Self-Care Isn’t Selfish: The Truth Every Mum Needs to Hear

Описание: Being a mum can feel like losing pieces of yourself while trying to hold everything together for everyone else. In this deeply honest episode, *Linh* and *Jennifer* open up about the messy, complicated, beautiful journey of rediscovering self-care, self-love, and identity after motherhood.

From clubbing at 20 to ballroom dancing at 40, from bath-time meditation to peeling fruit just to stay sane, from parenting mistakes to healing past traumas, we explore how self-care evolves, why women judge themselves so harshly, and what it really takes to show up as the mother you want to be.

This conversation is raw, real, and filled with the kind of compassion and understanding every mum deserves.

Because you don’t have to do it alone. One step at a time, you can move toward the life you deserve.

✨ *Your homework:*

What is one self-care activity you’ll commit to in the next 30 days? Share it in the comments, this community is here to cheer you on. 💛

👉 *Subscribe* for more real stories of healing and hope.

💬 *Share* this episode so more women can find hope, practical wisdom, and a safe space to breathe again.

🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube.

✨ Follow us on Instagram:   / inherstepspodcast  

*YouTube Chapters*

0:00- Welcome Back to In Her Steps
1:00– Self-care after leaving a difficult relationship
1:55 – 20 years old, a new mum & clubbing as coping
**4:58 – Judgment, mum guilt & “the right way” to parent
**6:33 – Jen’s ballroom dancing era: joy as self-care
**8:48 – Bath time as meditation & emotional reset
10:59 – Why simple tasks (like cutting fruit) became therapy
12:59 – Taking action before you “feel ready”
14:32 – Resetting life: moving cities, starting over, hard choices
16:00 – Leaving her son in Melbourne: judgment & trusting intuition
19:00 – Losing identity in motherhood & finding yourself again
21:44 – DID, autism & misunderstanding a child’s cries for help
26:16 – Regret, trauma & forgiving yourself as a mum
29:03 – You can’t pour from an empty cup: self-care must come first
3:27 – Travel as self-care & long-distance bonding with her son
35:55 – Helicopter parenting & the cost of overprotection
38:00 – Raising independent kids through freedom & trust
39:24 – Rebuilding safe, loving relationships with your children
40:00 – Key lessons: trauma, self-love & no judgment
43:05 – Our self-care homework (and yours too!)


ABOUT THE HOSTS:

🌸 LINH PODETTI is a business leader, entrepreneur, and mother who has turned her challenges as a single mum into a mission to empower others. Known for her authenticity and warmth, Linh shares practical wisdom from her own journey of rebuilding life, business, and confidence while raising her children. Today, she inspires women around the world to take one step at a time toward the life they deserve.

👉 Connect with Linh:
Instagram:   / linh.podetti  
Website: https://linhpodetti.com/

🌸 JENNIFER CAO is a woman shaped by resilience and authentic transformation. Born in Saigon and raised in a strict, traditional home, she endured emotional hardship, an arranged marriage, and the challenges of single motherhood. Her journey from surviving abuse to rebuilding her mindset, health, and identity became the foundation of her purpose.

After overcoming diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and fatty liver disease through intentional lifestyle and nutrition choices, Jen now lives with vitality and clarity. A mentor and co-host of In Her Steps Podcast, she focuses on mindset, courage, and authentic living to help women, especially single mums, rediscover their strength, care for their wellbeing, and believe it’s never too late to create the life they deserve.

👉Connect with Jen:
Instagram:   / jennifer.cao888  
Website: https://jencao.com/

Together, Linh and Jen host In Her Steps Podcast—a space where real stories meet practical wisdom, reminding single mums everywhere that progress is possible, one step at a time.

#InHerStepsPodcast #womenempowerment #singlemum #personalgrowth #healingjourney #LinhPodetti #JenniferCao