The story behind the design
FREEDOM! HOPE! GRATITUDE! HEALING!
Personal and Professional care was taken with collection of Motivation Mile-Marker Medallions. The inspiration for the artwork was designed by a professional in the healthcare field, Dr. Robin Erickson (see below). Through personal research conducted in her private practice, the benefits most commonly verbalized and associated with making a healthier lifestyle change, as well as some of the most sought-after counseling goals, are the desire for: Freedom, Hope, Gratitude and Healing. The other biggest need in recovery and counseling is to remind the person why they started their journey. It is easy to forget and give up during times of stress. This built in mantra on the back of the coin is a silent but powerful motivator to keep moving forward.
FREEDOM
FREEDOM: Freedom from the reliance on the behavior or substance you are trying stop doing and the control it has over you; Freedom from the consequences this reliance has had on your body, mind and soul; Freedom of choice to say no more and start living your best life; Freedom from the agonizing pain and suffering of an addiction, mental health, grief and loss or relationship struggle; Freedom from the health issues caused by unhealthy foods, lack of exercise,
and/or excess weight.
HOPE
HOPE: The importance of Hope in any type of counseling, recovery or fitness and nutrition challenge, is the bedrock on which everything is build. This is why we named our company, Hope Reminders. Martin Luther King once said, “Everything that is done in the world is done by hope.” Without Hope, there would be little reason or motivation to make changes. Hope is the expectation that things will get better. It becomes the energy that keeps us strong and the peace during difficult times-knowing that tomorrow will be better. Hope allows us to look into the future and give us direction and purpose. Hope says, “I can do this.”
GRATITUDE
GRATITUDE: Gratitude is how we appreciate the good things in our life. Some say gratitude is the key to happiness. Writing our daily gratitude list to ourselves and higher power changes everything. Gratitude helps us remember we could have things much worse and it keeps us grounded on our path. I think we can all agree, Gratitude is attractive! Gratitude reduces stress and attracts other grateful, positive people into your life.
HEALING
HEALING: Healing the body, mind and soul must take place simultaneously in order to make us a happy, healthy, well-balanced and whole human. From Healing our body with nutrition and exercise; to healing our mind with positive affirmations, counseling and or medications; to forgiving the past and improving our self-esteem, healing comes from nurturing ourselves and our spiritual relationship.
Hope Reminders Creator and Founder
Robin Erickson, Ph.D., LMHC, MFT, CAP
I created Hope Reminders to give those striving for healthier lifestyle changes, a way of staying hopeful, motivated and inspired on a daily basis. I am well aware of the traditional 12 step sobriety coin tradition, and how well it works with it’s members, but realized the non-traditional sober communities did not have a memento for successfully marking milestones of success. It then became clear to me those making other healthy changes in behaviors surrounding counseling, nutrition and fitness, also did not have a way to celebrate milestones and stay motivated along the way.
Then came COVID 19! As I pivoted to the Telehealth arena, and the lockdowns began, the number of people unable to go to a recovery meeting or counseling session in person, were in crisis. At some point, all recovery groups, counseling centers, treatment centers and physicians either temporarily closed or eventually moved online. The lack of community and fellowship, the fears of uncertainty in the world, the unemployment and extreme financial stressors, the political discord and social injustice, have all led to high rates of anxiety, depression and addictive behaviors in many. I started thinking of additional ways to provide a daily reminder of hope that things will get better.
Many of my counseling sessions started becoming about helping others use this “pause” in the world productively and healthily. It was therapeutically critical for our mental well being, for us all to find a sense of control in a world that felt out of control. I suggested clients think of new projects to start at home, to make good use of their extra time. Others shared with me how they decided to use this time to start a new fitness challenge or to loose the “quarantine 15” pounds they gained. Several started new businesses or decided to go back to school. But not everyone was making healthy choices. The sales of alcohol skyrocketed and telehealth rose from 14,000 patients a week to over 1.4 million a week. I started to put together a newsletter designed to instill hope and motivation, but as everyone was going virtual, I thought there needed to be something more tangible, something someone could hold and put in their pocket, purse, car, home or office setting, to remind them everything is going to be okay. Something to remind ourselves and others to stay hopeful and to keep moving forward. Something for those unable to now get the support they needed.
I, myself did many challenges to fill the time. I had already made the choice to be alcohol free almost 2 years ago; I switched over to a vegan/ vegetarian lifestyle over 3 1/2 years ago, and started daily U-Tube Yoga challenges during the pandemic, which all have been life savings by the way! All of these healthier lifestyles are full of benefits, but I too find it difficult at times to stay inspired and motivated along the way. I am constantly reminding myself as to why I started doing the challenges in the first place. When I went to commemorate a recent milestone to celebrate the freedom, gratitude, healing and hope I felt, I noticed there were only 12 Step medallions out there, which did not quite fit my challenges.
These insights, the need for hope in the midst of a chaotic world, my 23 years of experience in the mental health, couple’s counseling and addictions field, led me to the creation of Hope Reminders Motivation, Mile-Marker Medallions.
May these inspirational coins find their way to you and your tribe. May they provide you with FREEDOM, GRATITUDE, HOPE AND HEALING on your journey to wellness and recovery! If you are already on your journey, may you stay inspired, and be a hope reminder for those to come. Robin
Dr. Erickson works in private practice in West Palm Beach, Florida and holds a Doctorate in Marital Counseling, Masters in Mental Health Counseling, Masters in Marriage and Family Therapy and is a CAP-Certified Addiction Professional. Dr. Erickson is also a qualified supervisor for the State of Florida for LMHC, LMFT licensure. For more information about Dr. Robin Erickson, feel free to visit her website at www.robinerickson.com.,