“The smallest cage in the world is a fat body.” -from a Tiktok video of Toogi and it got me thinking.
In this episode, I talk about what it’s like to live in a body that works but still feels heavy.
As someone with bipolar disorder, I’m constantly managing the balance between staying alive and feeling comfortable in my skin.
It’s not about vanity...it’s about survival, self-awareness, and reclaiming the right to exist without shame.
If you’ve ever felt trapped inside your own body, maybe this one’s for you.
TW: Death
This one’s for the ones still here.
For the ones who lost someone they deeply loved.
For those who stayed quiet about the pain,and those who stayed anyway- one day at a time.
In this deeply personal episode, I reflect on the recent loss of my dog- my protector, my reason to get out of bed on my worst days.
Grief has a way of showing us how deeply we loved.
It also shows us how hard it is to stay alive when you're carrying so much pain.
This episode talks about death, grief, guilt, and the complicated beauty of choosing to keep living.
If you’re still here- thank you.
That alone is worth honoring.
🕯 Grief is love, still living.
And you are not alone.
#BecomingbyDesign #Grief #Alive #Depression #Reflections #Pets
Friendship in your 30s isn’t what it used to be.
It’s slower, deeper, sometimes lonelier, but more intentional than ever.
In this episode, I talk about people-pleasing, letting go of long-time friends, betrayal, green flags, and the kind of friendship I choose now.
Spoiler: it’s no longer about being liked, it’s about being safe.#InYour30s #Friendships
They say rest is a reward, but what if it’s actually a form of survival?
In this episode, I talk about redefining rest through my own story: from guilt and burnout to a bipolar 2 diagnosis that helped me understand I was never lazy - I was unwell.
This one’s for anyone who’s ever felt the pressure to keep going, even when their body says stop.
Trigger Warning: Mental illness
Donations: https://ko-fi.com/byfrancesdesign
#BecomingByDesign #Turning30 #Womenintheir30s #Growth #Rest #Resistance #Bipolar #MentalHealth
P.S. Tried adding background noise here haha
There’s a space between who you were and who you’re becoming--where things feel uncertain, quiet, maybe even lonely.
In this episode, I talk about how I’ve learned to sit with that space without rushing through it. It’s not always easy, but it’s honest. And sometimes, just being is enough.
Donations: https://ko-fi.com/byfrancesdesign
#BecomingByDesign #Turning30 #Womenintheir30s #Growth #InBetween #FeelingLost #JustBeing
For a long time, I didn’t really think about self-love. I mistook validation for care, people-pleasing for peace. In this episode, I talk about learning to love myself - not once, but over and over again. Through heartbreak, through softness, through the voices of those who saw me when I couldn’t.
Some days, self-love means surviving. Some days, it’s saying: “I am enough.”
Donations: https://ko-fi.com/byfrancesdesign
#BecomingByDesign #Turning30 #Womenintheir30s #Growth #SelfLove
Ever feel like you’re falling behind in life?
In this episode, I talk about the restlessness of comparison, the quiet ache of not “getting there” fast enough, and how slowing down changed everything.
Spoiler: you’re not too late. Van Gogh, Viola Davis, and Vera Wang weren’t either.
Donations: https://ko-fi.com/byfrancesdesign
#BecomingByDesign #Turning30 #Womenintheir30s #Growth #Fear #WastingTime
I thought I’d be married by now.
Maybe with kids.
Financially secure.
A different version of myself.
But life unfolded differently.
In this episode, I reflect on outgrowing old expectations, embracing who I am today, and finding peace in the space between who I was and who I’m becoming.
Donations: https://ko-fi.com/byfrancesdesign
#BecomingByDesign #Turning30 #Womenintheir30s #Growth #LettingGo
For years, I believed happiness would come once I had more- money, beauty, success. But even after reaching milestones, the emptiness lingered.
In this episode, I reflect on what happiness means to me now, how joy shows up in quiet moments, and why maybe we don’t need to chase it at all.
Donations: https://ko-fi.com/byfrancesdesign
#BecomingByDesign #Turning30 #SelfDiscovery #Happiness #Chase #Joy
Being alone doesn’t always mean being lonely. In this episode, I reflect on how solitude has shaped me—how it’s taught me to hear myself better, sit with hard feelings, and become my own home. It’s not always soft, but it’s always honest.
Donations: https://ko-fi.com/byfrancesdesign
#BecomingByDesign #Turning30 #SelfDiscovery #Podcast #BeingAlone
They say 30 is just a number, but it feels like a shift. A quiet, unsettling, strangely freeing shift. In this episode, I sit with that feeling—unpacking expectations, unlearning timelines, and figuring out what it really means to become.
Light on. Seat taken. Let’s start ;)
Donations: https://ko-fi.com/byfrancesdesign
