Being A Lot - Digital Nomad Life and Mental Health

Making friends as a digital nomad turned out to be one of the best surprises of this life. I thought I would be alone. I thought I would need a partner to do this with. I was completely wrong.In this episode I sit down with my best friend Evelina, who I met here in Chiang Mai, to talk about how to make friends as a digital nomad, why it is so much easier than you think, and what to actually do when you arrive somewhere new and know no one.We talk about:- why I thought I needed a boyfriend to not be alone as a nomad- why WhatsApp nomad groups can't be found unless someone already invites you- how nomad friendships go deeper in 3 to 5 days what takes 3 to 5 years back home- the best Facebook groups, WhatsApp groups and apps for meeting people as a digital nomad- why going alone to nomad events is actually easier than going with a friend- you only need to meet one person to unlock the whole community- the 5 seconds of courage rule for talking to strangers- how to stay close when your whole friend group keeps movingEvelina is a Lithuanian-Irish digital nomad, content creator, and social media marketing business owner. She has been running her own business for almost four years while living the nomad life between Chiang Mai, Da Nang, and Ireland.Follow her on Instagram: @evs_adventures - https://www.instagram.com/evs_adventures?igsh=bnMwcWtoejg2dXU=Hi, I'm Ebba. The host of Being a Lot podcast. I'm a mental health survivor who decided to leave everything behind to start the digital nomad life. I started this podcast to open up the conversation about how to become a digital nomad and how to navigate nomad life when you are or have been struggling with your mental health.Follow on Instagram: @being.ebba - https://www.instagram.com/being.ebba?igsh=MXB6dTlobHA5c29zbw%3D%3D&[email protected] - https://www.instagram.com/being.ebba?igsh=MXB6dTlobHA5c29zbw%3D%3D&utm_source=qr

Moving abroad doesn't fix your mental health, but it doesn't have to hurt it either. It's more complicated than either of those things, and that's exactly what we got into in this conversation.

I sat down with Julie Martin, a licensed marriage and family therapist who specializes in working with expats and digital nomads, to talk about what actually happens to your mental health when you uproot your life, why old patterns tend to resurface in new places, and how to find the right support when you're far from home.

We talk about:

• Why trauma and anxiety follow you abroad and show up in new forms
• How to mentally prepare for moving abroad or starting your life as a digital nomad as someone with a mental health history
• The real difference between therapy and coaching, and when each is appropriate
• Why online therapy has limits and what to do if you need higher levels of care
• How to build a support system and community as a digital nomad or expat
• The unregulated wellness space abroad and how to protect yourself in it

Julie Martin is a licensed marriage and family therapist specializing in expats and digital nomads. She works with clients navigating anxiety, trauma, and identity across time zones and cultures. Follow her on @therapy4expats on Instagram

The supplements Julie reccomend:

• Magnesium glycinate
• Vitamin D3 & K2

00:00 Intro

00:22 Who is Julie Martin?

03:50 What nomads and expats most commonly struggle with

06:00 How old patterns from family of origin resurface abroad

09:00 Running away vs. running toward: a therapist's take

13:00 How to prepare your mental health before moving abroad

16:00 Online therapy vs. in-person: what actually changes

22:00 What to do if you need a higher level of care abroad

27:00 How to build community intentionally as a nomad

33:00 The unregulated wellness and coaching space abroad

45:00 Therapy vs. coaching: what's the difference?

55:00 Practical tips for mental health routines while traveling

Hi, I’m Ebba. The host of Being a Lot podcast. I’m a mental health survivor who decided to leave everything behind to start the digital nomad life. I started this podcast to open up the conversation about how to become a digital nomad and how to navigate nomad life when you are or have been struggling with your mental health.

Follow on Instagram: @being.ebba & beingalot.podcast

If you want to be a digital nomad but feel nervous about going alone, this episode is for you.

I've done nomad trips both solo and with friends, and the experiences could not be more different.

We talk about:

• Why traveling with a friend as a digital nomad can hold you back from the real experience
• The clean slate you get when you arrive somewhere and no one knows who you are
• How going solo forces you to build a nomad community faster
• Why choosing a nomad-friendly city like Chiang Mai or Da Nang is the most important decision for solo travelers
• How I went from dreading going alone to having a full social life on the road

00:00 Intro00:50 The Bali trip that changed my mind02:26 Why going alone is a clean slate05:10 Choose a place with a nomad community07:41 Finding my people on the road10:34 How nomads actually connect13:16 Final thoughts

Hi, I’m Ebba. The host of Being a Lot podcast. I’m a mental health survivor who decided to leave everything behind to start the digital nomad life. I started this podcast to open up the conversation about how to become a digital nomad and how to navigate nomad life when you are or have been struggling with your mental health.

Follow on Instagram: @being.ebba & beingalot.podcast

"Alignment" gets thrown around a lot. But what does living in alignment actually mean, and why is it so hard to get there even when you know what you want?

I sat down with Willo Sana, transformation business coach and author of Double Down On Your Genius, to dig into the real work behind alignment: limiting beliefs, nervous system regulation, the fear that feels like death but isn't, and why being aligned doesn't mean life suddenly gets easy.

We met at a meet up for female founders in Chiang Mai and when I started this podcast she was the first person I knew needed to come on to talk about why being in alignment can be so scary.

We talk about:

• What living in alignment actually means and why it's not a permanent state
• How to tell the difference between fear of something right and fear of something wrong
• What limiting beliefs are, where they come from, and how they keep you stuck
• The nervous system and why changing old patterns takes time
• What you can do if you want to start the digital nomad life or live abroad
• Why leaving your 9 to 5 or starting a business brings up so much fear

Willo Sana is a transformation business coach, speaker, and author of Double Down On Your Genius. She works with visionary and creative leaders ready to build a business and life that feels true to who they are.

Find her at https://willolovesyou.com/

Instagram: @willolovesyou

Buy her book: https://willolovesyou.com/book/

00:00 Intro

01:30 Who is Willo Sana?

03:00 What living in alignment actually means

07:00 How to find what you're aligned with

09:30 Why feeling stuck is really about fear

13:00 Doing it scared and why that's the only way

16:00 How to tell if fear means yes or no

21:00 Why alignment doesn't mean easy

27:00 Limiting beliefs: what they are and where they come from

33:00 The nervous system and why change takes time

41:00 The Alignment Trifecta: heal, create, grow

50:00 Why you're the one holding yourself back

Hi, I’m Ebba. The host of Being a Lot podcast. I’m a mental health survivor who decided to leave everything behind to start the digital nomad life. I started this podcast to open up the conversation about how to become a digital nomad and how to navigate nomad life when you are or have been struggling with your mental health.

Follow on Instagram: @being.ebba & beingalot.podcast

Kirsti is a career break and sabbatical coach who thought she'd be back at her job within a few months.

I invited Kirsti on because I had one question: is a sabbatical a gateway to nomad life?

I didn't get the answer I expected and the conversation turned into so much more.

Instead she became a yoga teacher and a coach for those who want to do a career break or a sabbatical.

We talked about what happens when you quit your job, step away from your routine, and everything you thought you wanted, and why it's so much more work on yourself than most people expect.

We get into:

- What a sabbatical actually is

- Why you can't outrun yourself- How to approach your boss before you have it all figured out

- What the inner work actually looks like

- Why the planning is the easy part

If you're thinking about a career break, already on one, or just sitting at your desk thinking "this is not it", this one's for you.

Find Kirsti:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kirstikuenstel

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kirstikuenstel

Substack: https://kirstik.substack.com

And follow Being A Lot on Instagram @Beingalot.podcast

00:00 Intro

00:31 Meet Kirsti: from corporate to career break coach

06:08 Who actually takes a sabbatical (and why)

13:46 The mistake most people make when planning a break

20:30 You can't outrun yourself

25:15 The traveling hamster wheel

33:10 On women, conditioning, and taking up space

37:05 How to approach your boss

46:05 Leaving without a plan

53:12 Stop building another hamster wheel

01:01:17 Letting go of the Disney dream

01:09:07 Authenticity, comparison, and choosing your own life01:13:15 The more you postpone it, the more life you're missing

I thought digital nomad life would be to travel to loads of new places.

I don’t . My day looks a lot like yours, wake up, work out, sit down and work, grab lunch, work some more. The difference is just that I'm doing it in Da Nang och Chiang Mai or some other nomad-friendly place.

And honestly it is so much better then I ever could have imagined. But of course it has its cons too.

This episode is about what digital nomad life actually looks like behind the highlight reel, and what you actually need to think about if it's something you want.

In this episode I talk about:

• What digital nomad life actually looks like vs. what you see on social media
• Why staying longer in one place changes everything
• How community and real connections shape the way nomads travel
• Why I genuinely love this lifestyle, even on the ordinary days
• The real sacrifices nobody warns you about
• How to get past the "but I don't have a remote job" thought

00:00 Intro: why I chose nomad life01:03 What I thought nomad life would look like01:45 The Instagram version vs. reality03:28 What being a nomad actually means05:17 Why staying longer in one place changes everything06:35 Community and the people you meet on the road11:15 The sacrifices nobody warns you about13:03 "But I don't have a remote job"15:30 Nomad life is a routine life17:51 What's coming in future episodes

Instagram: @being.ebbaPodcast Instagram: @beingalot.podcast

#digitalnomad #mentalhealth

Gah, I started a podcast!? Hi, I'm Ebba. I'm a Swedish digital nomad, business owner, and mental health survivor. Sober, single in my 30s, and childfree. An overthinker, a fitness lover, and apparently now a podcast host.

This is the podcast where we talk about digital nomad life, mental health, and what it actually looks like to leave the 9 to 5 and build a life on your own terms.

Because I struggled for years with anxiety and depression and when I finally got better I decided to choose freedom and life as a digital nomad.In this episode I want to share my journey and who this podcast is actually for and a bit about:

- What the digital nomad lifestyle actually looks like beyond the Instagram highlight reel

- How I navigated life after anxiety and depression and started building sustainable habits

- Why leaving the 9 to 5 and moving abroad changed my mental well-being more than anything else

- What no one talks about when it comes to finding purpose and alignment after mental health struggles

- How I got started as a virtual assistant and moved to Paris with no plan

- Solo travel, building meaningful friendships, and navigating loneliness as a nomad

So why Being A Lot?. Most of my life I’ve been scared of being too much. Too loud, too emotional, too needy, too loud, too shy.

This podcast is about relearning that being a lot is not a bad thing and to live our full life even if it is not what others expect from us.

00:00 Welcome to Being a Lot

00:55 Who is Ebba?

05:39 Anxiety, depression, and the dream job that wasn't

09:36 How the digital nomad lifestyle changed my mental health 1

4:30 Where the name Being a Lot comes from

Instagram @being.ebba

Podcast Instagram @beingalot.podcast

Hi, I'm Ebba and I'm a lot - A digital nomad, mental health survivor and business owner.Maybe you just came out the other side of anxiety, depression or burnout and are asking "now what?" In this podcast we talk about what life looks like when you've been through mental health struggles and feel like there must be more to life than sitting in an office 9 to 5.For me, that meant starting my own business to work online, do the digital nomad life and work remotely. We talk about:- The impact digital nomad life has on your emotional wellbeing (honestly the good outweighs the bad).- The self-discovery and healing journey after spending your life just surviving.- How to rebuild your life and figure out what you want.- How to make friends, deal with loneliness and mental health as a nomad.Whether you're thinking about nomad life or already in it, you're in the right place. So why Being A Lot? I've been scared of being a lot my entire life. But I'm done letting that be a bad thing.Follow along on Instagram:@[email protected]