This episode is for the moments when life feels heavy and you don’t want to talk it through, analyse it, or make sense of it.

You don’t need insight.

You don’t need motivation.

You don’t need to be positive.

You just need a pause.

In this short, gentle episode of Confidence After Cancer, Gabby guides you through a simple grounding and breathing reset designed to help your nervous system soften and your body feel supported again.

There’s nothing to fix.

Nothing to achieve.

Nowhere you need to go.

This episode is an invitation to rest in the moment exactly as it is. To feel held. To remember that rest is not avoidance or delay, it’s part of healing and integration.

You can return to this episode anytime life feels overwhelming, draining, or too much.

Resources & Links:

1. Book a free clarity call with Gabby: Schedule here
2. Connect with Gabby on Instagram: @gabby.mottershead
3. Visit the website: confidenceaftercancer.co.uk
4. Watch on YouTube: Subscribe here
5. Join Gabby’s weekly newsletter for tips on life after treatment: Sign up here

This episode marks a quiet and meaningful return to the Confidence After Cancer podcast.

Rather than beginning the year with big declarations or rushing back into life, Gabby shares why 2026 started differently for her, shaped by family, reflection, grief, gratitude, and a conscious decision to slow down. Recorded after a deeply emotional New Year spent in St Ives with family, this episode honours love, loss, and the importance of being present before moving forward.

January can come with enormous pressure…new goals, new energy, a “new you.” But for many women, especially those who’ve experienced illness, bereavement, or long periods of holding everything together, this time of year can feel more like emotional jet lag than a fresh start. Forcing motivation on top of exhaustion doesn’t create growth… it creates burnout.

Gabby reflects on the significance of marking 18 years since her cancer diagnosis alongside a recent family loss, and how these moments have reshaped her perspective on time, gratitude, and choice. She explores why gentleness is not weakness, why space can be more powerful than push, and how reframing obligations into choices can quietly transform how we live.

This episode also introduces a subtle but important evolution in Gabby’s work…moving beyond rebuilding after cancer into supporting women who are standing at the edge of their next chapter. Not to be fixed or forced forward, but to lead themselves differently, with alignment, intention, and self-trust.

This is an invitation to begin the year deliberately, not urgently and to ask yourself one simple, powerful question:

What would it look like to support yourself this year instead of pushing or punishing yourself?

What You’ll Learn from this Episode:

1. Why a gentle start to the year can be more healing than a rushed one
2. How grief, milestones, and reflection can reshape your priorities
3. Why January pressure often leads to burnout rather than growth
4. The difference between pushing forward and choosing presence
5. How reframing “I have to” into “I get to” can change your relationship with life
6. What it means to live deliberately instead of reactively
7. Why confidence at this stage of life is about alignment, not effort
8. How to begin 2026 with compassion, intention, and self-support

Resources & Links:

1. Book a free clarity call with Gabby: Schedule here
2. Connect with Gabby on Instagram: @gabby.mottershead
3. Visit the website: confidenceaftercancer.co.uk
4. Watch on YouTube:

If you’re listening to this episode as it’s released, happy New Year’s Eve. And if not, this episode is still exactly what you need right now.

This is not an episode about resolutions. It’s not about fixing yourself, pushing harder, or promising to be more productive. In this final episode of the year, Gabby invites you to pause — to honour what you’ve lived through, gently release what you no longer need, and step into the new year feeling lighter, calmer, and quietly confident.

The year you’re leaving behind may not have been easy. It may not have been fair. And yet, you are still here — and that matters. Gabby guides you through compassionate reflection questions to help you acknowledge your strength without judgement, even if simply surviving is all you feel you managed.

You’ll also explore the power of letting go — releasing guilt, old expectations, people-pleasing habits, and the pressure to be “back to normal.” Not by forcing yourself to forget, but by choosing not to carry yesterday into tomorrow.

Rather than setting goals, Gabby encourages you to choose how you want to feel in the year ahead. One word. One intention. A gentle compass to return to when life feels noisy. She also shares simple, nourishing January rituals that support healing, consistency, and self-trust — without overwhelm or pressure.

This episode is a reminder that resets don’t demand reinvention. They meet you exactly where you are.

What You’ll Learn from this Episode:

1. Why surviving a difficult year deserves recognition and respect
2. Gentle reflection questions to help you process the year without judgement
3. How to release guilt, pressure, and old roles without explaining yourself
4. Why letting go isn’t about forgetting — it’s about choosing not to carry the past forward
5. How to reset without goals, resolutions, or self-criticism
6. The power of choosing a feeling instead of a to-do list
7. Simple, supportive rituals to keep January soft and manageable
8. Why consistency and kindness matter more than big life overhauls
9. 
   

Resources & Links:

1. Book a free clarity call with Gabby: Schedule here
2. Connect with Gabby on Instagram: @gabby.mottershead
3. Visit the website: confidenceaftercancer.co.uk
4. Watch on YouTube: Subscribe...

If the word boundaries makes you feel uncomfortable, guilty, or like you’re about to disappoint someone, this episode is for you.

In today’s episode, Gabby talks openly about burnout after cancer, why it hits so hard, and why learning to say no isn’t selfish, rude, or ungrateful, it’s essential for healing. After treatment ends, many women find themselves exhausted, overwhelmed, and carrying everyone else’s emotional load, often without realising how much it’s costing them.

Gabby explains why burnout is not a personal failure but a physiological response to doing too much, too soon, with too little energy. She shares practical, compassionate tools to help you protect your energy, communicate boundaries calmly, and let go of guilt, without becoming hard, sharp, or defensive.

This episode is for you if you’re tired of people pleasing, feel permanently “on,” or worry that resting makes you lazy. It’s a reminder that you didn’t survive cancer just to live in survival mode forever.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode

1. Why burnout after cancer is a body response, not a character flaw
2. How your nervous system is still recalibrating after treatment
3. Why “back to normal” is a myth — and why that’s okay
4. The Polite No Formula that makes boundaries easier and guilt-free
5. How to spot the early warning signs of burnout before your body forces you to stop
6. Simple, practical energy-protecting habits that actually work
7. Why boundaries don’t push people away — they teach people how to treat you
8. How letting others have their feelings is part of healthy self-respect

Resources & Links:

1. Book a free clarity call with Gabby: Schedule here
2. Connect with Gabby on Instagram: @gabby.mottershead
3. Visit the website: confidenceaftercancer.co.uk
4. Watch on YouTube: Subscribe here
5. Join Gabby’s weekly newsletter for tips on life after treatment: Sign up here

After cancer treatment ends, food becomes so much more than food. It becomes emotional, confusing, filled with questions, rules, guilt, comfort, and sometimes even fear. One moment you're enjoying a slice of toast, and the next your mind whispers, “Should I be eating this? Should I be juicing kale? Is this biscuit going to ruin my life?”

If you’ve ever felt this tug of war between wanting to nourish yourself and wanting to live freely, this episode is going to feel like a deep exhale.

Today, Gabby unpacks why food becomes complicated after cancer, how trauma attaches itself to eating habits, and why extreme thinking (“I must eat perfectly forever” vs “forget it, pass the biscuits”) is so common. You’ll learn a simple, calming approach to food—the Energy Plate Principle, that removes perfectionism and brings you back to ease, trust, and confidence.

This episode is not about strict rules, nutrition degrees, or counting grams. It’s about helping you feel safe in your body again, rebuilding energy gently, and making food a source of nourishment rather than stress.

• Why food feels emotional after cancer (and why that is completely normal)
• How trauma affects eating patterns, cravings, and decision-making
• The Energy Plate Principle: a simple, balanced way of eating without tracking or restriction
• Why carbs are not the enemy and why enjoying your food matters
• How hydration, sunlight, gentle movement, and real foods support mood and energy
• Why the biggest shift is not what you eat, but how you think about what you eat
• How to rebuild self-trust after cancer erodes confidence in your choices
• The difference between lacking discipline and lacking energy
• Why compassion, not perfection, is the foundation of healing your relationship with food

Resources & Links:

• Book a free clarity call with Gabby: Schedule here
• Connect with Gabby on Instagram: @gabby.mottershead
• Visit the website: confidenceaftercancer.co.uk
• Watch on YouTube: Subscribe here
• Join Gabby’s weekly newsletter for tips on life after treatment: Sign up here

If you’ve ever felt a sudden ache, waited for a scan result, or simply been watching television when your mind whispers, “What if…?”, this episode is for you.

Today, Gabby speaks directly to the fear that so many women carry long after treatment ends: the fear of cancer returning. It’s the fear we whisper about, joke about, hide under the duvet about, but rarely say out loud. And yet, it is one of the most normal emotional experiences after cancer.

Gabby explains why your brain reacts the way it does, why fear can feel so overwhelming, and how trauma conditions the nervous system to jump to worst-case scenarios. You’ll learn how to recognise fear patterns like body-checking, late-night catastrophising, and Google doom-scrolling, and more importantly, how to interrupt them with compassion rather than shame.

This episode offers grounding questions, soothing tools, and a gentle reminder that fear does not mean you are broken. It means you are human. And you can absolutely learn to live a big, beautiful life even when fear occasionally taps you on the shoulder.

You can retrain your mind. You can expand your life. And you deserve a future that is brighter than your past.

• Why fear of recurrence is a normal, conditioned response after cancer
• What your brain is actually trying to do when it spirals into worst-case scenarios
• The most common fear patterns and how to recognise them
• The Three Grounding Questions to interrupt fear in the moment
• Why slowing down helps the nervous system return to safety
• How joy can become medicine when fear tries to take over
• How to expand your life again through hope, planning and self-trust
• Why your future is allowed to be big, bold and bright

Resources & Links:

• Book a free clarity call with Gabby: Schedule here
• Connect with Gabby on Instagram: @gabby.mottershead
• Visit the website: confidenceaftercancer.co.uk
• Watch on YouTube: Subscribe here
• Join Gabby’s weekly newsletter for tips on life after treatment: Sign up here

Ever find yourself sitting in a meeting thinking, “If one more person mentions a quick turnaround, I might just scream”? Then this episode is for you.

In this week’s Confidence After Cancer, Gabby dives into the topic of emotional resilience at work — how to stay calm, centred and confident when the world around you feels chaotic.

After a cancer diagnosis or any major life event, your nervous system simply isn’t the same as it was before. You may feel more sensitive to stress, more easily triggered by pressure, or find yourself reacting emotionally to situations that never used to bother you. That’s not weakness — it’s your body’s way of keeping you safe after trauma.

Gabby shares practical tools to help you manage stress in real time — from her Four-Second Reset breathing technique to everyday “micro boundaries” that help you protect your peace. You’ll also learn one powerful affirmation that changed everything for her:

“I don’t have to match the energy in the room. I can bring my own.”

If you’ve been struggling to manage work stress, this episode will help you reconnect with calm, create space to breathe, and remind you that your peace is part of your healing.

What You’ll Learn from this Episode:

• Why stress can feel stronger after cancer treatment
• How to recognise when your nervous system is in “fight or flight”
• The Four-Second Reset — a simple breathing exercise to calm your body and mind
• How to set micro boundaries at work through short, confident phrases
• The mindset shift that helps you protect your inner peace
• How slowing down can positively influence your team and environment
• Why calmness isn’t weakness — it’s strength in action

Resources & Links:

• Book a free clarity call with Gabby: Schedule here
• Connect with Gabby on Instagram: @gabby.mottershead
• Visit the website: confidenceaftercancer.co.uk
• Watch on YouTube: Subscribe here
• Join Gabby’s weekly newsletter for tips on life after treatment: Sign up here

After facing something as life-changing as cancer, you shouldn’t have to apologise for needing flexibility, setting boundaries, or asking for what you deserve. But many women find that when they return to work, their confidence in speaking up feels smaller than ever.

In this week’s episode of Confidence After Cancer, Gabby explores how to rebuild your voice at work — not through confrontation, but through calm, clear, and consistent communication. She introduces her three Cs of confident communication — Clarity, Calmness, and Consistency and offers real-life examples of how to speak up for yourself in everyday situations.

From saying no to extra tasks without guilt, to setting boundaries around work hours, and reclaiming space in meetings, this episode will remind you that advocacy is not about being loud it’s about honouring your worth.

Because every time you speak up for yourself, you’re sending your body and mind a powerful message:

I’m safe now. I can trust myself again.

What You’ll Learn from this Episode:

• Why confidence in communication often dips after cancer treatment
• The three Cs of confident communication: clarity, calmness, and consistency
• How to set boundaries at work without guilt or apology
• Practical examples of assertive, respectful communication
• How advocacy supports emotional and physical healing
• Why every small moment of speaking up strengthens your confidence muscle

Resources & Links:

• Book a free clarity call with Gabby: Schedule here
• Connect with Gabby on Instagram: @gabby.mottershead
• Thriving After Treatment: https://www.confidenceaftercancer.co.uk/page/671204
• Visit the website: confidenceaftercancer.co.uk
• Watch on YouTube: Subscribe here
• Join Gabby’s weekly newsletter for tips on life after treatment: Sign up here