Hey! So Glad You're Here.

Hi, my name is Gisele... and I’m a functional perfectionist. I understand first hand what it means to be OCD, to feel easily overwhelmed, to get lost in small details and endless tweaking, to waste time and energy with busy work, to procrastinate due to the paralyzing fear of making mistakes and failing. Being a perfectionist is a habit (or addiction, rather) that can be very hard to keep under control. It can’t be “cured,” either; all we can hope for is to trick the brain to act and react in different ways, doing our best to not fall off the wagon. When that invariably happens, we have to learn to step back and remind ourselves of the brain tricks that kept us on the wagon for a while. Over the years, I’ve learned a few tools that have helped me through the journey of becoming a functional perfectionist, or a perfectionist who still manages to function and achieve goals in spite of constantly seeking precision and control (for more on this topic, please check out my blog article Becoming a Functional Perfectionist).

I’m also a highly sensitive empath, which means that everything I got through gets escalated by my hypersensitive nervous system. For more info, please refer to my blog articles about this topic: “This Is Too Much!!! About Highly Sensitive People and Becoming a Fully Functional Empath. It’s always been hard to live as a highly sensitive empath. In the past few years, however, it’s become even harder. Due to the cumulative effect of worldwide pandemics, social-political-economical unrest, mass shootings, animal cruelty and abuse, environmental changes and destruction, etc, a lot of us are feeling more and more lost, confused, anxious, depressed and/or angry... Although these are challenging and intense healing and transformation times, it feels as if we're all being prepped for some major positive changes ahead.

Since I’m not getting any younger while all of this is happening, I decided to create this blog because I felt the need to shoot my mouth more freely (in comparison to my other blogs that have specific purposes and are targeted to particular audiences); and because I hope to be able to assist or at least commiserate with others in their own process of trying to survive (and hopefully thrive) in this crazy, insensitive world.

So come on in if you’re ready for a little humor, a little drama and a lot of commentaries, tips and resources!

Gisele

The Functional Perfectionist TM

Gisele Marasca-Vargas is the former co-owner of Creative Angle Media, a graphic design and publishing company, and co-publisher of Ahora Orlando Magazine, a semi-annual bilingual magazine that showcased Orlando’s Hispanic community and was published for seven years (from 2003 to 2010). Gisele also contributed articles and commentary columns to the magazine.

Ahora Orlando magazine Facebook Page:

https://www.facebook.com/ahora.orlando

OTHER PUBLISHED WORKS

ARTICLES FOR NATURAL AWAKENINGS - CENTRAL FLORIDA/ORLANDO EDITION:
Natural Awakenings CF - April 2016
Cover Illustration
Cover Artist: pg. 10
Cover Article: Coloring Books for Adults: Really? Yes, Really…,
pg. 17

Natural Awakenings CF - June 2016
Article: Antidepressants vs. Placebo: And The Winner Is…;
pgs. 26-27

Natural Awakenings CF - September 2016
Article: Animal Companions - Pet Therapy Offers Many Benefits; pgs. 32-33

BOOK - PRINT:
Poets Unleashed: An Anthology
2001; compiled by Ron Cross
This book features 7 poems by Gisele, who also designed the book cover and book illustrations

E-BOOK:
Script Writing eBook - 3rd Edition/2020; published by IMDHA - International Medical and Dental Hypnotherapy Association and IAPH - International Alliance of Professional Hypnotists
- Includes four hypnotherapy scripts by Gisele Marasca-Vargas
View eBook Info

OTHER BLOGS AND SITES

The Healers Home - Gisele's Blog:
thehealershome.com/giseles-blog

Gi's Critters Blog:
giscritters.com

Gi's Creations (Writer Portfolio Site):

giscreations.com

CURRENT PROJECTS

- Guided Imagery/Hypnotherapy for Healthcare, a book co-authored with my mentor and former teacher Linda Bennett about implementing a volunteer-based guided imagery program at a hospital or health
care facility

- Children's Book Series (various topics)

EDUCATION

University of São Paulo:
BA in English and Portuguese Languages and Literature

Florida Metropolitan University System:
AS in Commercial Art

SWIHA - Southwest Institute of Healing Arts:
AS in Holistic Healthcare

EXPERIENCE / SKILLS

Writing + Blogging + Graphic Design + Publishing + Teaching

AWARDS / RECOGNITION

2004 Don Quijote Awards for Hispanic Business of the Year
(Presented by the HCCMO - Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Metro Orlando)

2004 Charlie Award for General Excellence: Best Bilingual Magazine (1st Place)
2004 Charlie Award for General Excellence: Best New Magazine (2nd Place)
(Presented by the FLMA - Florida Magazine Association)