Meet Cheri Flake | Therapist & Meditation Teacher

We had the good fortune of connecting with Cheri Flake and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Cheri, as a parent, what do you feel is the most meaningful thing you’ve done for them?
I think one of the most important qualities a kid can have is the ability to hang in there when life gets hard or unfamiliar. My kids know that giving up is a missed opportunity and them knowing that I think they can persevere means quite a lot to them. So, ever since my kids were toddlers, I’ve always tried to treat them as though they were just a wee bit bigger than they are…They can feel that kind of confidence and support coming from me and my husband and it becomes a sort of permission to really go for it. The competence, self-esteem and good attitude that comes from succeeding again and again amazes me time and time again. When they fall short, I remind them of their successes and that just makes it easier to shrug it off and keep going. Sometimes you win sometimes you learn, right? Also, a sense of humor. Laughing at everything…even ourselves can really make life easier and WAY more fun. Can I only pick one?! 😉

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I love being “The Stress Therapist.” I mean it. I love going to work. It’s not about getting rid of stress or managing stress, in the beautiful words of Kelly McGonigal, it’s about “getting better at stress.” People who report low levels of stress, also report low levels of happiness! So, if you ain’t stressin’, you ain’t living! So, how can we make the stressors of life work for you, make you better and help you on your journey to become who you already are? I enjoy helping my clients with “hows” of life. We basically know what we want…to be happier, to write a book, to exercise more, the lists go on and on, but “hows” get in the way. Those are my specialty. 🙂 Accepting ourselves for who we are may be important, but “who” we are is such a jumbled mess of an idea…and it often gets lost as we grow and change. If you ask me, each one of us is a holy and divine creation and creator. If we don’t create, if we don’t use the gifts we’ve been given we may lament over what who we think we should be or what someone else thinks we are…it all ends in feeling super stressed out and sad. I tell my clients that they don’t have to be perfect, because they already ARE perfect. So, who are they destined to become, why are they stuck and how can we get there. So, much of the work that I do with my clients is working on what they actually do. Plato said, “we are what we repeatedly do.” I used to market myself as “the habit therapist” and for a while, “the motivation therapist.” But, I realized that a lot of the stressors that make us so miserable come from what we wish we were doing, or want to be doing or not paying attention to our divine, creative beautiful selves. I love helping people find their path. That’s all it is. A way there… I’m legit. I’ve been there….super stressed out, sad, worried, physically sick from all of it and I have found my way out. I’m so happy, I border on annoying for sure. But finding a way out of suffering and furthermore, finding joy is possible, available to all of us regardless of our story and honestly, quite lovely.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
A week long trip with my bestie and no kids!?! Whoa. Crazy talk. 😉 Covid brings a new appreciation for the simple things, right? Or maybe it just makes it more acceptable to comment on the joy of the mundane. My favorite place is my back porch. It’s beautiful and quiet. Hummingbirds come every few minutes to visit. Even though I live in the city, back there you can barely tell. When I do get to venture into the city (remember going out??), my favorite event of the year is the Capturing the Spirit Ghost Tour at Oakland Cemetery here in Atlanta. Famous late Atlantans stand by their graves as the tour goes through and describe their interesting lives past. It’s the best. I also really miss eating tacos at my favorite Mexican place. But, truly, during the last six months, I have found the loveliness in being at home, in thoughtful spaces that I have considered and tried to make functional and beautiful for my family. Maybe it’s my age, but I don’t have that worry that there is something better out there or need to be at that party or fear of missing out anymore. If my best friend was here at my place, that is exactly where I would want to be. I even have these temporary tattoos that say, “I meditate because of my #FOMI (Fear of Missing IN!)”

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I wouldn’t be a damn thing without my husband. I actually wear a bracelet that says, “What would Andrew do?” 😉 He is the smartest, kindest and loving person I know. I’ve had excellent bosses and absolutely horrible bosses and learned equally from both sides…If I ever write a memoir, it’ll be called, “I’ve been fired 14 times.” So, for the many, many jobs I’ve had, from shot girl, to zoo keeper to emergency room social worker, I am very, very grateful. I am forever in debt to my beautiful teachers. There are so many! Ram Dass, Eknath Eswaran, davidji, Pema Chodron, Joe Dispenza, Bob Roth, Wayne Dyer, Marianne Williamson, Kelly MdGonigal and the beautiful and amazing Venerable Pannavati to name a few. I am ever so grateful for my beloved guru Paramahansa Yogananda. But the greatest teachers of all have been my mom and my children.

Website: www.thestresstherapist.com
Instagram: @thestresstherapist
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cheri-augustine-flake-719b044
Twitter: @stresstherapy
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cheriaugustineflake
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/thestresstherapist
Other: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/cheri-augustine-flake-atlanta-ga/42205

Image Credits
The amazing tee pic is by Mary Buck