Happy Growing

If this isn’t a topic that needs to be discussed openly more often, then I don’t know what is!

The amount of times I hear from people about their experience of making friends & meeting new people in their 20s are countless. Not to mention my own experiences (though, it’s definitely mentioned in this episode!).

We have moved into adulthood, still adjusting to change within & around us, everyone is on their own journey & there are so many opportunities & confusions around us. We don’t even know ourselves well enough, how are we supposed to know & befriend new people? (Despite this being exactly what we need!)

All this & more is talked about in this week’s episode. As always, let us know your thoughts & experience. We are all different, but also so often the same!

Topics:
My own experience
When C0vid came along
Why friendships change when we move into adulthood
Comparison: countryside & city life
HOW to make friends in your 20s
Taking action
Looking after yourself

Instagram: @happygrowingpodcast
Photography & Design: @eva_poglajen

Instagram: @happygrowingpodcast
Photography & Design: @eva_poglajen
Verena's Instagram: @verenaberndt_

Getting to know yourself all over again, & again & again. How’s does that sound? Maybe slightly overwhelming, definitely very unfamiliar. And if I told you that you are changing so much throughout your life, that it’s necessary to get to know yourself again and again - How does that sound?

Finding it unfamiliar that you have to get to know yourself all the time is definitely normal. But it is also incredibly exciting! If you are consciously working on it or not, you are changing & you will be many different people throughout your life (if you haven’t already been many different versions of yourself!).

Every day is new, every day is almost like a new life & you can be whoever & whatever you want to be! It’s all about perspective, perspective changes everything. Knowing how much potential & how much life is within you is the most amazing & inspiring thing there is. And you GET TO get to know yourself, this beautiful being that you are. And you GET TO spend the rest of your life with yourself.

That’s why you check in on yourself, reflect, do what makes you feel good & get to know yourself all over again, & again.

Topics:
Change is the only constant
Self-reflection
Unconscious & conscious change
Changing perspective
Preventing unwanted habits
Getting lost in day-to-day life
Your roots are not who you are
Your core-you
What hasn’t been dealt with will show up again & again
Following your intuition

Instagram: @happygrowingpodcast
Photography & Design: @eva_poglajen

Instagram: @happygrowingpodcast
Photography & Design: @eva_poglajen
Verena's Instagram: @verenaberndt_

I was recently in a situation where I turned down a job to follow my heart. My rational mind was screaming at me to decide differently, but I knew THIS feeling in my heart would never fully stop until I followed it. Until I kept following the things that truly bring me joy, no matter the outcome.

This episode is to remind you of all your endless opportunities in life, the options, the ways to make it possible, and that your life is YOURS only.

Topics:
Either follow your heart or suppress THIS feeling
My own experience
How to remind yourself of your dreams
Taking change into account
It’s never too late!
There’s always a reason
Knowing > regretting

Instagram: @happygrowingpodcast
Photography & Design: @eva_poglajen

Instagram: @happygrowingpodcast
Photography & Design: @eva_poglajen
Verena's Instagram: @verenaberndt_

We are slowly moving into the direction where mental health support is being seen as something that many people can benefit from, and as something that is being more and more openly talked about - although I believe there is still a long way to go.

Therapy isn’t affordable for everyone and support looks different in almost every country of the world. An additional barrier is asking for help and talking openly about one’s feelings, which is a skill that many of us have had to learn actively in their lives - often even in adulthood. And that’s okay.

No matter where you are in your life, how you feel about yourself, your dreams, your work, your relationship with others - you can benefit from therapy in so many ways. This episode is to encourage you and give you even more strength to reach out, and to reassure you that asking for help and seeking mental health support is an act of self-love and will bring you closer to who you are.

Topics:
Why I started therapy again
My own experience
It’s great that therapists listen to you for money!
No one is without issues
Prevention
Why we can all benefit from therapy
Asking for help
Self-love
Getting to know yourself again
Ways to get help

Do you want to speak to someone?
Samaritans: Call 116 123
Or email [email protected] (may take a few days)
Website: https://www.samaritans.org/how-we-can-help/contact-samaritan/ 

Instagram: @happygrowingpodcast.com
Artwork: @fempowerart

Instagram: @happygrowingpodcast
Photography & Design: @eva_poglajen
Verena's Instagram: @verenaberndt_

Have I ever done dr*gs? What’s my biggest regret? Do I want kids? Do I have an 0nlyfans account? I answer these and many other of your questions in this personal episode - and it’s extra special and personal because it is my Birthday today!

This week’s episode I’m absolutely beaming and that’s because, well, it is my Birthday - but also because I’m having so much fun answering all your questions (including some existential worries as I’m now officially in my late 20s).

I hope you enjoy this episode, and as always, let me know what you can relate to and any other questions you might have. Thank you for being here and for supporting Happy Growing! All my love, Verena x

Topics:
D*ck pics
Existential worries
My toxic traits
Children and future plans
Lots of reflections and stories
Personal favourites and recommendations
& so much more!

Instagram: @happygrowingpodcast
Artwork: @fempowerart

Instagram: @happygrowingpodcast
Photography & Design: @eva_poglajen
Verena's Instagram: @verenaberndt_

I spent two weeks in Trinidad & Tobago and had the absolute best time! Sharing about one’s travels and recommendations is always super fun, but it’s even more so important when it comes to all the vegan food suggestions and experiences.

This episode isn’t only about vegan food (although quite a bit), but also about all my super fun and exciting experiences in both - Trinidad and Tobago! I talk about how I experienced differences in culture, climate, nature and so much more.

I enjoyed recording this episode so so much, and you can expect secret little travels tips and stories about me hiking to waterfalls, swimming and snorkelling in the oceans and cancelled flights.

Topics:
Food culture
I’m a spoilt brat lol
Cows and dogs everywhere
Flying as a vegan
Being scared and doing it anyway
Learning through experience
The importance of travelling for growth
Crime rates, cat-calling & what to look out for
Travel & food suggestions
Adjust to a place and don’t try and have the place adjust to you!

Instagram: @happygrowingpodcast
Artwork: @fempowerart

Instagram: @happygrowingpodcast
Photography & Design: @eva_poglajen
Verena's Instagram: @verenaberndt_

Happy 2nd Anniversary to Happy Growing Podcast! On the 3rd August 2021, I uploaded our very first episode. Since then, there has been an episode every single Wednesday for the past 2 years.

2 years is a long time and a lot has happened for me since I first started this podcast. I went to school again, changed jobs, have travelled a lot, changed many things in my life and have especially grown more and more into adulthood.

This week’s episode is a completely unprepared chat about all the personal things happening in my life. I talk about future plans as much as the areas in my life that I have turned around and developed. I share what causes me confusion, the idea of being in your late 20s, big life changes that might be happening soon and a lot more.

Thank you so much to all of you - no matter if you’ve been around from the beginning or just recently discovered Happy Growing. I am grateful for you and can’t wait to see how we are going to grow as a community.

Topics:
How my life has changed in the past 2 years
The beginnings of Happy Growing
What I have learnt
My current situation & future plans
Being an ‘adult’
My travels
Am I staying in London?

Instagram: @happygrowingpodcast
Artwork: @fempowerart

Instagram: @happygrowingpodcast
Photography & Design: @eva_poglajen
Verena's Instagram: @verenaberndt_

This week’s episode is about my coming-out, about my experience in Christian churches and communities, about my belief and faith, about gender roles, about sexualising myself in queer relationships, and about heteronormativity.

As with everything in this podcast, I hope for people to find something to relate to, to feel like they belong, like they are part of a community and knowing that there are people out there with similar experiences.

This is by far the most raw, honest and vulnerable episode I have ever recorded and shared. It means so much to me to have recorded it and to be able to put it out into the world for people to connect to. It feels so good to have a community of listeners who I know are supportive and grateful for this kind of content.

We are all growing together - that’s why it’s Happy Growing!

Topics:
Coming out to my parents
Growing up in Christian communities
Differentiating between Church and believing in God
My struggles with my sexuality
Being a feminine-presenting, queer person
Confusion through common gender roles and ideas of my future
Sexualising myself (within my sexuality) / the Male Gaze
Heteronormativity

Instagram: @happygrowingpodcast
Artwork: @fempowerart

Instagram: @happygrowingpodcast
Photography & Design: @eva_poglajen
Verena's Instagram: @verenaberndt_

Growing up, I was exposed to rather ‘traditional’ jobs and career paths. Based on that, I got an idea of what I can see myself doing as an adult, how I want to make my money, how I want to use my time and schedule my day to day life.

I am grateful for this experience, but I wonder what it would have been like if I had been exposed to a more diverse world of careers and lifestyles. Would I have found it overwhelming and pressuring, or more so inspiring and motivating?

The change of outlook on work and money certainly has its pros and cons, and I see, understand and value both sides to it. What I don’t like seeing is the pressure that people put themselves under of having to create something for themselves, like their own business, despite possibly having a great ‘normal’ job - just because it isn’t seen as ‘enough’ anymore to do something within the ‘norm’, even if one has accomplished years of studying and built a career.

I see the line between this kind of change being an inspiration and it being a reason to worry and potentially even question your life and work as very thin. And although questioning your choices is good and healthy, it isn’t good when one minimises their achievements just because those aren’t ‘I am a business owner’ or ‘300k Followers on Social Media’.

I would love for you to share your thoughts and experience on this - as always!

Instagram: @happygrowingpodcast
Artwork: @fempowerart

Instagram: @happygrowingpodcast
Photography & Design: @eva_poglajen
Verena's Instagram: @verenaberndt_

Over the past 10 ish years, I have had my fair share of relationship and dating experience. As with everything, I got to learn so much about myself, what I need, what I want, where I see myself in the future. And I also got to learn a lot about my needs and wishes in a romantic relationship.

What is really important to me, and in romantic relationships in general? How do you build a healthy partnership? What about roles? What about s3x and intimacy? What does it mean to fight and to argue, and how do you do it right and respectfully?

So many things have come up for me when I was reflecting on my relationship experience, and there is so much I feel is important to share with others. This episode is very personal and was super fun to record. Please note that everything in this episode is based on my experience and on what I feel is healthy. I am not a relationship expert, nor do I want to tell you how to live out your partnership.

What I am going to tell and I am sure about is that you are going to enjoy this episode. Maybe even more than I did recording it!

Topics:
Communication > everything else
Mind-reading & assuming
Kissing & telling
Boundaries
Protecting each other’s energies
‘Trauma dumping’ onto your partner
What’s better than s3x
Ask them!
Roles in relationships
Being attentive
Know what you want from your relationship!
Communicate your priorities
Have friends!

Instagram: @happygrowingpodcast
Artwork: @fempowerart

Instagram: @happygrowingpodcast
Photography & Design: @eva_poglajen
Verena's Instagram: @verenaberndt_