Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Stephanie Mahan.
Dr. Mahan, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Chiropractic has been a part of my life before I can even remember— literally. My Mom (Traci Mahan) was under chiropractic care while she was pregnant with me, and I was adjusted by my Dad (Dr. Mick Mahan) for the first time only a few hours after being born! Needless to say, chiropractic is in my blood.
Growing up, I was always very self-driven and independent in a lot of ways. I was curious, tough, and ready for whatever life threw at me! As I got older, I started to ask more questions about chiropractic and why we lived our lives the way we did. My parents taught me and my siblings about health and why taking care of your nervous system, exercising regularly, eating whole foods, and minimizing stress are the keys to being healthy and staying healthy. I took these ideas, applied them to my life, and adopted them as my own core values at a very young age. These ideas and concepts were especially important for me to understand after my Mom was diagnosed with end-stage kidney failure when I was 11 years old. Years of doctors, hospitals, dialysis centers, home dialysis, and much more began to be my reality at home. Being the oldest of three kids, I took on a lot of responsibility during this time in my life. I helped my family as much as I could with what I could, and I firmly believe going through those experiences were highly beneficial towards making me the human being I am today. Luckily, my Mom underwent a kidney transplant from a live donor when I was 16 years old, and had great success for almost 8 years! Throughout the entire experience of helping my family and making sure my Mom’s quality of life was higher than expected, chiropractic and its principles were the glue that held everything together. If it was not for chiropractic care, proper nutrition, and keeping busy, my Mom’s success story may not be a success story. That’s when I knew I wanted to help people increase their quality of living, change their health habits, and live the life they were meant to live for the rest of my life. I wanted to be a chiropractor.
As I was going through high school, I knew I had a tough decision to make. I have been very blessed to be talented in multiple areas like music, academia, and sports, but I always felt my heart pulling me in a different direction than a lot of my peers. A big part of me wanted to do the classic college thing– get into a good school, go live in the dorms, experience life away from home, and really find myself– but I knew I was meant for something different. After I graduated high school, I was on the straight and narrow path towards getting into chiropractic school. I stayed home and took classes at the local community college to save money, and worked at my Dad’s chiropractic office at the front desk to earn some extra cash and experience.
Soon enough, I found myself moving to Atlanta to start my journey towards becoming a doctor of chiropractic. I began chiropractic school at Life University College of Chiropractic in the summer of 2013, and graduated in the spring of 2017, completing the toughest academic journey of my life. I can confidently say that my time in Atlanta shaped me into the person, and doctor, I am today. While in Georgia, I developed my love for powerlifting and taking care of athletes, while at the same time working towards my diplomate in pediatric chiropractic care so I can take care of babies and new mommas the best ways possible. As of right now, I am so happy to be back in Cypress, Texas at Discover Chiropractic & Wellness working alongside my Dad as a doctor of chiropractic, providing quality healthcare to individuals and families in our community.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Getting to where I am today has been one of the biggest challenges of my life, and I wouldn’t change a thing.
When my Mom got sick, that was a huge obstacle my family and I had to overcome, and we were able to overcome it together. Also, moving away from Cypress at the age of 19 to a city where I knew exactly 2 people was not exactly the smoothest transition. Luckily, most of the friends I made at school were in the same boat, so it was easy to make friends. Chiropractic school was hands down the hardest mental challenge I have ever faced. We took anywhere from 22-30 credit hours per quarter, and I would have anywhere from 25-50 exams by the end of each quarter (also, this was not including the outside hours and seminars for studying and broadening my educational horizon). There were many times when I thought I was going to fail or mess up, and to say it never happened would be a lie. But at the end of the day with the support of my classmates and friends, I was able to move forward and learn from my failures and it has only made me better for it.
I remember one failure in particular—failing a class because I went to South Africa to compete on Team USA at the IPF World Championships. OH MAN, did that one sting. I was 21, and so sure I could do anything I wanted to do. I made the US National Team after competing in my first national powerlifting competition the summer prior, and crowd-funded my way to a ticket to Johannesburg. The only problem with going on this trip was that I would miss an entire week of school—the week before finals. Meaning I would miss exams, class time, and the reviews for our final exams, but hey, I could do anything and still succeed. Long story short, I failed the final for one of my most important classes that quarter (a class that would let me move on to being in the Student Clinic to take care of patients), and it crushed my soul. What I took away from that failure, 3 years down the line, is that one failure does not mean everything else crumbles with it, and often times you’re better because you failed. At the time, I could not stop telling myself how big of a screw up I was, and blamed myself for delaying my graduation date three months. THREE MONTHS. In the end, 3 months was nothing. I was able to move forward, retake the class, learn more than I did the first time taking it, and therefore take better care of my patients. I honestly think failing that class was meant to be! I had a higher understanding of the material, and ended the class with almost a perfect grade the second time around. Lesson being— if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Discover Chiropractic & Wellness – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
At Discover Chiropractic & Wellness, it is our mission to set people free from their current health conditions in order for them to live their lives to their fullest potential.
We assist our practice members in gaining full victory of their health by offering cutting-edge corrective chiropractic care and customized healthcare plans. My father and I are the head chiropractors, and my mother runs our Discover Wellness weight loss business inside our office. My father has been practicing in the Cypress/NW Houston area for over 22 years as a family chiropractor, and I have recently joined him in practice since graduating in March. I specialized in pediatric and prenatal chiropractic care throughout school, and I love serving new moms and their growing families! Nothing brings me more joy than to adjust a baby, see their big eyes light up while they grin back at me, and feel their little nervous systems calm down and function the way they were designed to. Going to work doesn’t feel like going to work when I see so many amazing kids growing, learning, and becoming the best versions of themselves each and every day. My father and I are passionate about family wellness, and love nothing more than seeing the lives of our patients transform once they start implementing the principles we teach about health and wellness. Our purpose is to give, to do, to love, and to serve out of our own abundance. We believe healthy kids and healthy families are the key to a healthy and thriving community, and we will continue to change our community one family at a time.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
We have so many plans for the future of Discover Chiropractic & Wellness. We are focused on continuing to expand our practice and our brand, and will be connecting with more local family and parenting groups, gyms, health food stores, and wellness centers to bring the best service possible to our patients and our community. There is talk of opening up a second location for our weight loss program as well as a second chiropractic office, so the possibilities are endless! We look forward to growing more as an office, and as a community of healthy individuals ready to face the world around us. Will you join us?
Contact Info:
- Address: Discover Chiropractic & Wellness
8190 Barker Cypress Rd., Ste. 2000,
Cypress, TX 77433 - Website: discoverchirohouston.com
- Phone: 281-345-4450
- Email: info@discoverchirohouston.com
- Instagram: @discoverchirohouston
- Facebook: facebook.com/discoverchirohouston
- Twitter: @dcwhouston
Getting in touch: VoyageHouston is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
