Top picture is my amazing and always supportive husband (and our director of operations) Terry and I.

The picture below that one is our son, Cameron, on the left in the No Crutches hoody. Ben (our daughter’s long time beau) is in the middle. And our daughter Miranda is on the right. This was a trip to visit our Miranda and Ben in Colorado. We do so miss the mountains.

The four of us together, is to the right. Cameron, Terry, me, and Miranda.

The No Crutches Family and Our Story

My name is Andrea. I, with my husband Terry, own and operate No Crutches. We like to make it a family thing so our children, Miranda and Cameron, help with a lot of the technical side of the business including the website and social media. Our daughter’s long time beau, Ben, is great at giving advice from how to offer all of you more, to how to do that in the most efficient way possible, and more.

This journey began with my working on my bachelor’s degree in integrative health sciences (herbal medicine focus). I didn’t know what I wanted to do with the degree. I just knew that holistic modalities were more my style as I am allergic to so many western medications. One day, someone at my muggle job asked me, what do you plan to do with your degree. It was in the beginning of my studies and somehow, all of my studies, kept leading me to a deeper learning of stress, anxiety, depression, and PTSD. More specifically, how we can, given time, retrain our body’s responses to these and how holistic modalities can assist with this. It wasn’t a focus in my classes, but anytime I had a paper or some research to do…I naturally picked this subject. Most of my family members deal with these. PTSD is a very real problem for three of us. There has been some dealings with depression in our family. And who DOESN’T deal with anxiety and stress, especially in today’s world? So, when I was asked this question, I said, “I don’t know yet.” But, in the next breath, I DID know. I wanted to help our community with these. And so, I talked to my husband about providing a safe space for others and holistic modalities and products to help with easing the symptoms of anxiety, depression, stress, and PTSD.

First on our to do list was to name our business. This is a question we get asked often. Why No Crutches?

Well, here is why. I grew up, with a not so great childhood. I had a not so great young adult life as well. None of which I am sorry for because through experiences, I learned empathy and strength. I also learned how to help others with my ability to understand what many, who have not been through these things, cannot. I wouldn’t change a thing for this reason. However, I know some who have been through similar who does not share my thinking and blame everyone around them for how their lives turn out. I am not putting any of these people down as they may just not have the tools yet. But, when I had kids, and they started going through things like divorced parents, Terry and I wanted to instill in them this way of thinking. So, we had a talk. We told them that there will be some wonderful things in life. There will also be some bad things they will go through. Most they could not control. But, what is important is how we choose to react to these things. We can take these experiences, learn, and maybe help others. Change our actions to have a positive outcome, and more. When all feels hopeless, we can ask for help. Or, we can use a crutch. Blame our circumstances for the decisions we make in life and how our life turns out. Blame our parents for how they raised us. Blame the world around us for how we feel about other human beings. But those are all crutches. They only get us by for a short time. Sometimes we need a little time to do just that. Use crutches and be upset. But at some point, we have to throw away the crutches and start walking on our own two feet again. Otherwise, we forget how.

Now, we realize that depression, anxiety, stress, and PTSD are not easy. We know that it is a hard road. But, when you ask for a little help you take your power back and begin to heal. When you take action, like asking for help, you are no longer leaning on that crutch. That is what we wish to help others do. We want to provide products, services, and alternate modalities (to be used with whatever your doctor has already recommended) to help this process. If we can help one another with ways to retrain our bodies and brains to react differently. If we can encourage talking about our traumas. If we can help people learn to relax even in chaos. Then we feel we have completed our mission. Then our hope is for each person we can assist, goes out and helps someone else. Healing starts at home, extends to our communities, and then someday…the world.

We welcome your help in accomplishing this goal!