Christopher Aldana

Had a wonderful time today getting Mental Health First Aid certified through the National Council for Mental Wellbeing at the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Community Services Board. Learned so much practical, life-giving information I can use to support others.

A Lamp at My Feet, Not a Spotlight For the last several years in therapy, my therapist and I have kept returning to one theme: rhythm. We usually call it cadence, but we have also named it pace and consistency. I used to treat healing ...

New Pillar Post: A Lamp at My Feet, Not a Spotlight. Therapy taught me cadence over hustle. When I chase the distant spotlight, anxiety grows and I miss today. Small, faithful steps and the Four Pillars keep me steady. Read here: www.christopheraldana.com/pillars/lamp

Setting Sail into Steadiness, Health, Integration, and Partnership I created The S.H.I.P. acronym as a guide for growth and grounding. This is how it shaped my story.

Cruising into 2026 on THE S.H.I.P. by choosing Steadiness, Health, Integration, and Partnership. Step aboard and revisit this Pillar Post as we cross the ocean of growth and grace into the New Year. 🌊⛵️

www.christopheraldana.com/pillars/ship

Reflections from C-MHC 301: Mental and Behavioral Health Disorders Models as Lenses, Not Labels: A Mental Health Coach Training Perspective on Recovery

From C-MHC 301: stigma grows when we treat addiction like a moral verdict. I’m learning to separate guilt (what I did) from shame (who I am), then translate remorse into repair with support. New Pillar Post below.
www.christopheraldana.com/pillars/cmhc...

Let the record reflect: we are in winter, and the case for a reset still stands. Proceed with clean intentions, enforce healthy boundaries, and file gratitude daily. Motion granted for peace, sustained for joy, duly served. No objections to kindness. ❄️⚖️

Christmas joy, with a grounded heart. Happy Holidays to everyone doing the healing work in real time. Santa can bring the cheer, but we bring the love. Feliz Nochebuena, my friends. Take a deep breath, and walk into the New Year with hope. 🎄

Medication is one pillar: 200mg Lamictal twice daily, 40mg Prozac once daily, .5mg Klonopin three times daily. With the Psychiatry Pillar, Therapy Pillar, Family Pillar, and Faith Community Pillar, this hard-won regimen keeps me stable and aligned. Thank you for sharing your journey courageously.

Still Teaching, Just Not in a Classroom I have always been an educator at heart. What changed was the classroom. I now teach in the spaces where mental health, justice, rehabilitation, and redemption collide, because these conversations sha...

I am still teaching, just not in a classroom. Through lived experience, I lead hard conversations on mental health, justice, accountability, and redemption, offering structure and hope where stigma once silenced growth. Published Dec. 12, 2025. Read here: www.christopheraldana.com/pillars/teac...

Reflections from Hope-focused 3 “R” (HF3R) Suicide Prevention Training Surviving a suicide attempt, losing my cousin, and certification in HF3R taught me many valuable lessons.

Surviving a suicide attempt and later losing my cousin shaped my commitment to prevention. HF3R training strengthened how I recognize risk, respond with compassion, and refer people to help with clarity and hope. Published Dec. 10, 2025. Read here: www.christopheraldana.com/pillars/hf3r

The Role of Accountability in Healing and Rehabilitation The Four Pillars Model integrates psychiatry, therapy, family, and faith community to sustain accountability, enabling genuine healing and meaningful rehabilitation.

Accountability transformed my healing by teaching me that understanding mental health is not an excuse but a responsibility. With treatment, structure, family, faith, and the justice system, rehabilitation became real. Published Dec. 6, 2025. Read here: www.christopheraldana.com/pillars/acco...

Paper Turkeys and The Four Pillars That Followed From a first grade paper turkey to the Four Pillars Model, this Thanksgiving reflection shows gratitude deepens healing.

A childhood paper turkey lesson on gratitude became the foundation of my Four Pillars Model, shaping how brain science, therapy, family, and faith now anchor my healing and recovery. Published Dec. 25, 2025. Read here: www.christopheraldana.com/pillars/pape...

Reflections from C-MHC 201: Mental Health Coaching Skills A reflection on how coaching differs from licensed professionals through my own lived experience.

Coaching is not therapy. C-MHC 201 taught me to move people forward with presence, wise questions, reflective listening, and small action steps, plus clear boundaries and referrals. Guilt vs shame matters. Published Nov. 23, 2025: www.christopheraldana.com/pillars/cmhc...

Setting Sail into Steadiness, Health, Integration, and Partnership I created The S.H.I.P. acronym as a guide for growth and grounding. This is how it shaped my story.

Set sail with The S.H.I.P.: Steady, Healthy, Integrated, Partnership. A daily compass for bipolar stability, therapy work, and walking with God, built for storms and grace. Published Nov. 20, 2025: www.christopheraldana.com/pillars/ship

When Shame Falls Silent and Growth Takes Root Overcoming shame through the Four Pillars, walking in partnership with God to rebuild life and renew confidence.

Shame lies. Accountability tells the truth and builds a future. I own my past without surrendering my identity. Healing took root through 5 Ps and The Four Pillars Model. Published Nov. 17, 2025: www.christopheraldana.com/pillars/shame

The Reality of Seasonal Affective Disorder in the Shenandoah Valley Discover how Seasonal Affective Disorder affects the Shenandoah Valley and learn practical ways to find hope, help, and healing this season.

SAD peaks in the Shenandoah fast. Harrisonburg ranks No. 2 for seasonal depression. I’ve lived it. My cousin’s suicide stays with me. Published Nov. 12, 2025. If you feel low, do not wait for crisis. Read, share, and reach out: www.christopheraldana.com/pillars/sada...

Honoring Veterans, Understanding PTSD, and a Special Tribute to My Pappy Gene A tribute to my grandfather and all who served. Exploring PTSD, mental health, and faith through the Four Pillars Model

Veterans Day tribute to my Pappy Gene, 82nd Airborne paratrooper and sharpshooter. PTSD is a survival system, not weakness. The Four Pillars bring care and faith together for healing and hope. For every veteran too. Published Nov. 10, 2025. Read here: www.christopheraldana.com/pillars/vete...

Reflections from C-MHC 101: Foundations of Mental Health Coaching As a Certified Professional Mental Health Coach in training, my Four Pillars Model for Healing offers a compassionate framework for restoring balance, hope, and purpose.

C-MHC 101 set my foundation now: Four Pillars Model for Healing and Purpose. From 12 years lived, I pair ethics, boundaries, accountability with the Psychiatry Pillar, Therapy Pillar, Family Pillar, Faith Community Pillar. Published Nov. 9, 2025. Read: www.christopheraldana.com/pillars/cmhc...

Songs of Strength: Healing Inspired by the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame When words fall short, music becomes prayer. In this Pillar Post, I share how Rock & Roll Hall of Fame songs opened pathways to healing, renewal, and faith.

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Night became my recovery map. These songs carried me through hospitalizations, jail, and weekly therapy since 2019. Science, faith, family, and accountability hit hard in every lyric. Published on Nov. 4, 2025. Read here: www.christopheraldana.com/pillars/rock...

Hope in Action: Virginia’s Commitment to Mental Health Care My conversation with Lt. Governor Winsome Earle-Sears today inspired me to share new thoughts on how Virginia’s Right Help, Right Now initiative is transforming care for families and communities.

VA Right Help, Right Now delivers: 988, mobile crisis units, and places to go. I thanked Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears. Four Pillars: Psychiatry Pillar, Therapy Pillar, Family Pillar, Faith Community Pillar. Published Oct. 30, 2025. Read here: www.christopheraldana.com/pillars/righ...

The Body Speaks: What Guatemala Reminded Me From therapy to chiropractic care, exploring how God works through science to restore balance.

Published Oct. 28, 2025. After returning from Guatemala, I was reminded that exhaustion is not failure but a signal to realign. This Pillar Post reflects on rest, stewardship, and how faith and science work together in healing. Read here: www.christopheraldana.com/pillars/guat...

Hope Still Sings: A Fall 2025 Playlist for Healing My Four Pillars of Psychiatry, Therapy, Family, and Faith inspired the music in my Fall 2025 playlist, a healing toolbox filled with hope.

Hope Still Sings is my Fall 2025 playlist for healing and renewal, published Oct 24, 2025. Each track reflects my journey with faith, growth, and mental health. If you need strength or clarity, this playlist walks with you. Read here: www.christopheraldana.com/pillars/fall...

Seeds of Leadership: Lessons from FFA and Faith A heartfelt reflection on how childhood memories, FFA experiences, and faith shaped a journey of leadership, community, and mental resilience through the lens of agriculture.

This Pillar Post, published Oct 9 2025, reflects on how FFA, faith, and my mountain roots planted the first seeds of leadership in my life. The lessons, mentors, and memories that shaped me then continue to guide my purpose, growth, and healing today. Read here: www.christopheraldana.com/pillars/ffa

The Path of the Four P’s: Walking with Christ Discovering Power, Perspective, Passion, and Purpose

This Pillar Post, published Aug 19 2025, reflects my search for meaning through mental health struggles and shame. It is a reflection on how God led me forward through the Four P’s: Power, Perspective, Passion, and Purpose. Read here: www.christopheraldana.com/pillars/4ps

More Than a Workout: Building Mental Strength in the Gym How a simple membership became a vital lifeline in my mental health journey.

My healing comes from pillars, not just medicine. A simple gym membership became a lifeline in my mental health journey. Showing up brings clarity and balance, and the sauna, steam room, and cold shower help me reset my mind and body. Published Oct 4, 2025. Read: christopheraldana.com/pillars/gym

Pillars, Not Just Pills: The Healing Journey Is Complex Pillars, Not Just Pills: The Healing Journey Is Complex

My healing comes from pillars, not just pills. Bipolar disorder is chronic and shaped by brain chemistry. Medication helps, and psychiatry, therapy, family, and my faith community give me real stability. This Pillar Post was published Sept. 23, 2025. Read: christopheraldana.com/pillars/notjustpills

Healing Takes Time: The Psychiatry Pillar and the Power of Patience Why patience is key to healing and recovery in psychiatry.

This Pillar Post, published Sept. 5, 2025, shares how thirteen medications, tough side effects, and psychiatric treatment shaped my path to stability. Having patience in the process helped me heal and move forward with the Four Pillars. Read the full post: www.christopheraldana.com/pillars/pati...

Personification of Medication "Learning to love what heals you—one pill, one conversation, one breakthrough at a time."

My first Pillar Post, published July 16, 2025, shares how giving my three daily psychiatric medications voices, names, and personalities turned rejection into gratitude. They became lifesaving partners in my recovery journey. Read the full story: christopheraldana.com/pillars/pers...

Christohper Aldana LLC Aligning Virginia’s Classification with Federal SORNA Guidelines Under the Adam Walsh Act: A Request for Legislative Review of §18.2-370.1 as a Tier II Offense

My Call for Action to the 2026 General Assembly asks lawmakers to amend §9.1-902(A) by shifting §18.2-370.1 from Tier III to Tier II. This update would align state policy with federal SORNA standards in 34 U.S.C. §20911(3). Read the full letter on my website. www.christopheraldana.com/callforaction