Welcome back to Elevate Her! 🌟 In this episode, Mave sits down with Ashani Dante, founder of The Flourish Journey (formerly Flourish Girl), to unpack what it’s really like to be a teenage girl right now—and how adults can genuinely help. From social media pressures and perfectionism to the “silent epidemic” of bottling feelings, Ashani shares practical, heart-led ways parents, carers and educators can create safer spaces for girls to open up.

Ashani reflects on her own teen years—masking big feelings, body image worries (hello, dreaded swimming days), and feeling different at school—and how those experiences inspired her to build spaces where girls feel loved, seen and celebrated. Together, we explore why girls can be both the most informed and the most overwhelmed generation, and what actually moves the needle: listening without an agenda, planting seeds of trust over time, modelling vulnerability, and offering autonomy.

If you’ve ever wondered how to “lift the lid” earlier so young people don’t carry everything alone, this one’s for you. You’ll leave with simple conversation openers, realistic expectations (it takes time!), and a reminder not to take the push-back personally—often, home is the only place they feel safe enough to let it out.

Chapters:

00:00 - Welcome to Elevate Her + a note on content and support

00:00:55 - Meet our guest: Ashani Dante, The Flourish Journey (formerly Flourish Girl)

01:39 - Who is Ashani? Purpose, passion and why she started

03:40 - The landscape for teen girls: what’s changed, what’s intensified

07:17 - Ashani’s teen story: body image, masking & “swimming day” dread

11:44 - Social media: empowered and overwhelmed (at the same time)

15:25 - The “silent epidemic”: bottling up & why safe spaces matter

17:15 - When the lid lifts: feeling lighter and less alone

17:15 - What the stats are saying (body image, self-harm, overwhelm)

24:18 - How adults can help: listen, plant seeds, be patient

27:41 - Modelling vulnerability (even when it’s uncomfortable)

29:28 - Keep trying: love looks like showing up again (and again)

32:25 - A message to teenage Ashani: choose you, try anyway

Follow us:

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

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@theflourishjourney_

This episode was created in collaboration with the Born This Way Foundation’s Kindness in Community Fund grants.

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