⚠️Trigger Warning: This episode is about burnout, trauma anniversaries, abusive relationship recovery, productivity shame, nervous system regulation, romance novels as harm reduction, and redefining success on your own terms.
My OCD brain tells me I am a better person if I am constantly stressed about the news. It says: “If you’re not spiraling, you’re not caring enough.” That’s not true. Being informed does not require being dysregulated.
Your value is not determined by:

• how exhausted you are
• how visible your activism is
• how many hours you worked
• how productive your trauma recovery looks

Your value is measured by doing what you can.
Not what you think you “should.”
Not what someone else can.
Not what you did before burnout.
Not what you can do on a good spoon day.
You are not required to exhaust yourself to deserve to exist.
What We Explore in This Episode

• OCD, productivity shame, and the lie that you’re only good when exhausted
• The difference between safe love and survival love
• Rebuilding self-worth after gaslighting
• Doing what you can as a disabled, neurodivergent person

🌈Support the Show
If this episode resonated, tell me. Seriously. Leave a comment. Send a DM. Tell me what this podcast has meant to you. Affirmation helps me keep showing up.

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• Join The Creatives Rebellion on Patreon (tiers start at $3)
• Download the Audacity Bill of Rights at audacityarchives.com
• Leave a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts

Go make weird art. Rest if you need to. Read the romance novel. Extend the break.
You are not required to exhaust yourself to deserve to exist.
I love you. There’s nothing you can do about it!