During January on F*ck Wellness, Lara, Makena, and I discussed the Grit Scale, developed by psychology researcher Angela Duckworth. We knew about the concept at the time, but a lot of people messaged us that they were big fans of her work, so I felt obliged to give the entire book a read. 

On this week’s episode of F*ck Wellness, I had the privilege of chatting with my friends, Carrie and Zack, about what sexual health looks like on a college campus. Carrie and Zack are on the sexual health task force of the GW Capital Peers, a student-run peer health education group on campus. I was a part of the GW Capital Peers when I was in graduate school and met Carrie and Zack on the task force while I was there.

During the month of March, GTG has been focusing on sexuality and whew is there a lot of shame with that one. I don’t think I need to go into the details of how sexual repression or lack of acceptance can lead to shame. If you want more of that conversation check out our pod episodes this month.

On this week’s episode of F*ck Wellness, Lara, Mallory, and Makena unveil the books, podcasts, and influencers that shaped their view of sexuality.

As the end of February comes into view, we wanted to reflect on our month of discussing relationships — with ourselves, our friends, our partners, our families, etc. In our first and third podcast episodes of the month, we talked about pivotal moments that changed the way we viewed our bodies in middle, high school, and college. In our second episode, Mallory and Ryan told hilarious stories about her their dates and relationship and what they’ve learned about living together during COVID-19. The final episode of the month shared the therapy stories of nine women. This month challenged us to reassess our relationships to ourselves, the past, and the future. We learned so much from all the women on the therapy podcast and values their insights deeply.

On this week’s episode of F*ck Wellness, Lara, Mallory, and Makena bring on nine incredible and thoughtful women to tell their therapy stories to conclude our month of discussing relationships. This episode is dedicated to highlighting and normalizing therapy and those who go to therapy in our society. We want to thank each of these women for their vulnerability, honesty, and deep insights into mental health, barriers to therapy, and the lessons they’ve learned. Each woman’s story was unique, multi-faceted, and we feel so lucky to be able to share them on our platform.

The F*ck Wellness podcast this week focuses on normalizing and destigmatizing therapy. The GTG Team (with the help of Emily Schwerdtfeger, our future marriage and family therapist) put together some resources to help you navigate therapy and mental health services. Let’s dive in!

Love can be blinding, or -- should I say -- what you think is love can be blinding. It’s like being blindfolded, walking through life and not being able to actually see what’s right in front of you; not being able to appropriately react to the curb you’re about to step off of.

On this week’s episode of F*ck Wellness called “Body Con Dresses, High School Dances, & First Loves,” Lara, Mallory, and Makena reminisce about important relationships and friendships during their late high school and college years. The first iteration of this conversation can be heard on our first episode in February called “F*ck Fourth Grade.”

My parents got divorced when I was little. I don’t remember it being particularly traumatic. Then again, I was two years old. I had my fair share of Parent Trap moments over the years, but I liked my step parents. I loved getting gifts from four people (plus all of their families!) for the holidays and felt satisfied with the amount of love I had in my life. I generally existed in the world without the weight of divorce on my mind.

I don’t really feel a connection to the term spirituality; I actually cringe a bit when I hear it. Through no fault of its own, the word ‘spirituality’ has taken on the definition that the most popular people have assigned it. Funny enough, it’s a word I can’t seem to escape. It is my point of connection with others when describing the work that I do.

During the month of February, the GTG community is putting a spotlight on relationships. We know what you’re thinking -- these Bachelor obsessed girls are about to preach at me about how to spice up my relationship and give me tips that seem like they could come from that one podcast that rhymes with “tall her zaddy”. Well, hate to break to ya but we might actually be the complete opposite.

I’ve spent the last three weeks thinking about discipline for Generation Three Girls’ January theme and I have so many thoughts that my brain may explode. The more I research and learn about discipline, the more I realize how many layers there are. Discipline and privilege. Discipline and moral value. Discipline and responsibility.

On the fourth and final episode of January called “Is Your Discipline Expansive?,” Makena and Reena SenGupta chat about discipline in the world of spirituality. Makena starts the podcast by explaining why she prefers the term dedication over discipline.

As the end of January comes into view, we wanted to reflect on our month of unpacking discipline. We’ve talked about how discipline manifested in our lives; we’ve talked with Meredith Clemons and Reena SenGupta about discipline in their respective fields; we’ve talked about Lara’s life and how it has been dominated by disciplined environments. We’ve felt confused, challenged, been forced to redefine and rethink concepts that seemed like second nature. We tried to answer questions like “is there moral value in being a disciplined person?” and “how can we make sure our disciplined natures are helping us and not holding us back?” After recording our four podcasts on discipline, we are ready to redefine the term to fit our needs.

On this week’s episode of F*ck Wellness, “The Allure of Discipline: A Case Study of Lara Vanderbilt”, Lara explores how growing up in primarily disciplined environments shaped her identity and personality. She talks about the challenges of transitioning out of the Coast Guard Academy, how she is relearning who she is after spending so many years with a structured and prescribed life, and how she believes discipline can be incredibly helpful, but sometimes destructive.

Generation Three Girls continues our January focus on discipline with a new episode of F*ck Wellness, “Discipline or Abuse? A Conversation about Athletics, Group Fitness, and Performing Arts”. Continuing the conversation from last week’s deep dive on discipline, Lara, Mallory, and returning guest, Meredith Clemons, discuss the good, the bad, and the hopeful of discipline in fitness. 

On this week’s episode of F*ck Wellness called “Discipline, the Grit Scale, and How Society Measures Success”, Mallory, Lara, and Makena unpack the term ‘discipline.’ Makena, our internet whiz, googled the term and came up with this definition based on the initial results: “the practice of training people to obey rules or a code of behavior using punishment to correct disobedience.” YIKES. 

On this week’s episode of F*ck Wellness called “F*ck New Year’s Resolutions,” the GTG team talked about how we are throwing out resolutions and goals in favor of habits and intentions in 2021. New Year’s resolutions, a preferred sales tool of the wellness industry, have become synonymous with diets, workout plans, restriction, and control. The problem is that the research is pretty clear that resolutions are not effective. Most people drop them within days or weeks. So how can we meet our new intentions without goals, you may ask? The answer is habit-setting.

Below you will find resources related to the book Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid. These resources offer additional information on the books’ themes.