What happens when the medication that stabilizes your mood kills your sex drive? How do you explain invisible symptoms to someone who's never experienced mental health challenges? In this deeply personal episode, I share my journey of dating with bipolar disorder—from misdiagnosis and lithium toxicity to learning what "safe touch" really means.

I walk you through the medication roller coaster that nobody warns you about, the impossible conversations about physical intimacy versus sexual touch, and why explaining executive dysfunction to a partner can feel like speaking different languages. If you've ever felt "too much" for wanting emotional understanding, or guilty for medication side effects you can't control, this episode is for you.

You'll learn:

• How bipolar medication affects intimacy and sex drive in relationships
• The difference between physical touch for comfort and sexual expectations
• Why explaining invisible disabilities requires emotional labor partners don't always understand
• How to advocate for your needs without feeling demanding
• What to look for in partners who can hold space for mental health complexity
• Why sensitivity isn't a flaw—it's precision
• How relationship structures can expand as you grow and understand yourself better

This isn't about finding perfect partners. It's about recognizing fundamental differences in communication styles, trusting patterns over promises, and learning that messy healing is still healing.

Whether you're navigating bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety, PTSD, or loving someone who is—this conversation will help you understand what real support looks like in the 167 hours between therapy sessions.

Content note: This episode medication side effects, panic attacks, and relationship challenges.

Support the show

Thank you for being here, beautiful soul.

If this episode resonated with you, I'd be so grateful if you'd leave a review—it helps other sensitive souls find this gentle space we're creating together.

New episodes drop every Wednesday morning—perfect for your commute, morning walk, or cozy evening wind-down.

Connect with me:

• Instagram: @mentalnesting_
• Substack: mentalnesting.substack.com
• Email: [email protected]
• Join The Nest Community

Want to work together? I offer gentle, between-session support for therapy graduates and sensitive adults. Learn more about 1:1 coaching and community offerings at mentalnesting.com

Remember: Messy healing is still healing. You don't have to be done to be enough.

Mental Nesting Podcast: For sensitive adults who've outgrown the hustle

You've done the therapy. You know why you people-please, why you say yes when you mean no, why Tuesday at 3pm your nervous system floods and you abandon yourself. You understand your attachment style, your childhood patterns, all of it.

So why can't you stop?

In this episode, I'm sharing what I know for sure after living on both sides of the therapy room: self-awareness doesn't equal self-trust. Understanding your patterns and actually changing them in the moment are two completely different things.

I'm getting real about my own journey—from thinking my deep empathy was my biggest weakness to learning how to use it as precision. From performing "I'm fine" while drowning to actually trusting myself in those messy in-between moments.

This isn't about replacing therapy. It's about what happens in the 167 hours between your weekly sessions when triggers hit, spirals happen, and you need support but your therapist isn't available.

If you've ever left therapy feeling hopeful only to spiral a few days later, if you know your patterns but watch yourself repeat them anyway, if you're tired of feeling like you "should be over this by now"—this episode is for you.

Join The Nest, our free community for therapy-experienced women navigating the gap between knowing and doing. Find us at mentalnesting.com or on Instagram @mentalnesting_

Support the show

Thank you for being here, beautiful soul.

If this episode resonated with you, I'd be so grateful if you'd leave a review—it helps other sensitive souls find this gentle space we're creating together.

New episodes drop every Wednesday morning—perfect for your commute, morning walk, or cozy evening wind-down.

Connect with me:

• Instagram: @mentalnesting_
• Substack: mentalnesting.substack.com
• Email: [email protected]
• Join The Nest Community

Want to work together? I offer gentle, between-session support for therapy graduates and sensitive adults. Learn more about 1:1 coaching and community offerings at mentalnesting.com

Remember: Messy healing is still healing. You don't have to be done to be enough.

Mental Nesting Podcast: For sensitive adults who've outgrown the hustle

What if the version of yourself you're trying to heal isn't broken—she's just forgotten?

In this nostalgic episode, Barbara explores something that's been at the core of her Mental Nesting brand from the beginning: using nostalgia as a healing tool. Specifically, how connecting with your inner teenager—that Y2K, MySpace-era version of yourself—can unlock healing that traditional "adult" self-care never quite reaches.

While writing her ebook "Healing with Nostalgia: Using Your Past to Comfort Your Present," Barbara noticed something profound: she feels most like herself when she creates content that teenage Barbara would love. When she follows what she "should" post, she scatters and loses herself. But when she leans into that early 2000s aesthetic, everything flows naturally.

This isn't just sentimentality—there's actual science behind why nostalgia works as a nervous system regulator. Your teenage years were a time of active identity discovery, when you were trying on who you were, finding your people, discovering what music spoke to you. And accessing those memories now isn't dwelling on the past—it's reconnecting with the version of yourself who knew what you loved before you learned to edit yourself for others.

You'll discover:

• The neuroscience of why nostalgia calms your nervous system
• The difference between inner child work (healing wounds) and inner teenager work (reclaiming joy)
• How artists like Bad Bunny and Young Miko use nostalgia to create collective healing experiences
• The power of cultural nostalgia for reclaiming parts of your identity you downplayed to fit in
• Five practical steps to connect with your inner teenager without getting stuck in the past
• A journaling prompt to access what your 15-year-old self wants you to remember

This is for anyone who's ever felt more authentic scrolling through old photos than doing "proper" self-care, people who've lost touch with what genuinely excites them, and sensitive souls learning that healing isn't just about resolving wounds—it's about reclaiming joy.

Because your inner teenager isn't a phase you outgrew. She's a part of you holding crucial information about who you are when you're not performing for anyone.

Brief mentions of childhood experiences and cultural identity

Support the show

Thank you for being here, beautiful soul.

If this episode resonated with you, I'd be so grateful if you'd leave a review—it helps other sensitive souls find this gentle space we're creating together.

New episodes drop every Wednesday morning—perfect for your commute, morning walk, or cozy evening wind-down.

Connect with me:

• Instagram: @mentalnesting_
• Substack: mentalnesting.substack.com
• Email: [email protected]
• Join The Nest Community

Want to work together? I offer gentle, between-session support for therapy graduates and sensitive adults. Learn more about 1:1 coaching and community offerings at mentalnesting.com

Remember: Messy healing is still healing. You don't have to be done to be enough.

Mental Nesting Podcast: For sensitive adults who've outgrown the hustle

What's the difference between occupying a space and truly being at home?

In this reflective episode, Barbara shares a profound realization that hit her on her 30th birthday: for the first time in 30 years, she finally feels at home. Not just in her apartment, but in her own life, her own skin, her own existence.

Growing up, she lived in many places. She had her own apartments where she was the only one on the lease. But she never felt at home in any of them. She was occupying space, but she wasn't belonging. And she couldn't figure out why every new place felt temporary, unsettled, like she was still waiting for something—or someone—to make her feel like she could finally exhale.

Then she spent her 30th birthday in her family's kitchen, sharing stories and just being present. Her dad called her "titas" and joked that she looked 29. And something clicked: the reason she'd never felt at home before wasn't about the spaces she lived in. It was about not feeling at home within herself.

You'll discover:

• The crucial difference between occupying space and creating home
• Why external spaces can't feel safe until you build internal safety first
• How three years of self-knowledge became the foundation for belonging
• Why being protective of your peace is wisdom, not gatekeeping
• How creating home within yourself transforms your ability to hold space for others
• Five practical steps to build that internal sense of home right now

This is for anyone who's ever felt like they're just passing through their own life, people who've moved hoping the next place would finally feel right, and anyone learning that belonging starts from within.

Because home isn't something you find or earn or wait for permission to have. It's something you create—starting with yourself.

Brief mentions of family dynamics and 30th birthday reflections

Support the show

Thank you for being here, beautiful soul.

If this episode resonated with you, I'd be so grateful if you'd leave a review—it helps other sensitive souls find this gentle space we're creating together.

New episodes drop every Wednesday morning—perfect for your commute, morning walk, or cozy evening wind-down.

Connect with me:

• Instagram: @mentalnesting_
• Substack: mentalnesting.substack.com
• Email: [email protected]
• Join The Nest Community

Want to work together? I offer gentle, between-session support for therapy graduates and sensitive adults. Learn more about 1:1 coaching and community offerings at mentalnesting.com

Remember: Messy healing is still healing. You don't have to be done to be enough.

Mental Nesting Podcast: For sensitive adults who've outgrown the hustle

What if that instant gut-punch feeling when someone criticizes you isn't the problem—but what you do with it is?

In this deeply practical episode, Barbara shares her journey from being someone who would change her entire life based on criticism to learning how to filter feedback through self-knowledge instead of fear.

For most of her life, criticism felt like survival. When someone said she was too loud, too curious, or too much, she'd immediately reshape herself to "correct" the mistake. She traced this pattern back to her mom's critical parenting style and realized she'd been recreating that energy everywhere—in friendships, relationships, and even how she saw herself.

But grad school changed everything. For the first time, Barbara was surrounded by people who genuinely wanted her around—not a perfected version of her, but her actual personality, stories, and curiosity. That experience sparked a 3-4 year journey of building self-knowledge through journaling, self-dates, and exploration that became her protection against unhelpful criticism.

You'll discover:

• Why your instant anxiety about criticism is normal (and might never fully disappear)
• The "window" between reactive panic and thoughtful filtering—and how it gets shorter
• How to distinguish between constructive feedback and uninformed opinions
• Four practical steps to build the self-knowledge that protects you
• Why the goal isn't to stop feeling, but to start filtering

This is for anyone who's ever changed themselves to fit someone else's expectations, people-pleasers learning to trust their own judgment, and sensitive souls tired of making everyone else's opinion mean something about their worth.

Because here's the truth: you don't have to wait until criticism doesn't affect you to start trusting yourself. You just have to notice the window between fear and choice—and keep shortening it.

Brief mentions of family dynamics and past relationship patterns

Support the show

Thank you for being here, beautiful soul.

If this episode resonated with you, I'd be so grateful if you'd leave a review—it helps other sensitive souls find this gentle space we're creating together.

New episodes drop every Wednesday morning—perfect for your commute, morning walk, or cozy evening wind-down.

Connect with me:

• Instagram: @mentalnesting_
• Substack: mentalnesting.substack.com
• Email: [email protected]
• Join The Nest Community

Want to work together? I offer gentle, between-session support for therapy graduates and sensitive adults. Learn more about 1:1 coaching and community offerings at mentalnesting.com

Remember: Messy healing is still healing. You don't have to be done to be enough.

Mental Nesting Podcast: For sensitive adults who've outgrown the hustle

What if the reason empathy hurts so much isn't because you feel too deeply—but because you haven't learned to work with what you're feeling?

In this deeply personal episode, Barbara shares her journey from experiencing empathy as a "double pain" to transforming it into her greatest professional asset. Growing up, understanding why someone hurt her only made the hurt worse—she'd feel her own pain and absorb theirs too, twisting herself into different shapes trying to be worthy of love on their terms.

But when she started her work as a social worker and therapist, something shifted. That same sensitivity that had wounded her in personal relationships became a profound tool for connection and healing.

The difference? Learning to treat emotional responses as data rather than damage to her self-worth.

You'll discover:

• Why understanding someone's "why" used to break her twice—and how that changed
• The critical distinction between being triggered and being attacked
• How to maintain deep empathy while setting protective boundaries
• When understanding someone's pain obligates you to nothing
• Practical tools for reading emotional data without absorbing it as your own

This is for empaths, highly sensitive people, therapists, and anyone who's ever made someone else's reaction mean something about their worth. Because your sensitivity isn't a flaw—it's a sophisticated data collection system that just needs to be calibrated differently.

Perfect for people-pleasers learning to set boundaries, helping professionals navigating their own healing, and anyone tired of feeling everything twice.

Brief mentions of past relationship pain and emotional processing

Support the show

Thank you for being here, beautiful soul.

If this episode resonated with you, I'd be so grateful if you'd leave a review—it helps other sensitive souls find this gentle space we're creating together.

New episodes drop every Wednesday morning—perfect for your commute, morning walk, or cozy evening wind-down.

Connect with me:

• Instagram: @mentalnesting_
• Substack: mentalnesting.substack.com
• Email: [email protected]
• Join The Nest Community

Want to work together? I offer gentle, between-session support for therapy graduates and sensitive adults. Learn more about 1:1 coaching and community offerings at mentalnesting.com

Remember: Messy healing is still healing. You don't have to be done to be enough.

Mental Nesting Podcast: For sensitive adults who've outgrown the hustle

What if the reason transitions feel so uncomfortable isn't because they're hard, but because we've been taught we're only allowed to feel settled once we reach some imaginary finish line?

In this vulnerable episode, Barbara shares her ongoing struggle with an unfinished move and the realization that she won't feel "at home" until every single box is unpacked and every task is complete. After pushing through exhaustion to clean for her father's visit, then staying up until 11pm cleaning again with her partner, she discovered a pattern that goes much deeper than organization.

If you've ever felt like you're living in limbo, waiting for the next thing to be finished before you can actually rest, this episode will help you see the "curse of incompleteness" for what it really is.

You'll explore:

• Why we tie our worth to completion and what that costs us
• How physical spaces mirror our internal states during transitions
• The myth that healing has a clear endpoint you can reach
• Why your body's signals matter more than your mental timeline
• How to create "home" in the middle of ongoing change

This is for anyone who's ever said "once this is done, then I can rest" and found themselves constantly moving the goalpost. Because maybe the real curse isn't incompleteness—maybe it's believing you have to be complete to deserve peace.

Perfect for people in the middle of life transitions, recovering perfectionists, and anyone learning that rest isn't something you earn through finishing everything.

Brief mentions of family dynamics and physical exhaustion

Connect with Barbara: @mentalnesting_ on Instagram

Support the show

Thank you for being here, beautiful soul.

If this episode resonated with you, I'd be so grateful if you'd leave a review—it helps other sensitive souls find this gentle space we're creating together.

New episodes drop every Wednesday morning—perfect for your commute, morning walk, or cozy evening wind-down.

Connect with me:

• Instagram: @mentalnesting_
• Substack: mentalnesting.substack.com
• Email: [email protected]
• Join The Nest Community

Want to work together? I offer gentle, between-session support for therapy graduates and sensitive adults. Learn more about 1:1 coaching and community offerings at mentalnesting.com

Remember: Messy healing is still healing. You don't have to be done to be enough.

Mental Nesting Podcast: For sensitive adults who've outgrown the hustle

What happens when your nervous system has been living on high alert for so long that peace feels like a problem to solve?

In this deeply honest episode, Barbara shares the unexpected challenge of adjusting to calm after a lifetime of chaos. After moving back home following grad school, she found herself in the strangest predicament: finally safe, finally stable, and completely uncomfortable with both.

If you've ever felt guilty for having a good day, wondered who you are when you're not constantly overcoming something, or found yourself looking for problems when there aren't any—this episode will make you feel so much less alone.

You'll discover:

• Why your nervous system treats peace like a threat (and how to gently retrain it)
• The difference between thriving under pressure and just being addicted to stress
• How to tolerate good feelings without waiting for the other shoe to drop
• Why boredom might actually be a sign that you're finally safe
• Practical tools for adjusting to the life you've worked so hard to build

This is for anyone who's done the hard work of creating stability and now feels lost without the familiar rhythm of crisis. Because sometimes the most radical thing you can do is learn how to just... be okay.

Perfect for therapy graduates, recovering perfectionists, and anyone who's discovered that getting better comes with its own surprising challenges.

Brief mentions of chronic stress symptoms and past trauma

Connect with Barbara: @mentalnesting_ on Instagram

Support the show

Thank you for being here, beautiful soul.

If this episode resonated with you, I'd be so grateful if you'd leave a review—it helps other sensitive souls find this gentle space we're creating together.

New episodes drop every Wednesday morning—perfect for your commute, morning walk, or cozy evening wind-down.

Connect with me:

• Instagram: @mentalnesting_
• Substack: mentalnesting.substack.com
• Email: [email protected]
• Join The Nest Community

Want to work together? I offer gentle, between-session support for therapy graduates and sensitive adults. Learn more about 1:1 coaching and community offerings at mentalnesting.com

Remember: Messy healing is still healing. You don't have to be done to be enough.

Mental Nesting Podcast: For sensitive adults who've outgrown the hustle

What if the chaos in your life isn't evidence that you're broken, but proof that you're building something beautiful?

In this deeply personal episode, Barbara shares the metaphor that transformed how she sees her healing journey - and why thinking of yourself as "under construction" instead of "falling apart" changes everything.

After her relationship ended and a medication poisoning left her unable to walk, Barbara felt like all her progress had vanished. But a simple observation at a construction site revealed a profound truth: sometimes what looks like destruction is actually the foundation for something stronger.

You'll learn:

• Why healing phases mirror construction phases (and why the "messy middle" is necessary)
• How to celebrate milestone moments instead of waiting to be "finished"
• The difference between being broken and being under renovation
• Practical ways to honor your construction timeline without apology
• Why your sensitivity isn't a flaw in the blueprint - it's a feature

Perfect for anyone who's tired of apologizing for still figuring things out, this episode offers a gentle reframe that honors both your progress and your process.

Because messy healing is still healing. And under construction is still moving forward.

Trigger warning: Brief mentions of medication side effects and relationship endings

Connect with Barbara: @mentalnesting_ on Instagram

Support the show

Thank you for being here, beautiful soul.

If this episode resonated with you, I'd be so grateful if you'd leave a review—it helps other sensitive souls find this gentle space we're creating together.

New episodes drop every Wednesday morning—perfect for your commute, morning walk, or cozy evening wind-down.

Connect with me:

• Instagram: @mentalnesting_
• Substack: mentalnesting.substack.com
• Email: [email protected]
• Join The Nest Community

Want to work together? I offer gentle, between-session support for therapy graduates and sensitive adults. Learn more about 1:1 coaching and community offerings at mentalnesting.com

Remember: Messy healing is still healing. You don't have to be done to be enough.

Mental Nesting Podcast: For sensitive adults who've outgrown the hustle