What happens when your child's mental health crisis becomes your entire world and you quietly lose yourself in the process? In this debut episode of Return to Her, a new monthly series on Pleasure in the Pause, host Gabriella Espinosa sits down with lifestyle host and midlife influencer Lizzie Bermudez for an honest conversation about walking through over three years of her daughter's mental health struggles while putting her own life completely on hold.

Lizzie shares what it felt like to be her daughter's primary caretaker in survival mode, how she navigated the isolation and stigma surrounding mental health, and the turning point when she finally realized the best thing she could do for her daughter was take care of herself. This is a powerful story about caregiving, crisis, and the slow, messy, beautiful journey of coming home to yourself again.

Lizzie is a lifestyle host, podcaster and midlife influencer. She helps women embrace the "middle ages" by sharing tips, tricks, and interviews about looking and feeling your best when it comes to midlife, menopause and empty nesting. Lizzie B's audience knows she doesn't take herself too seriously, and viewers love following her entertaining behind-the-scenes stories on Instagram and TikTok.

Lizzie also spent 20-plus years as an Emmy award-winning broadcast journalist and host. During that time, she interviewed everyone from celebrities to CEOs to presidents and developed the skills of storytelling and engaging viewers.

If you ask Lizzie her favorite thing about switching from traditional media to digital, she’ll proudly tell you she can say just about whatever the eff she wants and no longer needs a full face of makeup to go on camera.

Highlights from our discussion include:

• When your child struggles with mental health, the isolation is overwhelming. People don't know what to say, so they say nothing.
• DBT (dialectical behavioral therapy) gave her family tools and a shared language to navigate emotional regulation and crisis.
• Learning that two things can be true at once expanded her capacity to hold conflicting emotions without judgment.
• Coming home to herself feels like lightness. Waking up smiling again, cortisol releasing, opening to friendships after years of isolation.
• Laughter was medicine. Even in the darkest days, finding one thing to laugh about each day became a survival tool.

If you're in the thick of caregiving and losing yourself, if you're slowly coming back, or if you're still figuring it out—this conversation reminds you that returning to yourself is always possible. Listen now and discover that even after the most intense seasons, lightness and joy can return.

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Full episodes on YouTube.

The information shared on Pleasure in the Pause is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Always consult your healthcare provider before making any decisions about your health or treatment. The views expressed by guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the host or Pleasure in the Pause.