On the SeaBus heading to a picnic with women I’ve never met before. It’s for women 40+

This is completely outside my comfort zone.

I’m wearing a dress!

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#YayForTransit #GratefulBee #TroutLake

Acceptance lead me to accepting myself and eventually loving myself.

I honestly felt like I was never going to get there. I’m beyond grateful to my past self for starting the journey. Thank you to everyone who helped me along the way.

https://self-compassion.org/

https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-real-work-with-maggie-sterling/id1837248018?i=1000744782092

16/

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#SelfCare #SelfCompassion #MentalHealth #LoveStacieBee #StacieBee

Coming back to myself brought such peace, calm, and so much energy.

I missed myself. I remember looking at myself in the mirror and saying to myself: “There you are. I’ve missed you!”

People began telling me I was radiant and that they wanted to be around my energy. My first therapy session after that day felt like I had graduated to the next level of life.

Acceptance has improved my life in so many ways.

15/

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#SelfCare #SelfCompassion #MentalHealth #LoveStacieBee #StacieBee

I listened to Maggie Sterling’s podcast episode 22 “The Missing Step in Nervous System Work” that was released on the same day and I eventually came back to myself. Not just from that one fight or flight moment but I eventually felt like myself again.

My literal thinking had me believing that I could not accept something I did not like. So I spent most of my life fighting against reality.

13/

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#SelfCare #SelfCompassion #MentalHealth #LoveStacieBee #StacieBee

Always bracing myself for the next terrible thing to happen.

That podcast let me know that I did not have to like what was happening, but I needed to accept it. Because fighting against it was signaling danger to my nervous system.

I stopped feeling like myself almost a decade ago and did not know why. I now know that when I lost a job in 2016 for the first time in my life that I ended up in survival mode.

14/

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#SelfCare #SelfCompassion #MentalHealth #LoveStacieBee #StacieBee

I’m grateful for the work of Kristin Neff in this area and so glad that I stumbled upon her books. Providing myself the same care and compassion I would provide a friend was a great way to continue my journey towards self-love.

The last step before I finally started to love myself was acceptance. Radical self acceptance.

Another storm had me in fight or flight on January 12, 2026.

I was reborn that day.

11/

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#SelfCare #SelfCompassion #MentalHealth #LoveStacieBee #StacieBee

I discovered Maggie Sterling on TikTok and started listening to her podcast a few weeks earlier.

Her podcast on January 12, 2026 saved my life that day. That’s not hyperbole. As I was shaking with what I thought was anxiety, I googled it and discovered I was in fight or flight so tried breathing exercises to recover but no amount of breathing exercises helped. What finally worked was splashing cold water on my face.

12/

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#SelfCare #SelfCompassion #MentalHealth #LoveStacieBee #StacieBee

While I do not have an assessment, the more I learn about neurodivergence in high masking women, I realize that is likely me. My struggles are mostly internal.

I didn’t even know I was masking my whole life until I learned what that meant. So I’m likely autistic.

I asked my doctor yesterday about getting assessed for autism.

Hoping I can access it as I’ve heard it can be quite expensive.

9/

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#SelfCare #SelfCompassion #MentalHealth #LoveStacieBee #StacieBee

I have spent my life feeling like I was wrong. Too sensitive. Not enough. But also too much. My needs did not matter. So I became the good girl. Always shapeshifting into what I thought others wanted me to be.

I never once thought to ask myself what I wanted. I hated myself my whole life.

It took a while to go from being my own worst enemy to becoming my own best friend. That’s where self-compassion came in.

10/

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#SelfCare #SelfCompassion #MentalHealth #LoveStacieBee #StacieBee

I already knew I was a highly sensitive person (HSP) but there was more.

Her offering me to be a part of her neurodivergent community helped me see myself as not broken. I finally felt seen for the first time in my life. All my quirks I thought were my personality were more likely my neurodivergence. I no longer felt like an outsider. This was the greatest gift I had ever received. Knowing myself. Truly knowing myself.

8/

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#SelfCare #SelfCompassion #MentalHealth #LoveStacieBee #StacieBee

I didn’t believe the panic attacks would not come back so it took months before I believed they were in the past.

The next step was learning about my neurodivergence because of one question my friend asked me when she reached out to me to offer her help with my panic attacks.

She asked me if I was neurodivergent or questioning.

Yes, yes I was questioning! I had even brought it up with my therapist before.

7/

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#SelfCare #SelfCompassion #MentalHealth #LoveStacieBee #StacieBee

I posted about my PTSD on Facebook. Several people reached out but one friend’s message really spoke to me.

She offered to speak with me about what helped her and I eventually stopped having panic attacks. I was beyond grateful.

The magic ingredient for me was providing evidence that I was safe.

My therapist told me to tell myself I was safe after he diagnosed me in 2024 with medical PTSD but I never believed it.

6/

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#SelfCare #SelfCompassion #MentalHealth #LoveStacieBee #StacieBee

I started stepping into my authenticity. It was not easy. Little things like sharing an unpopular opinion. Or completely owning the things I loved instead of hiding.

Sharing parts of myself I previously hid. That included sharing my struggles with PTSD and panic attacks.

Shame had me trying to hide since I was having daily panic attacks for almost 3 months. I decided to reach out to my HR department at work in 2025.

5/

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#SelfCare #SelfCompassion #MentalHealth #LoveStacieBee #StacieBee

He has been a steady presence for me during my darkest times.

He helped me learn how to be with my feelings instead of pushing them down. He was a safe space for me to be my authentic self.

He helped me identify what brings me joy and planning to bring more of that into my life.

Learning that how I talk to myself matters. Switching from listening to my inner critic to challenging it. Thoughts are not facts.

4/

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#SelfCare #SelfCompassion #MentalHealth #LoveStacieBee #StacieBee

Our sessions are virtual since he is in Toronto. He helped me see how I was not caring for myself.

He worked with me to incorporate self-care into my days. Things like preparing healthy meals for myself and getting myself into nature.

His words to me in 2023 inspired me to reach out to others and finally accept help. He told me my self-isolation was harming me and that I needed others.

I’m so grateful for him.

3/

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#SelfCare #SelfCompassion #MentalHealth #LoveStacieBee #StacieBee

I believe that making my mental health a priority was the first step years ago.

The grief I experienced after losing my first parent (my dad) in 2020 caused me to seek therapy.

I’ve had my therapist for many years now. I originally had limited sessions with a counsellor through my work benefits and she helped me through the initial grief. When I was still struggling months later, I sought out a therapist.

2/

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#SelfCare #SelfCompassion #MentalHealth #LoveStacieBee #StacieBee

I am so grateful to be alive.

The many storms that I’ve been through have changed me. But now I feel compelled to help others.

Yesterday a colleague asked me if I could be her therapist. 😃 I’m not a therapist but even my therapist told me in my last session that I could be a therapist. That’s not something I’m interested in but I do want to share what has helped me.

1/

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#SelfCare #SelfCompassion #MentalHealth #LoveStacieBee #StacieBee

Oh my! Day one of using Beauty from Bees products and I already feel that I will be a customer for life.

Just put on the body serum after showering. It feels and smells divine. I got the lime obsession scent.

So fucking happy to have discovered this Canadian natural brand.

🐝🌟🐝🌟🐝

#Today #BuyCanadian #BeautyFromBees #GratefulBee #StacieBee

I’m wearing more makeup than I’ve ever worn. I decided to try the Canadian natural brand Beauty From Bees. I mean, I feel like I had to once I heard of them. 🐝

I brushed on the highlighter then saw how shiny my nose was and exclaimed “I look like a robot!” 🤖

Decided to put powder over my nose and just keep the shiny highlighter on my cheeks and forehead. Also wearing their Pretty in Pink lip serum.

Feeling odd but pretty anyway.

#Today #BuyCanadian #BeautyFromBees #StacieBee

Universe, thank you for sending me a neurodivergent friend at work this year. She was just what I needed this afternoon when I was suddenly overwhelmed by my emotions. 😭

#GratefulBee #Neurodivergent