The Baggage Reclaim Sessions

Natalie shares a personal update about taking a brief podcast break to recalibrate after a challenging year of surgery, medical menopause, and cancer diagnosis - plus encouragement for anyone wrestling with giving themselves permission to pause.   Episode show notes: https://www.baggagereclaim.co.uk/295 Leave a voice note: https://www.speakpipe.com/baggagereclaim   Support the podcast and leave a...

Natalie challenges the exhausting habit of self-blame when things go wrong, exploring why we make everything about our "unworthiness" rather than recognising systemic issues or others' responsibility. A compassionate reminder that it's not all on you. Episode show notes: https://baggagereclaim.co.uk/294 Leave a voice note: https://www.speakpipe.com/baggagereclaim   Support the podcast and leave a...

Natalie chats with her friend Karen Arthur about their 16-year "age-gap" friendship and how Karen reinvented herself after 50, becoming a model, designer, podcaster and author after leaving a 28-year teaching career. A joyful reminder that it's never too late to bloom. Episode show notes: https://baggagereclaim.co.uk/293 Leave a voice note: https://www.speakpipe.com/baggagereclaim   Support the po...

Natalie talks with coach Tiffany Han about why procrastination isn't about laziness but a response to being chronically overextended. Learn how to stop beating yourself up and start working with your natural capacity rather than against it. Episode show notes:   Tiffany Han's website:  Tiffany Han Insta Tiffany Han's procrastination freebie Leave a voice note: https://www.speakpipe.com/baggagerecl...

Natalie shares her recent diagnosis and how listening to her intuition about needing surgery likely saved her life. A powerful reminder that trusting ourselves - even when it's messy and imperfect - is one of the most important skills we can develop. Episode show notes:   Leave a voice note: https://www.speakpipe.com/baggagereclaim   Support the pod by donating to the tip jar: https://baggagerecla...

Natalie breaks down the five styles of people pleasing (gooding, efforting, avoiding, saving, and suffering) helping you identify your pattern and understand how it's blocking your happiness. Discover why you people-please and how to finally start breaking free from this exhausting cycle. Episode show notes: https://www.baggagereclaim.co.uk/290 Leave a voice note: https://www.speakpipe.com/baggage...

Natalie explores why we feel so disappointed in early dating - is it the other person letting us down, or are we falling for our own fantasies? Learn to recognise when you're dating your imagination instead of the real person sitting across from you. Episode show notes: https://www.baggagereclaim.co.uk/289 Save 30% on Relationship Fundamentals classes:  Readying for Love | Overcoming Dating Anxiet...

Natalie talks with author and journalist Anna Goldfarb about why modern friendships feel so complicated, exploring how to navigate relationships in an age where we're more connected yet often feel more isolated than ever. Episode show notes:   https://www.baggagereclaim.co.uk/288 Leave a voice note: https://www.speakpipe.com/baggagereclaim   Support the podcast and leave a tip: https://baggagerecl...

Natalie opens up about her decision to break up with her mother, exploring how she arrived at this choice and why sometimes stepping away from relationships - even with parents - is necessary for healing and being able to live your life with love, care, trust and respect.  Episode show notes:   https://www.baggagereclaim.co.uk/287 Support the podcast and leave a tip: https://baggagereclaim.ck.page...

Natalie talks with financial therapist Rachel Duncan about why our relationship with money runs deeper than budgets and bank balances. Together, they explore how our early experiences and emotional patterns shape our money story, and why healing our relationship with money is about so much more than just learning to manage it better. Note: the term 'f-up' is mentioned a few times in the episode. ...

Natalie takes us on a candid exploration of self-advocacy and what it means to truly have our own back. Drawing from her personal experiences in 2024, she digs into why speaking up for ourselves can feel so challenging, how our people-pleasing tendencies get in the way, and why being "difficult" or causing inconvenience when advocating for ourselves isn't just okay - it's necessary for our wellbei...

This week's episode is about attachment, a topic Natalie's delving into for the first time with integrative coach, Elfreda Manahan-Vaughn because she's never been able to see herself in the popular attachment narrative, and she knew there must be others who felt the same way. Natalie and Elfreda discuss a more expansive, nuanced, inclusive understanding of attachment and how it can liberate, inste...

Natalie chats with Lindsay C. Gibson, the author of million-copy selling 'Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents'. They delve into the characteristics of emotionally immature parents, the impact on their children, and the resulting emotional loneliness. They also discuss the importance of understanding these dynamics, the process of reparenting, and the nuances of emotional expression. The...

Natalie chats with wellness coach (and former Baggage Reclaim student) Jolene Park about gray area drinking and understanding our relationship with alcohol.  How we consume and discuss alcohol has shifted dramatically over the last decade or so and more of us are reflecting on our relationship with alcohol but also sometimes unaware of how much the past - our emotional baggage - influences how and...

Natalie's joined by her brother Richard again for a follow-up episode to discuss how their upbringing created a habit of wondering if there's something about them that makes them 'not good enough' or causes people to mistreat them or bad things happen - and how they're making strides in healing that narrative and taking care of themselves.  'Reclaimed' membership | Work with me |  Baggage Reclaim...

After twenty months, Natalie is delighted to be back! In this episode, she shares a bit about her journey to this point as well as what led to the decision to return, plus she shares her plans for the podcast going forward.  And yes, the title of this episode was inspired by Mark Morrison's iconic 'Return of the Mack'.   'Reclaimed' membership | Work with me |  Baggage Reclaim  | Shop | Sign up fo...

Have you ever known that a loved one is holding back parts of themselves and essentially lying to you but they won't talk to you about it? Well, this is what happened with Natalie and her brother for over twenty years. In this episode, they sit down and share the story of what happened when he could finally be honest with her, the impact of generational trauma, and what happened when they accident...

In the final episode of the podcast, Natalie is joined by her husband Em where they chat, answer listener questions, and say goodbye to this show which has been such a huge part of her life.  The Joy of Saying No: A Simple Plan to Stop People Pleasing, Reclaim Boundaries, and Say Yes to the Life You Want is out now. Purchase it from your favourite bookseller. 'Reclaimed' membership | Work with me...

Natalie shares some of the realisations she's made after making a big decision. The Joy of Saying No: A Simple Plan to Stop People Pleasing, Reclaim Boundaries, and Say Yes to the Life You Want    'Reclaimed' membership | Work with me |  Baggage Reclaim  | Shop | Sign up for my newsletter Leave a voice note | Support the podcast and leave a tip   

In the final episode of 2022, Natalie shares a deleted chapter from her forthcoming book, The Joy of Saying No. She breaks down how, to escape the chains of the roles we play and trying to keep up with our and other people's often unrealistic expectations and projections, we might act out behind the scenes, go rogue on the version of ourselves that people have come to expect from us, lash out, or...

Natalie explains why our biggest imperative post-breakup isn't to be bosom buddies with our ex and how we don't need to force ourselves to be friends if we're not ready yet or we don't *want* to.

Natalie shares an exclusive excerpt from her forthcoming book The Joy of Saying No.  Pre-order your copy in audiobook, hardback and ebook formats. 

Natalie breaks down why saying we're harsh/hasty/hypervigilant/picky leads to us ignoring, dismissing and overriding ourselves.

Natalie talks about the importance of distinguishing between anger and disappointment to take better care of ourselves and start moving forward. Pre-Order The Joy of Saying No.  Bookshop.org  | Amazon  

Some of what we force ourselves to do, silence and tolerate are forms of insane politeness and toxic professionalism. Natalie breaks down what these are, why we do it, and why we've got to stop harming ourselves in the name of these social masks.