Episode 29 - Happy Birthday(s)

Emergency Protocol

For Jackie, summer brings sunny melancholy and big birthday feelings. This year is particularly rough as she acclimates to a changing friend group. Denise finds the birthday season ideal for auditing how aligned her intentions are with her reality, acknowledging, however, that she often has unrealistic expectations for herself.

A forever pro to attending meetings for Denise is the reassuring social aspect, and they hope their meetings will provide a similar comfort for people. Jackie reflects that she’s been experiencing a lot of ups and downs, grappling with work-life balance lately. They discuss the role that finding the right balance of medications may have in how Jackie approaches tasks. Denise swears by her daily practice of reflection, amends, and forgiveness for building discipline to tackle life’s responsibilities.

The pair then discuss victimizing, the challenges of finding the right therapist, and how they are collectively working through generational trauma. It's just another day for these superheroes!

If you’re interested in being a future podcast guest or want to attend our meetings (once they’re up and running), send us an email at [e-mail] with your thoughts and any other questions you have! We can’t wait to hear from you. We’ll see you soon.

Topics Covered:

(00:07) Shared birthday celebrations

(06:45) Adjusting to changing friend groups

(16:52) How to be an adult

(24:44) When to seek therapy

(36:41) Working through generational trauma

Resources Mentioned:

• Find a Twelve Step group near you
• Sign up for meeting notifications
• "Getting Things Done" book

Follow Us:

• Follow Jackie: jackiefreed.la
• Follow Denise: @denise.freed
• Follow us on Instagram: @12stepsforeveryone
• Follow us on TikTok: @12stepsforeveryone