James Peters was accused of a crime he did not commit, but instead of allowing it to change his life for the worse, he transformed his pain into purpose and embarked on a courageous journey that changed more lives than just his own.
The year is 2017, and James Peters has hit a proverbial rock bottom. After experiencing the devastating loss of two of the most important people in his life, his father and his young son, James was accused of a crime he did not commit and spent some days in an unforgiving police cell.
“When you get into that situation, there’s no one to teach you how it’s going to be,” he says. “You’re locked in a small cell. There’s noise, there’s banging, but you don’t know what’s happening, and you don’t know how long you’re going to be there. Your whole world just crashes down, and there’s no one to help; there’s not anyone to talk to.”
According to ASPE, the personal challenges and psychological harms that come up during incarceration have grown over the last several decades in the United States. A person who has been wrongfully accused or convicted can experience a number of drawbacks when it comes to their mental health, including a high risk of depression and self-harm.
For James, having his freedoms wrongly taken away, in addition to the extenuating circumstances he was already experiencing, pushed him towards suicide ideation. “I planned it,” he tells us. “I kind of knew what to do because once you’re in prison, your life completely changes. You’re just in your cell, on your own, locked up for 23 hours a day. You hardly get any airtime, and there’s nothing in your cell with you, just a few magazines.”
“I remember I used to always think that if things go wrong, I can get out by committing suicide. That was always the default. If things don’t quite go right, I know I’ve got that. And it still has an impact in my subconscious mind.”
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From once operating at a point where he felt suicide was a viable option, James today has completely changed his life. After taking that first step and seeking professional help from a skilled therapist, he embarked on a journey of self realization. What he’s realized since is that freedom is a state of mind.
“What I understand now is we all have freedom, but some people aren’t free. They can live at home and have freedom of going outside, but they’re still not free because of how they set themselves up in their mind,” he explains.
“Your mind always will be coming up with different theories, prognosis, or fears about what could happen or may happen and stuff like that, but once you learn to overcome that, then it can change your life.”
After finding the strength within himself to seek help and transform his mindset, James has created a brand new life that emphasizes the importance of taking care of your mental health. Not one to shy away from sharing his journey, James tells us that he regularly journals, practices breathwork, meditates, exercises, and continues on his journey of inner work through self-help books.
Today, James is a Jay Shetty Certified life coach who specifically works with men to unlock their potential and overcome some of life’s toughest challenges. His coaching program is tailored to each individual and designed to identify the root cause rather than the symptom of the issue they are facing.
“If someone experiences things like anxiety, depression, procrastinating or burnout, I always like to peel back the layers of the onion and uncover the deeper meaning,” he says. “There’s always something, generally rooted in childhood, that has shaped who they are today as a person. So, for me, my coaching is about understanding where and what someone’s journey has been through life, and I very much believe in having an open, empathetic, compassionate type view to understanding them as a person. Because when you understand them, then you can then start to understand where some of their beliefs and some of their thought patterns come from, and you can rework them,” he concludes.
James Peters’ story demonstrates that when you think you’ve hit rock bottom, the only place to go is up. By taking that first step and seeking help, you can change your life around and experience the true meaning of freedom.
To get to know more about the inspiration that is James Peters, be sure to check him out on Instagram and Twitter, or sign up for his complimentary coaching today!
