LYNN — Author, entrepreneur, and Massachusetts native Vick Breedy believes in the power of resilience.
She also believes tapping into that power can take some work.
“If we don’t take care of ourselves, we can’t tap into that magic,” her website says. “We can’t heal … we can’t be resilient.”
That’s why the self-help motivator spent the day Saturday with the Lynn Community Minority Cultural Center to host a series of sessions centered around self-sufficiency and mental health during difficult times. The summit covered topics ranging from financial literacy, accessing healthcare, and community advocacy, to spiritual growth, meeting your children’s needs, and more.
Cambridge clinical social worker and therapist Paulomi Davé Potter hosted a morning session titled “Self-Care for Caregivers.”
“Show of hands, how many people in this room consider themselves caregivers?” she asked her audience of about 20.
When nearly half the audience raised its hands, Potter said that caregivers — people in charge of the full-time care of a family member or members — are among those least likely to practice self-care and look after their own needs.
She said that caregivers are more likely to lack health insurance for themselves, and are 40 to 70 percent more likely to experience depression.
“Awareness (of stress) is what wakes us up,” she told the audience as she gave tips on how to manage workloads that included knowing when to take breaks and prioritizing themselves over less pressing tasks.
Potter’s session resonated with several audience members, including one man who shared that he often has trouble understanding what a manageable schedule looks like.
“When I say yes to (too many) things, I don’t understand how they take away from my sleep or self-care,” he said. “I’m still learning.”
Although Breedy has focused primarily on women’s needs in the past — the founder of the Genetically Resilient brand has already held several smaller meetings covering women’s issues — Saturday’s summit was the first time Breedy expanded her reach to include men, particularly men of color.
“Basically, (in the past) we’d go over things that threaten their ability to practice self-care,” she said. “I decided, let’s include men this time, but let’s make it bigger, and let’s include topics in there that might draw more people,” she said, adding: “This is a very different beast.”
She said the purpose of the summit was to provide a space where both men and women were able to ask for help in understanding subjects that can often be overwhelming and confusing.
“I don’t think men think that self-care is for them. They think it’s just for women,” Breedy said.
Cultural center secretary Darrell Murkison agreed: “You are trying to find a way to live your best life, as people say, and it’s difficult to do when you’re trying to balance what’s good for you, your partner, your family, whatever. That becomes very stressful, and both men and women feel that.”
He added: “People need to know there are different outlets available to them, to better manage that.”