I’m no stranger to cultish groups; I have operated with a pretty open heart and with the belief that everyone’s potential translates into goodness. I’ve been involved with more than a couple of MLMs and, of course, am spiritually inclined, which should be obvious with the work I do! 

In recent months, I’ve experienced an increase in people reaching out because of spiritual abuse. This type of coercive manipulation is often perpetuated by so-called healers, shady psychics and false shamans who prey on people when they are most vulnerable.

Before I deleted my Twitter account, my handle was actually @JessieDoomscroll—a cheeky, too-accurate nod to what I was doing on that platform: mainlining fear content, sprinkled with moral outrage and burnout disguised as urgency.

You’re codependent and that’s a problem

I hate saying this out loud, but many practitioners have built codependency into their practice models. To be clear, I’m not talking about physical therapies that require consistent treatments like massage that contribute to ongoing wellbeing, but rather those of an emotional and spiritual flavour.

You’re a Healer Hopper and that’s holding you back

I want to talk about healer hopping, you know, the spiritual equivalent of dating five people at once and wondering why you still feel emotionally empty.

I’ve noticed an increase in a certain type of client; the ones with a pattern of hopping from healer to healer, collecting practitioners like followers on social media. One week, it’s Reiki. Next, a Shamanic soul retrieval. Then, past-life regression, cranial sacral therapy, and oh! Can’t forget about that one practitioner who promises to "realign your cosmic DNA."

As we wrap up the month of June, which is also Pride Month, writing about personal curses feels appropriate given the current climate of intolerance and anger I’ve been witnessing not only in my own city but all over the world. As the mother of a transgendered kid, I’ve seen an escalation in harmful rhetoric and acts of violence that has my heart aching. The energetics of this hatred and intolerance have far-reaching consequences.