Hello and welcome to 2026… apparently.

This vlog is a quiet, honest reflection from the dead of winter — a moment to pause, breathe, and check in with what’s really true beneath the pressure of “new year, new goals.” I share my thoughts on burnout, rest, creativity, ADHD, and the discomfort of choosing myself after a long season of holding space for others.

I talk about the pull to step back from being of service, the fear of being “selfish,” and the deep desire to simply be an artist — to create, express, and exist without needing to be useful, productive, or needed. This is about recovery, unlearning, and allowing rest to be enough.

If you’re feeling tired, questioning your direction, or sensing that this season isn’t about blooming but about root-building, you’re not alone. This is an invitation to put yourself at the top of your list — gently, honestly, and without apology.

Thank you for being here 🤍

Here’s to choosing ourselves, one breath at a time.

In this episode of the Know Thyself Podcast, I sit down with my friend Tom Harper from Dragonstone Bakes to talk honestly about midlife, self-worth, mental health and the cycles of change that life seems determined to walk us through.

We explore what happens when life as you know it falls apart, the initiations that come with turning 40, and the conflict between your big dreams and your deepest beliefs about what you deserve. We talk about people-pleasing, money patterns, nervous system chaos, emotional highs and lows, and the difference between accepting what is and tolerating the unacceptable.

From a blend of spiritual and psychological perspectives, we chat about:

• Self-worth, identity and “who are you when everything falls away?”

• Midlife cycles, initiations and the spirals of personal growth

• Emotional states as frequencies & bouncing between despair and passion

• People-pleasing, burnout and the fear of being “too different”

• Money stories, chaos comfort zones & subconscious self-sabotage

• The importance of real support, safe spaces & men’s mental health

• Why “doing the work” doesn’t have to feel like punishment

If you’re navigating a big life transition, questioning your purpose, or feeling like you “should be further along by now”, this conversation is for you. You’re not broken, you’re in a cycle – and you don’t have to do it alone. 💛

🧁 Find Tom / Dragonstone Bakes

Instagram / Facebook / YouTube: @dragonstonebakes

🌙 Connect with me & Know Thyself

Website: freedomrisibg.co.uk

Instagram/Facebook/Tiktok: @freedom_is_rising

Podcast: Know Thyself Podcast

⚠️ Content note: We talk about mental health, breakdowns, money stress and big life changes, always with care, compassion and a focus on support.

If anything in this episode resonated, activated or landed for you, I’d love to hear in the comments. And if you know someone going through their own midlife initiation, feel free to share this with them.

✨ Remember: if all you can manage today is one tiny moment of joy or one honest conversation, you’re doing brilliantly.

#choosingyourself #creativespirituality #empathhealing #KnowThyselfPodcast

#MidlifeAwakening

#SelfWorthJourney

#MentalHealthMatters

#MensMentalHealth

#SpiritualGrowth

#BreakingCycles

#InnerWork

#KnowThyself

#DragonstoneBakes

Hello loves 💛

Thank you for being here.

This episode is a riff — a moving, breathing, unfolding moment in real time. I’ve been on a three-month pause from social media… not a disappearance, not a breakdown, not a failure — a choice. A calling inward. A re-rooting.

And yet, what I’m now meeting is the fear beneath the quiet:

What if I never want to return?

What if choosing myself so deeply means I don’t fit back into the world I stepped out of?

What if the life I was building… no longer feels like mine?

In this conversation, I explore:

•Taking a break from being “seen”

•Learning to trust the inner pull without external validation

•The discomfort of being in the void / liminal space

•The fear of choosing ourselves so fully we might not need others

•The recovering people-pleaser identity dissolving

•Letting life re-form itself without forcing

If you’re in a season of pause, cocoon, wintering, void, or deep self-reclamation — this will likely speak directly to your bones.

✨ Let me know what this stirs for you

What whispers came alive inside you?

Big love,

Jenny 🤍

#spiritualawakening #selfrediscovery #voidseason #wintering #choosingyourself

#hermitseason #selftrustjourney #creativespirituality #healingjourney #soulgrowth

♡ Freedom Rising ♡

For the ones reclaiming their voice, their power, their wild.

Website:

www.freedomrising.co.uk

Instagram Spaces:

@freedom_is_rising — personal expression & storytelling

@creative_muse_oracle — creative channeling & oracle deck creation

@shamanic_practitioner — shamanic work, healing, ceremony, space holding