When Dr. Itzel Harriott considered where to relocate her family during COVID, she chose Daytona Beach for its small-town vibe and the feeling of openness and welcome they experienced. “I knew that this move might mean a difficult transition from college life to adulting for my son since we moved away from where he had grown up,” shared Dr. Harriott. “Even though I had joined the Daytona Regional Chamber of Commerce to facilitate business connections, those connections led to finding friends, love, and friendships for both myself and my son. We both found our tribes and enjoy the beach culture as well as NASCAR.”
Dr. Harriott is a Registered Mental Health Counselor Intern (RMHCI) with a Doctorate degree in Pharmacology at Indiego Clinical Consultants (ICC) Counseling Center in Daytona Beach. She provides evidence-based behavioral therapy, psychopharmacology education, and holistic wellness coaching.
As a Navy veteran, she is actively involved in the veterans community as well as health and elder care initiatives. Given her training in mental health and counseling, she has become a valuable resource for many local groups including Healthier, Wealthier, and Wiser and serves on the Recovery Alliance board. The Healthier, Wealthier, and Wiser group focuses on elder care education. She provides support to the group on health topics as varied as diabetes and grief counseling.
“While the holidays are often thought of as the most difficult time of year for those who are grieving, it is quickly followed by Valentine’s Day which can also be really tough,” according to Dr. Harriott. “I find it helpful to remember that grief is an expression of love. Accepting love means accepting that one will eventually grieve. Reframing involves finding a way to honor what you are grieving and to try to flip that abiding grief into an attitude of gratitude for the love you experienced.”
When mundane tasks like picking up dropped toys, doing laundry, or washing dishes start to get us down, it’s helpful to remember what may be the genesis of the term, “labor of love.” Dr. Harriott recommends reminding yourself that love is not passive – it’s active – and daily labor is the price of love, especially with children and grandchildren. Reframing daily interactions with kindness and service will shift our focus to recognize how much love we have in our lives.
Is it joy, love, or happiness that can boost our mood? Dr. Harriot clarifies that these are three distinct concepts. “First, we really don’t have control over love – we don’t really think about it when we are expressing it or experiencing it. Happiness is temporary and can be tied to things like chocolate or cake, while joy is deep-seated and anchored to something lasting like the birth of a child. If you have joy,” according to Dr. Harriott, “then you can generate love and happiness, so cultivating inner joy is the most important concept.”
Dr. Harriot shares an exercise for finding joy if living by the beach has become just a part of the scenery, because sometimes we can lose our anchor even if joy is tied to something permanent like our beautiful surroundings.
“There is a lot to love about Daytona and there are lots of organizations that have been built with that love in mind,” says Dr. Harriott. “If you look for it, there is something for everyone to do every weekend.”
Dr. Harriott relays her surprise when she won a raffle ticket through her volunteer work with the chamber to help promote a job services event for veterans. She was awarded a pit pass to the Daytona 500 through a generous donation from NASCAR. “First, I was already a huge fan of NASCAR. While I would entice my sons with tickets to races, honestly, it was all about me,” she says with a laugh. “That I was rewarded for my volunteer work with something I truly love was such a shock because we all know volunteering is its own reward - but you’re looking at someone who bought a 5-speed Porsche back when I first joined the military. Years later, I have found myself at a number of functions where NASCAR has organized events to honor veterans.”
In addition to race week, Dr. Harriott finds joy, love, and happiness just getting out on the hard sand in the off-season gleefully tossing pieces of bread out the sunroof of her car to the flock of seagulls following her down the beach. “I guess I’m spreading as much joy as I’m pursuing because it’s a sight to see – there are always folks on the beach with their arms outstretched recording my drive on their phones.”
There is a lot to love about Daytona.