Astrology can be a grounding, practical tool for self-love and mental health, especially for women navigating change. Daniela from Cosmic Latte joins me to break down rising signs, moon energy, and Saturn returns—and how understanding your zodiac chart can help you meet yourself with more compassion, confidence, and care. Whether you’re looking to add a little whimsy to your life or fully devote yourself to the stars, this episode is equal parts fun and educational.

You will learn about...

• why most daily horoscopes are incorrect
• the importance of knowing your rising sign
• how the moon influences mood, energy, and confidence
• how astrology can help you build routines that support your mental health
• what a Saturn return brings up in your late 20s (and why it’s not all doom)
• the astrology of weekdays i.e. how to plan your week around the planets

Remember: Self-love isn’t about fixing yourself—it’s about understanding yourself and letting that understanding soften the way you show up. Daniela Karpenos is a New York-based astrologer and founder of Cosmic Latte, a community of 200,000+ unique souls worldwide devoted to feeding spiritual curiosity, creativity, and connection. With her Leo sun flair and Cancer moon intuition, she shares playful astrology content to help you discover your “you-niverse.”

Get your personalized eclipse guidebook from The Cosmic Latte here!

Or book a private astrology reading with Daniela at thecosmiclatte.com and follow her on Instagram @thecosmiclatte

Mentioned In This Episode...

• The Astrology of Days Guide
• Stardust (moon + cycle tracking app)
• No Bad Parts by Dr. Richard Schwartz

If you enjoyed this episode, share it with the women in your life! Make sure to tag @maryspodcast and @cosmiclatte so we can share this self-love journey with you!

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

A vision board can be a powerful tool for self love when created intentionally. In this episode, Mary shares how to approach vision boarding as a self-love practice rooted in intention, self worth, and presence rather than pressure, perfection, or productivity.

If you want Mary’s vision board template, you can get instant access at maryscupoftea.com/vision and follow along.

Instead of focusing on how your life should look, this process invites you to reconnect with how you want it to feel — offering a refreshing approach to self love that prioritizes intention over outcome, being happy in your life (not just happy with it), and learning to enjoy the process of becoming someone you’re proud of.

Tune in to learn…

• How to make a digital vision board that feels supportive instead of overwhelming
• Why intentions are much better than traditional goal-setting
• How to manifest from self compassion rather than control
• The difference between being “happy with your life” vs. being happy in it
• What a vision board becomes when it’s rooted in self-worth, not pressure

Remember: Your vision board is not a contract — it’s a conversation with your future self. What’s meant for you is already unfolding, and your only responsibility is to stay present, responsive, and kind to yourself along the way.

If you’re enjoying our self love podcast, share it with the women in your life to continue spreading the gift of self love.

Deepen your self love journey with Mary’s books:

1. The Gift of Self-Love, an interactive workbook to help you build confidence, recognize your worth, and learn to finally love yourself.
2. 100 Days of Self-Love, a guided journal with 100 prompts for calming self-criticism and learning to love yourself.

Follow Mary's self-love journey on IG: @maryscupofteaa and @maryspodcast

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

As women, we’re often praised for being “good” — benevolent, proper, generous, and agreeable. But that version of goodness often comes at the expense of your mental health. And it requires a type of self-abandonment which leaves little room for complexity, creativity, or truth.

Poet and writer Joy Sullivan joins Mary to explore why being “good” can be antithetical to being fully human. Together, they unpack purity culture (both religious and progressive), moral performance, and the shame that follows many women. They also explore Joy’s viral essay Tiny Evils and why allowing ourselves small, imperfect, human transgressions can actually reconnect us to creativity.

You will learn how to…

• Question moral perfection without abandoning integrity
• Understand why goodness is often performative
• Reclaim creativity as survival, not productivity
• Write and create with confidence and without censoring your vulnerability

Remember: You don’t have to be flawless to be worthy. Your self worth is inherent. If you can love yourself as you are, your creativity will skyrocket.

Joy Sullivan is a poet, teacher, and author of the national bestseller, *Instructions for Traveling West.* She received a Masters in poetry from Miami University and has served as the poet-in-residence for the Wexner Center for the Arts. Her work has appeared in places like Goop, Oprah Daily, and The Sunday Paper.

In addition to leading international writing retreats, Joy has guest-lectured in classrooms from Stanford University to Florida International University and is the founder of Sustenance, a community designed to help writers revitalize and nourish their craft. Read her thoughts on the creative life in her Substack newsletter, Necessary Salt

Follow Joy on Instagram: **@**joysullivan

Get Joy’s poetry book *Instructions for Traveling West.*

Learn more about Joy’s writing community, Sustenance, here.

And if you enjoyed this episode, screenshot it and share it on social media! Make sure to tag @maryspodcast and @joysullivan so other women can find this self-love podcast.

Mentioned in This Episode…

• Tiny Evils by Joy Sullivan
• Glamour UK feature
• Miranda July
• Ellen Bass
• Ada Limón

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this episode, Mary explores seven principles of self love, using her Self-Love Tree framework as a calm and grounding guide for your year-end reflection and renewal.

You will learn how to…

• Understand the roots of self-love: self-esteem, self-compassion, and self-worth
• Apply the Self-Love Tree framework to your spiritual, emotional, mental, physical, social, romantic, and existential wellbeing
• Create your own personalized self-love template to support next year’s intentions

May you always ground yourself in your own unique individual framework for self love, whether that's a tree or something else you want to plant.

If you enjoyed this episode, share it with your friends to spread the self love tea!

Deepen your self-love journey with Mary’s books: 
1. The Gift of Self-Love, an interactive workbook that will help you build confidence, recognize your worth, and learn to finally love yourself. 
2. 100 Days of Self-Love, a guided journal with 100 prompts to help you calm self-criticism and learn to love who you are. 

Follow Mary on IG: @maryscupofteaa and @maryspodcast

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Mary talks with licensed psychotherapist Whitney Goodman about the harmful effects of toxic positivity on our mental health. We’ve all heard it, seen it, and experienced it — those moments when someone brushes off your pain and tells you to “just think positive!” It’s dismissive, overwhelming, and the opposite of self compassion.

Whitney shares with us about... 

• what toxic positivity is and the different areas it shows up in (specifically how it appears in religion, workplace, health, grief, etc)
• how toxic positivity differs from true self compassion
• the antidote to toxic positivity 
• how to talk to your loved ones when they are experiencing pain
• self talk tools that will support your mental health without the pressure to have a positive mindset 24/7

Whitney Goodman is the radically honest psychotherapist behind the hugely popular Instagram account @sitwithwhit, the founder of Calling Home, author of Toxic Positivity, and owner of The Collaborative Counseling Center, a private online therapy practice in Florida. Her work deeply resonates with women who are navigating boundaries, complex family systems, and the pressure to stay “positive” no matter what.

Whitney earned her undergraduate degree at Tulane University and her graduate degree in Counseling Psychology from The University of Miami. She has advanced training in couples work, trauma, family dynamics, and chronic illness. Her writing appears in Psychology Today and she has been featured in The New York Times, Teen Vogue, NY Magazine, InStyle, and Good Morning America.

A millennial therapist committed to making mental health information accessible, Whitney believes authenticity and emotional expression are essential to living a grounded, meaningful life. Her transparency around her own humanity helps normalize the full spectrum of feelings we all experience.

Remember: “Happiness and positivity have become both a goal and an obligation.” But you don’t have to buy into that—real well-being honors your full emotional landscape and protects your mental health.

Follow Whitney on Instagram: @sitwithwhit

Get Whitney’s book Toxic Positivity here.

And if you're enjoying this self love podcast, share it with the women in your life! Make sure to tag @maryspodcast and @sitwithwhit.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

If decision fatigue has you spiraling, this episode will help you reconnect with your needs, wants, desires, and values. Mary shares 7 steps for soothing anxiety, finding clarity, and making choices with confidence and from a place of self-love. 

You will learn how to... 
- Stop outsourcing your life to other people’s opinions 
- Regulate your nervous system so you can make decisions from a place of confidence and self love 
- Clarify your values and return to your own inner guidance 

Remember: self love isn’t about making the “perfect” choice. It’s about making the choice that honors who you are right now. This episode is a self-love reminder for women who feel stuck or overwhelmed by decision fatigue. 

If you’re enjoying our self love podcast, share it with the women in your life to continue spreading the gift of self love. Deepen your self love journey with Mary’s books: 
1. The Gift of Self-Love, an interactive workbook to help you build confidence, recognize your worth, and learn to finally love yourself. 
2. 100 Days of Self-Love, a guided journal with 100 prompts for calming self-criticism and learning to love yourself. 

Follow Mary on IG: @maryscupofteaa and @maryspodcast 

Mentioned In This Episode: 
Podcast Interview: Why Self Worth Starts in Your Body with Beatriz Victoria Albina 
Book: Stop Emotional Outsourcing by Béa Victoria Albina 
Mary’s viral video: “What to Do When You Don’t Know What to Do”

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Relationship conflict doesn’t have to feel like walking on eggshells. With the right tools and a sense of confidence and self trust, even the messiest moments can become turning points for deeper intimacy. This conversation with relationship expert Baya Voce is packed with research-backed relationship advice that helps you understand why you fight the way you do—and how to shift patterns that have followed you for years.

You will learn... 

• what healthy fighting look like and how to navigate conflict with confidence
• the different types of toxic tendencies many of us default to when triggered
• do men and women differ when it comes to default patterns?
• Gottman’s 4 Horsemen, the subtle-but-deadly behaviors that quietly erode connection
• what to do when you’ve asked your partner to change, but they can’t or won’t
• how to decide whether to stay in or leave a relationship

Remember: A healthy relationship isn’t defined by “never fighting.” It’s about navigating conflict with confidence, a regulated nervous system, and trust in your ability to repair.

Baya Voce is a relationship repair expert helping couples fight better and make up faster. She holds an MSW from Columbia University, is in ongoing supervision with Esther Perel, and is trained and mentored by Terry Real. Baya collaborates with Columbia University, MAPS (Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies), and Rick Doblin on pioneering research into MDMA-assisted couples therapy. She regularly speaks at SXSW, and with over 5 million views, her TEDx talk on loneliness highlights the often-overlooked impact of relational disconnection.

Follow Baya on Instagram: @bayavoce

Baya’s Workbook on How To Bridge the “Effort Gap” in Your Relationship 

Get Baya’s free guide on what to say to your partner after a fight

And if you enjoyed this episode, share it with the women in your life to spread the gift of self love! Make sure to tag @maryspodcast and @bayavoce

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

If intuitive eating feels harder during the holidays, you’re not alone. Between buffet tables, endless trigger foods, family comments, and social anxiety, it’s easy to slip into old, disordered eating habits. In this solo episode, Mary shares a simple but powerful intuitive eating tip that can help you feel less crazy around food. This mindset shift will help you approach holiday eating from a place of self compassion and self trust.

This episode isn’t about what’s on your plate — it’s about how you relate to it. Because when food becomes tangled up with guilt, rules, or anxiety, it takes away from your ability to be present in the moment. Instead of succumbing to diet culture, use this intuitive eating tip to rebuild your sense of safety around food and feel more full, whole, and complete.

If you’ve ever found yourself circling the snack table, cutting slivers of dessert, or trying to outsmart your hunger, this one’s going to hit home.

You deserve to be fed, nourished, and loved.

Deepen your self love journey with Mary’s books:

1. *The Gift of Self-Love,* an interactive workbook to help you build confidence, recognize your worth, and learn to finally love yourself.
2. *100 Days of Self-Love,* a guided journal with 100 prompts for calming self-criticism and learning to love yourself.

Follow Mary on IG: @maryscupofteaa and @maryspodcast

If you’re enjoying our self love podcast, please review the show and share it with the women in your life. Your support not only helps the show grow, but also spreads the message of self love– from intuitive eating to positive body image to self compassion as a whole.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

People mistakenly believe that self worth lives in the mind. Like if you just think confident thoughts or repeat affirmations like “I’m a worthy woman,” it’ll magically click. But if you’ve ever tried to think your way into feeling like you are enough, you’ve probably noticed… it doesn’t last. That’s because true self worth doesn’t start in your head — it starts in your body.

In this episode, Mary talks with Beatriz Victoria Albina, a Somatic Life Coach and author of End Emotional Outsourcing, to explore how reconnecting with your body can transform your relationship with yourself. Béa explains that so many women have been taught to “emotionally outsource” — to base their worth on other people’s validation, approval, or emotions. Traditionally, this has been labeled as codependency, but Béa offers a more compassionate lens that helps us understand why we do it and how to heal.

Together, they unpack what emotional outsourcing really means, how to regulate your nervous system, and how to come back home to yourself. This conversation will help you move beyond people pleasing and perfectionism and into a sense of embodied safety — where self worth isn’t something you have to prove, but something you feel.

In this episode, you will learn…

• why and how self worth starts in the body
• what emotional outsourcing is and how it differs from codependency
• how to break free from self abandonment and practice self compassion
• ways to stop chronically people pleasing and detach from others’ emotions

Beatriz Victoria Albina, NP, MPH, SEP (she/her) is a UCSF-trained Family Nurse Practitioner, Somatic Experiencing Practitioner, Master Certified Somatic Life Coach, author of "End Emotional Outsourcing: a Guide to Overcoming Codependent, Perfectionist and People Pleasing Habits" (published Sept 30) and Breathwork Meditation Guide with a passion for helping humans socialized as women to reconnect with their bodies, regulate their nervous systems and rewire their minds, so they can break free from codependency, perfectionism and people pleasing and reclaim their joy. She is the host of the Feminist Wellness Podcast, holds a Masters degree in Public Health from Boston University School of Public Health and a BA in Latin American Studies from Oberlin College. Born in Mar del Plata, Argentina, Béa grew up in the great state of Rhode Island. She has been working in health & wellness for over 20 years and lives with her wife, Billey Albina and their handsome all-black cat Wade.

🌿 Order Béa’s book End Emotional Outsourcing → beatrizalbina.com/book/

🧘‍♀️ Try her free meditations → beatrizalbina.com/free-meditations/

💌 Follow Béa on IG → @beatrizvictoriaalbinanp

💖 Tag @maryspodcast and share this episode with the women in your life to spread the gift of self love!

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Self love isn’t a one-time epiphany; it’s a lifelong practice of coming home to yourself. True self-love is rooted in deep self-awareness — because you can’t fully love yourself without first knowing yourself.

This Best Of Mary’s Cup of Tea episode brings together some of my favorite clips about healing through self-love. My hope is that these reminders meet you exactly where you are and offer a gentle nudge to keep showing up for yourself, even when the path feels messy or uncertain.

In this episode, you’ll hear about:

• why the cure to burnout is NOT self care
• how to detach your self worth from your productivity
• tools for healing from heartbreak and breakups
• a simple trick for practicing compassionate self talk
• the power of slowing down and resting
• how to hold onto hope when everything sucks
• ways to reconnect with yourself when you feel lost
• simple, grounded ways to prioritize self love every day
• mindset shifts for self love, confidence, and knowing that you are enough

Whether you’re coming out of burnout, trying to separate your worth from your work, or putting yourself back together after heartbreak, this episode is your reminder that self-love isn’t selfish. It’s essential.

✨ Deepen your self love journey with the full episodes featured:

• #237: 7 Self-Love Lessons I’m Taking Into My 27th Birthday
• #243: How to stay hopeful, soulful, and joyful with Victoria Hutchins
• #217: The Mistake We Make with Self-Love
• #180: Detaching Self-Worth from Productivity
• #138: Healing from Heartbreak
• #223: Dear Mary, how do I know if I’m on the right path?
• How to Love Yourself Through Trauma, Grief, and Chronic Pain
• Ep. 177: The Power of Slowing Down
• Ep. 209: The Cure for Burnout is Not Self-Care with Amelia Nagoski
• Ep. 156: Compassionate Self Talk
• #212: How To Be Honest with Yourself
• #122: Your Self-Love Survival Guide for When Everything Sucks
• #186: 5 Habits that Have Made Me a Better Person

Listen to the other episodes in this Best of Mary’s Cup of Tea Series:

1. Eating Disorder Recovery Tools for Women Who Are DONE with Diet Culture
2. Body Love & Self Worth for Women Who Hate Beauty Standards
3. Female Friendships Advice for Women Who Crave Deeper Connection
4. Healthy Relationship Advice for Women Who Value Love That Lasts
5. Mental Health & Mindset Shifts for Women Who Feel Stuck
6. Confidence Practices for Women Who Want to Trust Themselves Again
7. Self Love Reminders for Women Who Are Ready for Healing

Deepen your self love journey with Mary’s books:

1. The Gift of Self-Love, an interactive workbook to help you build confidence, recognize your worth, and learn to finally love yourself.
2. 100 Days of Self-Love, a guided journal with 100 prompts for calming self-criticism and learning to love yourself.

Follow Mary on IG: @maryscupofteaa and @maryspodcast

If you’re enjoying our self love podcast, share it with the women in your life to continue spreading the self love tea!

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.