Mood: cosmic, romantic, short-and-sweet, fun, light

Happy Valentine's Day, This Is Fine! family! We've got a short-and-sweet cosmic lesson from our astrology queen Shannon Aganza, helping you figure out which signs you'll vibe with. Friends, lovers, soul connections... falling 'in like' or falling in love...  it all comes down to the elements of astrology (fire, air, earth, water) and Shannon breaks down how this contributes to long lasting relationships. Are you ready for some zodiac matchmaking? 

What are your ins and outs for 2023? What's in for 2023, and what are we leaving behind in 2022? Dominique shares her thoughts on this TikTok topic. Spoiler alert: raw onions are out.

Mood: saucy, travel-inspired, personal, silly, happy hour vibes

Meet the REAL Emily… or should we say, Emilies (plural!)… in Paris: Amanda Rollins (@americanfille) and Morgan Hizar (@bisousmorgan). Two Americans who left their chilly hometowns (in New England and the midwest, respectively) and went to Paris searching for a fresh start and a romantic life. One’s a francophile, one’s never taken a single French class, both start their journeys as au pairs. Fast forward five years, and they’ve got a Netflix-worthy story under their Sézane belts.

Amanda and Morgan join Dominique for a chat about their recent TikTok about what gives them “the ick” when dating French guys (spoiler alert, cigarettes are a big turn off), what they love (hello, romance!), and the biggest cultural differences between living in Paris and the US. If you’re considering making the move to join the expat community in France, this is the episode for you!

And even if you have no intention of ever moving to Paris, you'll enjoy this spicy, sassy peek behind the curtain of culture, fun, what it's like to be an American in Paris, and reasons to visit the city of light. 

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Bonus: if you’re ready to transform your skin with Liv at TheWildFox.co holistic skincare, use code THISISFINE at checkout, or tell her you’re a listener when you book your facial!

Mood: empowering, validating, self discovering + improvement

Confidence and mindset coach Jenny Gaither (host of Mind Your Confidence!) is BACK for a Trauma Hour™ session with Dominique to unpack a recent traumatic experience they had on a hot girl walk. We're using this as a jumping off point to chat about BOUNDARIES, dealing with NARCISSISM, and what GASLIGHTING really means.

Feeling taken advantage of, having your boundaries disrespected, interacting with narcissistic personalities, and being gaslit are near universal experiences that we can all grow from. Jenny offers some of her coaching strategies to help us all grow and develop more self trust.

Pour yourself a glass of something good, kick your feet up, and join us for a way better version of happy hour… Trauma Hour!

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Bonus: Galentine's playlist on Spotify; The Smart Fit Method (Dominique's workout she recommended); Dominique + Jenny on Mind Your Confidence

Mood: medical, educational, informational, accessible 👩🏼‍⚕️

Welcome back to part 2 of our two-part hormone series with Dr. Catharine Marshall, board-certified OB/GYN in La Jolla, CA. Dr. Marshall answers listener questions about hormones, including working out during your menstrual cycle, treating PCOS, why we don’t use the term ‘geriatric pregnancy’ anymore, how to make sure your hormones are ‘balanced,’ and postpartum mental health.

Mood: wellness, education, learning something cool

Welcome to the world of TCM — traditional Chinese medicine — including acupuncture, herbology (yes, like Harry Potter, but REAL!), gua sha, cupping, tongue diagnosis, yin and yang, elements, and more. Licensed acupuncturist and face reader Sara Sas, L.Ac. of Beauty Point By Point in La Jolla, CA, guides us through an educational-yet-accessible introduction to this ancient, fascinating world of wellness. With her ‘western’ medicine background (she was an EMT!) and ‘eastern’ specialization, she is able to see how the two worlds work together — and help patients heal themselves.

Sara explains the benefits of Chinese medicine, the modalities available for treatment, and why this might work better for you than allopathic treatment (or, at least, in conjunction with it).

Listen to this episode, then go get yourself booked for an appointment!

Mood: therapy, mental health focused, upbeat, how-to

Our therapist is back for another “session” — Dr. Kevin Gilliland, PsyD (who you’ll remember from episodes 2 and 24) joins us to discuss New Year’s resolutions and how to be happier in 2023. With mental health resolution suggestions, happiness tips, and some shocking stats about news/media and our mental wellbeing, this is a must-listen to kick off the new year. At the very least, you’ll learn (at a minimum) three things you can do to support your mental health.

Some things you’ll hear…

Hear here: Listen to Dominique's New Year's resolution primer here

Support This Is Fine! on Patreon — patreon.com/thisisfinepodcast

*this episode is not a substitute for actual therapy, nor is it medical advice!

Mood: empowering, tips, how-to, practical

Happy 2023!!! Dominique guides you through — wait for it — New Year’s resolutions (Resolutions? In January?? Groundbreaking!!!) to help you identify pitfalls in your goal setting, how to work around them, and strategies for setting goals you can actually keep to improve your life. It’s a lot shorter than listening to a self-help audio book… like a self improvement amuse bouche of sorts.

What do you actually *want*?? That's a question we explore a lot in this episode. Get your journals ready, kids. 

Bonus! Combine this episode with ep. 25 (the year-ahead astro forecast with Shannon) to make sure your resolutions and goals match the energy of the year ahead, according to your rising sign. And tune in next week, when we get even more goal setting support (and the psychology behind our goals) from our fav therapist Dr. Kevin Gilliland, PsyD.

Mood: therapy, mental health focused, upbeat, how-to

Happy holidays!! If you haven’t booked your holiday therapy sessions, fear not… we’ve got a therapist here (one of our favorites on planet earth!!) to walk us through holiday and winter mental health strategies for stress, anxiety, and depression. Dr. Kevin Gilliland, PsyD, clinical psychologist and director of Innovation360 in Dallas, TX, has tips for managing every holiday stressor, from financial stress to family dynamics to body image and loneliness – plus some intel on seasonal depression (seasonal affective disorder, or SAD). Consider this your wintertime toolkit for your emotional and mental wellbeing this season. Cheers to actually ENJOYING this beautiful season and feeling your very best! (Also, maybe still book your therapy sesh…)

Bonus: Dominique’s winter treats…

★ Dominique’s Christmas music on Spotify

★ Gingerbread cold foam recipe: 1 part milk, 2 parts heavy cream, gingerbread + vanilla syrup; whisk with immersion blender; pour atop your fav iced espresso, coffee, or tea!

★ Fav holiday candles: Thymes Frasier Fir, Diptyque Sapin, Nest Holiday