Wellish

Wellish

by Sarah Ritondale
Self-Improvement
Season 4
Are we trying too hard to fix ourselves? | Confessions of a Wellish Listener
This week, I’m reading your anonymous confessions, and somehow they all point to the same question: When do we finally get to stop trying to earn our lives? We talk about perfectionism disguised as self-improvement, feeling like you need permission to share your inner world, why healing can become another full-time job, romanticizing people and patterns that hurt us, the difference between chemistry and emotional safety, and what it means when a broken phone suddenly feels like proof that life is against you. If you’ve ever felt exhausted by the pressure to keep becoming a “better” version of yourself, this conversation is for you. Maybe the goal isn’t to stop growing. Maybe it’s to stop believing you have to hate who you are in order to change. Because growth doesn’t have to begin with self-rejection.
S4 · E258
Jun 27, 2026
37:59
The hidden ways we abandon ourselves while trying to get it all right with Cynthia Schwartzberg, LCSW
You can be kind, loyal, self-aware, and deeply caring and still lose yourself. In this conversation with therapist, author, and trauma specialist Cynthia Schwartzberg, we explore the subtle ways self-abandonment disguises itself as love, compassion, self-improvement, and being a “good person.” We talk about why so many people repeat the same relationship patterns, struggle to trust themselves, over-explain their boundaries, and spend years trying to earn a sense of worth that was never supposed to be earned in the first place. If you’ve ever found yourself people-pleasing, over-functioning, fixing, proving, or putting everyone else’s needs before your own, this episode will help you understand why, and how to start coming back to yourself. CONNECT WITH CYNTHIA⤵️ https://www.facebook.com/Cynthasis https://www.instagram.com/cynthasisatlanta/ https://www.youtube.com/@cynthasis6227 https://cynthasis.com/ BOOK LINK: https://amzn.to/4eFOe9f
S4 · E257
Jun 24, 2026
1:01:25
Stop giving people so much power over you
Have you ever looked back at a relationship, friendship, or season of your life and thought, “That wasn’t really me”? Not because someone forced you to change, but because somewhere along the way you started making decisions around someone else instead of around yourself. In this episode, we’re talking about one of the most overlooked forms of self-abandonment: giving someone so much influence that their attention, approval, potential, or presence starts determining your choices. You lower standards, ignore your needs, make excuses, stay longer than you should, and slowly lose sight of what you actually want. We’ll explore why so many of us do this, how it quietly erodes self-trust, and what it means to become the chooser again, not by caring less about others, but by finally including yourself in the decision-making process. If you’ve ever found yourself over-explaining someone’s behavior, sacrificing your values to keep a connection, or wondering why you feel disconnected from yourself, this episode is for you. Because confidence isn’t getting everyone to choose you. It’s continuing to choose yourself.
S4 · E256
Jun 16, 2026
25:05
Closet revamping for realignment and staying focused on what you want | Confessions of a Wellish Girly
Explicit
On this episode I am talking to you guys about the reasons I have been out of my mental fog and feeling good this last week. Not in an ádrenla line performative way, but in a very genuine way. I did several things in the last week that contributed to getting more aligned with the version of myself I picture in my head like creating a more real life morning routine, making my kitchen less chaotic and planning for a full wardrobe clear out. I also kept my goals at the surface and spent this week focusing on focusing on them. If you want to listen to something to get you in the mood to make your life feel good not just look good without listening to another advice episode that inevitably points out things you don’t like about yourself and your life you’re going to want to come hang out with me on this episode. <3
S4 · E255
Jun 13, 2026
25:39
How to Stop Self Abandoning in Relationships
Explicit
If you’ve ever found yourself saying “it’s fine” when it isn’t, ignoring your own needs to keep the peace, or constantly prioritizing someone else’s comfort over your own, this episode is for you. In today’s conversation, we’re talking about self-abandonment in relationships: what it is, why so many of us do it, and how to stop losing ourselves in the pursuit of connection. We’ll explore the subtle ways self-abandonment shows up, the hidden beliefs that keep it alive, and the small but powerful shifts that help you build self-trust, communicate your needs, and stay connected to yourself while loving someone else. Because healthy relationships aren’t built by becoming less of yourself. They’re built by bringing more of yourself to the table. If you’ve ever struggled with people-pleasing, fear of disappointing others, or feeling disconnected from your own needs, this episode will help you understand why—and what to do instead. Remember: you can be loving without leaving yourself behind. ❤️‍🔥Subscribe to finally feel good enough without the pressure of perfection xoxo MY CURRENT SELF IMPROVEMENT PRACTICES! 1 page of the We’re Not Really Strangers Journal https://amzn.to/3QwNv2f How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Othets Deeplt and Being Deeply Seen by David Brooks- https://a.co/d/3xFVUcn ❤️‍🩹 COME GROW WITH US — mentally stronger, emotionally smarter, and unapologetically real ❤️‍🩹 ALL MY LINKS: https://linktr.ee/listentowellish
S4 · E254
Jun 9, 2026
30:33
Emotional crashouts, getting honest with yourself, and manifestation for self growth | Confessions of a Wellish Girly
Explicit
On this weeks episode of Confessions of a Wellish Girly I thought we would just have a causal hang out sesh. I walk you guys through where my head has been at this past week from a total crash out to something happening that through me into victim mode and the realizations that my negative feelings gave me to try to create a better life for myself. I walk you guys through my manifestation practice I utilized this week to gain clarity about what I want, identity and eliminate my limiting beliefs. and what actions thoughts, and feelings would I need to actually receive those things that I want. I think the best part of a good yap sesh is that while we are in an empowering space of personal growth there’s no talk of what you could be doing different or better. While thats helpful we can do without the feelings of inadequacy sometimes. If you relate this episode is for you <3
S4 · E253
Jun 6, 2026
33:44
Stop waiting to be chosen with Ashley Banek
In this episode of Wellish, Sarah sits down with Ashley Banek, founder and CEO of Samara Health, for a conversation about self-trust, boundaries, medical gaslighting, and what happens when you stop waiting for permission to believe your own experience. Ashley shares how years of misdiagnosis and being dismissed in her endometriosis journey forced her to rebuild trust with herself, advocate for her needs, and stop outsourcing her decisions to people who seemed more qualified on paper. Together, Sarah and Ashley talk about why so many women wait to be chosen, why suffering can sometimes feel easier than change, how fear of abandonment shows up in relationships, and what it actually means to have your own back. This conversation is for anyone learning how to trust their body, speak up sooner, stop abandoning themselves, and become the chooser in their own life.
S4 · E252
Jun 4, 2026
57:11
You don’t need chemistry in your relationship, you need saftey
Explicit
We’ve been taught to chase chemistry. The butterflies. The obsession. The excitement. The feeling that someone can completely consume our thoughts. But what if that’s not actually what creates healthy relationships? In this episode, we’re talking about the difference between chemistry and emotional safety and why so many of us mistake anxiety, uncertainty, and inconsistency for connection. You’ll learn: • Why chemistry isn’t always a sign of compatibility • How your nervous system influences who you’re attracted to • The signs of emotional safety in relationships • Why healthy love can feel “boring” at first • How to stop asking “Do they like me?” and start asking “Do I feel safe here?” If you’ve ever confused intensity for intimacy or found yourself addicted to relationships that kept you guessing, this episode is for you. Because the goal isn’t finding someone who makes your heart race. It’s finding someone who helps it rest.
S4 · E251
Jun 2, 2026
16:13
May Hates & Favs: Less Self Fixing, More Living
Explicit
May felt like a month of contradictions. I spent part of it dealing with mental health ruts, anxiety about being hard to love, panic spirals around abandonment, and the uncomfortable realization that I might be the common denominator in some of my struggles. I also found myself confronting something deeper: the idea that I don’t have to be happy all the time to be worthy of love, belonging, or a good life. At the same time, there were so many things I loved this month. New friendships. Book club. Fruit making its triumphant return to my diet. A surprisingly meaningful lesson from delayed trains. Learning what it feels like to genuinely like someone without confusing chemistry for compatibility. And slowly stepping into a softer version of myself that doesn’t feel responsible for protecting herself from everything. In this month’s Hates & Favs, I’m sharing the products, books, mindset shifts, relationship reflections, and life lessons that shaped May. If you’ve been navigating anxiety, self-worth, dating, friendship, growth, or simply trying to become more yourself lately, this one’s for you.
S4 · E250
May 29, 2026
34:51
The Difference Between a Feeling and a Fact | Confessions of a Wellish Listener
Explicit
This month’s confessions revealed something interesting: a lot of us are learning that just because something feels true doesn’t mean it is. Feeling burnt out doesn’t mean you have a bad attitude. Feeling guilty doesn’t mean you’ve done something wrong. Feeling afraid doesn’t mean something bad is about to happen. And feeling unfinished doesn’t mean you’re broken. In this episode of Confessions of a Wellish Listener, we're talking about workplace burnout, people-pleasing in dating, dreaming bigger before you have proof, emotional regulation without losing yourself, and the hidden downside of consuming too much self-improvement content. If you've ever felt exhausted from trying to be a better version of yourself, this episode is for you. In this episode: Why burnout and a "bad attitude" aren't the same thing The dating lesson that changed how one listener views rejection What a listener's incredible Jay Shetty story teaches us about possibility The difference between emotional regulation and emotional suppression Why self-improvement can quietly turn into self-rejection Because sometimes the biggest growth isn't changing yourself. It's questioning the stories you've been believing about yourself.
S4 · E249
May 23, 2026
20:30
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