Episode 26 - Reentry Blues

Denise and Jackie are back! And they’ve got the blues. They share the highlights and lowlights from their recent trip to Japan, process in real time what they learned from the experience, and offer their strategies for working through depression.Traveling has a funny way of bringing things up, and the duo’s time in Japan was no exception. Denise shares that her travel stress starts as soon as she decides to go somewhere and how that stress showed up as she prepared to depart for Japan. In spite of last-minute flight changes, her attitude of wonder and acceptance allowed her to move through the potentially stressful situations with a feeling of graceful flow. Instead, she views the hiccups as tests of actually letting go of a perfect or planned outcome. The pair reflect on the onsen ordeal and the little blessings present in the midst of the unexpected. Denise and Jackie are still navigating their own versions of a sticky readjustment period back home in Los Angeles. Jackie feels especially ungrounded as she navigates her Saturn return and is even tempted to move to Japan! But as Denise reminds her, wherever you go, there you are, which, in a nutshell, means we can’t escape our problems. Jackie handles feeling depressed through the process she learned in therapy of weighing discomforts, whereas Denise manages her post-vacation depression by planning another vacation.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 [email protected] with your thoughts and any other questions you have! We can’t wait to hear from you. We’ll see you soon. Episode Outline: (01:59) Reentry is rough(04:25) Managing pre-travel stress(13:17) Tests of letting go(23:04) Trials at the onsen(33:44) Anxiety from feeling obligated (38:41) Adjusting to returning homeFollow Us:Subscribe on YouTubeFollow Jackie Follow Denise Follow us on Instagram Follow us on TikTokEmail us