Wellish

by Sarah Ritondale

Self-Improvement

Season 4

How to Stop Self Abandoning in Relationships

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

Emotional crashouts, getting honest with yourself, and manifestation for self growth | Confessions of a Wellish Girly

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

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.

You don’t need chemistry in your relationship, you need saftey

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.

May Hates & Favs: Less Self Fixing, More Living

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.

The Difference Between a Feeling and a Fact | Confessions of a Wellish Listener

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.

How to have your own back no matter what

What if the real problem is that you’ve become so self-aware, self-critical, and growth-focused that you’ve forgotten how to stay on your own side? In this episode, we’re talking about what self-compassion actually looks like when you’re someone who values accountability, emotional intelligence, and personal growth. If you’ve ever struggled with feeling like being kind to yourself is lazy, delusional, or letting yourself off the hook, this conversation is for you. We’ll unpack why self-compassion feels so uncomfortable, the hidden ways you might be abandoning yourself every day, and the mindset shift that helped me stop turning every mistake into evidence that something was wrong with me. Because self-compassion isn’t pretending you’re perfect. It’s refusing to become your own enemy while you’re still learning.

Emotionally intelligent people still react | Confessions of a Wellish Girly

Everyone wants to be emotionally intelligent until they realize it doesn’t mean becoming perfectly calm, healed, or unbothered all the time. In this episode of Confessions of a Wellish Girly, Sarah talks about the difference between hyper self-awareness and actual emotional regulation, including a very real moment this week where she reacted unfairly toward her boyfriend while trying to stop herself in real time. She also shares a surprisingly healing moment involving lost AirPods, nervous system regulation, and the quiet ways emotional growth actually shows up in everyday life. This episode is for the people who are trying to heal without becoming robotic. The people who are learning that emotional intelligence isn’t about never reacting — it’s about taking responsibility faster, regulating sooner, and no longer glorifying your emotional chaos. Topics include: - emotional intelligence vs hyper self-awareness - emotional regulation in relationships - therapy speak vs actual healing - nervous system regulation - emotional maturity - reacting vs responding - healing perfectionism - self-awareness and accountability - relationship triggers - realistic healing & growth

Chasing enoughness can be a form of self rejection & how wellness culture reinforces the belief you’re not enough with Tori Jenae

If you’ve been trying to become better for years but still secretly feel like you’re not enough this episode is going to hit hard. In today’s conversation, I’m sits down with trauma-informed coach and intuitive healer Tori Jenae to unpack the hidden wound behind perfectionism, overachievement, people pleasing, hyper-independence, and the constant need to “fix” yourself. Together, we explore why chasing enoughness can actually become a form of self-rejection and how so much of modern wellness culture quietly reinforces the belief that who you are right now isn’t enough. This episode dives into: - Why perfectionism is often a trauma response, not ambition - The nervous system patterns behind overworking, overgiving, and burnout - Why achieving the “dream life” still doesn’t create fulfillment - How childhood wounds shape relationships and self-worth - The difference between healthy growth and self-abandonment - Why your body can’t heal when it thinks you’re unsafe - How to stop outsourcing your worth to productivity, appearance, relationships, or validation - What it actually looks like to feel enough without needing to earn it If you’ve ever felt exhausted from constantly trying to improve yourself… this conversation will feel like exhaling. This isn’t about giving up on growth. It’s about learning how to grow without abandoning yourself in the process.

3 ways self improvement culture is destroying your self worth

What if the habits you call “self-improvement” are actually destroying your self worth? In this episode, we’re talking about 3 extremely normalized behaviors that look like growth in self improvement culture but quietly teach you that who you are right now is never enough. From turning yourself into a constant self-improvement project, to using productivity to earn your self-respect, to confusing emotional isolation with confidence, this episode is for the person who is exhausted from trying to optimize themselves into feeling worthy. If you’ve ever felt like: your self-worth disappears when you’re unproductive you can’t stop “fixing” yourself rest makes you feel guilty healing has started to feel like a full-time job you only like yourself when you’re doing everything right …this episode is probably going to hit harder than you expected. This isn’t about becoming your “best self.” It’s about finally stopping the daily behaviors that make you feel like you’re never enough in the first place.

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