Girls Gotta Heal Podcast

We all have experienced periods or waves in our lives where we don't feel enough in our relationships, our work, our passions and how we present to the world. This is the episode in the form of a warm hug. Our environment and connections play a huge role in how we perceive ourselves. As always, it comes back to you and your relationship with yourself. You ready to do some work and look inward?2:49 : Affirmations 4:49: Where are these feelings coming from!?10:10: What fuels these feelings and gets us spiralling? 15:23: Working toward feeling better25:40: 3 Self-reflection questions for youGo to https://betterhelp.com/girlsgottaheal for 10% off your first month of therapy with BetterHelp and get matched with a therapist who will listen and help #sponsored 

Life's ebbs and flows can challenge us to reignite our spark when it dims. Situations, losses and relationships can drain our energy and redirect us to space that does not align with the highest version of ourselves. Let's start off with meeting you where you are at. Check out this episodes 3 self-reflection questions at the end!Go to https://betterhelp.com/girlsgottaheal for 10% off your first month of therapy with BetterHelp and get matched with a therapist who will listen and help #sponsored 

Emotional availability is vital for healthy relationships but many of us find ourselves in relationships where this piece is missing. Let's get into what it is and how it's possible to change from being unavailable to available.  Three self-reflection questions for you at the end of the episode, as always! Go to https://betterhelp.com/girlsgottaheal for 10% off your first month of therapy with BetterHelp and get matched with a therapist who will listen and help #sponsored 

It can feel upsetting when a partner, friend or family member struggling with mental health, addiction and unhealthy lifestyle choices does not want to receive help.  From a trauma lens, this episode uncovers how this predicament can impact us. There are multiple ways we can continue to show up for our loved ones and also make choices that honour our boundaries. Go to https://betterhelp.com/girlsgottaheal for 10% off your first month of therapy with BetterHelp and get matched with a therapist who will listen and help #sponsored 

Have you ever found yourself paralyzed with fear or being complacent when it comes to making changes in your career and relationships and ultimately asking for what you want?Let's get into why it can be so difficult to ask for what you want in your relationships in workplace. I'll give you some tips along the way!Go to https://betterhelp.com/girlsgottaheal for 10% off your first month of therapy with BetterHelp and get matched with a therapist who will listen and help #sponsored 

If you don't feel like you're where you want to be or where you think you should be, don't worry, many millennials experience these waves. Lets ditch the goals by 30 lists and negatively comparing ourselves to others! Time to embrace a new era. I unpack what to look forward to in your 30s and how relationships change in this stage of life. Go to https://betterhelp.com/girlsgottaheal for 10% off your first month of therapy with BetterHelp and get matched with a therapist who will listen and help #sponsored 

What is non-attachment and how does it benefit our relationships? When it comes to relationships, it's easy to get lost and entangled in the attachment. Isn't attaching a part of connecting with someone though? We might become too attached when conflict is arising from being too hung up on an end goal or have when we have placed too much expectation and weight on relationships. It usually takes rupture in the relationship or stepping back to gain perspective.  The three questions I leave you with will get you SO reflective, you might have to call your bestie. *I do use the terms detachment and non-attachment quite interchangeably but  when referring to relationships and healthy boundaries, non-attachment is the correct term.* Go to https://betterhelp.com/girlsgottaheal for 10% off your first month of therapy with BetterHelp and get matched with a therapist who will listen and help #sponsored 

Trauma has an impact on the mind and body and does it ever impact our daily functioning. Gut feelings can feel unclear.  I leave you with 3 reflection prompts and give you my top 4 tips on how to work on rebuilding trust within yourself and connection back to yourself including leaning on therapeutic supports.Go to https://betterhelp.com/girlsgottaheal for 10% off your first month of therapy with BetterHelp and get matched with a therapist who will listen and help #sponsored 

The healing in between relationships is essential. Moving from one connection to the next can push down feelings of guilt or shame from past heartbreak. We often talk about needing closure when addressing relationship endings. Forgiving ourselves for missing signs , overlooking red flags and giving ourselves to someone who couldn't sustain the connection is also a large part of the healing process.

Our feelings aren't facts but they sure can drive the direction of our connections and experiences (especially the new and exciting ones or the one's that are coming to an end). Why do we self-sabotage? What is imposter syndrome anyways? Take a deeper look into why you may be engaging in self-sabotaging and how that presents in your life as I go through some of the reasoning behind it. You're not alone, we've all been there!

Pitching yourself to an employer or any new opportunity can be daunting but it's so needed! In this episode, I cover why it might be hard for you to pitch yourself in new situations, spaces and opportunities and reasons why it's so important to practice your elevator pitch!Of course we can fake it until we make it but nothing compares to always being as authentic and intentional as possible. Get out of your head, you deserve this!

Have you experienced burnout in the last year? I get into proactive and preventative tips as well as having a closer look at the difficult decisions we have to make once we gain awareness that we are in fact going through burnout. I share about about my recent experience with burnout and how it impacted my health. The signs of burnout aren't always visible to us but our body will tend to set off some internal alarms to warn us. 

Reflecting on a decade of lessons, heartbreak and self love.  No regrets just lessons learned. Maybe could've done without all of the hair bleach! We keep learning more about ourselves each year and it's SO key for us to be able to reflect on what worked well for us, what shaped us and what needs our attention going forward. Stay tuned for some of my favourite self reflection questions that I've created for you at the end.

There is always choice in how we show up for our friends. We might fully understand what they're going through or relate to it but we can continue to communicate through it. Girls Gotta Heal Presents Connecting Through Grief card deck. In this episode I share how to best use this deck as someone holding space for a friend. Our 3 reflection questions in this episode are 3 question prompts from the card deck. Go to the GGH website shop to order yours for you or your friend.

Part 2 of this seasons ask me anything! Friendships ending can be as painful as romantic relationships ending in their own way.  Why is it so hard to let go? And why does fear have such a power over us?  Our relationships with others and the one we have with ourself all come back to connection. Connection plays a huge part at the various stages of a relationship whether one is forming, growing or ending.

I'm answering your relationship related questions in this episode. Grief extends to loss of romantic relationships. Why is it so hard to move forward? When is the right time to get back on dating apps? How can we heal from a codependent relationship? 

Let's take a look inward and reflect on our past and current relationships. Have you ever been loyal to a fault? What has that looked like for you? It takes courage in letting go of certain relationships and knowing that that wasn't for you and that did not best serve you. In order reach that place there is a bit of work that has to be done with how you view your self and placing higher value on what you deserve.

We can get fixated on the notion of feeling 'chosen' when building and maintaining relationships. We might not even realize how wrapped up we are in this idea until we experience loss, rejection and/or abandonment. Should we always choose ourselves first and view relationships in that regard? How can we work toward balancing a love for ourselves and others? Let's get into it! 

Are you challenging certain perceptions within your home and relationships? Do you find it incredibly pressing to better yourself with the tools you have? Are you aware and feeling tired of the some dysfunctional and harmful issues repeating themselves within your social and family circles? Change is something that is uncomfortable in family's where this is generational trauma. To stay stuck or to make change for you and future generations while you deal with the impacts of disrupting the cycle? We look at some key factors of a cycle breaker and all that comes with beginning to make those changes.

Have you found yourself unsatisfied after reaching certain milestones and constantly chasing success? Success is subjective including through the lens of a trauma survivor. I touch on some of the realities of the discomfort of comparing success, finding the balance between success and happiness and losing yourself at times in striving for success.

Happy Season 2 premiere! Picking up where I left off in Season 1, I share what my ‘healing girl summer' looked like. I share my personal reflections from 2022 and intentions for 2023 while prompting you to consider where you're at and where you want to go. Starting a new year comes with adjusting our goals and intentions or continuing with what's been working well so far. Tying that all in to tips for finishing what you start. As always, I'm ending the episode with 3 reflection questions for you that you can use for self reflection solo or with a friend or as journal prompts.

Time for a reset! This is the summer of giving back to yourself and setting the tone for the next 6 months. We're ending season one with some GGH tips and insights going into this next phase of your life with healing and bettering your relationship with yourself on the forefront.

Modern dating is challenging as it is. Let's be real, many people dive into dating as a way to cope with a previous relationship loss or a way to feel an immediate connection regardless of how authentic and safe it feels. Healing is ongoing but where is the line where we can confidently date and feel like we are a healthy space enough to access tools, strategies and supports if it all falls a part? This episode gets into debunking dating myths around individuals who are healing and getting into the do's and don'ts of dating while healing.

Our trauma doesn't define us but it sure can impact the way that we see the world and connect to others (especially as you move through different points in your healing!). I'm breaking down my latest IG post and getting into 6 (of many) signs that your past trauma can be showing up and impacting your relationship or dating life.

My dad was one of the greatest people I've had in my life and continues to leave his imprint on me. I was devastated losing him and had to do a lot of growing while figuring what life without him looked like. I stayed stuck and in denial for a long time refusing to move forward when it came to starting to take the steps to get professional and even asking others for help like car trouble when I ran exhausted from feeling defeated on my own. Healing hasn't been easy and continues to require me to adapt, ask for help and tap into some of the most vulnerable parts of me. I'm sharing what I know so far in my grief journey with a huge focus on realities, fears what's been helpful for me when coping, friendships strengthening and others falling a part and what grief looks like for me today, 11 years later.

The joys and complexities of female friendship is something that we learn over time. Are you ready to reflect on what female friendships have meant to you from when you were a child to a teen and now an adult? Connection is always a foundation piece in what brings two people together whether you're 8 or 30 but what that connection means for you will differ over time. Not to mention, your needs changing and growing together or a part (or in some cases giving each other the space to grow on our own).

Have you had that person in your life that has come and gone over and over? It somehow makes sense for you in your journey but you still feel like something might be wrong with this pattern. This is the episode you've been waiting for. Inspired by an earlier GGH post of mine, I wanted to dedicate an episode to why we recycle relationships. If you haven't heard of the term before, I'll explain at the start but it is as it sounds. There's no shame in it and why we do it. In fact, from a trauma lens it's understandable why we keep old relationships close at times. 

I asked you to send me some of your questions or feelings around your current relationships including the one you have with yourself! Answering seven of your questions in this VALENTINE'S DAY inspired episode. Everything isn't always hearts and roses. Relationships take real work. Allow yourself to make connections and ask questions as you listen to this episode diving into grief in relationships, age gaps, therapy and self-love.

This is your bestie here reminding you to prioritize your health! Get that long over due physical and pap test. In this episode I talk about what to expect during a pap and my experience with having my first one done and the discoveries that that led to as well as an honest dialogue on some of the reservations we may have about seeking support. I share a part of my healing journey in the context of my reproductive health in the hopes of connecting to more of you out there who also have struggled with painful conditions. We need to normalize having more conversations like these and encourage one another to ask questions, push for answers and never minimize the pain or discomfort we go through. 

I left my job without a plan but knew that I couldn't stay. The pandemic has brought out a lot of challenges and surfaced issues that may have been there all along in our workplaces. On the flip side, it has brought to our attention what our needs are and whether they're being met or not. I share my rollercoaster experience of leaving, being unemployed, feeling completely lost and insecure, dating while being unemployed and some powerful reflections from this point in my life. So much of what we associated with who we are is linked to our schooling and career. But who are you when you have nothing?

Have you ever heard of the term love bombing or have had a friend tell you that you're being love bombed? We unpack all things love bomb related in this episode from signs to look out for, some of my own experiences with it and the connection it has to trauma for both those who have love bombed and those on the receiving end. If all signs point to you don't panic! It's okay! It's about looking inward too and understanding all perspectives while being clear about our own standards for our future partner. As always, it starts with us and the relationship we have with ourselves.

Expectation after expectation hits hard in your 20's and no doubt can continue onwards. We each have a unique experience with how our tiny world around us has influenced the expectations we feel from society and from within. Trying to reach an expected milestone or keep up when working through trauma that has set you back developmentally is unfair and can exacerbate the pressures we already feel at this age. Let's get into some of the more challenging and raw feelings that can come from years and even decades of not falling in line with the life we thought we would or were made to believe we needed to have. Catch some tips on how to deal and know that you are not alone.

Bracing for the holidays is a feeling, a trauma response and entire experience for those who have had their fair share of losses and mental health struggles. From putting on a fake exterior to family to pushing through events that you're not mentally able to be at to your best ability. This episode is especially important for all listeners because it sheds a light on mindfulness and showing compassion for others who may not be in a space to indulge in this glamourized time of the year. Nothing feels lonelier then knowing you don't feel the same way as the ads, music, your workplace, family unit or partner is feeling. The holidays mean something different to each of us. Let's take some time to reflect on where we're at. 

Meeting yourself where you're at is a GGH fundamental. This goes beyond a phrase and is a practice for our healing, eager, self-sabotaging and pressure filled self. In this very first episode, I share a bit of my own journey in arriving at this point. Trauma plays a huge role in how we seek support, when we seek support and our ability to show ourselves self-compassion depending on the nature of our experiences. We talk about one's evolution through healing and explore how self-awareness has supported us in where we're at and want to go.