There is a kind of exhaustion that only caregivers understand.
It is a weight that does not simply disappear when the caregiving ends.

As the adrenaline fades and the world quiets, the grief often settles into the body itself — into the joints, the muscles, the breath. Suddenly, the body that carried everything for everyone else feels different. Heavier. Tighter. Unfamiliar.

This episode is about that body.

The one that stayed awake through the darkest nights.
The one that braced for every impact.
The one that kept going long after it was tired of being tired.

In the After, healing cannot be emotional alone. We must address the physical imprint caregiving leaves on our biology. Building the Temple means learning how to feel steady again — layer by layer.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

• Why survival mode lingers in the nervous system long after caregiving ends
• How hydration lowers cortisol and begins rebuilding from the inside out
• Why walking is one of the most powerful nervous system resets we have
• How simple strength training at home restores confidence and agency
• The science behind self-efficacy — and why small wins matter
• Why chosen discomfort rebuilds resilience

And Thérèse shares her own journey in the After — from feeling physically collapsed after her father’s death to preparing for her third New York City Half Marathon. Not as a race for speed, but as a declaration of becoming.

Becoming “capable” again is not about returning to who you were before caregiving. That version of you has evolved. This is about honoring the survivor you are now — and building the strength required for what comes next.

If the After has felt heavy in your bones, let this episode be your reminder:

You are not broken.
You are rebuilding.
And that rebuilding can be powerful.

Join our growing community of caregivers in the 'After' at NewYorkGirlAgain.com
Follow along on Facebook @NewYorkGirlAgain and Instagram @NYGirlAgain

What happens when caregiving ends… and you finally look at yourself again?

In Episode 35 of New York Girl Again – The After, Thérèse invites caregivers into one of the most avoided — and most healing — spaces of the After: the mirror.

This episode isn’t about body positivity, affirmations, or “loving what you see.”
It’s about something more important — returning to yourself after years of survival.

Through compassionate storytelling and neuroscience-informed reflection, Thérèse explores how caregiving often requires dissociation from the body — and why the mirror can feel unbearable long after the journey ends. She reframes mirror work not as a test or a performance, but as a bridge back to presence, relationship, and self-compassion.

You’ll learn:

• Why caregivers often avoid their reflection — and how that avoidance makes sense
• How shame replaces honor when survival adaptations go unrecognized
• A gentle, one-minute practice — The Mirror Minute — designed specifically for caregivers in the After
• Why healing begins not with change, but with staying

This episode is for anyone who has ever looked at themselves and thought, Who is that? And for every caregiver learning how to come home — with kindness — to the person who made it through their journey.

🎧 Listen now and begin repairing the Caregiver’s Debt — one gaze at a time.

Visit NewYorkGirlAgain.com and join our growing community. Healing the way we see ourselves is the strongest muscle we will ever build. Join us as we rise forward, one degree—and one gaze—at a time. ✨

Why does self-love feel so uncomfortable? For caregivers, love has been synonymous with sacrifice for so long that focusing on ourselves can feel like "stealing" from a debt we can never fully repay. We call this The Caregiver’s Debt—the biological and emotional deficit we incur when we postpone our own lives to sustain someone else's.

In this first episode of our February Self-Love series, Thérèse breaks down why "bubble bath" self-love doesn't work for caregivers in the 'After' and why we instead need a radical reclamation of our right to prioritize ourselves.

In this episode, we dive into:

The Debt Collector: Understanding that nagging internal voice that says you haven’t "earned" rest yet.

The Great Postponement: How to transition out of "waiting for later" and start inhabiting the "Now."

Nervous System Regulation: Why the first week of our February calendar is intentionally gentle (and the science behind why "starting slow" is a survival skill).

The Mirror Minute: A challenge to look at the "Survivor" in the mirror with the same radical gaze of well-being you once gave your loved one.

The Power of the Pen: Why handwriting your own permission slip activates the brain in a way that digital thoughts can’t.

Self-love isn’t a feeling you wait for; it’s a promise you keep. It is the fuel that allows you to survive the transition from who you were to who you are becoming.

Resources Mentioned:

The February Self-Love Calendar: Download your copy at https://newyorkgirlagain.com/resources

The Permission Slip Challenge: Grab your favorite pen and follow the prompts in Segment 4 of today’s episode.

Join our growing community:

Website: NewYorkGirlAgain.com

Instagram: @NYGirlAgain

Facebook: @NewYorkGirlAgain

Join us this month as we rise forward and send that love note to ourselves! No postage required. ✨

What if the reason you feel stuck in the After isn’t a lack of discipline — but a missing spark?

In this episode, Thérèse shares a deeply personal chapter from her life after caregiving: a long, quiet season when grief settled into her body, excess weight took up residence, motivation disappeared, and she honestly believed this version of herself might be permanent.

This episode isn’t about diets, rules, or forcing yourself back to life.

It’s about a pilot light — a small, unexpected spark of joy that reignited momentum after years of emotional and physical stagnation.

Through the unlikely act of planning a covert surprise for another caregiver, something shifted. Energy returned. Movement followed. And slowly, her body began responding through joy that finally brought her back to life.

In this episode, Thérèse explores:

• Why caregivers often feel defeated in the After
• How grief quietly lives in the body long after loss
• Why good intentions alone often fail
• How joy can become the catalyst for physical and emotional reclamation

This episode is for anyone in the After who feels heavy, stalled, or disconnected from their body — and wonders if that spark is still there.

Because sometimes the plot twist isn’t effort. It’s joy.

✨ Curious what your own Joy Spark might be? You’ll find reflective prompts and inspiration at NewYorkGirlAgain.com.

✨ Ready to step into February with intention?
Download the February Self-Love Calendar at NewYorkGirlAgain.com and begin with one small, meaningful action.

Follow us on social media:
📘 Facebook: @NewYorkGirlAgain
📸 Instagram: @NYGirlAgain

Caregiving doesn’t just exhaust your heart —
it leaves a mark on your body.

In this deeply honest episode, Thérèse speaks to the physical aftermath so many caregivers carry in silence: the pain, the weight changes, the exhaustion, and the shame that often shows up after caregiving ends.

Drawing from her own experience as a long-term caregiver — including years of chronic back pain, significant weight gain, and turning to food for comfort under relentless stress — Thérèse explores what actually happens to the body when it lives in survival mode for too long.

You’ll hear about:

Why caregivers often feel physically worse after caregiving ends

How chronic stress reshapes the nervous system and metabolism

Why food becomes comfort — and why that makes sense

How shame convinces us our bodies failed, instead of recognizing endurance

What a gentle re-entry into your body really looks like in The After

This episode is about understanding your body — and beginning again with compassion instead of shame and punishment.

If you’ve ever looked in the mirror after caregiving and wondered, ‘What happened to me?’ - this episode is for you.

👉 Join the NYGA community at NewYorkGirlAgain.com
👉 Follow New York Girl Again on social media for daily support in The After

After caregiving ends, many caregivers are left with an unexpected question:

If I’m no longer in survival mode…why do I feel so unsteady?

In this episode of New York Girl Again – The After, Thérèse explores a skill no caregiver was ever taught — how to hold yourself once there’s no one else left to hold.

Drawing from her own 25-year caregiving journey, Thérèse explains why emotions feel overwhelming after caregiving ends, how the nervous system releases years of containment, and why many caregivers instinctively distract, overwork, or stay busy instead of staying present.

This episode is about:

why caregivers feel exposed after survival mode shuts down

what “holding yourself” actually means in real life

how internal safety is rebuilt after years of vigilance

and why learning to stay with yourself is the foundation for everything that comes next.

This is episode is about learning how to stay —
with your emotions, your body, and your life —
without bracing or abandoning yourself again.

👉 Join the New York Girl Again community at NewYorkGirlAgain.com for support and resources.

Follow us on social media at New York Girl Again, and share this episode with caregivers navigating their own After.

There comes a moment in The After when the immense strength that carried you through caregiving simply… runs dry.

And when that happens, many caregivers ask themselves:

How did I survive all of that — for so long — and feel like THIS now?

In this deeply personal episode, Thérèse explores what happens after survival strength is no longer needed — and why that does not mean something is wrong with you.

Drawing from her own 25-year caregiving journey and the years in the ‘After’, she shares:

• why caregivers often feel weakest after caregiving ends
• the difference between survival strength and sustainable strength
• what strength looks like now, in The After

This episode isn’t about pushing harder or proving anything to anyone.

It’s about understanding that the strength you used to survive was never meant to last forever — and that a new kind of strength is quietly waiting to emerge.

👉 Join the New York Girl Again community at NewYorkGirlAgain.com for support and resources.
Follow us on social media at New York Girl Again and share this episode with caregivers navigating their own After.

In this final episode of December’s Healing Series, Thérèse brings the month to a close by integrating everything we’ve practiced together —

• The Gentle Return,
• Strong Enough to Begin Again,
• When Survival Is No Longer Enough,
• and Don’t Lose Yourself This December.

This episode is about integration — the quiet, essential process where your mind, body, and emotions finally begin to catch up with what you’ve lived through.

In this episode, we explore:

• Why healing must be integrated before growth can happen
• What it means to “stay with yourself” instead of overriding your needs
• How readiness shows up after rest, not pressure
• Why December was never the destination — but the foundation
• How January’s strength work will build on what you’ve already done

You didn’t rush your healing this very heavy month.
You honored it.

And now, you’re ready to step forward — grounded, connected, and intact.

If this episode resonated with your heart, please share it with other caregivers navigating their own 'after'. And join our growing community at NewYorkGirlAgain.com.

Please follow us on social media: Instagram @NYGirlAgain.com and Facebook @NewYorkGirlAgain