Baggage Reclaim: Empowering advice for helping you offload your baggage & discover the great you that already exists.

Over the last two decades, I’ve learned to pay attention to signs from my body and my life that I need attention and/or that I need to ask for or seek additional help and support from safe sour...

https://www.baggagereclaim.co.uk/from-emotional-shutdown-to-self-compassion-my-self-care-evolution/

Forgiveness isn’t about ‘condoning’ what happened. It’s not an easy pass, complacency or letting ourselves or someone else off the hook, as if to say the alternative is punishment or suit...

https://www.baggagereclaim.co.uk/creating-healthier-boundaries-lets-you-move-on-and-forgive-yourself/

Part of processing the breakup of a painful relationship is talking about what the person did and didn’t do. It’s reminding ourselves of how much they hurt or disappointed us, lest we forget ...

https://www.baggagereclaim.co.uk/healing-heartbreak-the-power-of-acknowledging-your-role-with-compassion/

The past doesn’t have to define who you are; it tells you where you’ve been and what you’ve been through. When you judge past versions of yourself unfairly, it shapes the way you see yourse...

https://www.baggagereclaim.co.uk/the-past-is-a-guide-not-a-verdict/

Think of some of the things that you’ve been hard on yourself about. You know, the ones where you’ve called yourself a “fool”, “stupid”, a “failure”, “loser”, “reject” (or...

https://www.baggagereclaim.co.uk/breaking-free-of-the-hammer-of-self-criticism/

It’s not unusual after a challenging experience to wonder what life lessons we might take from it. Whether it comes from wanting to avoid making the same mistake again, ensuring we take better ...

https://www.baggagereclaim.co.uk/life-lessons-how-to-identify-what-you-need-to-learn-to-move-on/

You are normal if you are still figuring out: This is a really good time to remember that the overwhelming majority of us were not actively and healthily taught how to do any of the above. There�...

https://www.baggagereclaim.co.uk/if-youre-still-figuring-out-boundaries-self-care-life-welcome-to-the-club/

When you feel hurt and disappointed, a deep sense of loss can kick in. Like when you’re in the aftermath of a breakup. You might believe that your efforts were a waste because you may have inve...

https://www.baggagereclaim.co.uk/the-relationship-or-situation-not-working-might-hurt-but-it-isnt-a-waste/

In this week’s episode of The Baggage Reclaim Sessions, I talk about how potentially scary news about a relative’s health ended up teaching me some powerful lessons about managing anxiety a...

https://www.baggagereclaim.co.uk/podcast-ep-267-about-riding-the-rollercoaster-of-worst-case-scenario-anxiety/

It’s easy to misconstrue stressful habits we’ve normalised, such as our anxiety, guardedness and a tendency to overthink and critique as being signs of conscientiousness. We might think we ha...

https://www.baggagereclaim.co.uk/11-signs-youre-withholding-self-forgiveness-and-being-super-hard-on-yourself/

The Baggage Reclaim Sessions podcast is back from its Christmas and New Year hiatus! In this week’s episode, I demystify the term ‘self-esteem’. I also break down why we don’t need to mic...

https://www.baggagereclaim.co.uk/podcast-ep-248-keeping-it-real-about-self-esteem/

Refusing to forgive yourself is a refusal to take responsibility. Just as punishing a child without a clear understanding of responsibility, the lesson and moving forward is ineffective and cruel...

https://www.baggagereclaim.co.uk/refusing-self-forgiveness-is-just-another-role-you-play-that-blocks-happiness/

Don’t get too caught up in the story. When you’ve experienced hurt, loss and disappointment, it’s easy to become swaddled in the security blanket of the pain. You get used to telling the st...

https://www.baggagereclaim.co.uk/the-story-isnt-the-same-as-the-truth/

Growing up, I rarely heard the terms self-care, boundaries or values. Talking about feelings was a no-no, and talking about needs made you ‘needy’ or a nuisance. No was a dirty word and the r...

https://www.baggagereclaim.co.uk/perfectionism-and-the-unnecessary-pressure-we-put-on-our-self-work-to-pay-off/

When we judge ourselves harshly, we come from this place of not being ‘good enough’. As a result of this, while sometimes we’re aware of our perfectionism, often, we’re not. We assume tha...

https://www.baggagereclaim.co.uk/self-esteem-means-acknowledging-all-of-you-not-just-your-supposed-shortcomings/