Brittney Matlock
At first glance she looks like a mom and shop owner, but it’s evident Brittney’s actual life calling is leading a movement of young women to be vulnerable and give themselves permission to fail and improve publicly.
What’s the single biggest problem you’d like to solve in your community?
The understanding that the brain is an organ. Some brains get sick—mine did. But there are tools to treat the brain imbalances, just like with cancers and diabetes. It is no different. This distinction helps the person separate themselves from feeling like they should be able to work it out themselves and empowers them to seek professional opinions and be open to treatment.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
Abstract: Things will not always turn out like you thought they would. They very well could turn out better. Concrete: Your goals and your values are meant to run parallel to each other towards the future you. I get to my goals by way of my values. I honor my values in how I accomplish my goals.
“Your goals and your values are meant to run parallel to each other towards the future you. I get to my goals by way of my values. I honor my values in how I accomplish my goals.”
What’s been the biggest obstacle in your life so far?
At age 22, I experienced six months of mania and was diagnosed with Bipolar 1 after many bouts of psychosis and acute mania. What’s so interesting, is I thought I had it handled. I take the meds, I get the sleep, I talk about it, I don’t let it define me. Now I’m realizing, as of the 10 year mark, how the whole experience planted some invasive thought patterns and I let them grow because I didn’t know they weren’t intended to be there. The biggest obstacle in my life hasn’t been the illness or the traumatic effects, the challenge has been giving it the time it requires to gain perspective on it. Which can not be rushed, but can be used wisely.
Brittney is one of 100 women we have featured in the inaugural issue of Hundred Magazine. To learn more about her and the other 99 women, buy the issue.
