How to Come Back to Yourself Again and Again
Black Girl Burnout
Kelley Bonner
4.7 • 763 Ratings
🗓️ 25 March 2026
⏱️ 26 minutes
🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
There are moments when you realize you’ve drifted—away from your needs, your pace, your sense of self. In this episode, Kelley explores what it means to come back to yourself after seasons of burnout, overextension, or disconnection. She gently unpacks how easy it is to lose touch with your inner voice when you’ve been prioritizing expectations, survival, or the needs of others.
This conversation offers a grounded path back to yourself—one rooted in small choices, honest reflection, and the willingness to move at a pace that honors your capacity. Coming back to yourself isn’t about becoming someone new. It’s about returning to what has always been there.
Key Takeaways
- Disconnection can happen quietly. Burnout and overextension often pull you away from your needs without you realizing it.
- Reconnection starts with awareness. Noticing what feels off is the first step toward returning to yourself with honesty and care.
- Small, consistent choices rebuild trust. You don’t need a full reset—tiny, intentional shifts help you come back to yourself over time.
Episode Highlights
- 01:57 – How You Know You’ve Drifted From Yourself
- Kelley names the subtle signs of disconnection, including exhaustion, irritability, and feeling out of alignment with your own life.
- 05:21 – The Cost of Constant Overextension
- A reflection on how prioritizing others, productivity, or expectations can slowly erode your connection to your own needs.
- 09:18 – Relearning Your Own Voice
- Kelley explores the practice of tuning back into your preferences, boundaries, and internal cues after periods of disconnection.
- 13:46 – Returning to Yourself in Small Ways
- A gentle reminder that coming back to yourself happens through small, sustainable choices—not pressure or perfection.
A Gentle Invitation
If this episode resonated, choose one small way to come back to yourself this week. It might be resting when you’re tired, saying no without overexplaining, or simply pausing to ask, What do I need right now?
Listen to the full episode, share it with someone who may be feeling disconnected, and leave a review if this conversation supported you. Each step you take toward yourself creates more space for ease, clarity, and a life that feels like your own.
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Like, share, and subscribe on all platforms, and find us on social media
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Drop a review—help us spread the word that rest is not weakness.
Stay in Touch
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Our Sponsors
Check out PharmaNutra and use my code BGB for a great deal: https://pharmanutra-us.com
Check out Greater Than: https://www.drinkgt.com
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Advertising Inquiries:Â RedCircle
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Our Sponsors:
* Check out Super.com and use my code super.com/credit for a great deal: https://super.com
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Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | There's something powerful about choosing products that are actually designed for your body. |
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| 0:11.2 | specifically for women and formulated to support us at every stage of life. Long days, |
| 0:18.2 | workouts, travel, hormone shifts. Hydration impacts how we feel more than we think. |
| 0:24.3 | Every can delivers natural electrolytes, plant-based vitamins, gentle fiber, and the nutritional |
| 0:30.6 | equivalent of three servings of fruits and vegetables. It's lower in sugar, potassium forward, |
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| 0:40.1 | understand that women's bodies aren't static or cyclical. We evolve or dynamic. But here's what |
| 0:46.7 | surprised me most. It tastes incredible. It's delicious. It's juicy and bright and refreshing. It's also not overly sweet or taste artificial. It's just clean, crisp flavor that actually makes you want to reach for it again. My personal favorite is the strawberry lemonade, by the way. It's so good. It doesn't feel like something you have to drink. |
| 1:12.2 | It feels like something you get to drink. |
| 1:15.0 | So if you're ready to upgrade your hydration, go to drink gt.com and try greater than for yourself. |
| 1:22.2 | Hydration for her. |
| 1:23.7 | And honestly, some of the most delicious refreshment you'll find anywhere. |
| 1:41.4 | Okay. And honestly, some of the most delicious refreshment you'll find anywhere. Welcome to the Black Girl Burnout podcast. Kelly here. |
| 1:45.1 | And today we are closing out the month talking about how just to live through things. |
| 1:52.8 | At the end of the day, there is no graduation with healing. |
| 1:57.7 | There is no end state where you've just healed. |
| 2:00.5 | We're all just trying to get better at coming back to ourselves. |
| 2:04.9 | I know for me, this month has been a challenge to say the least. |
| 2:10.7 | I have really wrestled with trying to come back to myself with tools and skills that keep me from |
| 2:19.9 | getting sucked into the temptation to start panicking and in the panic, start investing in |
| 2:28.3 | these kinds of outside symbols of safety. You know, okay, it's time to start a new workout routine or it's time to |
... |
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