Welcome to month one of Blooming Out Loud. Let’s talk about one tiny word that has shaped so much of my life: should. It slips into our goals, our bodies, our worth—until it feels like a weight we can’t shake. For me, it showed up in the five times I failed my licensing exam, each one echoing with “I should have done better.”

What saved me wasn’t perfection, but permission. I learned to swap should for could and want, to speak to myself with kindness, and to lean on community that believed in me when I couldn’t. Slowly, I realized the test didn’t own my competence—I did.

This episode is for anyone carrying invisible rulebooks. Shoulds are everywhere—on social media, in childhood judgments, in the way we measure ourselves against moving finish lines. But your body is not a problem to fix; it’s your home. When the critic whispers should, pause and ask: What do I actually want?

By the end, I hope you feel permission—to be late, to be messy, to pass on the fifth try and still be brilliant. You are not broken. You are enough.

Halie Rose Bloom cracks open the grief of friendship breakups—the ones nobody talks about but that cut the deepest. With raw honesty and vivid storytelling, she names the heartbreak of losing friends, the silence that follows, and the lessons hidden inside. This episode offers permission to grieve, guidance on setting boundaries, and hope that endings can make space for deeper, truer connections.

Halie Rose Bloom opens with a simple question: How are you, really? From there, she strips away small talk to share the raw truth — healing isn’t gentle. It rips, it aches, and her body often knew the danger before her mind did. From childhood burdens to sleepless nights and stomach cramps, Halie traces how the body speaks when words fail. Through therapy and reflection, she learns to reparent her younger self, trading armor for grief and finding that pain can be proof of progress.

Single in the city? Same. Join Halie Rose Bloom for a laugh-out-loud, no-holding-back episode of "Blooming Out Loud" where we spill the tea on dating, ghosting, and why being single in NYC is basically a full-time job.

From SoulCycle revelations to brutally honest cab drivers and the kind of fart stories you can’t make up, Halie keeps it real. She’s not here to romanticize the struggle—she’s here to celebrate the chaos, the freedom, and the fierce self-love that comes with doing life solo.

Whether you're freshly single or proudly thriving, this episode is your reminder that you don’t need a plus-one to feel whole—you just need a playlist, a good story, and a little bit of Bloom.

This week on Blooming Out Loud, Halie Rose Bloom opens up about the financial anxieties and societal pressures of life in New York—a city that never sleeps and often measures worth by paychecks and professions.

Raised by a single mother in Southern California, money was always present in Halie’s story but never her definition. From juggling jobs to refusing the word “no,” she built resilience and a relentless drive to keep moving forward. Guided by her mother’s mantra, “We’ll figure it out later,” Halie learned to chase opportunities even when the odds felt stacked against her.

This episode explores the unseen struggles behind her determination, the lessons that shaped her, and her commitment to building happiness on her own terms—proof that even in a world ruled by money, there’s always a way through.

Welcome to Blooming Out Loud, where survival meets softness. Hosted by NYC-based trauma therapist Halie Rose Bloom, this podcast explores the raw, unpolished, and deeply human journey of healing and self-acceptance. In this episode, Halie reflects on being diagnosed with ADHD, anxiety, and depression at 12 — and how growing up feeling rejected fueled her drive to carve her own path. From challenging school systems to becoming the lead plaintiff in a disability rights lawsuit, Halie shares how she turned every “no” into fuel for advocacy and growth. Her story unfolds through college hardships, life in NYC, and a powerful transformation while studying social work at NYU — ultimately embracing the bold, unfiltered version of herself she was always meant to be. This episode is for anyone in the messy middle — navigating identity, rejection, and resilience. Blooming Out Loud reminds you: you’re not behind. You’re exactly where you’re meant to be.