The life of a Third Culture Kid therapist

179 - When We Are Stuck Where We Don't Want to Be

Fri, 10 Apr 2026 15:00:00 GMT

I talk a lot about how we can process our story so far to understand better the chapters we want to write next... but what happens when we can't write those chapters where we want to? Here I walk through a process I'd invite in these challenging circumstances.

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178 - Civic Spaces and TCK Belonging

Fri, 03 Apr 2026 15:00:00 GMT

Dipping my toes into local civic processes this week - and exploring both my delight and curiosity in the 'local' given the TCK early exposure to 'global'. Join me as I ponder!

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177 - My week of pain, bees, sunshine and 'it's okay'

Fri, 20 Mar 2026 16:00:00 GMT

A meandering episode this week - where I reflect on how I tell the story of my week, and how my narrative echoes a hesitation I hear for a lot of TCK stories, and how hard it is to let the little things take up space.

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176 - TCKs and Maslow - Self-actualised... and grumpy

Fri, 13 Mar 2026 16:00:00 GMT

Finishing up this mini-series on TCKs and Maslow with questions about what self-actualised actually looks like for us as TCKs? What does fulfilled and meeting our potential even look like? And I am, ironically and perhaps rather perfectly, recording this on a day where I don't feel at all 'my best self'.

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175 - TCKs and Maslow - Do you think you are interesting?

Fri, 27 Feb 2026 16:00:00 GMT

This episode tackles the self-esteem tier of Maslow's Hierarchy of needs. I've spoken before about self-esteem and TCKs, but here I focus on the ways in which TCKs learn they are interesting... and are those things about us, or what's happened to us? And what difference does it even make?

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174 - Pleased with Myself

Fri, 30 Jan 2026 16:00:00 GMT

How do we feel about the phrase, 'pleased with myself'? Very often we consider this feeling only allowed after very defined achievements - when we have done/completed/perfected something. This episode explores how this works when we've grown up with a sense of truncated time, and not feeling able to identify as 'complete'. How can we celebrate participation, rather than perfection?

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173 - TCKs and Maslow - Love and Belonging

Fri, 23 Jan 2026 16:00:00 GMT

So many of us orient ourselves around the question, "Where do I belong?" In this episode I ponder what flipping the script could do for us - "Where do I want to belong?" Join me and, as always, I'd love to hear your feedback so send that through to rachelcason@explorelifestory.com

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172 - New Year, Old Me

Fri, 16 Jan 2026 16:00:00 GMT

Happy 2026! In this first episode of the new year, I'm pondering how the TCK experience interacts with 'new year, new me' energy! I'm also wondering how the 'old me' might feel about that...

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171 - Seasonal Traditions - or Habits?

Tue, 23 Dec 2025 16:00:00 GMT

This year I've been encountering a new awful question - not 'Where are you from?' but 'What are your Christmas traditions?' In this episode I get curious about what I find difficult about this question - how traditions can be hard when you've seen and experienced so many different versions of this season, and yet what cultivating habits around this season can do for us.

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170 - TCKs and Maslow - Safety Needs

Fri, 05 Dec 2025 16:00:00 GMT

And here we have the second instalment of our Maslow series... Safety Needs! What does safety and risk actually mean in our TCK stories? And how do we see these play out in our current chapters?

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169 - TCKs and Maslow - Physiological Needs

Fri, 28 Nov 2025 16:00:00 GMT

This is an episode I've been pondering a while - how do TCKs perceive their own needs in terms of an internalised hierarchy? I explore where Maslow's ideas and my own observations around need-juggling and autonomy interact here - and specifically around our physiological needs.

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168 - Incoherent

Fri, 21 Nov 2025 16:00:00 GMT

Today's episode is pondering around how hard we work to create coherence, and my own experience this week of wanting to let incoherence be. TCKs often work so hard to prune and curate their stories, and I'm exploring here the relief I feel at not doing that today. Thanks for joining me!

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167 - The Rules that Find Us Wanting

Fri, 14 Nov 2025 16:00:00 GMT

What if we actually listed out our expectations of ourselves? What if we really allowed ourselves to acknowledge the many and competing ideas of how we 'should' be, the ones we have collected through our cultures and places - and sat with how utterly impossible they all are to satisfy? And then let go and grieve...

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166 - Now I Can Be Scared

Fri, 07 Nov 2025 16:00:00 GMT

I felt fear this week - fear jumping over time stamps, into my now. How do we explain feelings that show up out of space and time, dislocated within our own story? How do we understand fear when we are safe?

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165 - Art that Retrieves our Story

Fri, 17 Oct 2025 15:00:00 GMT

This weekend I went to a print fair - and found a piece of art that triggered an unexpected TCK encounter. What is it about images that can press on those tender parts of our story so well?

Check out the artist at www.beicreative.co.uk or on Instagram @_beicreative

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164 - Loneliness and TCKs

Fri, 10 Oct 2025 15:00:00 GMT

I had some soft slow sadness hit this week - and it took me a while to identify it as loneliness. This episode explores where and why loneliness might be a familiar part of our TCK story.

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163 - Dancing on Social Convention

Fri, 03 Oct 2025 15:00:00 GMT

So I've just been to a wedding - and broke a few of my own self-imposed rules. Here I talk about the moment of choice - to sit back and wait and watch before acting, the context necessary for the risk I took, and the after-effects of the choice I made.

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162 - Feelings as Clues

Fri, 26 Sep 2025 15:00:00 GMT

In this episode, I observe the difficulty so many TCKs have with acknowledging their feelings - especially feelings of discomfort. Why is this, and what do these feelings have to contribute to our story?

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161 - Birthdays, Celebrations and Getting it Right...

Fri, 19 Sep 2025 15:00:00 GMT

So, I found this episode I recorded way back in July! Excited to finally bring it to you - meandering though how TCKs might navigate birthdays and other celebrations when belonging is so often tied into the shape of those modes of celebration and traditions.

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160 - Sabotage... or Resistance?

Fri, 12 Sep 2025 15:00:00 GMT

Back after a long summer gap - but reflecting on the processing there and on a theme showing up a lot this week - self-sabotage! This is an exploration of what are the stories we might be in when we watch ourselves deviate from our own goals and plans - TCK-style!

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159 - I finished the to-do list... and it feels weird

Fri, 11 Jul 2025 15:00:00 GMT

Reflections on how things actually going to plan - life doing what we wanted - can actually trigger anxiety in TCKs! Even finishing my to-do list...

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158 - TCK Creatives

Fri, 04 Jul 2025 15:00:00 GMT

Introducing a new online group for TCK creatives! If you are a TCK who loves working creatively, join us via Facebook (just search 'Third Culture Kid Creatives') and discover how many TCKs are exploring their stories creatively, using these creative outlets to process their experiences.

The link to the group on Facebook is https://www.facebook.com/groups/1431710724484174/

See you there!

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157 - Grief Sticks

Fri, 27 Jun 2025 15:00:00 GMT

Inspired by a conversation with another TCK, I've decided to make tangible representations of all those losses that have felt so hard to name - especially the loss of things that we never had - and invite you to do the same.

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156 - The Focus on Arrival

Fri, 20 Jun 2025 15:00:00 GMT

What happens with perfectionism collides with a short internal timeline? This episode I'm exploring the way in which our TCK experiences can shorten our sense of timeline, keeping our focus on achieving 'completion' even with those aspects of life that are just never going to be 'done'...

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155 - Are you allowed to be happy?

Fri, 13 Jun 2025 15:00:00 GMT

So in this episode I'm exploring the ways in which we absorb different cultural ideas about what kind of life is supposed to make us happy - aka, are we allowed to be happy with something outside of that?

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154 - Sit with me and be

Fri, 30 May 2025 15:00:00 GMT

A shorter one today - This is me just finding myself wanting to sit and be, so I thought I would do it with you - pondering what it is to be still in the midst of spinning between the different facets of self...

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153 - Now that I'm 40...

Fri, 23 May 2025 15:00:00 GMT

I've turned 40! So cue reflections on aging, the ways in which our cultures and places contribute to our perspective on age, and a poem. Thank you so much for being with me for so long, and I'm so grateful to have arrived here, with you.

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152 - Tolerating the Awkward

Fri, 16 May 2025 15:00:00 GMT

Good at smoothing out social glitches? Feel desperately uncomfortable being 'demanding'? Welcome to the club! I hear so many of us struggling to tolerate the awkward...

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151 - Control and Decision-making

Fri, 09 May 2025 15:00:00 GMT

I hear so many TCKs characterise themselves as 'control freaks'. Here I unpack what control might mean to us, given our TCK stories, and how our experience of control impacts our confidence around decision-making...

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150 - Behind Our Own Eyes

Fri, 02 May 2025 15:00:00 GMT

As TCKs we can spend a lot of time in other people's heads - looking at ourselves from their perspectives. What happens when we get back behind our own eyes?

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149 - The Cycle of Change, and Staying

Fri, 25 Apr 2025 15:00:00 GMT

It's that time of year I get restless... actually, more like that time every four years...

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148 - Frustrated with myself...

Fri, 14 Mar 2025 16:00:00 GMT

This episode is born of frustration - and I know it's frustration I share with other Third Culture Kids. This is my meandering offering this week - a honest glimpse at the process of making choices from what can feel like an impossible spinning carousel - who will this choice make me, express and what kind of me 'should' I be in this moment?

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147 - Holidays... there and back again

Fri, 28 Feb 2025 16:00:00 GMT

So I missed talking to you all last week - because I was away on holiday! The most wonderful time, but also a good moment to reflect on themes that come up a lot for Third Culture Kids - travel, holidays, and coming home...

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146 - Concentrated Identities

Fri, 14 Feb 2025 16:00:15 GMT

Do you struggle with feeling not-enough? Confused about which of your identities you are supposed to focus on and do 'properly'? We aren't alone - and I'm seeing these sensations show up for many of us. In this episode I explore the notion of growing up with identity archetypes, concentrated identities played out in short bursts.

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145 - A Space to Grieve

Fri, 07 Feb 2025 16:00:00 GMT

So many Third Culture Kids are dealing with deep reservoirs of grief. Present day loss has a habit of pressing the bruises of losses felt earlier through our story, and it can be devastating to our sense of safety. In this episode I walk through one way of creating space for this grief, via intentional space and ritual.

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144 - TCKs and Helplessness

Fri, 31 Jan 2025 16:00:00 GMT

How big a part of your identity is 'helper'? And what happens when we find ourselves unable to help others, or even ourselves? What happens when we encounter helplessness? This episode ponders the ways in which our TCK experiences impact our experience of helplessness, and how we can meet it.

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143 - Is being a TCK a good thing?

Fri, 24 Jan 2025 16:00:00 GMT

How many of us have been confronted with the question, "Is being a Third Culture Kid a good thing?" It's a question that feels to me to miss the point - and in this episode I explore why, and how we can better understand our traits and tendencies with nuance.

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142 - Identity by Association

Fri, 17 Jan 2025 16:00:00 GMT

As TCKs, many of us are aware of the nature of our representational or ambassador identities growing up. In this episode I explore how this early experience of identity by association could be impacting the choices around friendship or relationships we may be making in our adult lives.

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141 - Exceptionally Ordinary

Fri, 10 Jan 2025 16:00:44 GMT

In January, many of us are reflecting on various ways to improve ourselves. In this episode I'm exploring how often I hear TCKs struggling with the need to be extraordinary, and the fear of identities more mundane. I'll share my observations about what's going on here, and a poem I wrote today, on the Forbidden Fruit of being Ordinary.

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140 - The Narrative Voice

Fri, 13 Dec 2024 16:00:34 GMT

Who is the narrator of your story? And is the voice a critical or demanding one? Or is it on the hero's side? In this episode I explore the impact and power of our narrative voices, and explore what these voices could sound like.

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139 - Frivolous Identities

Fri, 06 Dec 2024 16:00:59 GMT

I loved this phrase I heard last week, "frivolous identity" - and wanted to explore it here with you. I've often pondered the way we manage an internal hierarchy of our many identities and this phrase put it's finger on a theme I see come up a lot!

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138 - Making and Creating

Fri, 29 Nov 2024 16:00:01 GMT

How many Third Culture Kids are busy deconstructing our stories? Or working to build identities from what often feel like disparate fragments? In this episode I'm pondering my own relationship with making and creating, and what it can do for us!

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137 - Cultural Icebergs and Meaning-making

Fri, 15 Nov 2024 16:00:36 GMT

Some feedback from last episode on purpose and TCKs really brought home to me another challenge faced by many TCKs around purpose - which this episode attempts to do justice to. How do we navigate our own values when we've not been told stories of values, just observable differences?

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136 - TCKs and Purpose-Seeking

Fri, 08 Nov 2024 16:00:48 GMT

I've been avoiding this episode - partly because I'm feeling how incredibly important it is. How does the experience of being a TCK interact with our purpose-seeking? And what do we do about it?

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135 - Look how far you've come...

Fri, 01 Nov 2024 16:00:40 GMT

Taking pause in this episode, a moment to notice, acknowledge and celebrate how far we've come!

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134 - TCKs and Time

Fri, 25 Oct 2024 15:00:47 GMT

Time! How does the Third Culture Kid experience impact our sense of time? It's often said TCKs are somewhat allergic to the 10 year plan - but why? And what about the impact on how we do relationships? Join me in this week's ponderings - I'd love to hear your thoughts too!

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133 - Invisible Contracts

Fri, 18 Oct 2024 15:00:37 GMT

How many of us learnt that we could 'make ourselves safe' by offering certain behaviours - compliance, being a good listener, being 'interesting'? In this episode I'm exploring what we may have learnt we could expect back, if we could just find the offering to provide - the contracts we have entered into with our behaviours. "If I'm this, then you will be that" the rule goes. Except when the other party can't see and didn't agree to the contract we have signed up for...

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132 - Attachment Figures... and a poem

Fri, 11 Oct 2024 15:00:07 GMT

What about the characters in our story that we struggle to find a place for? The people whose languages we've maybe lost but who cared for us as children, worked in our homes or with our parents; these are pivotal points of attachment safety for us. In this episode I explore the limits of attachment theory for TCKs, where it is getting delightfully expanded, and how we can honour attachment figures in our stories.

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131 - The Money Narrative

Fri, 04 Oct 2024 15:00:40 GMT

Money! What's it got to do with the Third Culture Experience? Between complex juxtapositions between wealth experiences between countries, modelled standards and shapes of living, expectations around meaningful employment - quite a lot! I wanted to spend some time here on this because it does come up in my work with TCKs, and my own life too, and feels an important element to understand in our stories. As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts!

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130 - Feasible Alternate Realities

Fri, 27 Sep 2024 15:00:11 GMT

In this meandering episode, I'm observing how the practice of imagining feasible alternate realities can benefit us. Sometimes called re-scripting, working with feasible alternative realities is about recognising when we are so busy accommodating (or trying to manage the outcome of) others' decisions, that we shoulder the emotional work to excess. When we imagine feasible alternative realities to difficult situations, we recognise the agency of others' and the ways in which we are not solely responsible for stories that are in fact co-collaborated.

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129 - Macro and Micro Identities

Fri, 20 Sep 2024 15:00:21 GMT

"Who am I?" is a question that Third Culture Kids agonise over, and I've observed some patterns here - that we often focus on the 'big identities', the ones that give meaning and purpose on a global scale, as we've been taught to. And there is nothing wrong with that. But I ponder here about the degree to which this identities are often socially framed - who am I... to others, the world? And I invite some time spent with what I'd call 'micro identities' - what happens when we pay attention to the who we are on a day to day, desires and needs way?

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128 - If I make life work here...

Fri, 13 Sep 2024 15:00:13 GMT

"If I make life work here, then I'm committing to being here forever". Versions of this statement is something I hear so often in my work with Third Culture Kids, and so this episode spends some time looking at how hard it is for us to invest in the here and now... when this implies so much letting go of other options and opportunities.

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127 - Guilt Triggers for TCKs

Fri, 30 Aug 2024 15:00:40 GMT

Guilt - that horrible twisting feeling in our gut that so often shows up, unbidden and unwelcome. As awkward as it is, today I'm digging into what can trigger this in TCK stories especially, and how we can bring understanding and context to this sensation - and recognise it as something beyond a simple indicator we've done something 'wrong'.

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126 - Intrinsic versus Extrinsic Value

Fri, 23 Aug 2024 15:00:28 GMT

Are you confused by how you think about your own worth? Maybe one part of you feel like you have things to offer, that you have value to add, but another feels like you can't quite believe the idea you matter to other people... Third Culture Kids often experience this paradox - "I am someone, but I'm not someone to others". I explore this experience here as tension between experiences of intrinsic and extrinsic value and I'd love to hear your thoughts!

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125 - The Courtroom of Feelings

Fri, 16 Aug 2024 15:00:21 GMT

I'm noticing how many of us TCKs are struggling to set boundaries without feeling the need to build a case of moral justification - our own feelings and needs don't seem to be 'enough' to allow us to say, "No". Here I'm exploring what might be going on, the potential impact of this, and how important it is to listen out for this in our narratives.

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124 - Decluttering Identity

Fri, 09 Aug 2024 15:00:26 GMT

I'm in a season of decluttering... and my TCK self is happily familiar with how soothing it feels to streamline. So many of us get anxious at the accumulation of stuff (however will it all fit in my suitcase?!) but I'm a lover of things. What I'm seeing through is how important it is for my material surroundings to remind me of WHO I am. This episode looks at how this can get complicated with complex TCK identities!

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123 - Red Flags, Green Flags

Fri, 02 Aug 2024 15:00:54 GMT

"I saw the signs... and I went there anyway!" I hear this so often, and it's such a familiar cry of my own heart too. We are often admonished to 'watch out for the red flags' but I'm wondering how much this is the relevant issue. Here I'm exploring what can lead TCKs to be especially vulnerable to seeing the warning signs of incompatible behaviours or values, and going there anyway. I'm also sharing why I feel getting clearer about our 'green flags' can be a more helpful tool to many TCKs.

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122 - Editing the Story

Fri, 26 Jul 2024 15:00:08 GMT

In this episode, I'm pondering associations between changes and endings. In my story recently, I realised my needs had changed and the impact this was having around my book club involvement. I quickly assumed that acknowledging this change would initiate an ending, a quitting and loss around community. But what if changes could be integrated into a new chapter? A story edited rather than lost?

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121 - Acclimatised to Discomfort

Fri, 19 Jul 2024 15:00:52 GMT

What are the implications of a life lived in adaptation? One of them seems to be a familiarity with discomfort! This can impact different TCKs different ways - some of us get super sensitive to challenge, over-saturated as we have been in early chapters. Some of us identify so much with challenge that we continue to seek it out in our adult lives. Either reaction may be working with an acclimatisation with discomfort. We can become so attuned to discomfort as our baseline that we normalise it - either in ways that keep us in it, avoidant or unclear about what changes we could make to improve our experience, or in ways that avoid comfort by seeking growth to exhausting degrees. Either way, what happens when we get acclimatised to discomfort?

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120 - Coming Home

Fri, 12 Jul 2024 15:00:15 GMT

Today I'm reflecting on coming home. As TCKs, we can often develop sensitivities and strategies for managing the leaving experiences of our lives, but I'm noticing an area I want to work on - returning. I know leaving, do I know how to return? Turns out I didn't handle my most recent return brilliantly, so this episode is walking through that experience with you!

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119 - TCKs and Selfies

Fri, 05 Jul 2024 15:00:21 GMT

So I messed up the timing of this one! Got all organised, and recorded before going away last week on holiday - then never scheduled it to post! So it's going out this week instead :)

In this episode I ponder something that comes up a lot - with TCKs and in general discourse - the Selfie! I'm always fascinated when we have a resistance against something, and I wanted to explore this as something that I think is an untapped resource in our work around belonging. Here I explore how the simple selfie can be another tool for us to use to land our Selves in context, witness to our moments of connection and ground us. I'd love to know your thoughts!

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118 - Different Modes of Me

Fri, 21 Jun 2024 15:00:42 GMT

After some creative scribbling, I feel like I've cracked something I want to now share with you - how I've seen myself privilege one version of my identity over others! This is something I hear us especially prone to doing if managing fluctuating energy levels, sometimes due to chronic conditions or illnesses. As TCKs, the pressure is often on to demonstrate our 'added value' and I share here the different contributions that my 'different modes of me' make.

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117 - TCKs and Aging

Fri, 14 Jun 2024 15:00:34 GMT

What do our TCK stories tell us about aging? And how does this impact our identities? This episode throws open this question and explores how we can use our stories as a resource to help us understand where our own (perhaps multiple) constructs of aging come from, and how we can navigate this with mindfulness and gentleness.

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116 - Initiating Change Protocol

Fri, 31 May 2024 15:00:32 GMT

This last week I hit a familiar feeling - low motivation, a sense of 'what's the point anyway?' and general resistance to the elements and rhythms of my daily life. As with all of my confusing feelings, I tried to look at the context around it - and realised I was coming up to my three year mark: It's nearly three years I've been in this new house and my TCK clock was getting ready to lose it.

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115- Birthday Ponderings

Fri, 24 May 2024 15:00:02 GMT

So birthdays can bring up a lot for people, and for TCKs, these were often affected by mobility: Who do you invite to a party when you are the new kid? How do people celebrate here? And mine tends to make me pensive around identity also - who have I been this year, and where am I at now? And so in this podcast, I invite you to ponder with me those identities we inhabit but especially those we might stop short of claiming, because we "can't do them properly" or may feel we don't have time to establish.

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114 - The Secret of Happiness

Fri, 17 May 2024 15:00:58 GMT

I've just read Paulo Coelho's "The Alchemist" and now I know the secret of happiness... and it's reminiscent of what I see Third Culture Kids doing every day in the tension they work to hold - between the "here" in my hand and the "there" out in the world.

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113 - Where My Behaviours Make Sense

Fri, 10 May 2024 15:00:06 GMT

Am I bad at communicating my needs, or did I just learn how to communicate in an indirect, obligation-based culture? Am I over-bearing, or did I just learn that high-volume enthusiasm is how one communicates love? The places of our stories have so much to offer in helping us understand why our way of being may not fit easily in the here and now, but is utterly functional - somewhere else!

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112 Third Culture Kids and Self Esteem

Fri, 26 Apr 2024 15:00:29 GMT

As with so many mainstream concepts, I find that Third Culture Kids often have a complicated and nuanced experience of "self-esteem", so it's definitely worth talking about! Some of us absolutely struggle with feelings of worthlessness, a grim and exhausting experience. Others of us, find that we have a strong sense of our own worth, and yet find ourselves feeling just as insecure of others' regard. What is going on? This podcast explores what I'm seeing in many TCKs - that we can know our worth AND have a really hard time believing or accepting the regard of others.

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111 - Social Mistakes and Emotional Flashbacks

Fri, 19 Apr 2024 15:00:29 GMT

So many Third Culture Kids tell me how they can feel suddenly triggered or 'tugged' back into a previous chapter by the "smallest thing". This can be an amazing moment of nostalgic joy but often it's a moment of pain - a flooding feeling that dislocates us from the present moment. If we are to avoid self-shaming for "over-reacting" or being "too sensitive", it's important to understand these emotional flashbacks as bruise points from our story. My most recent moment happened on holiday, in London. The smallest thing, and the biggest opportunity to practise my own self-compassion.

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110 - Rest, Productivity and Growing Pains

Fri, 05 Apr 2024 15:00:10 GMT

I've been wrestling with rest this week, and contemplating how my TCK story complicates my relationship with rest. Also explored, how hard and awful it can feel to change our narratives! Even when that change itself feels good...

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109 - Health and the TCK

Fri, 29 Mar 2024 16:00:52 GMT

Whether via health trauma or everyday cultural stories around body and wellness, health is a huge chapter in the Third Culture Kid story. Growing up with the classic, "Where There is no Doctor" book as a staple in my home in Niger, I explore here the role of health experiences on my own story.

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108 - The Renewal of Spring

Fri, 22 Mar 2024 16:00:27 GMT

When staying in place, seasonal change becomes a helpful access point to change and novelty for Third Culture Kids. Join me in this episode as I contemplate how we can review and renew our multifaceted selves at the the season's change.

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107 - Room for all of Me

Fri, 15 Mar 2024 16:39:22 GMT

There are so many elements to our selves as Third Culture Kids it can feel stifling to feel stuck in one iteration of self for long. Moving to places that invite a different self forward is one solution, but today I'm reflecting on how setting internal boundaries can spin the dial and allow different selves to take space alongside one another. In all this, the Japanese idea, "yutori" is one I'm finding very helpful - unhurried spaciousness applied to our many selves.

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106 - Third Culture Kids and Boundaries

Fri, 08 Mar 2024 15:00:06 GMT

Boundaries... we can have a very heavy relationship with this word. Fear of crossing them, of faux pas, and fear of setting them - this is the story for many Third Culture Kids. In this episode I'm exploring what it is about our experiences of mobility that can complicate boundaries for us, and how we can rebuild relationship with them.

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105 - Why can it be hard to feel good?

Fri, 23 Feb 2024 16:40:34 GMT

So many of us are struggling to learn how to overcome challenges, change thought patterns and achieve our goals. So why, just as we start to see ourselves make these hard won changes, do we sometimes hit a whole new level of discomfort - that of feeling good!? Many Third Culture Kids find that the struggle and change is more familiar to us than the work of maintaining 'arrival' in those good places we dream of...

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104 - am I a good learner as a TCK?

Fri, 09 Feb 2024 15:36:03 GMT

TCKs often grow up accustomed to the need to learn new skills quickly (with varying degrees of felt success!) and this can complicate our relationship to our identities as 'learners'. In some ways we receive feedback we are ahead of our passport peers, and in other ways we can feel very behind. In this episode I explore something that has recently got me contemplating my own belief about myself as a 'poor learner'.

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103 - When we don't want to need care.

Fri, 26 Jan 2024 18:30:52 GMT

I hear this a lot, "but I don't want to need to take care of me". It's often in recognition of how much you've been through, how much taking care of yourself has already cost you... and the pain of realising how much time and energy your body, mind and heart are still asking of you... and today I'm sitting with you here.

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102 - Third Culture Kids and Reciprocity

Fri, 19 Jan 2024 15:58:48 GMT

How does being a TCK impact how we approach reciprocity in relationships? In my experience, it often leads us to want to heavily weight the experience towards us being givers, rather than takers...

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101 - New Year's Resolutions - abandoned already?

Fri, 12 Jan 2024 15:56:38 GMT

It's the new year, and how are those resolutions coming along? Are you feeling motivated? Accomplished? Or, like me, are you wondering why your goals are now making you feel so judged?

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100 - Audiobook playtime and a big thank you

Fri, 05 Jan 2024 15:58:44 GMT

Today Rachel started recording the audiobook for her book, "Incredible Lives and the Courage to Live Them" (print copies currently available at https://amzn.eu/d/hd88atF), and shares her experience, as well as her gratitude. Audiobooks played a huge part in her TCK childhood, and she reflects on the significance of auditory communication.

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99 - A Year in Review

Fri, 29 Dec 2023 16:53:30 GMT

129 clients in, and nearly 8000 downloads in the last year of this podcast, and it's time to reflect before the year turns to 2024! In this episode I invite you to review your year too - with gratitude for the you that travelled with you these last 12 months.

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98 - You are a gift

Fri, 22 Dec 2023 15:30:15 GMT

At a season where so many of us are wrapped up (see what I did there?!) in finding the perfect gifts, I want to take a moment to explore how the idea of being a gift to the world may have touched our story as Third Culture Kids, and how I'd like to offer a reframe.

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97 - A Hallmark Christmas

Fri, 15 Dec 2023 14:43:30 GMT

The familiar (and repetitive) scripts of Christmas Hallmark movies remind me of how we can find safety in the predictable stories we hold this season. However, it's worth exploring if these familiar stories are ones we are choosing, or if we even feel good about the characters we are playing!

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96 - Other People's Stories of Us

Fri, 01 Dec 2023 14:30:22 GMT

How comfortable are we when other people's stories of us don't align with how we want to be perceived? In my experience, it's a common human experience to feel the need to have some control over the story of who we are. For many TCKs, it's aligned to our very social survival...

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95 - Third Culture Kids and Leadership

Fri, 24 Nov 2023 09:10:23 GMT

In this episode, I'm exploring the expectations that form around leadership for Third Culture Kids... what are your experiences?

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94 - Let's break a social rule... on purpose!

Fri, 17 Nov 2023 14:07:02 GMT

Ok, this is a fun one... What do we feel about breaking social rules? For me there is a shiver of dread around this, a reaction that remembers the cost of cultural faux pas. But what about if we are breaking rules intentionally? What rule would you break?

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93 - Are they the right one for me?

Fri, 10 Nov 2023 14:04:43 GMT

This is such a common question I hear from Third Culture Kids trying to work out their relationship stories... and in this episode I want to explore what could be going on here for us. Why do we need to be so sure? And what could this focus on the other be denying ourselves?

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92 My weird is showing on my walls...

Fri, 03 Nov 2023 14:01:51 GMT

Now that I have an established space, I'm feeling a whole new set of feelings around inviting people into that space - my weird is showing on the walls! In this episode I explore more about the vulnerability of letting ourselves show up in our homes.

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91 - Power and Change

Fri, 27 Oct 2023 14:42:20 GMT

Change has been the constant for so many Third Culture Kids, for so long. If there is one thing we can count on, it's change. Yet what is our relationship with change - and how much power do we feel we have in it?

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90 - I Belong Where I Want To

Fri, 20 Oct 2023 14:40:55 GMT

This title, "I Belong Where I Want To" feels so subversive... I'm so acutely aware of the pain I and so many other TCKs have felt around belonging that this phrase feels almost ridiculous. And yet I've come to believe it - utterly.

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89 Dancing through our Story

Fri, 13 Oct 2023 13:07:05 GMT

Rachel explored discovering a new way to connect to her body, moving from self-consciousness into joy, and reflects on the ways our bodies hold different chapters of our stories.

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88 Do I Need or Do I Want?

Fri, 06 Oct 2023 14:15:32 GMT

Rachel explores how many TCKs have learnt to minimize needs, to such an extent that the things we need to thrive start to feel like luxuries we shouldn't want. She offers another way in to discovering what our needs may be and how to acknowledge them.

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87 My Pet Peeve

Fri, 29 Sep 2023 13:22:58 GMT

In this episode, Rachel goes head to head with here pet peeve - her own habit of living by old rules she don't want anymore... So many Third Culture Kids picked up rules throughout their lives, are they serving us anymore?

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86 Blocks to Journaling

Fri, 08 Sep 2023 13:39:26 GMT

Journaling comes up a lot as a tool to help us process our stories. In this episode Rachel explores why journaling can be useful to us, what blocks we may face and some options to open up journaling as an option for us.

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85 Social Capital - TCK impact audit!

Fri, 01 Sep 2023 13:12:38 GMT

Rachel came across the idea of social capital in her sociology studies, but sees it come up a lot for Third Culture Kids. If social capital is the idea of the social networks that make us feel connected and embedded in our communities, do TCKs feel they have enough?

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84 A loft of magical things

Fri, 23 Jun 2023 13:00:59 GMT

Rachel's getting her loft boarded... and it's bringing up some Third Culture Kid stuff.

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83 My Favourite Things...

Fri, 09 Jun 2023 13:00:31 GMT

"What's your favourite...?" This is not a fun question for me. For what occasion? In which country? In what language? Defining our preferences can be tough as TCKs, and this episode explores why and how we can approach this differently.

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82 Indicators Transition is Going Well (or Not)

Fri, 02 Jun 2023 13:00:05 GMT

Here again, Kristi Steele of www.kc360.co is asking questions many of us do about how TCKs may experience transition but this one is especially for those caregivers who want to be active participants in this challenging chapter of life.

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81 Talking TCKs on BBC Radio Lincolnshire

Mon, 22 May 2023 13:00:00 GMT

On May 19th I spoke to Melvyn Prior on BBC Radio Lincolnshire about TCKs and my book "Incredible Lives and the Courage to Live Them: Thoughts of a Third Culture Kid therapist".

If you are an adult TCK, you probably sense that the multicultural, high mobility experiences of your childhood continue to impact your life in some way now. Making sense of the impact of these experiences, however, can feel overwhelming, especially if we have long experience of our stories being met with bafflement and incredulity.

My hope is that this collection of my thoughts over the last seven years of working with Third Culture Kids will create space for you to explore and make sense of the incredible life you’ve lived.

More information about ordering the book can be found here: https://www.explorelifestory.com/book/

More of Melvyn's shows are available on BBC Sounds: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/p001gr43

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80 TCK Romance and Relationships

Fri, 19 May 2023 13:00:00 GMT

This episode comes to you thanks to Kristi Steele of www.kc360.co whose dedication to aiding college students transition well has extended to reaching out to me! Kristi asks me in this episode about what TCKs need to be considering (and what their parents should be aware of!) around the particular challenges they may face around romantic relationships as they start their college years.

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79 Now or never, the impact of the truncated timeline

Fri, 05 May 2023 18:00:57 GMT

Many TCKs struggle with a sense of a shortened timeline - leading to a sense of 'now or never'. Rachel ponders how this impacts us and how her garden is stretching her ability to 'wait and see'.

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78 The Successful TCK

Thu, 27 Apr 2023 18:32:37 GMT

We often carry a sense of how a "good" TCK life should look - and the burden of this can be crushing.

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77 The "Fun" Self

Tue, 07 Mar 2023 14:00:00 GMT

The "Fun" Self

Do we know who we are if we don't know what our personal preferences and pleasures are? How does "fun" get complicated when we are Third Culture Kids?

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76 My cat passed away. And so much remains

Mon, 16 Jan 2023 14:00:55 GMT

Trigger warning: pet loss

This last week has been full of grief, transition, joy and (as always with me) reflections on how my story informs how I'm experiencing this current chapter of life.

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75 A Christmas Walk and Talk

Mon, 26 Dec 2022 14:00:39 GMT

Let's take a few minutes together - join me on my winter walk and let's talk about how you are doing, what Christmas can bring up for TCKs and how even a walk can bring up self-consciousness!

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74 A walk towards belonging

Mon, 12 Dec 2022 14:00:05 GMT

How do you know you belong? Walking through our landscapes can become one way towards a deliberate intent to belong, as Rachel explores here.

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73 A conversation with Tanya Crossman - the TCK ACEs research

Mon, 28 Nov 2022 14:00:23 GMT

One of my favourite people to talk "TCK" with is Tanya - she is so knowledgeable and generous with her insights. In this conversation we are talking through observations arising from the recent research she conducted with Lauren Wells around TCKs and ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences). ACE scores have so much to indicate around future physical and mental health outcomes for TCKs through their adult lives, so it's an important study for all of us who are TCKs or who are working with TCKs. And it was so good to connect over our mutual care for this wonderful community.

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72 A language app and the hope it brings

Mon, 14 Nov 2022 14:00:35 GMT

I discovered a new language app this week - and it's a bittersweet revelation...

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71 Ambassadors of our Stories

Mon, 31 Oct 2022 14:00:43 GMT

The stories we tell - how do we act as ambassadors of our countries, and our Selves?

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70 Money as Identity

Tue, 08 Mar 2022 19:30:00 GMT

Our beliefs and values around finances is a great indicator of identity - how we spend our money tells us about our priorities and preferences. Walk with Rachel through your own financial story in this episode.

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69 My Home Story

Tue, 22 Feb 2022 19:30:45 GMT

Sharing some of my own story in this episode - how moving into my current home has invited a whole new challenge around expressing self in this space!

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68 Comfort or Stuckness

Tue, 15 Feb 2022 19:30:00 GMT

Do you know what your comfort zone is? Third Culture Kid comfort zones can look very different from other people's... and what about if you have never had one at all? Rachel ponders all this, and also how we distinguish comfort from something a lot of us dread... stuckness.

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67 You don't have to earn a good story...

Tue, 08 Feb 2022 19:30:00 GMT

This episode invites you to shed any shame you are holding for your past chapters and let go of any sense of needing to earn better chapters to come... You don't have to earn a good story - YOU are the good story.

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66 Creating Sacred Space

Tue, 01 Feb 2022 19:30:13 GMT

This is a tool that Rachel frequently recommends - it offers a place to integrate identities, express commitment to self and grounds us in our own thoughts and feelings. Will you build your own sacred space today?

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65 My 24 hour tantrum

Tue, 25 Jan 2022 19:30:00 GMT

What can a tantrum serve? Well, for many TCKs it can be a healthy, albeit uncomfortable, moment where we are struggling with 'sameness' in our lives. It was for me this week and in this episode I'm talking about how sameness can trigger "I want to stop everything" feelings, and how we can move through these.

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64 Third Culture Kids - risk takers

Tue, 18 Jan 2022 19:30:00 GMT

Are we risk takers as TCKs? What is safety to us, and what feels like adventure? Our anxieties and needs may confuse those around us who already see us as adventurers... but what does your story have to say about it?

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63 Change without Self Blame

Tue, 11 Jan 2022 19:30:48 GMT

Something I notice in my work is how often we can land in a place of frustration just as we feel the strength and goodness of our growth journey... we feel frustrated at ourselves for not making these changes sooner. This frustration can be disheartening, so what can we do about it?

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62 Inner Child work and the TCK

Tue, 04 Jan 2022 19:30:00 GMT

In this episode, Rachel reflects on how our relationship with our inner child is impacted by our cultural experiences of childhood. How can we recognise inner child when they show up, and how can we work WITH them to meet their needs, rather than against them?

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61 Fear of being tired...

Tue, 30 Nov 2021 19:30:44 GMT

What can be so scary about feeling tired? Echoes of past physical limitations can be one reason, as can fear of not being enough...

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60 Uncomfortable feelings of Joy...

Tue, 23 Nov 2021 19:30:00 GMT

Uncomfortable feelings - Joy! What is it about feeling happy that can feel scary or uncomfortable? Turns out a lot of Third Culture Kids have ambivalent feelings about joy, and Rachel unpacks this in today's episode.

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59 High Vigilent Independence

Tue, 16 Nov 2021 19:30:13 GMT

What is it about independence that makes us feel safe? Given that so many of us avoid being 'needy' (or dependent), is there an alternative?

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58 Parenting non-TCKs (and how this intersects with interactions with non-TCK adults!)

Tue, 09 Nov 2021 19:30:20 GMT

A fair amount has been discussed about raising TCKs but what about being a TCK and raising a non-TCK child? Rachel explores the particular challenges this can involve and how responding to these challenges can illuminate ways of being with other non-TCKs too! As ever, knowing your own story is key...

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57 Old Scripts that Constrain Us

Tue, 19 Oct 2021 18:30:18 GMT

What messages about yourself and the world are you carrying? Where did they come from? Rachel explores the "scripts" that are handed to us and how these can be constraining.

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56 Continuity

Tue, 12 Oct 2021 18:30:48 GMT

What's the deal with continuity? In this episode Rachel ponders what it can offer us in times of change, and why Third Culture Kids can feel ambivalent about it!

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55 Anxiety - to be avoided?

Tue, 03 Aug 2021 18:30:21 GMT

Continuing with the series 'Uncomfortable Feelings', Rachel explores how we can reframe our relationship with anxiety. Can we accept anxiety as a predictable indicator of growth, or doing something difficult, without loading shame and fear onto ourselves?

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54 TCKs as Tourist

Tue, 27 Jul 2021 18:30:47 GMT

Here Rachel explores why it can be hard to feel good about being a 'tourist' but how this can help us re-engage with our passport environments. Can we holiday local, with a sense of delight?

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53 Parenting the Young TCKs in our Lives

Tue, 20 Jul 2021 18:30:05 GMT

Parenting/Loving the Young TCKs in our Lives: Why do our stories matter so much when we support and nurture young TCKs? Here I explore what you can offer young TCKs in your life, by better understanding your own TCK experience.

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52 Decluttering or the Importance of 'Stuff'

Tue, 13 Jul 2021 16:30:00 GMT

This started off about decluttering and then a conversation about why I don't want to! Why does 'stuff' matter so much to me... to you?

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51 Sadness

Tue, 06 Jul 2021 18:30:24 GMT

Why does sadness make us uncomfortable? What have we been taught about this feeling?

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50 Holidays and Everyday Life

Tue, 29 Jun 2021 18:30:50 GMT

It's coming up to holiday season! What we look for in a holiday can give us some great hints about what we need in our everyday lives... what do you favourite holidays tell you about your needs?

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49 Parenting as TCKs

Tue, 22 Jun 2021 18:30:20 GMT

Let's explore how our experiences with the children in our lives are impacted by our own TCK stories...

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48 Relative Wealth

Tue, 15 Jun 2021 18:30:35 GMT

What does money have to do with our TCK experiences? Quite a lot, I think...

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47 Moving Home - Choosing

Tue, 08 Jun 2021 18:30:15 GMT

This is the beginning of a short series that walks through Rachel's latest transition - home buying! The kind of commitment home ownership entails throws up some great questions for TCKs - this week about how we make decisions.

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46 Anger

Tue, 01 Jun 2021 18:30:25 GMT

This week is the first of a series I'm starting on Uncomfortable Feelings and we are kicking off with Anger! Let's explore our experiences so far with anger and how we respond to anger in others. And then what healthy anger could do for us.

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45 Memories, Places and Integration

Tue, 25 May 2021 18:30:43 GMT

Places get infused with so many of our experiences that revisiting them can flood us with memories - sometimes painful ones. How can we revisit our past places, encounter our past selves and integrate these to our present? Some ponderings here...

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44 Languages - loved and lost

Tue, 18 May 2021 18:30:02 GMT

How many of us have loved languages, lost languages or carry shame around fluency? If this is you, you are not alone...

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43 Fear of Failure and Identity

Tue, 11 May 2021 18:30:54 GMT

Can we fail at being ourselves? It can often feel this way...

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42 Small Talk - are we scared of it

Tue, 04 May 2021 18:30:54 GMT

Small Talk - are we scared of it? - So much of our talk about small talk is about how much we hate it! Here I wonder what's behind this, and if small talk actually just scares us a little...

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41 Meaning and Mattering

Tue, 27 Apr 2021 18:30:14 GMT

It's not unusual for us as TCKs to feel pressure to live meaningful enough lives. How can we understand our desire to find purpose, and to integrate this into our daily experience?

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40 Boundaries

Tue, 20 Apr 2021 18:30:50 GMT

Big scary word designed to push everyone away? Or invitation to closer, more sustainable relationships? This episode explores why so many of us TCKs find boundaries so challenging.

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39 How are you?

Tue, 13 Apr 2021 18:30:04 GMT

Personal growth can get intense... so just wanted to check in, how are you? Have you done anything good for yourself today?

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38 Decisions, decisions

Tue, 06 Apr 2021 18:30:37 GMT

Find decision-making hard? You aren't the only TCK who does... Listen to hear more about how this can show up in my client work, and where I think it comes from.

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37 Blooming where we are planted

Tue, 30 Mar 2021 18:30:45 GMT

"Bloom where we are planted" - What do we need to bloom? Here Rachel explores what time in her yard reminds her about the role of hope in growth, and how we can provide the conditions for that growth.

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36 Transitions

Tue, 23 Mar 2021 19:30:26 GMT

In this podcast, Rachel explores the role of self compassion in transition, and how a better understanding of our needs can help us create supportive habits for ourselves, even in moments of transition.

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35 Playing with Images to understand the story of Self

Tue, 16 Mar 2021 19:30:37 GMT

Rachel explores a technique of exploring your Self through images - how has your story of self changed through time - past, present and future?

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34 Limiting Beliefs

Tue, 02 Mar 2021 19:30:12 GMT

Limiting Beliefs - Limiting beliefs are something we are increasingly aware of and in this episode Rachel looks at what the impact of these can be on Third Culture Kids especially... and how we can shift them.

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33 In Conversation Masterclass - expat author Jo Parfitt with Life Story Therapist Dr Rachel Cason

Tue, 23 Feb 2021 19:30:21 GMT

Join me as I was interviewed by expat author, publisher and mentor Jo Parfitt, as part of her In Conversation Masterclass series of virtual events.

Do you know your story? Understanding your own story is key to writing great memoir – and in this In Conversation writing Masterclass Jo gains a therapist's perspective on writing. Jo wanted to explore how writers can start to 'own their story' – and why it matters. Thank you Jo for the opportunity to do this!

Audio used with permission of Jo Parfitt: https://www.joparfitt.com

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32 Life Audits & Hierarchies of Needs

Tue, 16 Feb 2021 19:30:37 GMT

What does a life audit look like? What kind of questions can we ask ourselves? In this episode, Rachel explores how taking stock of the shape of life can refocus us as author again, not just editor, of our life story.

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31: Watch this space!

Tue, 19 Jan 2021 19:30:15 GMT

This episode signals a bit of a pause in podcasting while Rachel prioritizes client time at the moment - but she will be back so stay subscribed and get in touch about what topics you'd like to hear more of in the future! Thank you!

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30: Cleanse and Declutter

Tue, 12 Jan 2021 19:30:32 GMT

Are your decorations down yet? A lot of people use this time of year to rearrange and deep clean their homes... Third Culture Kids can have an interesting relationship with (re)organising their spaces, and in this episode we consider how doing so can be an exercise in identity.

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29: Setting Goals & Celebration

Tue, 05 Jan 2021 19:30:30 GMT

This time of year is full of trying to set new goals and targets for the new year, but this year, what if we stop short of trying to improve ourselves for once, and simply celebrate who we've been so far?

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28: A new year's meditation - walking through your house

Tue, 29 Dec 2020 19:30:00 GMT

This time of year invites reflection and this year, perhaps more than most, it can be a bittersweet process. In this podcast Rachel invites you to join her in a meditation that walks through the metaphorical 'house' of your year 2020 and reflect on the state of four rooms there - and what you want different for 2021.

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27: Your Christmas Story so Far

Tue, 22 Dec 2020 19:30:38 GMT

How many of us feel disjointed in how we have experienced this season over the years, via different cultures and countries? Take some time to review the story so far to see how you want to write the story this year...

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26: Loneliness

Tue, 15 Dec 2020 19:30:08 GMT

This is one of the most painful feelings we can encounter, and one we often want to avoid or deny. But what is loneliness trying to communicate to us?

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25: Gift Giving

Tue, 08 Dec 2020 19:30:28 GMT

How do our different cultural experiences impact our feelings about gift giving (and receiving)? If you find it an anxiety provoking element of this season... you are not alone!

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24: Divided Loyalties

Tue, 01 Dec 2020 19:30:00 GMT

To whom do we belong? How can we manage the sense of not belonging anywhere properly, and that sense of rejection from places we do feel kinship with? Here Rachel explores how we can soothe our internal hierarchies regarding the parts of ourselves, and use compassion to achieve integration.

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23: When people leave

Tue, 24 Nov 2020 19:30:29 GMT

How do you feel when people leave? In this episode I share what I'm going through as friends are moving away, and my process as I deal with this... I hope it's helpful!

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22: The Pets of our Stories

Tue, 17 Nov 2020 19:30:43 GMT

How did growing up abroad impact our relationship with animals? And how significant are pets to our stories now?

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21: The Photos on my Mantlepiece

Tue, 10 Nov 2020 19:30:02 GMT

As I gaze at the new additions to my own mantlepiece, I reflect on why it's so hard for many of us to put up pictures of the people that matter to us.

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20: You and Your Body

Tue, 03 Nov 2020 19:30:03 GMT

What is it that makes us flinch so from our own bodies? So many of us have complicated relationships with our bodies, and this is no less so as Third Culture Kids. We carry so many, often conflicting, body expectations that meeting our own gaze in the mirror can be painfully uncomfortable. I don't think it needs to be this way...

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19: Autumn and honouring what has been lost

Tue, 27 Oct 2020 19:30:30 GMT

Autumn has been a season that has prompted reflections around loss for many cultures. Here, Rachel reflects on how we can honour loss - through remembrance, harvest, preserving. We can light the darkness of our own grief by naming our losses, and loving the parts of us that loved them.

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18: When gratitude feels heavy

Tue, 20 Oct 2020 18:30:50 GMT

In this episode I explore why I avoid gratitude journals and how I lean into joy in the self instead. This can feel so counter-intuitive but I believe it's crucial for those of us who feel guilt or shame about what we "should" feel grateful for. This is especially problematic regarding experiences in our lives that leave us with struggles and challenges. Privileging our experiences of joy can help reclaim gratitude in a way that is lighter and less heavy than when it is used to shut down our more nuanced life experiences.

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17: Gender and Identity

Tue, 13 Oct 2020 18:30:25 GMT

Moving between cultures leads us to collect multiple (and at times, conflicting) experiences of our own gender. For every culture we encounter, there are different "right" and "wrong" ways of doing gender and this can complicate our experiences of identity. But complication becomes enrichment when we can map these out and make sense of where we have learnt our own sense of gender identity. And when we make sense of ourselves, then we have power over our self expression and sense of belonging.

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16: Thoughts on grumpiness and trying to be OK

Tue, 06 Oct 2020 18:30:35 GMT

I'm talking to you on a grumpy-no good-terrible day. And by taking a moment to understand why I'm feeling so rubbish, I can make more sense of my story. We so often stick with ways of measuring our okayness that worked when we were younger - for me this was achievement and lists. But what happens when what counts as achievement changes as often as the countries in which we live? How do we achieve okayness then? And get rid of the grump? Join me as I ponder my own way through...

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15: Sameness and Change

Tue, 29 Sep 2020 18:00:19 GMT

Do you find yourself confused by your reactions to change or to stability/sameness? Let's assume you make sense, and explore together where these responses might have come from in your story, and what we can do to soothe our reactions.

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14: Four things we need to hear - Yes it can get better

Tue, 22 Sep 2020 18:00:26 GMT

Over the course of her therapeutic work, Rachel has heard the call of the human heart for four distinct assurances - you aren't broken, you aren't, alone, all of you is acceptable and yes it can get better. Here she explores why they matter so much to us, and the difference they can make.

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13: Home - Building a home in yourself

Tue, 15 Sep 2020 18:00:41 GMT

Over a four part series, Rachel walks through different elements of home-building:

Home as an intimate and representative space
Home as friendships
Home as place
Home as the self

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12: Introducing my new Settledness Course!

Fri, 11 Sep 2020 10:42:46 GMT

Come together with a group of 6 to 8 other Third Culture Kids over four weeks to explore the many homes of our stories, nesting, and feeling at home both locally and globally... and much more!

Let me know you want to join by emailing me at rachelcason@explorelifestory.com and I'll get in touch to set up a free 20 minute meeting with you via Zoom to talk through your hopes for the course and preferences around times and days etc.

I'm excited, and I hope you are too!

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11: Four things we need to hear - All of you is acceptable

Tue, 08 Sep 2020 18:00:26 GMT

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10: Home - How to feel at home where you live

Tue, 01 Sep 2020 18:00:59 GMT

Over a four part series, Rachel walks through different elements of home-building:

Home as an intimate and representative space
Home as friendships
Home as place
Home as the self

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9: Four things we need to hear - You aren't alone

Tue, 25 Aug 2020 18:00:22 GMT

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8: Home - How can I feel more at home in my friendships?

Tue, 18 Aug 2020 18:00:44 GMT

Over a four part series, Rachel walks through different elements of home-building:

Home as an intimate and representative space
Home as friendships
Home as place
Home as the self

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7: Four things we need to hear - You aren't broken

Tue, 11 Aug 2020 18:00:01 GMT

Over the course of her therapeutic work, Rachel has heard the call of the human heart for four distinct assurances - you aren't broken, you aren't alone, all of you is acceptable and yes it can get better. Here she explores why they matter so much to us, and the difference they can make.

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6: Home - What does your home say about your life?

Tue, 04 Aug 2020 18:00:09 GMT

Over a four part series, Rachel walks through different elements of home-building:

Home as an intimate and representative space
Home as friendships
Home as place
Home as the self

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5: Stories (Part 4)

Tue, 28 Jul 2020 18:00:11 GMT

This series concludes by considering how we feel about our next chapters. Have we encountered plot twists? We can benefit from taking the time to consider our own authorship of our own stories, and where we want our next chapters to lead.

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4: Stories (Part 3)

Tue, 21 Jul 2020 18:00:51 GMT

It’s one thing to know our own story, to know ourselves, and to feel effective in how we communication our stories to other people. When does our behaviour seems to contradict the story we are telling others about ourselves? How do we feel when our narrative is challenged?

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3: Stories (Part 2)

Tue, 14 Jul 2020 18:00:49 GMT

This episode explores the characters we have admired in other people’s stories, and the characters we feel we have played out in our own stories. How do we feel about our characters, how others see and understand us? What roles or goals do we want for our characters in our story as it continues to unfold?

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2: Stories (Part 1)

Tue, 07 Jul 2020 18:00:12 GMT

In this podcast, Rachel explores how we tell our stories – to ourselves and to others. What were your favourite stories as a child, and what do they tell you about your needs and view of the world at that time? The different ways our stories get told for us, the family narratives that script out our characters for us, or the way we partition up the chapters of our stories, impact our view of ourselves today.

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1: How to love yourself

Mon, 06 Jul 2020 20:45:37 GMT

In this episode, Rachel explores the way in which we can use Gary Chapman’s ideas around “Love Languages” to effectively offer love to ourselves. How can we extend love to ourselves in a way we can hear it? Sometimes the traditional ideas around self-care (bubble baths and quiet reading) is just not what we are drawn to – so here Rachel explores how we need to explore elements of all five love languages to able to properly keep ourselves ‘topped up’ and feeling good.

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Welcome to Explore Your Story

Sun, 05 Jul 2020 18:00:19 GMT

Rachel is, amongst many other things, a Third Culture Kid therapist specialising in Life Story Analysis and Accompaniment, an approach she developed from her Sociological doctorial research into TCK identity, belonging and relationship to place. This podcast is a place she comes to contribute her ponderings on personal growth, working with pain, and the transformative change that comes from a better understanding of our own stories.

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