Claim OwnershipMentally STRONG Academy: Embrace the Journey
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© 2026 Cristi Bundukamara
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About Dr. B
Dr. Cristi Bundukamara, Ed.D., PMHNP has been a psychiatric nurse practitioner since 2000, gaining extensive experience over the last several decades. Her medical career began as an Army Medic before attending nursing school and receiving a master’s degree as a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner at Florida International University (FIU). She went on to receive a doctorate in Education at Nova Southeastern University. From there, she launched the first Mentally STRONG Clinic in Colorado Springs, CO which is committed to access and serves over 7,000 patients. She also founded the Mentally STRONG Academy. Today, when she’s not at the clinic attending to her patients, Dr. B dedicates a large portion of her time to speaking about mental health issues, sharing methods for processing grief, and providing tips for developing mental strength.
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Knowing that you are going to lose someone is a different kind of grief. This is my story. Even though the grief of losing a child is unlike anything else you will ever experience, you CAN be okay. You are Mentally STRONG. There are many different ways that people experience grief and loss. This is the third in a series of videos on grieving the loss of a child through the different types of grief. No matter what happened, you will need to feel the paid of grief. This video deals with ...
This is my story. Even though the grief of losing a child is unlike anything else you will ever experience, you CAN be okay. You are Mentally STRONG. Dr. Cristi Bundukamara, Ed.D, PMHNP-BC --- A Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner and a Doctor of Healthcare Education has experienced unimaginable trials that have caused many feelings such as depression, anxiety, anger, & overwhelming stress. However, she has developed a new pathway to becoming Mentally Strong & C...
There are many different ways that people experience grief and loss. This is the first in a series of videos on grieving the loss of a child through the different types of grief. No matter what happened, you will need to feel the paid of grief. This video deals with grief from a sudden and unexpected loss. Dr. Cristi Bundukamara, Ed.D, PMHNP-BC --- A Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner and a Doctor of Healthcare Education has experienced unimaginable trials that have caused ma...
Suicide is not an option | you have a choice | #notanoption Don't wait until it's too late! I want to talk to you about shifting our mindset to "suicidal" being a thought or a feeling instead of an action. It does not have to be an action. We can all come together to make Suicide NOT AN OPTION. We need to make a decision when our head is clear, not when you are having suicidal thoughts. I hope that you can join me in a movement for a commitment for ourselves and encourage others...
I am nervous to be sharing my thoughts on this topic. There are so many different types of therapy and many are effective. In this podcast I will explain how Choice Mapping can be the glue that brings all the modalities together and helps standardize treatment. In the mentally strong medical model we want to have a place where people can go, get an initial assessment for both counseling and medication so that they can be matched with the right person and the right treatment plan. ...
I am nervous to be sharing my thoughts on this topic. Psychopharmacology is not currently standardized in mental health care. In this video I will explain how the system has failed us in that the way that prescribers are set up to diagnose and treat mental illness is based on clusters of symptoms in the DSM5 and not by the circuits and receptors that form the neuropathways in our brains! Visit this link for more information about Dr. Stephen Stahl http://www.neiglobal.com/General/StahlSM/tab...
Mental health stigma is a problem for many people and may prevent them from seeking help. Mental health is a lifetime journey, and we will cover this topic thoroughly in this series on the problems in the world of mental health care. Here are two usually recommended solutions that might not work for you: 𝐂𝐡𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞 M𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 is the solution❗ 🎯 In this podcast, I will reveal why Choice mapping is a solution to the problem of mental health stigma. Furthermore, you will learn proven and skillf...
Access to mental health treatment is a problem for many people usually due to high cost and insufficient coverage. Mental health is a lifetime journey, and we will cover this topic thoroughly in this series on the problems in seeking mental health treatments. Here are two usually recommended solutions that might not work for you: 💊 Medication 👭🏼 Short and less frequent sessions 𝐒𝐨, 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫, 𝐜𝐨𝐬𝐭-𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧❓ 𝐈𝐭'𝐬 𝐂𝐡𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠❗ 🎯 In this podcast, I will rev...
Discover the idea behind "Stronger together" that I developed. Two major things that can prevent your positive thinking: 😞 𝐆𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐟 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐋𝐨𝐬𝐬 (the response of harm or distress that comes from losing someone) 😱 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐮𝐦𝐚 (the response to a deeply distressing or disturbing event) 𝐈 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐦𝐲 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦 "𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫" 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐛𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬. Check out the Stronger Together course using this link: 👉 Stronger TOGETHER (thinkific.com) A "Stronger together" is based ...
A Personal Vision for your relationships matters much more than a New Year’s resolution. This video is a part of a series of Personal Visions. I want to share my personal vision with you and give you a few tips that will impact your relationships in a great way. 𝐌𝐲 𝐠𝐨𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐮𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮❓ Here are a few essential questions you should ask yourself: 🙄 What’s holding me back from having a healthy relationship? 🤔 How do I choos...
Personal vision for spirituality is the last video in the series about personal visions and it represents your relationship with God. So far, we talked about visions of where you want to be in specific different categories in your life. In this video, I also revealed some personal issues I was dealing with and how I think God helped me even when I thought he wasn’t there. We all make personal visions in the beginning of the year. In choice mapping we do it more often because it’s a par...
Personal vision for weight loss is a part of the series of personal visions. My new year's resolution was to lose weight. In this video I will guide you through the choice mapping journey and reveal some essential tips about weight loss and resolutions. 𝟐 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭: ✔️ somebody notices when you gain or lose weight ✔️ someone tells you that being skinny is beautiful Can anxiety play a role in gaining weight? Yes, it can! I eat when I am anxious so o...
Personal vision for your career is not the same thing as a resolution you have in mind when a new year begins. This video is the first in series of personal visions. I had a strong desire to start with these series since I believe that some of you might find my knowledge and experience useful. 𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐲, 𝐈 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐲 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐲 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐨 𝐈 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐰𝐡𝐲❗ Do you feel like you have reached a career crisis? What is your personal vision for yo...
Dr. B at Mentally STRONG in Colorado Springs interviews a special guest. She bravely shares her story in the hope that it will help someone else. She had tried 16 different medications for depression and dozens of therapies with no relief, she speaks on her struggle with addiction and how she was able to recover. She knew that if she just kept looking, she would find something that would work. Spravato ended up being the treatment that worked for her depression. The message: Nev...
How to defeat emotional eating is the final video on the series on eating disorders, eating disordered behaviors, and diets. The strongest food cravings hit when you're at your weakest point emotionally. Some people cope with difficult situations by reaching for comfort food. How do people who are emotionally eating usually feel before they seek for food? 😩 Depressed 😰 Anxious 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐛𝐞𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐚 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧❗ Carbohydrates, especially sugars and pleasurabl...
What is Anorexia Nervosa? Anorexia nervosa is a mental health concern and an eating disorder in which the person loses more weight than is healthy for their height and age. Anorexics are typically perfectionists. Anorexia symptoms: ✔️ Low weight ✔️ Extreme restrictive eating ✔️ The anxiety of gaining weight ✔️ Keen desire to be thin ✔️ Fear of eating Anorexia types: The first type is the restrictive type. The second is the binge-purge type. Binge-purge type shouldn't be confused with bulim...
Bulimia eating disorder involves binging and purging. Binge eating means eating an excessive amount of food within a two-hour period. Purging is a compensation for that binge. If you are struggling with bulimia or you know someone who is, you’ll find this video very helpful! Bulimia nervosa is one of the most common eating disorders specifically for young women. When it gets a hold of you, oftentimes if goes into your whole adult life even if you are not actively binging and purging.&n...
Orthorexia - How to Recover from this eating disorder? Orthorexia is an eating disorder that involves an unhealthy obsession with healthy eating. Are you spending too much time planning meals ❓ Do you pay attention to the number of calories for every meal during the day ❓ Are you following an increasingly restrictive diet ❓ Are you losing weight ❓ 𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐲𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐦𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 video to help you avoid 𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐞. Orthorexia Nervosa i...
The non-diet diet is the best non-diet approach to eating healthy. Did you know that even if you do not meet the criteria for an actual eating disorder, you might still have disordered thinking or behavior? If you are struggling to lose weight, you might not even be aware of it! Over the past 20 years, I’ve been struggling to lose weight until I was trying to find a non-diet weight loss. Whenever I thought something might work, it didn’t! That’s when I decided to try something new. I ...
DO I HAVE AN EATING DISORDER? Besides eating disorders you may also have disordered thinking related to food. Learn about your relationship with food with our series. _________________________________________ Dr. Cristi Bundukamara, Ed.D, PMHNP-BC --- A Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner and a Doctor of Healthcare Education has experienced unimaginable trials that have caused many feelings such as depression, anxiety, anger, & overwhelming stress. However, she has...
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