be in pain every day. And it's so important to be paying attention to that.

Casey: And be in self-acceptance. You don't have to be in self-love necessarily, especially to begin with, but coming out of self loath and moving into self-acceptance and then moving into self-love, it can be a long process. But just trying to find the things that even if you can't find something that you really love about yourself, ask the people that are closest to you what they love about you, and try to start embracing that in yourself. Try to start seeing that in yourself,

Katie: Right? Absolutely. Yeah. I have an “I'm awesome” folder for all the emails that clients send me. Oh, wow, that was so great, Katie. So when I hit those moments where I'm like, oh my gosh, I'm terrible. I can be like, okay, let's just pull up this folder. Well, these people weren't like, so we all got to do something to make it work.

Casey: I love that! 

Katie: I really appreciate your time. I'm so glad that you joined me. And just before we wrap up, you mentioned resources. There are a lot of free resources as well. So nami Southern Nevada is one of my clients, and I work really closely with the entire foundation, with the entire organization. They are having a walk this Saturday, so anybody who's tuned in, please join us on October 7th this Saturday at Lorenzi Park here in Las Vegas. And if you're elsewhere in the state, they're also going to be having walks in Reno, Elco in Carson City. So it's going to be a big day. Walking for mental health. So if anybody's interested in doing that, you can definitely reach out. You can also head over to namiwalks.org, or just the NAMI Southern Nevada socials there. It's plastered all over there. I would love to see people out there, and I'm just, again, really grateful for your time, Casey, and for your perspective. We all need to be looking at ourselves a little bit differently, and I think coming into self-acceptance at the very least is so important. So thank you again and we’ll see you next time! 

- End.