Building Your Self-Care Toolbox, a conversation with Jen Vertanen

Doña Bumgarner and Jen Vertanen (of Going There podcast) chat in this episode about mothering ourselves after an abusive childhood, podcasting, how coaching compares to therapy, and building a self-care toolbox that is perfect for you. Nurturing Hab…

Doña Bumgarner and Jen Vertanen (of Going There podcast) chat in this episode about mothering ourselves after an abusive childhood, podcasting, how coaching compares to therapy, and building a self-care toolbox that is perfect for you. Nurturing Habit Episode 15

What do you do to nurture yourself? I find it so fascinating that of the 13 or so guests I've had on this podcast so far, no two people have answered this question the same way. We each have very specific ways to nurture, care for, and support ourselves. As we should - we are all deeply individual!I worked with a coach a while back who regularly suggested that I put on good dance music and have a dance party in my kitchen when I was feeling low. She meant well, and probably this is a method that worked for her, but never once did I take her suggestion. That particular kind of self-care just wasn't a fit for me. I love to dance, but I don't love to dance when I'm sad. It doesn't lift me up. It generally just makes me feel more sad and disconnected from my body. Knowing what you need - you in particular - to feel good is one of the best things you can do for your own self-care practice.In this conversation with Jen Vertanen, podcaster and emotional sidekick, we talk about building a highly personal self-care tool box. One that is designed to support you, with whatever collection of hurts and traumas and likes and dislikes you come wired with. Jen's work focuses around encouraging people to share the hard to tell stories and start to heal the places that hurt and Jen and I begin the conversation talking about self-mothering, a very specific form of self-care that you may need if you did not receive the kind of nurturing and touch that all humans need when we are very small. We also talk about how trauma lives in the body, and how self-care to soothe that kind of pain needs to look a certain way.Listen to Episode 15 now by clicking the little arrow in the play bar below (if you don’t see it, reload the page), or head over to iTunes or your favorite podcast player.Links from this episode:

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