The untold story of Meeko’s Resilience Collection

by kristina popova

Here is my truth - I struggle with anxiety and depression and my cats are my saviours. I have good days and really tough days but through it all I have emerged as a successful entrepreneur. I am the creator of The Resilience Collection - more on that later.

Why am I telling you this?

Because when I decided to become an entrepreneur I was very sure of one thing - my creation will work towards de-stigmatization of mental health problems. 

Today our society expects all of us to behave in a certain way - have a positive demeanor all the time, be consistently successful, be compliant with beliefs and stereotypical thought processes. But the problem is that it is difficult for everyone to tick all the boxes - those who do not are often seen as ‘defective’. This is where most mental health problems start.

Instead of avoiding the stigma of the mental health problems that members of our society face, often completely silently.. secretly… I believe that the de-stigmatization is worth fighting for and being resilient for. The Resilience Collection was born from this cause. 

What was my first step?

I began by focusing on how to motivate a person to be mentally strong.

Often the stigma is such that it is difficult to open up and even if you do then there is no guarantee that friends and family will understand what you are going through. 

So, I decided to create tags dedicated to 5 mental health problems. Each tag had a dedicated color and motivational quote. I will reveal all 5 of those tags here,  

  • Depression - Rose Quartz color - Don’t give up

  • Fear of judgement by society - Tiger’s eye color - Don’t be afraid to stand out

  • Loneliness - Aventurine color - You are not alone

  • Anxiety - Malachite color - Breathe in 4, Hold 7, Exhale 8

  • Domestic abuse - Tourmaline black color - End the cycle

I had created many more but these are the ones that really resonated.

After zeroing in on the 5 tags that I loved, I went on to create a manual for each one. Resilience to stigma needs inner strength and I wanted the tags and manuals to be a source of inner strength. 

Where do athleisure clothes come in?

One of the most common pieces of advice given to people struggling with a mental health problem is to focus on physical fitness. 

Combining athleisure clothes with motivational tags is the perfect combination for promoting mental and physical fitness. 

The casual style of the clothes is perfect for staying in as well as working out - while looking fabulous.

If you look fabulous, you feel great about yourself. 

And this is finally how the Resilience Collection transformed from a thought in my head to a athleisure clothes collection. 

 

I hope you check out the collection and begin your journey to become mentally and physically strong.

 

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