random advice sesh

“Tilly shit on me. And my mom said it was my fault.”

That is how Carmen opens this episode of Girly Girl — a raw, unpolished life update that sets the tone for the entire advice session. She is answering listener questions about mental health, school, friendships, college, hygiene, and skin care, but the throughline is something quieter: learning to be honest about what is hard, what is embarrassing, and what you actually need to hear.

Anxiety, burnout, and grounding yourself

Carmen describes herself as a generally anxious person, and her advice comes from lived experience rather than theory. The core mechanism she returns to is information: the more she knows about a situation, the less anxious she feels. If you are worried about something, find out what you can. If you are spiraling with unhelpful thoughts, she recommends grounding — sitting on her back porch watching birds, or even exercising, because “I don’t really think, I’m kind of just like my legs hurt and I can’t breathe.” She is not a meditation person, but she knows that thoughts are not facts. “Is this actually happening? Does this have a basis to stand on?” She also suggests talking it out — to a friend, a parent, a therapist, a dog, or a voice memo.