Wellish

by Sarah Ritondale

Self-Improvement

Season 4

Why does existing feel so stressful? | Confessions of a Wellish Girly

Everything just can’t be that serious and I am confessing it. I am tired of all of the "criteria" we are supposed to meet in order to consider us good enough. There’s so many agendas to fill and standards to meet and highlight reels we compare ourselves to and we logically know we can’t listen to it all, but our subconscious doesn’t care! It soaks it all in a treats it as truth and we struggle to separate what we genuinely feel about ourselves and the world around us and how we interact with it from how we SHOULD feel about things. And I'm talking about it.

What if you're not an anxious person just stuck in an old emotional pattern? with Cedric Bertelli

If you’ve ever thought, “This is just who I am I’m anxious, I’m reactive, I shut down, I people-please,” this episode is going to mess with you (in the best way). Cedric Bertelli breaks down why so many “personality traits” are actually unfinished emotional responses stored in the body and why managing your emotions (even in healthy ways like journaling, reframing, meditation, and talking it out) doesn’t always resolve the pattern. We get into how the brain predicts danger based on old experiences, why emotions can feel bigger than your current reality, and what it means to feel sensations all the way through without analyzing, suppressing, or performing your feelings. We also talk about the myth of resilience (and why “pushing through” can make you sicker, not stronger), plus what changes when your emotions finally become congruent with your real life today, not your past. If you want peace that isn’t just “calm down and cope,” press play.

Stop trying to feel better and start trying to feel safe

If right now you are going through something emotionally damaging and you feel like nothing anyone says or does or anything you do works to make you feel better this episode is for you. You are trapped in an emotional whirlwind trying to problem solve, control, make meaning and fix the problem you're faced with in an effort just to feel better. That's why this episode is all about the ultimate tool that will finally help you to feel better when nothing is working as you're working through healing the emotional damage: making yourself feel safe. In this episode we're going to talk about why any advice, mental health tools, or any personal research you do never quiets the noise in your head leaving you wondering if you'll ever feel good again. I explain why safety is the one and only thing that works to make you feel better and how to start making yourself feel safe again. If you want to stop ruminating about what what happened and being consumed with thoughts about how to make it better this episode will help rewire your perception shifting your mindset to see what happened in an empowering light instead of something devastating so you can finally begin to emotionally heal.

My full circle healing moment | Confessions of a Wellish Girly

For today’s confession I’m talking about my spontaneous decision to go to New York with a group of strangers and someone I haven’t shared with you guys yet. But the craziest part is how full circle this experience is to my one year mark after my most emotionally wrecking experience. I am talking about my healing journey and where I’m at now. If you are someone who’s experiencing emotional wreck let this be your hope that it will get better

How to feel better when nothing works (you can't outthink trauma) with Betsy Kudlinkski

Ever been in so much emotional pain that nothing anyone says helps—your friends, your therapist, even your own logic? This episode is for you. Today I’m talking to Betsy Kudlinski, a Freedom Guide and and nervous system healing practitioner, about why you can’t outthink trauma—because when your nervous system doesn’t feel safe, your brain can’t “mindset” you out of survival mode. We break down somatic healing in a way that actually makes sense, including: why advice feels useless when you’re activated the animal “threat response cycle” (and the deer story that explains your anxiety perfectly) what “capacity” is, why it shrinks, and how to expand it safely the difference between being regulated vs. being in functional freeze why settling takes longer than activation (and why you’re not failing for that) how to start reconnecting with your body if you feel numb or disconnected why validation isn’t weak—it’s literally human If you’ve been stuck in overthinking, burnout, shutdown, or “I know what I should do but I can’t,” this conversation will feel like a nervous system exhale. Connect with Betsy: Betsykudlinski.com @BetsyKudlinski on FB @RenaturingwithBetsyKudlinski on YouTube @BetsyKudlinski on Bluesky

Is your nervous system running your life? (& you don’t even know it)

Ever feel like you’re “too much,” “too sensitive,” “too anxious,” or like you keep reacting in ways that don’t actually match who you want to be? What if it’s not your personality… What if it’s your nervous system in survival mode? In this episode, we’re talking about something that changes everything once you see it: the difference between who you are and how your body reacts when it feels unsafe. You’ll learn: What nervous system dysregulation actually is (in normal human language) How to tell when your reactions are coming from activation, not your values or true intentions Why hustling, overworking, spiraling, shutting down, or people-pleasing might actually be your body trying to protect you The emotional intelligence shift from “Why am I like this?” to “What is my nervous system afraid of right now?” Because your personality, your values, and your dream self live in a regulated nervous system. Your spirals, shutdowns, urgency, and overreactions? That’s often just survival mode talking. If you’ve ever felt like you don’t recognize yourself in your reactions, this episode will help you stop shaming yourself — and start understanding yourself.

Season 2

January Hates & Favs | Confessions of a Wellish Girly

This week I am confessing my most and least favorite things this month from beauty products to gym and health habits to lifestyle, mindset, dating, and career confessions to wrap up January and head into next month with intention!

Season 4

How to get out of your head with Brian Sachetta

If you’ve ever been like “why is my brain doing this” this episode is for you. Today I’m talking with author and mental health advocate Brian Sachetta (Get Out of Your Head®) about what anxiety and depression actually feel like from the inside… and what helps when you’re trapped in the all consuming spiral. We get into the difference between feeling anxious vs. identifying as an anxious person, why “just think positive” can backfire (especially if you overthink), and Brian’s IRA framework for getting unstuck: Interrupt the spiral → Reframe the threat → Anchor back into calm. We also talk depression as hopelessness + helplessness, how to rebuild agency when you’re at zero, why progress isn’t linear (and what counts as “getting better” even with bad days), and the truth about self help: you’re not looking for a silver bullet, you’re building a toolkit that actually fits you. If you’ve been stuck in your head, consider this your reminder: you can’t fix your life from inside the spiral.

The art of doing the bare minimum

We need to talk about the bare minimum and not in a lazy giving up nothing matters kind of way. In this episode, we’re breaking the stigma around doing less and redefining what your personal bare minimum actually is. Because if your self improvement plan only works for the most motivated, confident, well rested version of you it’s never going to get you the results you want I’m sharing how to: Stop operating from the land of constant “shoulds” Separate high standards from unrealistic expectations Create self improvement plans that work for the whole you not just your best self Stay consistent without being mean to yourself Build self trust by actually following through on what’s realistic This is about learning how to grow in a way that feels compassionate, sustainable, and human. You don’t need to become a perfect version of yourself to improve your life, you just need a version of your habits that still works when you’re tired, anxious, unmotivated, or overwhelmed. Your bare minimum isn’t failure. It’s your foundation.

Q&A: Confessions of a Wellish Listener

Instead of sharing my confessions for this week’s short I’m sharing yours!! I asked you three questions about performative wellness, proving your worth, and the “bare minimum” expectations you secretly hold yourself to and the answers were SO REAL that this episode is basically a group therapy session lol. We’re talking about the difference between supporting yourself vs. performing wellness, why so many of our standards are actually survival mechanisms, and how to stop trying to earn rest, peace, and self-worth. No fixing. No perfection. Just honest confessions and a reminder that you don’t need to prove anything to deserve feeling good.

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