Whimsy is having a moment on the internet, and I love the meaning underneath it all. Not the performative, one-size-fits-all cottagecore type. But the permission to do things just for the fun of it.

Spinning in circles until you fall down. Going to Ireland because nothing was stopping you. Naming the stuffed rat from the Nutcracker gift shop Jean-Claude and carrying him around all night (all the old ladies loved it).

I get into the difference between impulse that expands you and impulse that's running away, the lie that being an adult means everything has to be serious, and some of the unconventional things that I do simply because it makes me happy.

You don't have to call it whimsy. But it's worth asking what you love simply because you love it.

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I've been thinking about autonomy. Remember that life is a series of choices strung together, and that you never actually needed permission to make them. I talk about choosing paths that scare you, the pixie cut you got just because you wanted to, eloping instead of doing it "the right way," and what it really means to build trust with a partner by letting them be their own person. Consequence isn't the enemy. It's just what happens after you choose.

This is your reminder that you can decide a different path at any moment.

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If your brain has ever felt too loud to live in, I hope this makes you feel a little less alone. I only know one small part of life without worry.

I was eight, living at a campground, riding my scooter down to a wash full of flowers and making up songs. That version of me had never met a worry. Everything after that is what this episode is about.

I talk about being twelve and not being able to take a full breath, and how nobody in the room knew to call it what it was. I talk about the years that followed: the eating disorder, the compulsive shopping, the drinking, and the belief underneath all of it that something was just inherently wrong with me. I talk about rock bottom at nineteen, the spiritual awakening that came out of it, and the ten years it took to get to the other side (but I'm still healing).

And I talk about the one thing that changed everything, which is learning that I am not my thoughts.

I am not a professional and I am not here to fix you. Think of this as sitting on a cozy couch while it rains outside, having a heart to heart with someone who has been there.

Buy The Untethered Soul: The Journey Beyond Yourself by Michael A. Singer on Amazon

Buy The Trauma of Burnout: How to Manage Your Nervous System Before It Manages You by Dr. Claire Plumbly on Amazon

Buy The Anti-Anxiety Notebook: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Other Essentials made by Therapists on Amazon

If you are struggling right now, please reach out to someone. In the US you can call or text 988 any time for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.

For eating disorder support, the National Alliance for Eating Disorders helpline is 1-866-662-1235.

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