Today we’d like to introduce you to Justina I. Jennings.
Hi Justina I., it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
When I look back, I can clearly see how anxiety shaped my life long before I understood it or even had language for it. What I thought was being strong or being in control was actually years of unaddressed experiences and trauma I didn’t yet recognize. As a child, I was navigating life without the tools or support to process what I was carrying, so survival mode became my way of life.
As I grew older, coping became my way of functioning. For nearly a decade, I built routines, control systems, and identities around avoiding discomfort and protecting myself. I believed it was my personality or who I was. I was driven, disciplined, and independent but I also believed I was someone who needed structure, perfection, and control to function. In reality, I was operating in survival mode, shaped by anxiety I didn’t yet know I had.
When I was finally diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder, everything shifted for me but not in a good way. Vulnerability started showing up that replaced control, and I felt exposed, misunderstood, and unsure of who I really was beneath the coping mechanisms I created. My relationships with men were life altering, my identity felt unstable, and I found myself searching for relief and clarity.
That season forced me to confront the difference between who I thought I was and who I had become in order to survive and it ultimately became the foundation for the work I do today.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Has it been a smooth road? Absolutely not. There were many hiccups, especially after being diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder. While the diagnosis brought clarity, it also came with the realization that this wasn’t something to simply “fix” and it was something I would need to live with intentionally having much awareness.
Anxiety had been part of my life for so long, worrying felt normal. I became what many would call a chronic worrier, someone who could still function, succeed, and appear put together, yet internally be constantly managing thoughts, fears, and what-ifs. There were seasons where anxiety intensified and completely took me out emotionally, even during the times when everything on the outside was excelling because things still were good but I just wasn’t present to them because of the way survival mode made me.
Finding the right kind of help was one of the hardest parts for me. Anxiety has a way of convincing you that help won’t work, that you should already have it together, or that what you’re feeling isn’t “bad enough” to ask for support. I realized that the type of help I needed was practical, honest, and action-based and that wasn’t something I could easily find at the time because it wasn’t created. People were scared to talk about mental health, address it or even be open enough to relate.
Even as I grew, carried on, and built a full life, anxiety still showed up during new seasons and unexpected challenges, because that’s part of being human. Learning how to navigate those moments, instead of being blindsided by them, became one of the most important parts of my journey. Managing it as a whole and not victimizing myself.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Breakthrough with Jay (Founder of ANUYOU)?
Breakthrough with Jay is my mental wellness brand that I’ve built over the years to help individuals move out of survival mode into clarity, confidence, and emotional awareness. Through workshops, support groups, one-on-one coaching, and intentionally created experiences, my goal is to ensure people feel seen, heard, validated, and reminded that they are not alone.
I am an Anxiety Coach who works with women, men, and teens, with a primary focus on anxiety managment. Many people struggle not just with the symptoms of anxiety itself, but with understanding why it shows up and what it actually looks like in their lives. My work helps individuals build emotional awareness to pinpoint it, challenge fear-based thinking, and gain real exposure to life instead of shrinking or avoiding it. Everything I offer is a representation of the support and tools I once needed and longed for myself. I’ve had the opportunity to lead anxiety-focused workshops and programs for universities, churches, professors, schools, gyms, and athletic youth teams. Being trusted to support people across so many different environments has reinforced that anxiety awareness and emotional resilience are essential at every stage of life.
What sets my work apart is that it is rooted from my lived experiences and I provide unique action-based support. I don’t believe in quick fixes, surface-level conversations, or cliché approaches. Those didn’t work for me. Instead, I focus on practical, relatable tools that people can realistically apply to their everyday lives. My approach centers on awareness, accountability, and realistic mindset shifts, helping people understand why anxiety shows up and how to respond differently, rather than coping silently or staying stuck in comfort.
That same approach led me to create my 60-Day Anxiety Guidance Journal for women. It was born out of my own experience of searching for something practical and not just something to read, but something to actually use. This journal helps women slow down, build awareness, challenge fear-based thinking, and stay accountable to their healing in real life. It gives them a way to continue the work outside of sessions and groups using tools that feel realistic and supportive.
I’m also currently expanding this work with an upcoming teen-focused interactive journal “My Space,” created to help teens better understand their emotions, thoughts, and anxiety in a way that feels relatable. Supporting teens has become a huge passion of mine, and this journal is designed to give them tools early on before anxiety becomes something they silently carry into adulthood. I also provide tools for them to walk through their day-to-day struggles (school stress, body image, family stress, independence and more).
What I’m most proud of, brand-wise, is seeing the impact my work has on people. Everything I’ve been through in my life didn’t happen for nothing. It made me a vessel for this work. Seeing my approach truly resonate with people reminds me why I do this. Watching people break barriers with their anxiety is my biggest why. Helping someone finally understand what’s been running their life and showing them that there is a way to manage it differently is everything to me. It’s powerful to see people realize that the tools I teach actually work and that they don’t have to stay stuck.
I’m also proud of how open and transparent I am. Vulnerability was something I struggled with for most of my life, but it has become the very thing that helps others break free. Being honest about my own journey creates safety, trust, and permission for people to finally face their anxiety instead of hiding from it. What honestly still blows my mind is seeing how much men have adapted to my programs. Watching men, teen boys, and teen girls fully lean in, go all in, and be open in my workshops and groups has been incredibly validating. There are moments where I think, “I don’t know if this will land,” and then they show up, do the work, and prove just how much this space is needed.
As this work continues to grow, I’m currently building ANUYOU, a membership-based wellness and self-care center set to open in Spring 2026. ANUYOU is designed to provide a hands-on, holistic approach to anxiety relief by giving individuals daily access to real-life tools that help them slow down, release stress, and reset mentally and emotionally.
ANUYOU is the physical extension of everything I’ve built through Breakthrough with Jay. It will be a supportive, intentional space where people can step out of survival mode, decompress, and reconnect with themselves through creative outlets, guided experiences, and structured self-care that actually fits into real life.
Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
I wasn’t a regular kid at all. I was bold from early on. In elementary school, I was the one creating stories and having classmates excited to hear what was coming out in the next chapter. At home, I was writing poetry, creating songs, and literally putting together my own magazines in my room like it was a full-blown creative studio. I was confident, assertive, and pretty tomboyish, but also deeply into creative expression. I loved doing hair, experimenting, and creating looks, and I never really cared about fitting in. By middle and high school, that confidence showed up in big accessories, bold outfits, mismatched earrings, and fully owning my style. I was very sure of myself and didn’t spend much time worrying about what people thought.
Then there was my nerd side. I spent a ridiculous amount of time playing The Sims, building worlds and storylines like it was a full-time job. Looking back, it actually makes perfect sense. I’ve always loved creating environments and experiences, and now I get to do that in real life through my work.
Creative expression has always been at the core of who I am. The way I show it has evolved, but that bold, imaginative, expressive part of me has never gone away.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.breakthroughwithjay.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/breakthroughwithjay/
- Facebook: Justina I Jennings
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@breakthroughwithjay
