Women In Wellness: Dr Amanda Savage Brown of BRITE On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s Journey Towards Better Wellbeing

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Give yourself real validation: your mind knows the difference between being seen and validated versus placated or dismissed. When you’re struggling, pause and acknowledge whatever is distressing you. You don’t have to like it or agree with it, but you can validate that you’re going through something hard.

As a part of my series about the women in wellness, I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Amanda Savage Brown.

Dr. Amanda Savage Brown is a torchbearer for women navigating the psychosocial impacts of breast implants. She draws from her diverse background in women’s health that began while earning a PhD in genetics, continued as an officer in the United States Public Health Service, and flourished as a clinical psychotherapist. She uses only evidence-based approaches to help women reclaim their lives through mindful self-acceptance and values-guided change. In 2018, Dr. Savage Brown’s personal life and professional expertise aligned as she moved through her breast implant removal journey, recovered from disabling pain she didn’t realize was related to her breast implants, and witnessed countless women struggling with the deeply felt, yet poorly supported, mental, emotional, and social aspects of breast implant removal. To address the unmet psychosocial needs for women whose lives are touched by breast implants, Dr. Savage Brown created Breast Implant Through Explant (BRITETM) Inner Healing. It provides a skills-based approach for women to bring their whole self forward while coming to terms with getting more than they bargained for from breast implants, choosing to replace or remove them, and adjusting to their post-explant chest. It’s the foundation for her forthcoming self-help book, Busting Free, anticipated summer 2022.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Our readers would love to “get to know you” better. Can you share your “backstory” with us?

I’ve worked in areas affecting women’s well-being for over 25 years: First while earning a PhD in Human Genetics, then as a US Public Health Scientist at the CDC, and for the last decade as a clinical psychotherapist. I removed my breast implants in 2018, recovered from unrecognized breast implant illness, and saw countless other women with temporary and problem-prone breast implants struggling with the psychological, emotional, and social sides of their removal.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career? What were the main lessons or takeaways from that story? The most interesting story that happened to me since starting my career was experiencing medical gaslighting when I initially sought to remove my breast implants. The surgeons I met with told me not to believe everything I read on social media and that breast implant illness (BII) wasn’t “real.” The ironic thing is that, at the time, I didn’t have any social media accounts and I didn’t know about BII. I had no idea what they were talking about but I immediately became concerned about other women experiencing that kind of treatment. My main takeaway was the inspiration to learn more about BII and its effects on women’s well-being. As I explored it, I saw the challenges that it brings through my perspectives as a public health professional and mental health clinician.

Can you share a story about the biggest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

The biggest mistake I made when first starting was allowing fear to push me around. Most of us fear failure, judgment from others, and abandonment. That’s just part of being a social being who cares about group belonging. Thankfully, I was able to notice how my fear was holding me back and I used my heartfelt values to guide me rather than avoidance of failure.

Let’s jump to our main focus. When it comes to health and wellness, how is the work you are doing helping to make a bigger impact in the world?

I specialize in the psycho-social experience of women whose life journey includes breast implants. I developed a science-based program to help them navigate the inevitable decision to replace or remove their aging or problematic breast implants. It helps women be in charge of that decision, rather than society’s expectations about their body’s appearance. The program provides the foundation for my forthcoming self-help book, Busting Free. It’s the first-of-its-kind self-help book that helps women forge an unshakeable self-acceptance practice so they can find their way before, during, and long after breast implant removal. It’s anticipated publication is summer 2022.

Can you share your top five “lifestyle tweaks” that you believe will help support people’s journey towards better wellbeing? Please give an example or story for each.

1. Choose which thoughts you follow: we often treat our thoughts like commands, but we can choose whether we follow them based on their helpfulness to us. For example, some women may have health effects from breast implants but their mind convinces them to keep or replace them. That’s not helpful when your body is alerting you that breast implants aren’t working for you.

2. Give yourself real validation: your mind knows the difference between being seen and validated versus placated or dismissed. When you’re struggling, pause and acknowledge whatever is distressing you. You don’t have to like it or agree with it, but you can validate that you’re going through something hard.

3. Spend time mindfully observing nature: your mind REALLY needs to spend time in the here and now looking around, rather than starting at a screen and engaging in comparative or judgmental thinking.

4. Practice self-compassion: when you experience inner pain, acknowledge it and be willing to be there for yourself while it’s with you.

5. Live in your truth: instead of wondering what to say or how to word something, just attune inwardly to your truthful thoughts and feelings and then communicate them in a values-guided way. It’s truly that simple.

If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of wellness to the most amount of people, what would that be?

I would teach everyone science-based strategies to forge an unshakeable self-acceptance practice. Everyone wants to give themself acceptance, but few people know how to actually DO it.

What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why?

1. Trust yourself

2. Give yourself permission to fail fast

3. See everything as work in progress

4. You matter too

5. Balance, balance, balance

These five things soften perfectionism, fear of failure, and the tremendous pressure on women who work outside the house.

Sustainability, veganism, mental health and environmental changes are big topics at the moment. Which one of these causes is dearest to you, and why?

Though I work in mental health and am passionate about helping women to bust free of the socialized learning that ties our appearance to our worth, belonging, and safety, I am also very concerned about the environment and sustainability. I’ve seen the projections of the world’s population and scarcity of food, water, and shelter resources moving forward. They alarm me to my core.

What is the best way our readers can follow you online?

They can join my newsletter, follow my blog, and stay updated about my book, courses, and workshops at my website amandasavagebrown.com

They can follow me on Instagram and Facebook @dr.amandasavagebrown

Or join my private Facebook group Breast Implant Through Explant (BRITE) Inner Companions

Thank you for these fantastic insights!