Queer Joy, Chosen Family & Finally Becoming Yourself - with Valeria Arteaga

Queer Joy, Chosen Family & Finally Becoming Yourself - with Valeria Arteaga

Some conversations don’t stay on one topic. They wander through identity, friendship, community, mental health, entrepreneurship, queer joy, Dutch directness, chosen family, and somehow end with a little boy asking if trans people were abducted by aliens. This is one of those conversations. In this episode, I’m joined by one of my dearest friends, Val: massage therapist, founder of Peaks and Valleys Wellness, queer entrepreneur, and one of the safest humans I know. [https://www.instagram.com/peaks_andvalleys_wellness/] Together, we talk about what it means to build spaces where people truly belong, why no one person should be your entire world, the importance of community, and how embracing who you really are can quietly inspire everyone around you to do the same. Val also shares her deeply personal transition story; from writing a female main character years before understanding why, to surviving a stroke that completely changed her perspective on life. It’s funny. It’s vulnerable. It’s chaotic in the most ADHD way possible. And above all, it’s a conversation about becoming more yourself. If you’ve ever struggled to fit in, wondered where your people are, or simply needed a reminder that you’re allowed to take up space exactly as you are… This episode is for you. 🖤 If it resonates, send it to someone who needs to hear it today. Follow Valeria: Click here for insta [https://www.instagram.com/valeriasroots/] | Here for Threads [https://www.threads.com/@valeriasroots] Follow me: Insta [https://www.instagram.com/withgenevieve/] | Threads [https://www.threads.com/@withgenevieve] | website [www.withgenevieve.com] | Medium [https://medium.com/@genevieve_pool] | Or on Twitter (I refuse to call it the other one) as a... protest lol [https://x.com/G_lovii]

The Peace You Keep Calling Boredom

There comes a point in healing where nothing dramatic is happening anymore. You’re not having huge breakthroughs. You’re not crying on the bathroom floor. You’re not reading books that completely change your life. You’re just… going for walks. Drinking water. Setting boundaries. Taking care of yourself. And somehow, that can feel strangely uncomfortable. In this solo episode, Gen explores why so many of us mistake peace for boredom, why healing often becomes less exciting over time, and what psychology teaches us about growth, repetition, and nervous system regulation. Because maybe you’re not stuck. Maybe the emergency is over. Topics discussed: * Why healing stops feeling dramatic * The psychology of repetition and behavior change * Hedonic adaptation and emotional growth * Mistaking peace for boredom * Building trust in yourself through small daily actions * Learning to feel safe in the quiet If you’ve ever wondered whether you’re still healing because life feels a little… ordinary, this episode is for you. Follow Gen around: Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/withgenevieve/] | Threads [https://www.threads.com/@withgenevieve] | Medium [https://medium.com/@genevieve_pool] | Substack [https://substack.com/@withgenevieve] | Website [https://withgenevieve.com]

What Happens After You Decide To Stay with David Chametzky

What happens after you decide to stay? In this deeply honest conversation, Gen sits down with author, speaker, and Peace, Love and Bring a Bat host David [https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-chametzky-a933b32/] Chametzky [https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-chametzky-a933b32/] to talk about mental health, resilience, self-love, and the messy reality of healing. Together, they explore coping mechanisms, therapy, forgiveness, nervous system regulation, and the small choices that help us keep moving forward when life gets hard. They also open up about their own experiences with suicidality, the moments they didn’t think they’d make it this far, and how those experiences shaped the work they do today. This episode is a reminder that healing isn’t linear, that grace matters more than perfection, and that you can be a work in progress while still building a beautiful life. Whether you’re navigating a difficult season, supporting someone you love, or simply trying to become a little gentler with yourself, this conversation is for you. In this episode, we discuss: * Therapy and finding the right support system * Coping mechanisms and where they come from * Self-love, forgiveness, and giving yourself grace * Mental wellness check-ins and everyday practices * The power of community and honest conversations * What happens after survival mode If this episode resonates with you, share it with someone who might need to hear it. You can find Gen at @withgenevieve [https://www.instagram.com/withgenevieve/] on social media, where she shares conversations around mental health, mindset, personal growth, and meaningful connection. You can also learn more about her online networking events and the upcoming Great Minds Project through her channels. Find David on Instagram by clicking here [https://www.instagram.com/davidchametzky/] Because surviving was never meant to be the end of the story.

Being Needed Feels Safer Than Being Loved

For a long time, I thought being a caring person meant taking responsibility for everyone around me. And I know you feel like this too. Their feelings. Their happiness. Their healing. Their mistakes. If someone was struggling, I wanted to help. If someone was hurting, I wanted to fix it. If someone was pulling away, I wanted to understand why and somehow make it better. The problem? Somewhere along the way, caring turned into carrying. In this episode, we’re talking about the difference between supporting people and taking ownership of things that were never ours to carry in the first place. We explore why so many of us become emotional project managers, where that pattern comes from, and what it costs us when we spend so much time managing everyone else’s experience that we stop fully experiencing our own. We’ll talk about people-pleasing, hypervigilance, being “the responsible one,” and why being needed can sometimes feel safer than simply being loved. If you’ve ever felt exhausted from holding everything together, this episode is your reminder that you can care deeply about people without becoming responsible for their entire journey. You are allowed to love. You are allowed to support. You are allowed to stay. But you don’t have to carry it all. Follow Genevieve on socials: Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/withgenevieve/] | Threads [https://www.threads.com/@withgenevieve] | TikTok [https://www.tiktok.com/@withgenevieve] | FREE facebook community [https://www.facebook.com/groups/1299994540026511] | Medium [https://medium.com/@genevieve_pool] | Substack [https://substack.com/@withgenevieve] | Bluesky [https://bsky.app/profile/withgenevieve.bsky.social]

You WILL Abandon Yourself (And You’ll Survive It)

Sometimes self-abandonment doesn’t look dramatic at all. Sometimes it looks like becoming hyper-logical to avoid conflict. Laughing things away while something is actually hurting you. Over-explaining yourself so nobody misunderstands you. Staying “understanding” long after your body already knows something feels off. In this deeply personal episode, Gen [https://www.instagram.com/withgenevieve/] talks about the psychology behind self-abandonment, nervous systems, adaptation, attachment patterns, grief, emotional burnout and what it actually means to return to yourself without becoming emotionally cold in the process. From taking a job that didn’t feel aligned to realizing how many emotionally intelligent people are secretly exhausted from constantly adapting, this conversation explores the quieter side of survival that often gets rewarded by the outside world. This episode is for the people who became who everyone else needed before they ever learned how to fully hear themselves. And maybe most importantly: for the people who are slowly trying to come back. ♡ Share the episode with someone who needs it.♡ Tag @withgenevieve on socials if you’re listening. Biggest of hugs, Gen P.S. Be on the lookout for The Great Minds Project, where we will all make this a lot easier for you!