Thank you so much for sharing your time with Alopecia Life today. Our guest is Erica Vargas. Erica is a relationship expert who went on a journey of self-love, self-discovery, and self-worth to support people to reveal and claim their heart's truest desire. Although this particular episode is lined up right near Valentine's day, love and relationships is a topic that resonates with us any time of the year. Throughout the episode, Erica shares about the importance of activating healthy relationships, especially when we are living with something, like alopecia, that often shifts who we are within those existing relationships with a partner, family members, and friends. Whether you're already in a relationship, looking to attract someone new, or wanting to know how to help your child as they approach dating in the future, this episode has some phenomenal advice for looking inward as a first step to a healthy relationship. 

Thank you for listening today. Throughout this episode, I shared a little more about my relationship with my husband, Cedar, than I ever have before. As I spoke to Erica, I realized there was a component of being "lucky" so-to-speak, to be with someone who gets me and was understanding of these changes that were happening. Although I actively chose someone who was compassionate and I thought knew could love me through anything, I don't think any of us really knows what loss of self really does to a relationship until it happens. The words "grace period" and "allowed" are ones that can be triggering for some. Is there a time limit on figuring it out? Not really. Whether we call it a grace period, or a period of growth, it's all the same - time that we each take to re-assess as we move forward. If our partner is with us through this process, they are also doing the dance as we figure it all out. I love the advice that Erica gives, saying "I don't know what this is going to look like, or how long this is going to take." There's so much power in saying, "I don't know." and having those around us patiently wait until we do.

For those who are interested in working with Erica, she has a free masterclass coming up in just a few days, on January 23rd. She also has a February workshop that starts on February 12th. All those links are here in the show notes. Erica is happy to answer any questions by DM on Instagram or by email too.

January 23rde - https://erica-vargas.mykajabi.com/man-menu-masterclass

February Workshop - 

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

Email: [email protected]

Support the show

Alopecia Life provides free resources for school and home education, including a growing list of alopecia books, education videos on YouTube, links to support groups within the US, UK, Canada and more. You will also find access to Head-On, Stories of Alopecia, the Alopecia 101 free course, paid Alopecia Roadmap course for parents of children living with alopecia, and personalized coaching. Together, we can make a difference. To find out more, https://www.alopecialife.com/