A deeply personal exploration of how self-love and loving others are interconnected. This transformative journey reveals that true compassion requires us to extend the same grace, care, and forgiveness to ourselves that we give to those around us.
In Conversation
Trish Eddy for Bold. Brilliant. Unstoppable.
Read the transcript
Trish Eddy: Holding your head high and knowing you belong in every room you walk in because you have purpose and that you can make a change and a difference, that's what being an influential woman is.
What does being an Influential Woman mean to you?
Trish Eddy: Being an influential woman. Is more than just having your name put out there and. Photos and articles, those things are amazing, and we need to get our voices out there. But being an influential woman is about helping produce change, helping other women find their voice, helping others, for me, that are overcoming trauma and substance abuse, see that the addictions, that the past, those things don't identify us, and that we can become our full potential. Through perseverance, the grace of God, and not falling into the trap of, I'm not enough and I don't belong in this room. Holding your head high and knowing you belong in every room you walk in because you have purpose and that you can make a change and a difference, that's what being an influential woman is. It's not about getting it right all of the time. It's not about being flawless. It's not about having all the answers. It's about being the hope shot to other women who have struggled and sometimes feel as if they're not heard. Let's face it, there are times we work in organizations and we don't think we're being heard or seen, and we become frustrated, and sometimes we want to walk out of those fields or give up. The most important thing we can do to continue being influential and the most important part of being an influential woman is making sure we never quit. Right about the quitting point is the breaking point.
What's one piece of advice you would give to younger women chasing their dreams?
Trish Eddy: If you're a younger woman chasing your dreams, take it from this 51 year old who decided to go back to school late in life, get her bachelor's degree, who's now about to start her master's program, chase your dreams, have fun, don't forget who you are, don't compromise yourself. You can accomplish everything you've set out to do. Yes, there will be setbacks. Yes, there will be trials, but there's also victory and there's also this beautiful opportunity to find out who you are or who you are becoming. Do not let the world determine your worth or your value. That comes from inside, that comes from God. It cannot be determined or taken away from the world. So my biggest advice to you, if you're a young woman, just chasing your dreams, never stop running, never stop chasing, and always reach higher and higher.
Full transcript available
Her Story
About Trish
Trish Eddy is a behavioral health and recovery leader dedicated to helping individuals rebuild their lives through compassionate care, safe housing, and faith-centered support. As the Substance Operations Manager at Anew Behavioral Health in Akron, Ohio, she oversees substance use recovery services while advocating for holistic approaches that address both clinical needs and long-term stability. Having entered the substance abuse field in 2011 as a peer supporter, Trish has transformed her lived experience into a career focused on empowering others to overcome addiction and create lasting change.
Throughout her career, Trish has steadily advanced her expertise by earning her Certified Chemical Dependency Counselor Assistant (CDCA) credential, Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor III (LCDC III) licensure, an Associate's degree in Business Management from Brown Mackie College, and a Bachelor of Arts in Counseling Psychology from Southern New Hampshire University. She is also preparing to begin a Master of Social Work program at Capella University. Beyond her clinical leadership, she operates nonprofit recovery housing, helps community partners develop Ohio-compliant sober living homes, and leads a recovery ministry through her church. Her work centers on creating safe, stable environments—particularly for women rebuilding their lives—while helping individuals rediscover their self-worth and recognize that they are not defined by their past.
Faith, integrity, and family serve as the foundation of Trish's life and leadership. She credits her success to God's grace, perseverance, dedication, and the support of those who have walked alongside her recovery journey. Outside of work, she treasures time with her two grandsons and remains deeply involved with her church family at New Hope, where she organizes annual community outreach events and supports recovery initiatives. Through every aspect of her professional and personal life, Trish is committed to offering hope, restoring dignity, and helping others realize they were created for a greater purpose.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Trish
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success first and foremost to God, whose grace, mercy, and guidance have been constant throughout my journey. I also believe that perseverance, dedication, hard work, and a willingness to make sacrifices have been essential to achieving my goals. By staying committed, embracing challenges, and remaining focused on continuous growth, I have been able to overcome obstacles and reach meaningful milestones.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I have ever received is to be authentically myself. Staying true to my values, strengths, and purpose has allowed me to build genuine relationships, earn trust, and lead with confidence. Authenticity has not only shaped my professional journey but has also helped me make a meaningful and lasting impact.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
My advice to young women entering this industry is to believe in yourself and never let doubt define your potential. Don't accept "no" as the final answer—trust your intuition, exercise discernment, and confidently pursue the path that has been placed before you. View challenges not as roadblocks, but as obstacles that can be navigated with resilience and determination. Most importantly, prioritize self-care. This field can be demanding and lead to burnout, so taking care of yourself and maintaining a healthy balance are essential to sustaining both your well-being and your long-term success.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
One of the biggest challenges in my field is the lack of stable housing and supportive resources for individuals seeking treatment. It is difficult for people to commit to recovery when they are uncertain about where they will sleep each night. Another challenge is ensuring that compassion remains at the center of our work, as some organizations can become overly focused on financial outcomes rather than the people they serve. At the same time, the opportunities in this field are limitless. There will always be individuals who need support, creating endless possibilities to make a meaningful impact. By building relationships, communicating our mission, and staying committed to serving others, we can continue to grow and create positive change. There is no dream too big when the goal is to help others.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
The values that matter most to me in both my work and personal life are faith, integrity, and family. My faith provides the foundation for my decisions and gives me purpose, while integrity guides me to lead with honesty, accountability, and compassion. Family keeps me grounded and reminds me that true success is measured not only by professional achievements but also by the relationships we nurture and the positive impact we have on the lives of others.
Her Content Hub
Articles by Trish
Loving others requires loving yourself.
Discovering that self-compassion is the foundation for authentic connection with others.
Learning to Love Myself While Loving Others
For many years, I believed loving others meant giving everything I had.
It meant being available, dependable, forgiving, strong, and willing to carry burdens that were not always mine to carry. I knew how to encourage people. I knew how to see potential in someone who could not yet see it in themselves. I could speak hope into another person’s darkest season while quietly struggling to believe those same words applied to me.
I thought self-sacrifice was always love.
Sometimes it was.
Other times, it was fear.
Fear of disappointing people. Fear of being misunderstood. Fear that setting a boundary would make me selfish. Fear that if I stopped doing, fixing, helping, and proving myself, I might no longer feel valuable.
Life has taught me that loving others does not require me to abandon myself. In fact, the healthier I become, the more honestly I can love.
My journey has not been a straight line. I have experienced seasons of addiction, emotional pain, insecurity, loss, uncertainty, and rebuilding. I have had to face parts of myself that I once tried to hide, numb, or outrun.
I have also experienced recovery, education, leadership, spiritual growth, professional accomplishment, and the privilege of helping others rebuild their lives.
Each victory has taught me something important: I was never only the worst thing that happened to me, the worst choice I made, or the hardest season I survived.
I am also the woman who kept getting back up.
I am the woman who pursued an education while rebuilding her life. I am the woman who turned painful experiences into compassion for others. I am the woman who learned how to sit with people in their brokenness without judging them. I am the woman who discovered that God can use scars as evidence of healing rather than symbols of shame.
Learning to love myself has not meant pretending that I have no flaws. It has meant refusing to use my flaws as weapons against myself.
Self-love is not arrogance. It is not believing that I am better than anyone else. It is recognizing that I am also someone God created—someone worthy of care, patience, accountability, protection, and grace.
I cannot consistently offer healthy love to others while speaking cruelly to myself. I cannot teach someone to establish boundaries while allowing people to repeatedly disrespect mine. I cannot encourage another person to rest while believing I must remain exhausted to prove my worth. I cannot remind others that their past does not define them while secretly allowing my own past to define me.
Eventually, the love we give others must also become the love we are willing to receive from ourselves.
Loving myself has required me to forgive the woman I used to be. She did not always make the best decisions, but she was often surviving with the tools she had at the time.
Forgiving her does not mean excusing every mistake. It means acknowledging the mistake, accepting the lesson, making amends where possible, and refusing to remain emotionally imprisoned by something God has already helped me overcome.
It has also required me to honor the woman I am becoming.
She is still learning. She does not always feel confident. Sometimes she questions herself. Sometimes she gives too much. Sometimes she has to remind herself that “no” is a complete sentence and that protecting her peace is not the same as rejecting people.
But she is growing.
She is more aware of her value. She understands that her voice matters. She knows that leadership does not require perfection. She recognizes that compassion and accountability can exist together.
She can love someone deeply without rescuing them from every consequence. She can support others without becoming responsible for their entire life.
That is what healthy love looks like.
When we do not love ourselves, we may confuse being needed with being loved. We may tolerate unhealthy behavior because we are afraid of losing relationships. We may overextend ourselves and then become resentful when others do not recognize our sacrifices. We may keep pouring from an empty cup and wonder why our patience, joy, and compassion eventually disappear.
But when we begin to love ourselves, our relationships change.
We stop begging for acceptance in places where we are repeatedly dishonored. We become more honest about our limitations. We stop saying yes when our spirit is telling us no. We give because we genuinely want to give, not because we are afraid of what will happen if we do not.
Self-love allows us to love from freedom rather than desperation.
It also gives us the courage to receive love.
For some of us, receiving is harder than giving. We are comfortable being the helper, the leader, the counselor, the dependable one, or the person everyone calls during a crisis. Receiving care can feel uncomfortable because it requires vulnerability.
But healthy love is not one-directional.
We were not created only to pour out.
We were also created to be restored.
Today, I understand that loving myself may look like resting without guilt, asking for help, maintaining boundaries, caring for my physical and emotional health, protecting my recovery, continuing my education, honoring my faith, and celebrating how far I have come.
It may also look like correcting myself without condemning myself.
There is a difference between accountability and shame.
Accountability says, “I made a mistake, and I need to make a change.”
Shame says, “I am the mistake, and I will never change.”
I no longer want shame to be the voice guiding my life.
I want to be guided by truth.
The truth is that I have survived things I once thought would destroy me. The truth is that I have helped people because I understand what it feels like to need help. The truth is that my life has purpose beyond my pain. The truth is that loving myself does not take love away from anyone else.
It actually gives me more love to offer.
When I treat myself with kindness, I become more patient with others. When I acknowledge my own humanity, I become less judgmental of theirs. When I protect my peace, I am less likely to bring exhaustion and resentment into my relationships. When I recognize my own worth, I no longer need to compete, prove, control, or diminish someone else.
Loving others requires me to love myself because I am part of the “others” God has called me to love.
I am not excluded from compassion.
I am not excluded from grace.
I am not excluded from forgiveness.
I am not excluded from the care I so freely give everyone else.
My story is still being written. There are still areas of my life that are healing. There are still dreams I am pursuing, lessons I am learning, and parts of myself I am discovering.
But I am no longer waiting until I become a perfect version of myself before deciding that I am worthy of love.
I am learning to love myself now—while I am growing, while I am healing, and while I am becoming.
And because of that, I can love others more honestly, more freely, and more completely.
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