My Recovery Coin

 Dear Recovery Friend,

In the winter of 2022, while in residential treatment at The Emily Program in Seattle, I created the idea of the “Eating Disorder Recovery Coin.”

My original vision was to create something that could support people in eating disorder recovery, like myself. This idea became a steady source of motivation and encouragement during my own treatment and recovery journey over the following year, helping me stay connected to hope and purpose through very difficult moments.

After drawing a handful of prototypes, I eventually settled on a design very similar to the coin you see today. What began as a couple of colorful 2-D drawings became a real, physical coin in March 2024. Working on this project over the course of more than a year gave me something meaningful to hold onto during hard times and became a reflection of what I was learning in treatment and in my recovery path.

Along the way, I gifted over 150 of the original Eating Disorder Recovery Coins to recovery friends and treatment program and therapy providers, with the intent of sharing encouragement, connection, hope and support with others walking similar paths.

In April 2026, I updated the project to better reflect its expanded purpose. I renamed it “My Recovery Coin” to open it up to anyone in any form of recovery. I also redesigned the front “Stormy Wave” side of the coin to reflect this broader intention, while keeping the original “Beach Sunset” back side unchanged.

At the same time, I removed the NEDA logo. I previously had a licensing agreement with the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA), however the agreement did not allow the coin to be sold for profit with their logo included. Removing the logo allowed the design to become fully independent and made it possible for the coin to be sold and shared more widely.

This special coin can be used as a visual reminder to use skills while eating, a motivational tool, a grounding object or fidget, a gift for someone in recovery from anything, or even a personal lucky charm carried in a pocket or bag. You decide.

I hope that “My Recovery Coin” finds its way into the hands of people who can benefit from it; people who may feel encouraged, inspired, and supported to challenge their inner critic and keep going, even on the hardest days. My hope is that it helps fuel a sense of possibility and supports each person in finding their own path toward a life that feels worth living.

Warmly,
Nicole “Nikki” Ocean 🌊 – She/They 🌈
“Life’s at Ease with a Warm Ocean Breeze.” 🏝️

P.S. I am deeply proud, honored, and grateful to have seen this dream become a reality. I hope this coin supports you as much as it has supported me and others. It has truly been life-changing. ✨ 

Nicole “Nikki” Ocean is a peer recovery guide, retired executive, smooth jazz electronic fusion artist, and former certified real estate instructor and coach who brings creativity, compassion, and lived experience into her work.

In her long-term recovery, Nikki has navigated disordered eating, OCD, complex trauma, chronic illness, and cancer survivorship. These experiences shape her grounded and supportive approach to helping others.

As someone who is disabled and neurodivergent, she integrates mindfulness, nervous system awareness, and gentle self-inquiry into her work, rooted in the belief that healing is not linear and that safety and self-trust are built over time.

Her practice includes seated yoga with breathwork, gentle stretching, and Shikantaza meditation, a Zen practice of “just sitting” in awareness without striving or forcing. Together, these support presence, regulation, and internal safety.

She advocates for EMDR therapy, mindfulness, trauma-informed meditation and yoga practices, intentional living, and HAES-aligned anti-diet principles, supporting people in redefining recovery in a way that feels personal and sustainable.

Through her heart-led work and live sessions on Insight Timer, Nikki offers pro-recovery practices that support nervous system regulation while bringing creativity, joy, gentle humor, and inner child play into everyday recovery life, helping people reconnect with ease, expression, and enjoyment as part of healing.

Nicole “Nikki” Ocean is a smooth jazz electronic artist whose music radiates warmth, joy, and cinematic energy, blending uplifting grooves, textured soundscapes, and heartfelt melodies. 

Raised near Bellingham, Washington in a deeply musical family, music was part of her life from the beginning. Both of her parents played instruments and sang, her mom on accordion and harpsichord and her dad on acoustic guitar. Her mom, a teacher, brought music into her classroom and played for the family, while her dad’s love of singing and 1960s folk music shaped early memories, especially during holiday singalongs.

Playing an instrument was expected as part of her upbringing. Nikki began on viola in elementary school, learned drums in middle school, played timpani, viola and added guitar in high school, learning from her dad, who has a remarkable ear. Inspired also by her maternal grandfather, a violinist with an intuitive ear for music, Nikki spent her teenage years playing and singing along to 1990s country before discovering smooth jazz in her early twenties and instantly falling in love.

A disabled artist with limited mobility and chronic illnesses, Nikki is a vocal recovery advocate who champions creative access and representation. She sees music as both medicine and a soundtrack for our lives, with the intention of elevating the listener. Her debut album, Road To The Real Thing, marks the realization of a 30-year dream and invites listeners into healing soundscapes.

In 2000, I made a life-changing decision: to step into the unknown as a single parent with my infant son, Nick, and build a new life on our own terms. It wasn’t the easy path, but it was the right one. That choice became the foundation for everything that followed: courage, reinvention, hope and creating a future filled with possibility.

By 2006, I discovered a hidden and secret niche in real estate that would transform my life. What started as an idea grew into multi–million-dollar software products and a thriving coaching business. Those years taught me how to innovate, create bootstrap companies from almost nothing, and to trust in my ability to build something extraordinary from scratch.

In April 2022, I made another bold decision to prioritize my health and well-being over money. I sold both my real estate automation software and coaching business along with my vacation rental condo in Florida, so I could take a step back, focus inward, and realign my energy with what matters most.

Today, I run Ocean Dreams Publishing where my passions are rooted in recovery, creativity, and community. One of my most meaningful projects is the Eating Disorder Recovery Coin, which became a real coin in February 2024. It has since grown into a collection of branded merchandise, art, and decor, tools designed to inspire hope and progress in recovery.

I also founded Eating Disorder Recovery Path, a trauma-informed, peer-led membership community. It offers a self-paced course, workbook, vetted resources, and a space for connection. It’s built on the belief that healing is possible, recovery is personal, and support makes all the difference.

My journey hasn’t been defined by obstacles but by the choices I’ve made to keep moving forward with resilience, creativity, and heart. I’ve reinvented myself more than once, and each time I’ve gained clarity about what really matters: health, family, and meaningful impact.

My greatest pride is my son, Nick Surfer Ocean, who at 25 is living his dream of traveling the world, living most of the year in Thailand, cycling across countries, and carving his own path. Watching him thrive is the ultimate reminder of why I kept going and one reason why I continue to show up each day with purpose.

Looking back, I don’t just see challenges. I see breakthroughs and victories. I see moments of courage, reinvention, and growth as I continue on my healing and recovery journey as well as carve out a path of coming home to myself.

Life continues to test me, but it also continues to gift me opportunities to create, to heal, and to inspire. For that, I am deeply proud and grateful for my son, my Dad, a few important friends and of myself.