Empowerment Series: Dominican, Digital Creator, Fashion Influencer and Entrepreneur, Glency Feliz Shares Mental Health Journey with AW

Can you imagine having over 700,000+ people watching you share the most intimate details of your mental health? It takes courage to let others see the real you. It can leave the strongest warriors vulnerable, but Glency Feliz did just that! She turned the camera on herself to share her mental health struggles with our community.

The Dominican Entrepreneur’s social media is a curated collection of her favorite looks, travel, moods, and helpful tips. Not only is her content useful and entertaining, but it is also engaging and real. She keeps a tight community by staying true to herself while sharing some of her most personal moments. The beautiful Latina is using the experience to help discourage the stigmatization that has been taking place for decades.

Glency sat down with AW for a candid conversation about her journey, struggles, lessons, and reasons for coming forward with such an intimate story.

We hope this interview inspires anyone who may be in the trenches and striving for mental wellness.

There are millions of people struggling with their mental health. You battled your challenges then decided to turn the camera on yourself and share this intimate part of you on your social platform. How do you make that call as a public figure with over 700,000 followers? Why did you feel it was important to take the step? Honestly, I didn’t think about it. I was having such a hard time and never saw anyone talk about mental health. It is important to mention that I went public 12 years ago. It is more openly discussed today. At the time, people advised me to keep quiet. Others will think you’re crazy, but I always follow my beliefs. You have to be loyal to yourself. The stigma was bothersome. It was hard to listen to the judgment. During this time, my mom had months to live and I began having panic attacks.  I decided to go public after someone said, “You’re so lucky, having amazing experiences and traveling the world.” Meanwhile, behind the scenes, it was a completely different tale.

How has your life changed since the day you decided to tell all? I don’t shut up about mental health, this is important to me. I have seen the impact the video made on a whole community. It blew my mind that so many people were struggling with their mental health. This was 9 years ago. I received so many DM’s, videos, and voice notes thanking me for sharing my battle. I recall someone, advising me not to come forward with my story because brands would see me in a different light. People would start to talk and think I’m crazy. It was not an option to hide who I was. Thankfully, my parents showed me not to let others’ opinions of me get to me. There was a lot of mocking but I wouldn’t take anything back.

We all have struggles and stress. We get the blues, nerves get out of control at times, and emotions get the best of us. Everyone has their breaking point, we can crash mentally, emotionally, and ultimately, physically. As Latinas and Dominican women, we are taught self-sacrifice. Our favorite phrase, “I got this.” No matter how much we have on our plate, we normalize carrying the overwhelming weight on our shoulders, alone.  What was your breaking point and how did you recognize it? I’ve had many stages of my mental health journey. There have been panic attacks, depression, generalized anxiety, and hospitalization. First, the reflection I saw in the mirror was unrecognizable. I saw something in myself that wasn’t me. I’ve had good and bad times, very dark times. During this last episode, I wasn’t smiling, nothing gave me joy and I had a newborn. There was this beautiful new blessing in my life but I wanted to spend all my time in bed. It was a horrible time. After work, I’d go back to this Glency that I began to hate. I was so angry at what I was becoming, repelling this version of myself.

You are 1 of 13 children. Your mom passed when you were young. America’s emergency rooms are filling up with young people dealing with mental health concerns. As we try to understand anxiety, depression, and everything that comes with it. What do you think we can do as parents to help our children? We are both mothers, as many of our listeners are also parents. How can we help our children, do better for our children? I think the most important things are to speak to your child and listen. My mom and I never sat down to talk about the way we were feeling. Although I know she did the best she could with what she had and I’m grateful. There were never conversations about menstruation, sex, life, college, or boyfriends. I’d go to your friends and speak to them, instead. My daughter has been seeing a therapist since she was 4 years old. I always said I would raise my child differently than my parents. I’m not here to judge them but I’d like to do things, differently. When my daughter began having night terrors, I took her to speak to someone. Our brain is the most important organ we have and is the last seen.

You are a busy entrepreneur, mom, wife, sister, friend, everything. It can all be a lot to juggle. After what you’ve experienced, you probably better understand your needs, limits, and how to keep things balanced with some tweaks along the way. What two things do you do to ensure Glency gets some joy in her life? Do you have any best practices you can share with us? I always try to fill my cup like Oprah says. You can’t fill anyone else’s cup if your jar isn’t full. It has taken a lot of time, therapy, and money for therapy to understand. I’m grateful to have learned that lesson. Now, I am a priority. I love my kids to death, love my husband, and I am thankful for my work and team but if Glency is not ok, nothing’s going to work. I had to drop one of my biggest clients on social media because peace is my main goal. When you love something you invest in it, I invest in myself to make sure my cup is full.

We like to end AW interviews with a piece of advice, quote, or mantra to help our community. Some may look at your life and think “She has it all.” But perception is not always reality, especially when it comes to mental health. What is one of the greatest lessons you have taken from overcoming your struggles, as it relates to your mental health that can help others in our community who are trying to manage their mental health? It is all in you. Whether it’s good or bad moments, everything passes. It is up to us to see the light in the darkness. I’d like to end with this – I don’t have it all together, I am a work in progress. Social media is full of filters. I love my stories, TikTok, and keeping it real because I know it can become overwhelming. There is so much to do but I’m excited to put in the work to be a better Glency, tomorrow.

We are a society living through filtered lens. We must keep real life in perspective so we don’t get lost in the fantasy that everyone else has it better than we do. Everyone has a separate set of challenges and lessons. The greatest gift we can give ourselves is to take care of what we have, stay grateful, and remember, all that glitters isn’t gold.

AW is thankful to Glency for sharing so much of herself with our community. She has maintained bravery, conviction, and authenticity in the face of judgment, something difficult to do. In a world of highlight reels, it’s refreshing to see others who are showing up, as themselves. It empowers us to do the same and gives hope for a new culture that is more comfortable having conversations surrounding mental health.

To learn more about Glency, visit Instagram or TikTok @glencyfeliz

Watch or listen to the AW Confidential Podcast for the interview and sidebar conversations. Also, available on our YouTube channel.

*This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

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