Meet Erika Bride | Hypno-artist

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

Hi Erika, how did you come up with the idea for your business?
The idea for my business began when I realized that I was really ready to seek help for my past traumas. As people are working with therapists, hypnotherapists, or just on a real spiritual journey, I sit with them and paint their life story. I have always been an artist, but for some reason I had developed a block that only allowed me to paint when I was sad. Art helped me deal with the pain I was feeling at that moment, but it never really “healed me”. Until I tried something called Hypnotherapy in August of 2022. During the first session I chose to try to connect with my inner child. I had this idea that she was inside me crying, depressed and in need of affection. When I saw her, she was quite the opposite. She was happy, vibrant, quirky and funny! Before the session was over she told me “I was about to find out why I have been through so many traumatic things.”

Of course I didn’t know what that meant but my immediate reaction to this experience was to paint again. Now at this point I had everything the world says you need to be happy. A wonderful husband, a healthy family, a great career, a beautiful house. But even that wasn’t enough. I still carried my traumas like a backpack full of rocks. The painting that gave me the idea for my business is called Broken… but Beautiful. It depicts my life story in abstract artform and where Hypno-art was born. It felt like I took a step beyond my urge for healing and helped me realize that my life may feel broken, but it is beautiful and there is purpose in it. Seeing my life and trauma in this way really helped me and I realized that I can now use my artist and life experience to really help people in this same way too.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
The ability to use art to heal people is a gift that I don’t take lightly. My ability to connect with people on a deeper level is what sets me apart from most people. There is a lot of very talented artists in this world but I take my gifts of art and empathy a step further and use them to help people heal, find their purpose, create positive changes in their life and be proud of who they are.

A year ago I would have never thought I would say that I am thankful for the traumas I have suffered. Today, I am thankful. I realize that if it wasn’t for these traumatic events, I wouldn’t be able to truly empathize and help people. So this road hasn’t been easy but the one thing I have never lost is my need to help people. Hypno-art has saved me and I hope to do the same for other people.

I have learned that there is no such thing as work life balance. If your work and your life are balanced then you are doing something wrong. Love what you do and you will never work a day in your life. I think that people carry backpacks full of their trauma, follow social norms that tell you to get a job, come home put on Netflix and rinse and repeat. When you finally put that backpack down and face who you are and learn to chase your dreams..,. that is when your life begins.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I love cozy little towns like Duluth, Suwannee, Sugar Hill and downtown Buford. If I had friends coming into town I would definitely take them to a show in Sugar Hill at the Bowl, we would have dinner at Pure in Duluth and walk around with margaritas. There is a restaurant called Rico’s World Kitchen in downtown Buford that has the most amazing food! It is small and quaint but the atmosphere and service is amazing.

I would also take them boating on Lake Lanier. The cool thing about Lake Lanier is you can rent a boat for a day and enjoy the peaceful lake. There is nothing like cruising on the water and jumping in the water.

I am originally from New York so it is very apparent that southern hospitality is a real thing. When I first moved here a few years ago I was surprised by the kindness in people. Everywhere you go people ask how you are doing and it seems as if they actually care! When I take walks in my neighborhood every car that passes says hello. I found myself in other cities visiting saying hello to passing cars and they probably thought I was crazy! So this city is amazing in so many ways and has so many exciting places to visit.

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 would like to dedicate this to my husband David Bride. It wasn’t until we got together that I felt like I was on the right path in my life.

Website: www.8thsenseartistry.com

Instagram: @8thsenseartistry

Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/erika-bride-406874270

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/8thsenseartistry

Youtube: @8thsenseartistry

Other: email: 8thsenseartistry@gmail.com