Welcome to Boundless Bee, the Hemophilia Bee Podcast,
the podcast standing with you from a family
like yours, presented by the Coalition for Hemophilia
Bee and in partnership with Balancing Life's Issues.
This special World Mental Health Day series begins
with the most important connection of all, the
one we have with ourselves.
Emotional wellness coach Leticia B. Russell is here
to help us pause, reflect, and explore how
small acts of self awareness can lead to
big changes in our lives and relationships.
Imagine this.
You're on a plane and a flight attendant
gives you that familiar safety instruction.
Put your own oxygen mask on first before
helping others.
Most of us nod politely,
but in practice, many of us live with
the exact
opposite feeling. Right? We pour into everyone else
while we're grasping for air, right, while we're
trying to figure out how do we navigate
this thing called life sometimes.
But here's the truth.
You can't give what you don't have. Right?
You can't pour from an empty cup.
So when you pause to connect with yourself,
you don't just refill your own cup.
You create the capacity
to show up better for
others. Hi, I'm Leticia B. Russell. I'm an
emotional wellness coach and consultant. Every October, the
world comes together to recognize
World Mental Health Day. It's a chance to
pause.
It's a chance to reflect and remember that
well-being connects us all.
Our satellites link people across continents every day.
We're taking the same idea of connection
and applying it to our mental health.
It's an opportunity for us to check-in with
ourselves,
with each other and sustaining the support we
all need wherever we live as well as
where we work.
That's why we're bringing you this three part
series. In episode one, we'll begin with the
most important connection of all, the one with
ourselves.
In episode two, we'll look at how to
build stronger connections
with colleagues, with friends, and family in simple,
cultural, neutral ways.
And in episode three, we'll focus on sustaining
well-being
with daily habits and knowing when to reach
out for support. Together, these conversations
are about creating global connections
that strengthen us as individuals
and as an organization
because no matter where we are in the
world, we're in this together.
Some of the key points that I would
like to hone in on are
pause with purpose. Right? Not just pausing trying
to figure out what's next,
but pausing with purpose.
Even a single deep breath signals your nervous
system to reset. Right? That reset
means everything.
A short walk between meetings,
Five minutes of just quiet time in a
car. Right? That just means quiet time with
no radio,
no anything, no noise.
Even walking into the house. Right? Giving yourself
that moment in the garage before you step
foot in the door
or even standing up from your desk to
just stretch,
just to simply shift your energy.
These aren't just luxuries. They are small must
haves in order to reset yourself, in order
to ground yourself.
And so ask yourself real questions.
How am I actually feeling today? Not just
asking and moving on to the very next
task,
but asking yourself and pausing for that answer.
What do I need in this moment, in
this time?
See, too often we race through
our days without doing a self check-in.
That self awareness
is the first step toward balance,
even toward boundaries that you place on yourself
and others.
Self connection builds empathy.
And so when you're aware of your own
state, when you're aware of stress,
that distraction, you began to notice it in
others.
That awareness makes you more present, and presence
naturally creates compassion.
And so right now, I want you to
take a deep breath. I want you to
ex exhale.
I want you to hold that for a
count of three, and then I want you
to release it.
This is what putting on your own mask
looks like in real time, in real life.
And so remember, your well-being matters.
Wherever you are listening from,
support is available.
I'm Leticia b Russell.
Thank you for listening to Boundless Bee, the
Hemophilia Bee Podcast, the podcast standing with you
from a family like
yours.