The Baggage Reclaim Sessions

Is it something you said? Is it something you did? Is it because you weren't patient/perfect/sexy/whatever enough? Nope! They're unavailable. In this week's episode, Natalie delves into the ten key signs that someone is emotionally unavailable including blowing hot and cold, excuses about timing, actions and words not matching, and it being on their terms. Instagram | Events | Blog | Membership

In this week's episode, Natalie explains the 5 stages of relationships and how you can use these to recognise whether you are experiencing the intimacy you need in order to take the relationship in the direction you want to go. Instagram | Events | Blog | Membership

Following on from last week's episode about try-ing, Natalie explains why you deserve to feel secure while dating or in a relationship, and why you don't have to burn up your energies trying to convince or convert them into giving you that security of knowing that you're liked, loved, cared for, trusted and respected. Instagram | Events | Blog | Membership

I just try so hard. I just keep trying. No matter what I do… No matter what I try… Sound familiar? In the first episode of 2019, Natalie shares a recent experience that flagged up to her that we just don't have to try THAT hard. You know, the kind of hard where we're only 'trying' because we feel as if we're "not good enough" or are aware of the other person's bottomless pit ways. Instagram | Events | Blog | Membership

In another episode from the friendship series, Natalie tackles the painful subject of when a friend distances or cuts off. Instagram | Events | Blog | Membership

It's that time of the year when there can be a temptation to text/Facebook message/call/gift your ex or someone you fell out with. In this episode, Natalie explains why reaching out has the potential to cause more harm than good if you're unaware of your intentions. Instagram | Events | Blog | Membership

People often get in touch with Natalie feeling as if they've been rejected for being the real them, but a bit of digging often reveals that they were pretending to be something they're not. This week, Natalie tackles faking it, blending in and trying to be perfect. Instagram | Events | Blog | Membership

Natalie revisits the topic of needs, delving into why we all give and feel love differently and so we can't assume that people will know what we need or that they'll be "just like us". She also shares what she learned from finally getting around to reading The 5 Love Languages, as well as why it's essential to be mindful of a need that drives us far more than any others. Instagram | Events | Blog | Membership

How confident do you feel about raising an issue with a friend? If you avoid talking about what's on your mind for fear that the friendship will end or you do speak up, but feel as if it always backfires, you're not alone. Natalie delves into the topic of conflict in friendships. Instagram | Events | Blog | Membership

Starting to feel a niggling anxiety about family, your social life, how much money you have to spend or whether you're a "success"? It's that time of year where thanks to a succession of celebrations and hallmark days, many of us fall prey to what Natalie refers to as the 10-12 Weeks of Self-Esteem Torment. Find out why we feel like this and how to avoid getting sucked in. Instagram | Events | Blog | Membership

Whether it's life stage, personal growth or the friendship stagnating, sometimes we feel as if we've outgrown a bond (or that our friend has outgrown us). Natalie explores the subject including why assumptions and judgement cloud our, well, judgement and cause us to distance ourselves unnecessarily, and why our friends being "different" doesn't mean they're not our friend. Instagram | Events | Blog | Membership

Ever found yourself feeling trapped in a conversation or drama that you don't want to be a part of? Turns out, you don't have to hold yourself hostage to it. Yes, even with family! Natalie shares how to recent experiences with family helped her to be aware of her anger as well as the need to create a clear boundary that opted her out of an issue. Instagram | Events | Blog | Membership

In this episode, Natalie delves into the tricky topic of emotional blackmail. What is it, which of our feelings alert us to its presence, how it manifests, and how to recognise it so that we can begin nipping it in the bud. Instagram | Events | Blog | Membership

In this episode, Natalie talks about getting on board with the need for self-care so that we can protect and nurture our emotional and psychological well-being. Instagram | Events | Blog | Membership

Natalie delves into the topic of jealousy and envy in friendships, including recognising the difference, some of the reasons why they show up, why they're not 'bad' emotions, and what we can do to move forward from a place of love, care, trust and respect. Instagram | Events | Blog | Membership

In this episode, Natalie explains how if we desire a mutually fulfilling relationship where our emotional needs can and will be met, we need to be, recognise and seek out four qualities. Instagram | Events | Blog | Membership

In the second in a series of episodes this autumn on friendship, Natalie explores how and why some of the expectations we have lead to pain. It turns out, we often expect a friend to be, say or do something, not because it's who *they* are but because of who we think we are or what we think we've done to earn it. Instagram | Events | Blog | Membership

In this week's episode, Natalie talks anxiety and intuition, and why we're bound to feel anxious in any situations where we've routinely ignored our intuition and pretended to be something we're not. Instagram | Events | Blog | Membership

They say our friends are the family we'd choose for ourselves, but so many people who struggle with friendship tolerate unsatisfying relationships the way they suffer through family they can't escape. This autumn, there will be several episodes on the topic of friendship. In this episode, Natalie looks at what friendship means and why tension, rules, imbalances, lack of genuine mutual affection and more, contribute to some of our angst about friendship. Instagram | Events | Blog | Membership

In this episode, Natalie explores why so many people experience pain over receiving (or not receiving) an apology. From feeling unworthy due to how someone has responded to their wrongdoing, to feeling guilty that someone needs to apologise to us, to backing down in an attempt to provoke the other party into doing so and more, we have a complicated relationship with apologies. Instagram | Events | Blog | Membership

Chatted with somebody online or been on a first date that seemed so promising, only to experience crickets or hear that they don't feel the same way? Natalie explains why we find these situations so perplexing and the common assumptions and misconceptions that cause dating blind spots. Instagram | Events | Blog | Membership

Ever kicked yourself for missing out on something, convinced that it was the perfect person/job/house/opportunity only to discover later that you dodged a bullet? Recently, Natalie found out that the 'dream house' they missed out on 5 years ago turned out to be a money pit. In this episode, she explains why hindsight allows us to see how wrong some things would have been for us, but how we still have to move forward and let go even when we haven't had the gift of hindsight yet. Instagram | Events | Blog | Membership

In this episode, Natalie talks about confronting her fear of failure, fear of success. Instagram | Events | Blog | Membership

This week, Natalie explores the tricky subject of distinguishing between help and support so that we can maintain the healthy boundaries we need to enjoy mutually fulfilling relationships and take of ourselves. Instagram | Events | Blog | Membership

In this week's episode, Natalie explains the concept of recognising your bandwidth so that you can take care of your emotional, mental, physical and spiritual well-being. Instagram | Events | Blog | Membership

Natalie is back with The Baggage Reclaim Sessions. What do you do when you have a grand plan? Discover that life might have other ideas in store for you. In this episode, Natalie gives the cliff notes version of what's been going on during the almost ten-month break -- letting go, book proposal challenges that echo life, a marathon, hitting a low point and getting back up again. She also offers some insight into what she'll be exploring in upcoming episodes. Email: [email protected] Instagram | Courses | Events | Blog | Membership

In this final episode, Natalie talks about big decisions, why we get stuck, and why we can't see what lies up ahead but we've still got to take the leap anyway. She also shares why she's decided to end the show--such a tough decision! Email: [email protected] Instagram | Courses | Events | Blog | Membership

Warning: This episode includes references to incidences that some listeners may prefer not to hear about or they may find triggering if they've experienced it themselves. In this episode, Natalie shares why she feels that she needs to speak out about speaking out. Sharing personal experiences of having spoken out about very difficult issues including harassment and assault, as well as anecdotes from readers, listeners and friends, Natalie created this episode because she hears all too often from people who don't speak up or speak out because they 'don't want to make a scene/fuss' or they fear being perceived as 'dramatic', 'needy', 'a psycho', 'lying' etc., who are struggle to grapple with the emotional, mental and even physical consequences. We forget when we 'play nice' and keep silent, we very often struggle to live with ourselves. Email: [email protected] Instagram | Courses | Events | Blog | Membership

In this week's episode, Natalie talks about why focusing is about being discerning and committing, and why we allow ourselves to get busied up in all manner of distractions because we are afraid of putting our stake in the sand and saying, 'This is who I am, this is what I'm about, and this is what I need'. She also talks about why a lot of our painful relationships and problems are about avoiding our potential and purpose, along with delaying on reaching a resolution about outstanding decisions. Email: [email protected] Instagram | Courses | Events | Blog | Membership

In this week's episode, Natalie shares what she's learned from ten months of being on a social media diet. What started off as temporarily deleting Facebook from her phone so that she could finish her book last November, became an experiment in discovering whether her life, both personal and business, would fall apart and be that much worse off without being on social media. In short, the answer was.... no. Email: [email protected] Instagram | Courses | Events | Blog | Membership

In this episode, Natalie talks about what ambiguity is, the types of situation that can result, and how we can use our participation in an ambiguous situation to get more clear about ourselves and to become more assertive. Email: [email protected] Instagram | Courses | Events | Blog | Membership

In this episode, Natalie talks about how despite exceeding our own or other people's expectations for us, it's as if we don't dare to believe it, instead grappling with Imposter Syndrome and waiting for the other shoe to drop because, in truth, we wonder who we are to dare not to be that kid, that portrayal or perception, anymore. Email: [email protected] Instagram | Courses | Events | Blog | Membership

In this episode, Natalie talks about how to recognise when we're not exactly being truthful with ourselves, what causes us to do things like denying, rationalising, minimising, excusing and justifying, and how to move beyond our own untruths so that we get grounded in who we really are. Email: [email protected] Instagram | Courses | Events | Blog | Membership

In this episode, Natalie shares a story about a relatively new relationship to illustrate why we mustn't ignore code amber/red warnings. Email: [email protected] Instagram | Courses | Events | Blog | Membership

In this episode, Natalie delves into the topic of trust and being discerning about who we let into our Circle of Trust. Email: [email protected] Instagram | Courses | Events | Blog | Membership

In this episode, Natalie delves deeper into this season's topic of 'closing the gap' by explaining roles, including why we adopt them, how they play out within families, and in turn how they keep us small and hold us back in adulthood. Roles affect all of our interpersonal relationships and block us from being more of who we really are, so becoming more aware of where we play a role is critical to our well-being as well as the health of our relationships. Email: [email protected] Instagram | Courses | Events | Blog | Membership

In this episode, Natalie reflects on why she's felt a little wobbly about turning 40 and why she's approaching life with an attitude of adventure. Email: [email protected] Instagram | Courses | Events | Blog | Membership

In this week's episode, Natalie talks about how we can inadvertently find ourselves turning people and things such as romantic partners, co-workers, bosses, friends, money, our job or business, into surrogate parents that keep us in a pattern of feeling inadequate due to feeling that we haven't pleased enough. Email: [email protected] Instagram | Courses | Events | Blog | Membership

In this week's episode, Natalie explains why life keeps serving up the same lessons until we're ready to heed them and move on. Email: [email protected] Instagram | Courses | Events | Blog | Membership

In this episode, Natalie talks about rejection, namely five scenarios where we have this sense of indignation that someone is saying no to us and what we want. Email: [email protected] Instagram | Courses | Events | Blog | Membership

In this episode, Natalie talks about how a pattern of neglect causes us to settle for far less than what we need, desire and deserve. Email: [email protected] Instagram | Courses | Events | Blog | Membership

In this episode, Natalie talks about why we sometimes struggle to recognise that we're interested in somebody because we're primed to feel attracted in the way that we have before, even though it hasn't previously led to the results we desire. She also explores some of the key factors that we need to remember when it comes to interest and attraction. Email: [email protected] Instagram | Courses | Events | Blog | Membership

In this episode, Natalie talks about the difference between someone who just wants to know that they can get your attention versus someone who wants to love you and be loved by you. Email: [email protected] Instagram | Courses | Events | Blog | Membership

In this episode, Natalie talks about what to expect from season 3 of the podcast and touches on some of the core Baggage Reclaim philosophies. Email: [email protected] Instagram | Courses | Events | Blog | Membership

After six weeks of taking time to grieve, Natalie gives an update on where she's at and what's been going on. Email: [email protected] Instagram | Courses | Events | Blog | Membership

In this episode, Natalie gives some insight into where she's at after losing her father. Email: [email protected] Instagram | Courses | Events | Blog | Membership

In this episode, Natalie asks whether we really need space in the form of a casual relationship or something else altogether, draws the line on being too nice for our own bloody good, and talks about two types of texts that prompt delayed replies: short but loaded and super long. This week's listener question is, How do I deal with my imposing co-worker?, plus Natalie shares what she's learned this week. Email: [email protected] Instagram | Courses | Events | Blog | Membership

In this episode, Natalie talks about why books can be an important part of our emotional journey, explains some of the reasons why we don't seem to recognise that we're maxed out with stress, and talks about why we don't need to lay all of our emotional baggage out on the table for a new partner. This week's listener question is, Should I end my enforced No Contact now that I recognise my part?, and Natalie shares what she's learned this week. Email: [email protected] Instagram | Courses | Events | Blog | Membership

In this episode, Natalie talks about why we get put in the Friend Zone and how to dodge it, plus explains why some people don't do apologies, and why breaking up with someone also means breaking up with the ideals that we had for ourselves in the relationship. This week's listener question is 'How do I set boundaries with my patronising and overbearing co-worker?', plus Natalie shares what she's learned this week. #relationshipgoals Email: [email protected] Instagram | Courses | Events | Blog | Membership

In this episode, Natalie talks about why we can be fearful of allowing ourselves to be 'too happy', the over-apologising, and shares a couple of questions we can ask ourselves about whether love is transforming us into more or less of who we are. This week's listener question is, Should I contact him and try to tell him that he is worthy of love and avoidant?, plus Natalie shares what she's learned this week. The Breakthrough course mentioned: www.baggagereclaim.co.uk/the-breakthrough Email: [email protected] Instagram | Courses | Events | Blog | Membership