Authenticity, Failure & Mental Health: Erica Rankin on Owning Your Story

Authenticity, Failure & Mental Health: Erica Rankin on Owning Your Story

What happens when an entrepreneur shares her failures, mental health struggles, and unfiltered truth with the world? In this episode of Encountering, I sit down with Erica Rankin for a deeply honest conversation about what it really means to be authentic—online and in life.

We explore the healing power of vulnerability, the mental health toll of social media, and how failure can become a powerful teacher. Erica opens up about losing her business, navigating bulimia and body image challenges, and returning home at 30 to start again—this time, without the filters.

In this episode:
• The emotional cost of perfectionism in entrepreneurship
• Navigating business collapse and bankruptcy with courage
• How childhood communication patterns shape adult relationships
• The impact of social media on mental health—for creators and consumers
• The power of grace, honesty, and breaking generational cycles

👉 Listen in and encounter what real authenticity looks like.

You can watch this episode on my YouTube channel Encountering:
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Please note that the contents of this website are not a substitute for professional advice, diagnosis, or treatment. My scope of practice is as an educator, and this work is intended to provide information for educational purposes only. Testimonials of lived experiences are opinion only and have not been scientifically evaluated.