The Flavored Word 🎙️

I spent years believing the worst things my mind told me. This episode is about taking the mic back. The monsters don’t get the final say. Not anymore. For years, the monsters in my head dictated how I saw myself, my work, and my worth. After naming the monsters in Episode 10, this episode explores what comes next: the shift from awareness to agency. From self‑loathing to self‑trust. From disappea...

I didn’t wake up one day with body image issues. They were built slowly — through comments, comparisons, and the praise I got for disappearing. This episode traces the first moments I learned to distrust my reflection. The tiny comments, the too‑small jeans, the praise for shrinking, and the years I spent letting the monsters narrate my worth. This is where they were born. YouTube: @ShaunaGabriel...

We all have a gap between how others see us and how we see ourselves. This episode explores why that happens, how the monsters distort our reflection, and what it looks like to let the truth in anyway. An honest look at the disconnect between perception and self‑perception — and why believing the good things about ourselves is harder than it should be. YouTube: @ShaunaGabriel Podcast: The Flavored...

A quick check‑in while I reorganize the podcast instead of pretending everything is fine. The first eight episodes just got a full refresh — new visuals, updated descriptions, and a playlist that finally makes sense. New content returns June 24, including Episode 9: a deep dive into perspective, self‑perception, and why we’re terrible at seeing ourselves the way others do. So, that’s the update. A...

A candid look at food, judgment, body image, and the choices we make when no one’s watching. From vegan guilt to public‑health reality checks to the psychology behind fast food, this episode explores what happens when we stop letting labels define us. In this week’s podcast episode, the host, Shuana Gabriel, talks about the hate she received when she ditched plant-based creams and started using re...

Breaking the Ice on My Own Silence: Why I went quiet—and why I’m back ❄️ I’m finally talking about the fear and self‑doubt that kept me off the mic — and the five coping mechanisms that helped me break the ice and return. This episode is about the silence I chose, the fear underneath it, and the messy, imperfect ways I found my way back. If you’ve ever stalled out on something you care about, this...

This episode exposes the myth of divine timing, and the internal gatekeepers draining your potential. You’ll learn why messy action beats perfect planning and how to handle the backlash that comes with choosing yourself. In a world that rewards momentum, hesitation is the real risk. The permission you’ve been waiting for is already yours. Waiting for the “right time” will slowly suffocate your dre...

Eating disorders don’t follow a script. There’s no single trauma, no neat origin story, no universal trigger. For some people, food becomes a tool — the one thing they can control when everything else is slipping. In this episode, I talk about the misconceptions, the adrenaline‑then‑shame cycle, and why the “just eat” approach misses the entire point. Disclaimer: These are my personal experiences...

Judged for your choices? Terrorized by teenagers on wheels? This one’s for you. This week, I’m talking about why I “walked” the vegan life for a while, what pulled me in, and—more importantly—what pushed me right back out. (Spoiler: it wasn’t the tofu.) Then there’s the comment section hero who informed me we should “leave the fish alone” and stop eating anything with a pulse. From there, we slide...

In this deeply personal episode, I share my journey from normal childhood eating habits to a toxic obsession with calories and weight. I recount specific moments—like my secret food hiding tactics, dangerous purging attempts, and the intense drive that fueled my athletic success—all rooted in a complex mix of societal pressure and internal frustration. Eventually, my desire to control food evolved...

I’ll skip the “my childhood was perfectly fine, thanks for asking” preamble. You’re not here for the scrapbook. You’re here for the part where the ground starts to shift. The spirals, the second‑guessing, the endless what‑ifs that kept me frozen in place. I knew I wanted more, but I couldn’t make myself choose a direction. I stalled, I circled, I hesitated. I convinced myself that staying stuck wa...

Part confession, part commentary — candid, sharp, and never sugar‑coated. Writer and journalist Shauna Gabriel shares the stories behind her healing, her irritations, and the writing advice she wishes she’d taken years ago. Food shows up too—not as the villain or the obsession, but as the quiet companion that helped her rebuild after a decade of wrestling with body image and an eating disorder. If...