I'm Natalie Lou and you're listening to the baggage reclaim sessions, a podcast about building,

growing and sustaining healthy and intimate relationships with yourself and those around you

by reclaiming yourself from your emotional baggage. Since 2005, I've been writing one of the

longest running self-help blogs in the world,

baggage reclaim. I'm a dating and relationship coach, and I'm also author of five books,

including Mr. Unavailable on the Foreback Girl and the Joy of Saying No.

Everything I share on the podcast will help you break the cycle by healing the past through

increasing emotional availability,

cutting back on people pleasing, creating healthier boundaries and ultimately owning who you are.

You don't have to settle for crumbs from yourself or others,

and you can give and receive love, care, trust and respect.

Okay, let's do this.

Hello, hello, hello. How are you doing? I want to take a few moments just to say thank you to all of you who've reached out following the previous episode

where I talked about the cancer diagnosis and what I'd been

navigating. I'm really, really touched by the messages. I've been very loved and supported.

I was really touched as well. I'm also feeling grateful that I'm in a position to

share what I did and empower and inspire and encourage others,

because I heard from some of you who have a similar diagnosis, but I also heard from some

of you who listening to the episode, it became the impetus to be like, oh, actually, I'm

going to go and address that thing that I've

been ignoring. For some of you, it meant, like, going and asking for a second opinion, or just

really just committing to yourself that you are going to be vigilant in prioritizing your health

...