Author: Discovering My Joy
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Learning to Trust Myself Again: Driving Through Perimenopause
A personal journey through fear, hormones, and finding my way back to the wheel. When Driving Stopped Feeling Safe Learning to Trust Myself Again – Part One For most of my adult life, driving was a natural process.Errands, appointments, long stretches of highway, I didn’t think twice. Until one day, I did. There was no…
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Healing as a Parentified Daughter: Letting Go of Roles That Were Never Yours
For a long time, I didn’t realize there was a name for what I experienced. I just knew that growing up, I felt older than I was supposed to be. Responsible in ways that didn’t quite fit my age. Tuned into everyone else’s emotions before I ever checked in with my own. This is often…
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You Are Not Your Inner Critic: Learning to Speak to Yourself with Compassion
Have you ever noticed how harsh your inner voice can be? The way it questions your choices.The way it points out flaws before strengths.The way it holds you to standards you would never expect from anyone else. For a long time, I thought that inner critic was just part of being responsible — a way…
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Embracing Healing: Turning Past Trauma into Growth
Trauma doesn’t always announce itself loudly. Sometimes it shows up quietly — in the way we tense our shoulders, second-guess our decisions, or struggle to rest even when we’re exhausted. It can live in the background of our lives, shaping how we respond to the world long after the original experience has passed. For a…
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The Mindful Shower: Turning an Everyday Routine into a Moment of Calm
Some days, calm feels hard to find. Life moves quickly, responsibilities pile up, and even moments meant for rest can feel rushed. For a long time, my shower was just another task — something to get through before moving on to the next thing on the list. Until I realized it didn’t have to be…
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Who Do You Need to Forgive This Year? The Journey of Forgiving Myself
For a long time, I thought forgiveness was something we were supposed to offer other people. Forgive the person who hurt you.Forgive the one who disappointed you.Forgive the one who didn’t show up the way you needed. What no one really talks about is how hard it can be to forgive yourself. Not for one…
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When You’re Losing Yourself in the Middle of Everything
There comes a point when the weight of life starts piling up so high that you can’t tell where you end and where everyone else’s needs begin. For me, it started showing up in ways I couldn’t ignore – sleepless nights, waking every two hours, carrying resentment so heavy that even the sound of my…