What is the difference between our breakdowns and our breakthroughs, and what can we learn from them? If something in our lives is continually breaking down and always seems on the verge of falling apart, maybe we should just let it. Sometimes I think the “aha” moment occurs when we stop evaluating our strengths and skills by how hard we can work to fix things, how proficient we are at foreseeing problems, or how skilled we are at playing emotional and intellectual chess and instead appreciate how gracefully we can let things go. CONNECT WITH LOVE LETTERS AND MIXTAPES IG @LOVELETTERSANDMIXTAPES Spotify @LOVELETTERSANDMIXTAPES TikTok @LOVELETTERSANDMIXTAPES Twitter @LOVELETTERSNMIX EPISODE SPONSORSHIP Support this podcast with a donation at: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/love-letters-and-mixtapes/support Please email for advertising or sponsorship inquiries: [email protected] --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/love-letters-and-mixtapes/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/love-letters-and-mixtapes/support

"It's almost like we think the way other people drink." "I am so afraid of being found out, but I don't even know what I did." "If I don't know what is going on or can't see 5 steps ahead, then something must be wrong." If these statements resonate with you, then you have found yourself in the right place. I sat down this evening with no notes or outlines, I hit record and just started talking to you the exact same way I talk to my younger self. It can be challenging to admit that as adults with agency, opportunities, and freedom, that we still feel the aftershocks of trauma or deprivation in our lives. I understand the appeal to lean towards bravado, to put up walls, to hide behind a mask of overcompensation or perfection to distance ourselves from those feelings that seem to chase us. But that always ends up leaving us empty. This episode is a reminder that you are not alone, you are only responsible for yourself, you don't have to fix it, you don't have to fix them, and that sometimes it's okay to just sit this one out. *Please note there is changing language around substance use disorders. For the sake of this community and the specifics of what I am discussing here today, I will continue to use the terms alcoholism and addiction. I understand and honor that may not resonate for everyone. CONNECT WITH LOVE LETTERS AND MIXTAPES IG @LOVELETTERSANDMIXTAPES Spotify @LOVELETTERSANDMIXTAPES TikTok @LOVELETTERSANDMIXTAPES Twitter @LOVELETTERSNMIX EPISODE SPONSORSHIP Support this podcast with a donation at: https://anchor.fm/love-letters-and-mixtapes/support Please email for advertising or sponsorship inquiries: [email protected] --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/love-letters-and-mixtapes/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/love-letters-and-mixtapes/support

If we are not careful, we can go through our whole lives and only be known for what we did for people and what we hid from people instead of being known for who we are and what we thought, felt, liked, loved, and needed. In this episode, we explore what happens when we speak our truth and live authentically when there are things we don’t want to say out loud. If you've lost your voice, if you are choking on your words, if you worry about being rejected or abandoned when you show up in your wholeness, if that mask of invisibility is getting too heavy to hold up any longer, this episode is for you. CONNECT WITH LOVE LETTERS AND MIXTAPES IG @LOVELETTERSANDMIXTAPES Spotify @LOVELETTERSANDMIXTAPES TikTok @LOVELETTERSANDMIXTAPES Twitter @LOVELETTERSNMIX EPISODE SPONSORSHIP Support this podcast with a donation at: https://anchor.fm/love-letters-and-mixtapes/support Please email for advertising or sponsorship inquiries: [email protected] --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/love-letters-and-mixtapes/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/love-letters-and-mixtapes/support

Stepping away from compulsive "okayness" was heavy on my mind this morning as I hit record for this pre-coffee episode, where we explore getting curious about our lives, opening doors of perception, healing phantom pain, and integrating all of who we are. Together, we'll explore what mirror work is and how we can show up for the reality of our experience with a little more compassion and a little less judgment. CONNECT WITH LOVE LETTERS AND MIXTAPES IG @LOVELETTERSANDMIXTAPES Spotify @LOVELETTERSANDMIXTAPES TikTok @LOVELETTERSANDMIXTAPES Twitter @LOVELETTERSNMIX EPISODE SPONSORSHIP Support this podcast with a donation at: https://anchor.fm/love-letters-and-mixtapes/support Please email for advertising or sponsorship inquiries: [email protected] --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/love-letters-and-mixtapes/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/love-letters-and-mixtapes/support

How do we cultivate space for acceptance and discernment in cycles and seasons of uncomfortable transformation? Being a human being living a human life is not a medical condition that needs to be treated. Can we sit with our thoughts, feelings, and experiences and find value in what the world tells us are undesirable or unnecessary moments of challenging growth? Maybe these cycles in our life aren't punishment; maybe they're poetry. CONNECT WITH LOVE LETTERS AND MIXTAPES IG @LOVELETTERSANDMIXTAPES Spotify @LOVELETTERSANDMIXTAPES TikTok @LOVELETTERSANDMIXTAPES Twitter @LOVELETTERSNMIX EPISODE SPONSORSHIP Support this podcast with a donation at: https://anchor.fm/love-letters-and-mixtapes/support Please email for advertising or sponsorship inquiries: [email protected] --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/love-letters-and-mixtapes/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/love-letters-and-mixtapes/support

Live from my backyard! Yes, that's right. I laid in the grass of my backyard and soaked up the sunshine while recording this week's episode, sacrificing audio quality for a heartfelt energy transmission. This week we explore what it means to take up emotional space, to see and be seen, to take off our masks of perfection and anchor into our authenticity. We also touch on the moments of contraction, whether big or small, when we attempt to manage ourselves or other people by making ourselves invisible or pushing others away. CONNECT WITH LOVE LETTERS AND MIXTAPES IG @LOVELETTERSANDMIXTAPES Spotify @LOVELETTERSANDMIXTAPES TikTok @LOVELETTERSANDMIXTAPES Twitter @LOVELETTERSNMIX EPISODE SPONSORSHIP Support this podcast with a donation at: https://anchor.fm/love-letters-and-mixtapes/support Please email for advertising or sponsorship inquiries: [email protected] --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/love-letters-and-mixtapes/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/love-letters-and-mixtapes/support

This episode is a pretty tender love letter to anyone grieving the loss of an imagined future. We'll explore what happens to our self-perception when our insides don’t match our outsides in the aftermath of trauma, grief, survival mode, and fight or flight. How do we see ourselves, treat ourselves, and show up for the reality of our experience when it is far different than what we hoped for? CONNECT WITH LOVE LETTERS AND MIXTAPES IG @LOVELETTERSANDMIXTAPES Spotify @LOVELETTERSANDMIXTAPES TikTok @LOVELETTERSANDMIXTAPES Twitter @LOVELETTERSNMIX EPISODE SPONSORSHIP Support this podcast with a donation at: https://anchor.fm/love-letters-and-mixtapes/support Please email for advertising or sponsorship inquiries: [email protected] --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/love-letters-and-mixtapes/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/love-letters-and-mixtapes/support

I often say that my walls are my wounds, but what does this mean for our personal or professional lives? When are we limiting ourselves while convincing ourselves that we are actually protecting ourselves? How does shame contribute to our walls and keep us small? What would our lives look like if we became willing to become willing to try something new? CONNECT WITH LOVE LETTERS AND MIXTAPES IG @LOVELETTERSANDMIXTAPES Spotify @LOVELETTERSANDMIXTAPES TikTok @LOVELETTERSANDMIXTAPES Twitter @LOVELETTERSNMIX EPISODE SPONSORSHIP Support this podcast with a donation at: https://anchor.fm/love-letters-and-mixtapes/support Please email for advertising or sponsorship inquiries: [email protected] --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/love-letters-and-mixtapes/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/love-letters-and-mixtapes/support

Complex grief can cause us to feel disoriented and trapped in a loop of our pain. This episode explores how complex grief shows up in our lives, how we can meet our uncomfortable feelings with compassion, and maybe deconstructs some myths about how we "should" deal with our grief. CONNECT WITH LOVE LETTERS AND MIXTAPES IG @LOVELETTERSANDMIXTAPES Spotify @LOVELETTERSANDMIXTAPES TikTok @LOVELETTERSANDMIXTAPES Twitter @LOVELETTERSNMIX EPISODE SPONSORSHIP Support this podcast with a donation at: https://anchor.fm/love-letters-and-mixtapes/support Please email for advertising or sponsorship inquiries: [email protected] --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/love-letters-and-mixtapes/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/love-letters-and-mixtapes/support

One of the most powerful lessons in my own life took root in the very simple saying, "Don’t go to the hardware store for milk."  This episode explores personal accountability, boundaries, and emotional regulation by looking at those moments of anxiety when we find ourselves seeking resources, reactivity, and emotional responses from people, places, and things that are either inappropriate or don’t have what we are looking for. CONNECT WITH LOVE LETTERS AND MIXTAPES IG @LOVELETTERSANDMIXTAPES Spotify @LOVELETTERSANDMIXTAPES TikTok @LOVELETTERSANDMIXTAPES Twitter @LOVELETTERSNMIX EPISODE SPONSORSHIP Support this podcast with a donation at: https://anchor.fm/love-letters-and-mixtapes/support Please email for advertising or sponsorship inquiries: [email protected] --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/love-letters-and-mixtapes/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/love-letters-and-mixtapes/support