Dee | Barefoot Nomad

My latest blog, a celebration of 2 years later today!

wp.me/padmQ4-f1

1 day ago | [YT] | 0

Dee | Barefoot Nomad

I’m actually really proud of myself today. ❤️

I’ve started teaching again, and I’m not going to pretend it hasn’t been a massive adjustment. After being retraumatized, my nervous system has taken a serious knock, and I’m also still dealing with adrenal gland dysfunction.
Going from barely coping with life to suddenly concentrating, communicating, thinking on my feet and being fully present for students has been a shock to my very fragile system.

I’m exhausted AF!!! 😂

There’s a very real part of me that’s afraid I won’t cope, or that I'm pushing myself too hard or that my body simply won’t keep up with what life requires from me right now.
Being on my own means I don’t really have the luxury or time to wait until I feel completely strong again. That’s the scary part.

The part I’m proud of is that I’m doing it anyway, absolutely afraid and carefully.
I’m teaching and earning again. I’m using my brain again. I’m meeting new students, laughing in my classes and slowly remembering that I’m actually pretty damn good at what I do.

I might need more rest than most people. I might have to build this life much more slowly than I’d like. Some days might completely wipe me out.

But considering where I’ve been?
Yeah. I’m proud of this woman. ❤️

#StartingAgain #ProudOfMyself #RebuildingMyLife #OneDayAtATime #FindingMyStrength #BackToTeaching #NewBeginnings #KeepGoing #HealingJourney #StrongerEveryDay

1 week ago | [YT] | 1

Dee | Barefoot Nomad

One thing I’ve noticed after experiencing narcissistic abuse twice is how exhausting the lies become. Constantly having to prove what you saw, what you heard, noticed...witnessed.

Constantly questioning your own reality because someone keeps telling you that what you experienced isn’t real.

This last time depleted me in ways I’m only beginning to understand. I look at this photo and I can see the exhaustion in my face. I also see something else.. peace.

My mind is clearer now, and my eyes are open. I'm grateful for the medication change, that helped my system get back to where it is.. where my eyes started opening to what was happening.

I found my peace before he left because I had already been on a healing journey for some time. But I still got fooled one last time, and that’s okay.

Now there's no more lies to chase, no more deception, no more reality to prove. Just healing from here on.

Part of that healing means being honest about my own part in it...why I stayed, why I defended him, and why I allowed it to continue for so long.

I've been sitting with this reality the last few days and its been pretty rough but I found the answer to my why. The answer was painful, but yet so simple and freeing: I didn’t trust myself.

I’m learning to now... and so up and onwards we go💪

#emotionalwellness #toxicrelationshiphealing #growthmindset #exhaustion #healingoutloud

4 weeks ago | [YT] | 1

Dee | Barefoot Nomad

I've spent a lot of my life becoming who I thought I needed to be. Every day I questioned whether I was strong enough, quiet enough, loud enough, good enough, fun enough.

Healing has been learning that I don't actually want to spend the rest of my life being someone I had to become to survive.

I want to know who I am underneath all of that, and so for quite some time I have been learning to love myself in a very authentic and imperfect way.

During the aftermath of untreated Complex PTSD and adrenal gland dysfunction, I experienced a mind that was in absolute shambles. It couldn't keep still. I couldn't find any quiet in it.

Finally, over the last two months, I've started experiencing something I haven't had in a very long time: clarity. My mind feels quieter. I can think properly, and I can actually hear myself again. Maybe that's why I'm finally starting to make different choices.

Healing doesn't mean losing yourself, or even becoming a better version of yourself. It means coming home to yourself and becoming who you were always meant to be.
If you are on a healing journey, I really want to encourage you today: don't give up. It is a long process, and there is no right or wrong way to go about it. Sometimes it's painful, and there is no prognosis for when things will suddenly get better.

But I can promise you this: As you learn to let go of things, unlearn trauma responses and survival behaviours, and relearn safety and how to love yourself first, healing becomes more and more beautiful.

You start to evolve. You start building the life you know you want and deserve.
I want to encourage you today to always be gentle with yourself, and drown out some of the noise of this world. Create a little space for peace, even if a war is happening one metre away from you.

Peace be the journey.

Much love, Dee

#SelfLove #InnerHealing #PersonalGrowth #SelfDiscovery #SelfCompassion #ChoosingYourself #GrowthJourney #BecomingYourself

1 month ago | [YT] | 1

Dee | Barefoot Nomad

I've been looking into ancient ways of thinking, especially Norse and Viking values, even the old Bible times, and asking myself: what did they understand about being human that we've forgotten?

One thing keeps coming back to me is: Wonder

What if not understanding something wasn’t a reason to dismiss it… but rather an invitation to get curious? What if we chose to ask more questions before making a final judgement or assumption or before being dismissive? What kind of world would following that one simple value create?

Perhaps wonder is something we were never meant to lose in the first place.

#Wonder #Curiosity #AncientWisdom #Mindset #StayCurious

1 month ago | [YT] | 0

Dee | Barefoot Nomad

The best mindfulness exercise I've ever done. Read Description ❤️❤️

youtube.com/shorts/nJs2Jr-o8C...

2 months ago | [YT] | 0

Dee | Barefoot Nomad

This post holds a bit of how my nervous system collapsed.

youtube.com/shorts/l6KYIgZ8DX...

2 months ago | [YT] | 0

Dee | Barefoot Nomad

Welcome 🤍

I'm Dee, an author, coach, multimedia creator, and songwriter. My side-kick in the pic is my fur baby Ezra.

Two years ago, my nervous system completely collapsed. That journey also led to adrenal gland dysfunction, and since then, I've been rebuilding my life one day at a time.

This page is where I share that journey honestly. The setbacks, the breakthroughs, the tools that have helped me, and the hope I've found along the way.

If you're learning to slow down, reconnect with yourself, or rebuild after life's hardest seasons, I hope you find encouragement here.

Healing isn't linear, but none of us have to walk it alone.

I'm so glad you're here.

Much love ❤️

2 months ago | [YT] | 3