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Wading into The Deep End
Is Teal Swan a spiritual healer or cult leader? And in the end, how much does it matter?
Teal Swan is a healer, spiritual leader, and self-help guru. Some people also think she’s setting herself up to be a cult leader.
I have followed her work for a couple of years, having found her — like most of her followers do — while I was at a low point in my life, dealing with depression, suicidal ideation, heartbreak, homelessness, and major business failures…while also feeling lonely and isolated due to the early days of the pandemic and ensuing quarantine.
I felt alone and like I didn’t have anyone I could turn to who wasn’t also dealing with their own trauma and mental health issues from what was happening in the world around us. I didn’t want to overload anyone in my circle, so instead, I cut myself off and isolated myself further. It wasn’t healthy, but I didn’t know what else to do.
My insurance covered mental health therapy, but there was an 8-month waiting list to be assessed for help, and without an income, I had no funds to hire someone out of network. In my area, most of the mental health professionals were also overloaded and those who were accepting new patients still had a 3–4 month waiting list. That’s when I stumbled across Teal Swan.