And hello to you. It's bonus episode day. And today I want to talk about self-care. And I don't

necessarily mean bubble baths and scented candles, but the kind that actually works for you.

Because self-care means understanding what really helps you to refuel. For some people, slowing down and turning inward is exactly what they

need. Meditation, yoga, spa days, it all works fine. But for others, it doesn't. In fact, for some,

the idea of sitting quietly with her own thoughts is deeply uncomfortable.

And that's okay.

If you've had difficult experiences in your past, especially in childhood, being alone with your thoughts

might not feel like a place of safety.

It might feel like the opposite.

And if that's you, you might have tried things like mindfulness or

meditation and found them that made you feel worse, not better. And that can make you wonder if

there's something wrong with you. But there isn't. And that's why the first step in real self-care

is awareness, knowing what works for you and what doesn't. And the second step is

acceptance. Accepting that your way of looking after yourself might not look like everybody

else's and that's okay. If you've had a tough week, if your brain has been reminded of how

it felt during a traumatic time in your

life, then shaming yourself over it isn't going to help. But saying to yourself, this makes sense.

It's okay to feel this way. That's awareness. And after that, the next question is,

so what now?

Because self-care isn't just about calming yourself down.

It's also about refueling.

And that's something we don't talk about enough,

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