Behind the Facade: Recent Episodes
Lauren Bartleson
Welcome to Behind the Facade! I’m Lauren Bartleson, a digital storyteller, indie author, and mental health advocate living near Portland, OR. This podcast has gone through a lot of change in its short lifetime and is currently being used as a weekly coffee date of sorts. My goal is to add a personal touch to my sliver of the internet, if you will, so you and anyone listening can feel a sense of personal connection if that's what you need. New episodes every weekend. Happy listening ✨
Grab your favorite drink and let's catch up! We're chatting about everything from my upcoming memoir and books 3 & 4 to my social media sabbatical and how I'm spending my down time. If you want to keep in touch, sign up for my newsletter at laurenbartleson.com. See you in July!
Breaking down the publishing process and the INTENSE six months I have ahead of me. Let's do this!
Sharing a big personal update in this one 👀 (okay, maybe two updates... one of which was totally unplanned)
A glimpse into my ever-present doubt, uncertainty, and imposter syndrome that I feel behind the scenes. Let's dive in.
This is a long one. Grab a cup of tea or coffee and settle in as we continue the conversation from last week about setting digital boundaries.
We're starting from scratch (again). I know, I'm annoying. But this is it, I promise. Earlier this week, I realized what I want my online presence to look like and it includes weekly episodes of this podcast, in addition to an email and LinkedIn newsletter. If I'm feeling it, I'll do bonus episodes, but typically you'll hear from me each weekend. I know I've said this in the past, but I truly mean it this time! So much so that I deleted all my past episodes and invested in a professional microphone along with some other equipment so it looks and feels as real as possible. This first ep is kind of a reset of what I talked about a couple episodes ago. I don't think I gave an honest picture about where I was mentally or physically at the end of 2021, so I wanted to set that record straight (hello, you can't have a podcast called Behind the Facade and put on a facade!). Next week, we'll start getting into newer topics, I promise. If you'd like to be notified when future episodes are available, I'd be honored if you'd click subscribe. See you next weekend!
Welcome to Behind the Facade. I’m Lauren Bartleson, the girl behind the mic.
I’m a communications manager, indie author and mental health advocate who lives near Portland, Oregon, with my husband, Matt, and our dog, Georgia.
A little about me: I’m a born-and-raised California girl who moved to Oregon on a whim and hasn’t looked back. Outside of my day job, I have about a million passion projects (“hobbies” as my family loving calls them) going at any given time, ranging from making coffee-shop worthy drinks at home to collecting cookbooks and a bunch of other random activities. In a nutshell, I have a thing for early mornings, intense workouts and cringe-worthy rom-coms. I also have an overwhelming love for board and card games, writing, and growing herbs.
On the writing front, I self-published my first book, Insomnia: A Middle-of-the-Night Haibun Collection, in July 2021, and have completed the manuscript for my second book, a memoir tentatively scheduled to publish in fall 2022.
At the heart of everything I do is storytelling. I love getting finding ways to channel my overflowing creativity while connecting with others, which is how Behind the Facade came to life.
Behind the Facade is my hobby project that’s comprised of this podcast, an email, and a LinkedIn newsletter, each of which is published on a weekly basis.
My goal with each of these channels is to add a personal touch to my sliver of the internet, if you will, so you and anyone listening can feel a sense of personal connection if that's what you need.
If you’re interested in following along, I invite you to subscribe so you’ll be notified when there’s a new episode, typically published each weekend.
Thanks so much for listening - I appreciate it more than you know.
This week, I hit one year of Peloton workouts! It's the longest I've stuck with any fitness program. Let's celebrate!
Welcome to Behind the Facade! I'm Lauren Bartleson, the girl behind the mic. Get to know a little about me, how this podcast came to be, and what you can expect.
2022 is here, and I'm sharing all my non-resolutions, goals, themes, and in-the-works projects.
This is a short and sweet story about the magic of a weekend getaway. As always, thank you for listening!
My husband called me out recently. He told me I talk a lot about burnout, but it's typically in terms of work... what about life burnout? Between my day job, promoting my first book, writing a memoir, starting a newsletter, recording a podcast, trying to build an online persona, managing my autoimmune diseases (including eliminating dairy and caffeine, which is harder than I imagined it would be!), meal prepping, gardening and my multitude of other hobbies, on top of being a wife and dog mom... it's a lot. Matt's right: I'm on the verge of life burnout. I made a few big decisions this week, primarily about the book and social media, in the name of mental health. I go into all of them in the episode, and I have to say, I'm proud of myself for practicing what you preach. Saying no to things on behalf of mental health is harder than you think, and there's no better day than today, World Mental Health Day, to celebrate that! If you want to sign up for the email series I mentioned, head to https://laurenbartleson.com/slow-saturdays. Feel free to follow me on Instagram as well (https://www.instagram.com/laurenbartleson_/), where you'll find captions with real talk behind every photo. As always, thank you for listening. I appreciate it more than you know.
If you've listened to previous episodes, you might know that I'm currently writing my second book. Unlike my first, Insomnia, which I wrote and published on my own, I'm writing "Behind the Facade" ('22) through a 20-week writing program called #BookCreators. In this episode, I'm sharing all the details about the programs and my thoughts so far. If you have any questions about the book writing process, please don't hesitate to reach out. You can find me on Insta at @laurenbartleson_ - I would love to connect. Happy weekend!
Today’s podcast is a super vulnerable one where I talk about how social media pulled me into a loop of anxiety, depression, and overall a very negative place for nearly four years. I spent the last few days watching The D’Amelio Show on Hulu and I have to say: I am kind of in awe about how real they got in terms of mental health. I can’t imagine going through what Charli or Dixie are going through, and I respect them and their parents so much for navigating the wild world of social media. I experienced what they’re going through on a small level when I had an Instagram account with about 13k followers. Every day, no joke, I would receive at least one negative comment ranging from “your eyebrows are too bushy” to “you look like a mess in all your photos” to “you should kill yourself.” I pulled out my phone to talk about all of that and how I’m feeling now that I’m getting back on social again and ended up talking for more than an hour 😂🤷♀️ Happy listening ☀️
Happy weekend! We're having another unplanned, unfiltered coffee chat - this time I'm chatting about two totally different emotional events: September 11th and turning 30. In the episode, I share a bit about how this birthday differs from others, what my theme for the next year is, and even a bit about my past love life. Rambling at its finest 😬🙈 If you want to say hi, find me on Instagram (@laurenbartleson_). I would genuinely love to connect. Take care of yourself 🤍
In this week’s coffee date, we’re diving into some super heavy topics. If you’re triggered by discussion about suicide and rape, please take extra care while listening. If you are considering suicide, please reach out to a loved one, professional, and/or the suicide hotline. I know that you might feel really alone right now, but please know you are not. I feel you. I see you. I’m here with you. If you need a friend, please don’t hesitate to reach out. You can find me on Instagram @laurenbartleson_ and at laurenbartleson.com. As always, thank you for listening 🤍
Feel free to grab a cup of coffee or tea and settle in for our weekly coffee date. Today, I’m chatting with you from my hometown of Carmel, CA and talking about something that has been weighing on me for a while: religion. I talk about what it was like going to temple for the first time in 12 years last night and read an article I wrote on finding my way back to the community (sort of). As always, thank you so much for listening 🤍 If you want to say hi on Instagram, I would love that. You can find me @laurenbartleson_ (instagram.com/laurenbartleson_). To read highlights from this and other episodes, visit laurenbartleson.com. See you next Saturday for another coffee date!
Introducing a new weekly series where we connect over a cozy drink on Saturday mornings (or whenever you listen). Feel free to grab a cup of coffee or tea and join me as we share the highs and lows of our weeks. If you want to say hi on Instagram, I would absolutely love that. You can find me @laurenbartleson_. To read highlights from this and other episodes or to learn about my book, Insomnia, visit laurenbartleson.com. Thank you for listening 💛 See you next Saturday!
Doing something a little different today. If you feel inspired, grab a tea or coffee and settle in as we catch up over our monthly coffee date.
Last night I had an anxiety attack. Chest pains, heart racing, hands shaking, legs restless, breathing hard, blinking fast—all because of a social media post.
I wrote this post in real-time to get me through. I’m still not sure how I feel about sharing my articles online, but we can weather that together. One step at a time. • TW: anxiety
Sharing a spur-of-the-moment update to keep myself accountable on a very, very, VERY big endeavor. As for the Slow Satudays email series I mentioned, I'm sure your inbox is filled to the brim, but if you want to subscribe to what's less of a newsletter and more of a weekly coffee date, I would love to have you. Please visit https://laurenbartleson.com/slow-saturdays to subscribe. As always, thank you for listening 💛
This is one of the stories that I’m most scared to read out loud. I wrote and published the initial story without editing and haven’t read it since — until now. This is a heartfelt tribute to Lee Macmillan, a YouTuber who I had never met but spent six weeks grieving. I want to thank you for listening as I quite literally put my heart on my sleeve. If I can be the friend or support system to even one other person that Lee has been for me, it will be worth sharing my story. Take care of yourself. • TW: suicide, depression, anxiety, bullying
This story is very near and dear to my heart. It was the first post I ever shared on Medium, well before Behind the Facade was a thing, so it seems fitting that this is the first official episode. I had been holding this story inside for nearly 18 years without telling a soul how bad it really was. Writing this and then reading it aloud allowed me to start processing the long-term effects of extreme bullying in a way I didn't know I needed. • TW: bullying, cyberbullying, depression, anxiety, suicide and body dysmorphia caused by eating restriction
I want to officially introduce you to Behind the Facade. What was once Better than Therapy has become something even more powerful, raw and real. In Behind the Facade, I’m opening up in a way that I never thought I could or would, starting by sharing what I’m struggling with, how I cope, and what my goal for this podcast is. Thank you for listening. • TW: anxiety, depression, insomnia, burnout