The Baggage Reclaim Sessions

In this replay episode, Natalie explains why those habits that leave you doubting and disliking yourself and breaching your boundaries are a sign that you're over-responsible. Instagram | Break The Cycle Online Course | Blog | Shop

In this replay episode, Natalie breaks down why repeat frustrations and challenges occur and shares three key questions we can ask ourselves to break the cycle. Instagram | Break The Cycle Online Course | Blog | Shop

In this replay episode, Natalie delves into what it means to outgrow a friendship, why it happens, and also why we need to be careful of assumptions and judgements that might cause us to end a friendship unnecessarily. Instagram | Break The Cycle Online Course | Blog | Shop

In this replay episode, Natalie examines our relationship with rest because so many of us have internal debates about taking time off, whether for a break, pleasure, or to allow ourselves to recover from illness and burnout. Instagram | Break The Cycle Online Course | Blog | Shop

Natalie shares her thoughts on love, loving yourself, and why we don't need to have good thoughts and feelings *all the time* or be 'healed' to experience more loving relationships. This episode was recorded at The International Women's Podcast Festival in partnership with Pinterest on June 18th, 2022. Instagram | Break The Cycle Online Course | Blog | Shop

A big part of being more boundaried is knowing the difference between doing things from a place of desire versus doing them from a place of obligation. Natalie shares the insights she learned from a recent decision where she's deviated from her own and other people's expectations. Instagram | Break The Cycle Online Course | Blog | Shop

Natalie shares what she's learned from a recent 27-day rollercoaster ride of anxiety and worry about a family member's health.

Natalie talks about the importance of representing yourself--showing up, speaking up and stepping up for who you are. Instagram | Break The Cycle Online Course | Blog | Shop

Natalie explains why our need to be perceived as 'good' and even beyond reproach creates problems for some of the people around us. Book your tickets for the live show of the podcast on Saturday, 18th June. Instagram | Break The Cycle Online Course | Blog | Shop

After receiving a lot of requests for her to talk about the topic, Natalie delves into why affairs happen and the importance of challenging some of the misconceptions about affairs that tend to assume that a person only cheats because their partner and relationship aren't 'good enough'.

Natalie talks about how dropping hints about our discontent with someone by making a statement with our behaviour tends to lead to that person not picking up on our message and creates more problems than it solves.

In this week's episode, Natalie talks about why it's important to accept and respect it when somebody says that they can't be in a relationship with us. No matter how we feel or them behaving in what we perceive to be relationship-y ways, if actions and words don't match, we've got a problem.

Prompted by messages from people claiming that they seem to only feel confident dating or being in relationships with those who are 'below' their level, Natalie explores what this actually means (and what it doesn't!!) and why we do it in the first place.

It can be bloody infuriating when someone makes a mistake or does us wrong and they refuse to acknowledge or take responsibility. But plenty of us don't even know what the hell taking responsibility means, so Natalie breaks it down in this week's episode. Instagram | Break The Cycle Online Course | Blog | Shop

Natalie talks about how when we give too much--yes, there is such a thing!--we're really not 'giving' at all. Instagram | Break The Cycle Online Course | Blog | Shop

Natalie talks about the comments parents make that suggest that we're not meeting their expectations and that they're disappointed with our life choices. Instagram | Break The Cycle Online Course | Blog | Shop

Natalie talks about why we surprise ourselves and others by losing our temper and behaving uncharacteristically and how we can navigate ourselves away from being tipped over the edge. Instagram | Break The Cycle Online Course | Blog | Shop

It's been five years since Natalie's father died, and she's got some things to share about grief and anger, including why we don't have to perform our feelings for people or withhold our grief to pussyfoot around others. Instagram | Break The Cycle Online Course | Blog | Shop

Natalie delves into the topic of core 'directional' values and why they matter for compatibility in our relationships and our overall sense of well-being.

Natalie talks about how when keep going back on ourselves about something that causes us pain and discomfort, a part of us is afraid of what being successful at getting out of that relationship or situation would mean. Instagram | Break The Cycle Online Course | Blog | Shop

Sometimes we blame our intuition and don't feel as if we can trust it or ourselves. Natalie explains why our intuition isn't wrong, including how sometimes we weren't listening to our intuition in the first place. Get 30% of The Intuition Sessions short course with the code 'podcast'. Instagram | Blog | Shop

Natalie talks about why it can be problematic when we question or belittle another person's fear of something and why focusing on how 'good' we think we are or the 'good things' we think we've done stops us from respecting why the person is afraid. Instagram | Break The Cycle Online Course | Blog | Shop

The Tinder Swindler, Sweet Bobby, Love Fraud, and more. After watching and listening to a host of scam-related shows, Natalie shares what she's observed about the pattern of scammers, including what can make us more receptive to being drawn in. Instagram | Break The Cycle Online Course | Blog | Shop

It's the 250th episode! Natalie shares what she's learned about change and evolving--intentionally and through the 'imposition' of necessity. Instagram | Break The Cycle Online Course | Blog | Shop

Natalie delves into why accepting just the bare minimum (or less!!) in our relationships is problematic and explains why that person who appeared to make so much effort 'in the beginning' doesn't anymore. Instagram | Break The Cycle Online Course | Blog | Shop

In the first episode of 2022, Natalie shares her ideas about what self-esteem is and why we don't need to overcomplicate things when we decide to 'improve' our relationship with ourselves. Instagram | Break The Cycle Online Course | Blog | Shop

In the final episode of 2021, Natalie shares a little on surprising herself by going to therapy this year and how 2021 pushed her to new, deeper places. Instagram | Break The Cycle Online Course | Blog | Shop

Natalie delves into what's going on when we try to find out whether someone we've just met (or have only just started a relationship with) is emotionally available. Instagram | Break The Cycle Online Course | Blog | Shop

Why might we be able to debate and have disagreements at work or in certain situations but panic and shut down or become defensive with loved ones? Natalie delves into why we feel threatened by disagreement and difference and how to start breaking the habit. Instagram | Break The Cycle Online Course | Blog | Shop

With the 20:20 vision of hindsight, we often recognise our blessings in disguise. But at the time, whatever we're going through can suck, and Natalie talks about the importance of allowing ourselves to feel instead of bypassing our feelings and forcing ourselves to be 'grateful' or look on the bright side. Instagram | Break The Cycle Online Course | Blog | Shop

Natalie shares how she learned to stop taking responsibility for other people's baggage and how this inspired the show's central question: What's the baggage behind it? Instagram | Break The Cycle Online Course | Blog | Shop

Natalie explains why learning to be unconditionally obedient skewed our perception of negative consequences and why it's time to update our thinking so that we stop scaring ourselves out of taking care of us. Instagram | Break The Cycle Online Course | Blog | Shop

Natalie talks about how our resistance and discomfort about asking for help or support reveals our reliance on being The Strong or Supportive One. Instagram | Break The Cycle Online Course | Blog | Shop

We've texted or hung out with someone several times, why do we think know them already? Natalie shares why intensity causes us to mistakenly extend trust. Instagram | Break The Cycle Online Course | Blog | Shop

Natalie talks about the thoughts and feelings we default to when certain people disappoint, annoy or upset us and how these can help us have a more honest relationship, both with ourselves and this person. Instagram | Break The Cycle Online Course | Blog | Shop

Being able to get things off our chest is crucial to our wellbeing and part of our intimate relationships, but sometimes we chat out our business to the wrong people! Natalie shares some of the reasons people respond unfairly or unkindly when we share our problems with them. Instagram | Break The Cycle Online Course | Blog | Shop

Natalie dives into the importance of approaching our interactions and relationships with a 'mutual mentality' so that we don't devalue, exploit and short-change ourselves. Instagram | Break The Cycle Online Course | Blog | Shop

Natalie explains why downplaying the truth or significance of something—minimising—whether it's who we are and what we need or other people's asks, expectations or behaviour, leads to big problems. Instagram | Break The Cycle Online Course | Blog | Shop

Plenty of us are a little bit too used to blaming ourselves for other people's feelings and behaviour and determining that we're not 'good enough'. But not everything is about us, and in this week's episode, Natalie breaks down the trouble with inverted narcissism. Instagram | Break The Cycle Online Course | Blog | Shop

Sometimes our habit of trying to control the uncontrollable creeps into our relationships. Natalie delves into this tricky subject, sharing some surprising examples as well as advice for how to become more aware of the habit. Instagram | Break The Cycle Online Course | Blog | Shop

Natalie talks about how and why we put ourselves under pressure about taking care of ourselves and shares tips for breaking this perfectionism habit so that we don't have unrealistic expectations of self-care that cause us more harm than good. This is the last episode of the summer, and Natalie will be back on September 10th 2021. Instagram | Break The Cycle Online Course | Blog | Shop

When we've just started talking to, dating or going out with somebody and feel anxious about something, it's not uncommon to do a spot of columboing, snooping around their profile to see if they're following 'hot' or 'sexy' people or even their ex. Natalie talks about how we can wind up putting ourselves between a rock and a hard place with our columboing and what we can do when we don't like our discoveries. Instagram | Break The Cycle Online Course | Blog | Shop

Natalie talks about why being drawn to one particular thing in romantic partners can prove to be a major blind spot. Instagram | Break The Cycle Online Course | Blog | Shop

It's easy to assume that the reason you're still thinking about someone (or something) because it means you're still crazy about them, mad with them, or that you're still invested in the situation. Actually, there's another reason why, and Natalie breaks this down in this week's episode. Instagram | Break The Cycle Online Course | Blog | Shop

Natalie talks about why we don't have to become drained, resentful or burnt out from supporting others. Instagram | Break The Cycle Online Course | Blog | Shop

As humans, we don't like having problems, especially when we feel it's unwarranted and that we've done all the right things. But what if this is part of the problem in the first place? Natalie shares insights on how we can learn (and move on from) problems with more love, care, trust and respect. Instagram | Break The Cycle Online Course | Blog | Shop

Natalie talks about when somebody attempts to erase the past by acting as if it didn't happen and trying to pick up where they [decided they] left off. Instagram | Break The Cycle Online Course | Blog | Shop

So many of us fear that we are 'needy' and so settle for less than what we need, desire and deserve. We also may have been called it by someone else, and it's left a mark. Natalie dives into the truth about 'neediness'. Instagram | Break The Cycle Online Course | Blog | Shop

Natalie talks about why our attempt to be giving or to make amends can backfire if our actions cross boundaries. Instagram | Break The Cycle Online Course | Blog | Shop

It can be super frustrating when you have a negative experience of someone, and everyone else thinks the sun shines out of them. Natalie talks about why our experience of a person can differ due to context. Instagram | Break The Cycle Online Course | Blog | Shop