I Feel You, A Fortify Wellness Production
Bettina Mahoney the Founder/CEO of @atfortifywellness is a rape survivor who started her brand after struggling to not only find a therapist, but multiple mediums to heal through her trauma. Fortify Wellness is a 360 holistic platform offering therapy, coaching, fitness, and meditation on one subscription platform. We dive deep with our trailblazing guests about overcoming adversity.
I Feel You, A Fortify Wellness Production
D1 Tennis Champion Scarlett Hutchinson on Overcoming Grief, Burnout, and Social Media Pressure
We trade highlight reels for real life with D1 tennis champion and marketer Scarlett Hutchinson, unpacking how grief reshaped her mindset, why team culture saved her game, and how authenticity beats algorithms. Tools for boundaries, calm nights, and sustainable joy tie it together.
• redefining happiness after loss and burnout
• mental toughness from individual sport to team support
• healthy competition and ending a career on a high
• creator growth through authenticity over hacks
• brand risk-taking and storytelling that stands out
• social media boundaries, reading at night, and walks
• ADHD slowdown tools and gentle self-talk
• advice for college students on connection and network
Subscribe, share your thoughts in the comments, and come back next week for more insights to elevate your journey
Follow Fortify Wellness on our new Tik Tok & Instagram platforms @atfortifywellness. Join our newsletter for weekly FREE content on all things wellness, mental health, and EXCLUSIVE offers.
**This information is not to be misconstrued as medical or psychological advice. Please contact your medical team if you have questions or concerns pertaining to your medical or psychological well-being. All of the linked products are independently selected, and curated by the fab Fortify team. If you love and buy something we link to, we may earn a commission.**
You're listening to the Fortify Wellness podcast. I'm Mettina Mahoney, founder, survivor, and honestly, your unlicensed emotional support friend. Season 9 is here, and we're not doing surface level conversation. This is for anyone who's ever ugly cried at 3 a.m. Spiraled in their own head, questioned everything, and still got up the next day. We're diving into healing that actually slapped. Mind, body, and soul. No fake positivity, no just journal it out advice. We're talking raw stories that kind of make you go, oh wow. Yep, same. An expert gem to actually help. And listen, we're leveling up. We've got conversations with voices. We're literally changing the game. Quick disclaimer: this isn't therapy or medical advice. It's real talk. Lived experience and tools you can steal to rebuild your life. So buckle up. Season nine starts now. Subscribe, log in, and let's get fortified. Look, you guys know I've been through it. I struggled to find help that actually felt like help. Therapy here, coaching there, fitness apps everywhere. It was just a mess. So I built the thing I wish existed when I was struggling. It's called the Fortify Wellness App. A 360 holistic platform that pulls it all together. Talk therapy, coaching, fitness, and meditation on one subscription. No bouncing between five logins, no where do I even start? Think of it as a giant group hug for the version of you that's finally ready to try. The messy version, the healing version, the I want my life back version. We're live October 19th. It's happening, and I cannot wait for you to feel this. Go to www.we F O R T I F Y Wellness.com to join the wait list and subscribe to this podcast. Whatever you need to do, but let's never give up and let's get fortified. I am so excited to welcome our next guest, Scarlett Hutchinson, who is just an incredible person. She's an influencer, she's an athlete, she's a marketer. And while she was a freshman at Fairfield University, she won Athlete of the Year, won silver medal in the U18 Four Nations Cup, undefeated in conference play, doubles at Fairfield University. She is a British-born international student athlete. And we talk about all things, what it takes to be a champion. We talk about really innovative brands in marketing that take chances. And of course, we talk about adversity. And what better to talk about adversity than with such an incredible D1 athlete? Let's welcome Scarlett. I'm so excited for this conversation. You're gonna be so inspired. Hi Scarlett, thank you so much for joining in the podcast. How are you? I'm good. Thank you for having me. Okay, so I love starting the podcast just like ripping off the band-aid. Okay. Let's do it. So when you take away your phone and your camera and you're in your room at night with maybe your robe on, your makeup's off, when you take away all of your titles, you strip them away. Who are you? Wow.
SPEAKER_01:Um, I would say, or I'd like to say, I'm a very um happy person. I think I've worked a lot on my happiness over the years. So I feel like now I've really got to a point where I know what I like to do. Like I know I love to shut off my phone in the evenings and read a book. I know I love to just like step away from life in the evenings. I feel like that's something that's really important to me. I'd say I'm like a I'm a pretty quiet person, unless you really get to know me, then I open up a little bit more. Um, and I think that's definitely changed throughout the years too. But yeah, I'd like to say that I'm just someone who's uplifting, someone who cares a lot about other people and cares a lot about your own like health and well-being. That's that's something that's very important to me.
SPEAKER_02:I love that. So you said that you're a very happy person. Did you come up that way? Did you go through something that kind of like made you kind of appreciate life more? What's the secret to quote-unquote happiness?
SPEAKER_01:I wouldn't say there's a specific secret. I would say I've definitely been through a lot. Like my teenage years, my college years, there's a lot, a lot that I had to unpack and a lot I had to go through. So I think getting to a point where I can be like, hey, like I'm really enjoying my day. I'm really enjoying my work, my life, my you know, my friendships around me. I think that's kind of the appreciation for life is something that I think leads to me being a very happy person now.
SPEAKER_02:So on the podcast with my brand and very open that I survived of rape and it changed my life and open, you know, a lot came up from it. And I I always like to say I'm not in that consciousness anymore. But that event in my life was a huge shift. Whoever I was before that, I'm not that person anymore. And that's okay. It's like it's like you know, going from caterpillar to a butterfly. Was there a moment in your life in adversity that kind of shifted you into this headspace that you're in today that you feel like sharing?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, definitely. Um it was more of like a it was a hell week, I'd call it. It was a week in my life, I think it was sophomore year of college, where everything went wrong. It was like nothing that week went in my direction, kind of thing. Um I had gosh, thinking back to it now, it's kind of crazy. I had three people pass away just totally unexpected, all three of them, not related at all in any way on different days. I had um my best friend tell me they're transferring from a to a different college, and I had, which seems so silly thinking back at it now. My ex-boyfriend broke up with me, like at the end of that week. And I was like, wow, like everything hit like a truck, you know. Um and not being able to process any of those events separately, I had to kind of go through all of that at the same time. It kind of, I don't know, really stripped me down to my core because I was like, well, like nothing, nothing really around me um mattered anymore. I was like, that's all that's all that's on my mind, like nothing, nothing else is happening. Um and I think just sitting down and I don't know, dealing with all of that and realizing how precious life is, how uh you can't take any day for granted, you know, you never know what's gonna happen around the corner. So having to get up and go to class and go and play tennis the next day is like you you gotta move on with your life. You've got to get up and you've got to get on with the next day. That really kind of I don't know, changed a lot of my perspective. I was like, I would say I was a very emotional person in myself like growing up, and then after that, I kind of not built up a wall, but learned how to deal with things a lot better. Um so I think yeah, that definitely that definitely shifted my perspective. And obviously I was you know not a happy person going through that time, but coming out of it, um you just have a new new lease on life, a new um, a new trajectory, I would say. So yeah, now I just every day is special. Where did you grow up? I grew up in London.
SPEAKER_02:Um yeah. So in the US, you know, the that's why I built Fortify because access to healthcare is is really tough. It's very expensive. And when we think about like unpacking and and kind of sitting in the feelings, it's okay to feel sad, mad, angry. On Instagram, as you know, being an influencer, you know, there's this like clean girl aesthetic, right? Yeah, perfect, but it's okay to feel like we're on we're on earth to feel as humans. It's okay to feel bad that you went through a lot in a week, you know. You you know, someone broke up with you. I also had that experience, which it was a cool month for me. In college, it was like my ex-boyfriend broke up with me, my grandfather passed away. It's like, okay, cool. Uh a lot of fun, you know. Um, it's almost like we're taught that we have to figure it out or like get over on. But how do you move on and get over it? Because we're not taught the tools from a young age, yeah, able to quote unquote get over it and move on, right? So it can be really tough. And so that's why I built Fortified because I'm like, we need preventive tools here because how are we supposed to expect college-age students to learn how to get over it?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, and I like that's what I think is amazing about what you're doing, honestly, because we don't have like the accessibility to those tools. I feel like people look at like therapy, obviously, and you know, but not everyone can afford that. Not everyone has the ability or time in their day to do those kinds of things. Um, not everyone has access to healthcare, you know. So I think what you're doing is is really important, and I think is going to be very, very helpful to a lot of people.
SPEAKER_02:Thank you for saying that. I appreciate that. I think um, you know, again, as we talked about, adversity brings opportunity, pain turns into purpose, and then we're able to market that can help other people feel seen. And I think that's the most important thing. A few episodes ago, we brought on Amber Glenn, who is a US Olympic figure skater. We talked a lot about what it means to be a champion, ways that you have to overcome obstacles from like a different side of things. So, you know, I know that you're an NCAA D1 woman's tennis player, which I'm sure comes with a lot of adversity and maybe turmoil, also excitement. What does it take to be a winner? Both on the on you know, on the court and personally in your life. Like obviously, everyone that comes onto this podcast are like, I went through this thing and now I'm here. But there is hypocrisies that come in between. So I wanted you to touch upon some of those.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, so I mean, tennis in general is just a very brutal sport, I'd say, on the mental side of things and the physical. So I think starting with that, like at a l a young age, you really um you really build yourself mentally. Um, and I think that helped a lot transitioning into a D1 sport. I think tennis really kind of sets you up for mental hardship, I'd say. Um because you're so individual, you're so alone when you're like playing tennis tournaments growing up, you're traveling by yourself, you're, you know, you're going to tournaments, you you have to figure everything out by yourself because it's just you on the court. Um, and then when you get to college, it's actually I found easier than when you were doing it individually. You now have a team around you, you now have one coach, two coach, a fitness coach. Like I think having a team and having that support was a huge, huge help to me. Um, you didn't feel so alone, you didn't feel so individual, one person against the masses, you know, you're a team of nine, ten people. Um, and I think my my closest friends really came out of that team and they they helped me through, you know, we help each other through such tough times. So I think knowing that you're not just by yourself and that you have other people, everyone's going through something, you know, everyone has the shit they're dealing with. So knowing that you're not alone, knowing that you have people to lean on, I think is a huge part of how you make it, how you how you get through the day, how you show up to practice, get to class, you know, figure out your grades. You know, it's we're all going, we're all going through it. And I think a lot of student athletes can relate to that, that if you try and do it alone, it's not gonna work out.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, and I grew up as a competitive dancer. I started dancing at like two and a half, and so by high school, I was dancing 30, 40 hours a week. And then I got it to dance in college, and I found it was the opposite. And I really felt it was like, yeah, because I was in a pre-professional dance company. So we were all we loved it. Um, we were dancing. I mean, it was one of the most incredible experiences as a teenager because we were dancing about anti-bullying and body positivity and equality and all the things that usually as a dancer, especially in your teens, you're not experiencing. And so you you view life differently. And then I went to college and it was very competitive. And we're just like, you know, when you're good, you don't have nothing to prove, you just are right. Yeah. And so there was a ton of that. And I know with Amber, she was talking about there's kind of like a lot of autonomy as a figure skater, a lot of you know, competition, obviously, being an Olympic athlete and her mission kind of try to bring people together, especially the up-and-comers, right? Yeah, I think she's 25 and she's like, I'm close to like supposed to be at the end of my career already. And you look at that and you're like, whoa, wow. That's crazy. So, in terms of like the competitive climate, obviously there needs to be healthy competition. But did you do you feel like when you're on the court that there is a healthy competition? Like, what's the culture like on the court?
SPEAKER_01:I mean, I think I was I was very lucky with the university I was at. I think I was very lucky with the coach I had. We had a really good relationship. I think I was very lucky with the teammates I have because there are horror stories out there, and you know, you don't get to pick your team, you don't get to pick your coach really. Like that you pick the university and you get what you are given. So I think in the competitive side of things, we had a good team mindset. I think I had a good mindset of what I wanted from tennis, and I knew I didn't want to go pro after tennis. I knew that this four years of being a college athlete was gonna be my four years. So that in itself gave me a different kind of mindset of I want to enjoy this. I wanna love what I do, I want to win, obviously. Um, but I think what was important for me was that I was loving every second of it, whether that was actually playing the game or supporting my teammates, and I think the competitive side of things, sure, there were like toxic matches and toxic people, but for me personally, I had other priorities in life, and you know, tennis was incredible for me, and I I love it still, even though I don't play pro, but I think it gave me more of um, I would say more of just an enjoyment because I knew that it had an end, if that makes any sense to me, to you.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, so I kind of I heard you say a similar thing earlier, where like I want to really love it and be happy because it where did you learn that type of quote unquote mantra?
SPEAKER_01:Honestly, I have no idea. I think having gone through a lot and seeing, you know, people don't survive past 20 years old, you know, like people there is a there is a limit to your life. I think knowing there's a limit to my tennis, I was like, okay, I'm gonna love it now, like really hold on to it. So that made me the way I am. I guess it's now I apply that to everything I do. I love the job I have, I love the people I'm around, and my friends are incredible, they're like my family. So I think now I guess when I love something, I I really, really love it. I really try and hold on to it because I know not everything is is forever.
SPEAKER_02:So yes, and I and I kind of relate to that in the sense that I started dancing at two and a half, and I was dancing by the time I was in high school a lot, and then in college a lot. And I have arthritis and you know, I backup dance for flow red at 19. I danced in competition like companies and competitions. Like I knew that I would be able to dance forever, and quite honestly, I didn't want to, and and I was okay with that because I felt like I had like a full quote unquote career in dance. Like I thing, probably the way you feel. Um, you know, doing something for such a long time, most people don't have it, you know. Most people, I I always knew for all of my life, my consistent thing in my life was dance, and for you is probably tennis, right? Yeah, you had this gift for such a long time that took you through your childhood into your early 20s, that probably was a thing that you turned to when you know there was turmoil around you. And so you have this, you know, close bond with that sport, but you know, kind of know it was it was done when it was done, and and that can honestly feel kind of good.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, no, like I was surprised at how much of like a relief it was I was done. Like I loved it, I loved it so much. But even at the end, like I don't know, I had my injuries, I had my my back issues, I'm a I'm a tall girl, so body was was shutting down. But I was like, yeah, like I I did it. I was happy with how it ended. Like we won our conference in my last year, like that was like the perfect way to go out. Um and I I couldn't have asked for it to give me any anything more in my life. So that really kind of, I don't know, fairy tale ending, even though it's not the end. I still I still play, I still, you know, have have fun here and there with it. But on the competitive side of things, I think that was like the perfect ending for me.
SPEAKER_02:And so I know you touched upon really loving your job. I know you're in marketing and you obviously are on the influencer side. How did you get into that field?
SPEAKER_01:So it was honestly really random. So I I was posting, you know, tennis videos and stuff since I was, I don't know, probably 16, 17, and then I I put my profile on public when I turned 18. And I had just a really viral video like of me playing tennis when I was 18 years old, and it got me like 20,000 followers overnight. And I thought my account had been like hacked or something. I didn't think it was me at all. So that was kind of a whoa, like maybe there's something here I could do something with this. And I just I started posting more consistently, not really having a plan behind it, because at that point there wasn't there was like YouTubers when I was 18, but there wasn't like social media influencers per se. Um, so I didn't think it was like gonna be a a career or anything out of that. And then going to university, I I went to into the business school, um, not sure which direction I wanted to go in. I looked at finance and accounting, and I was like, hell no, that's not me. Um and then marketing just kind of clicked, and they offered like a focus in marketing and digital and social media. I I went with that, I went down that route. Um and then for my undergrad, I I did uh marketing, digital social media, and then I stayed on for a fifth year and got my master's degree in marketing analytics and strategy, just doing a bit more of the data side of things. Um I find it really interesting how people think. So I'm like kind of kind of putting the sociology behind like why certain marketing campaigns do really well and why some don't, why certain posts do really well and why some don't, you know. I think it just kind of suits my personality, I guess. And then I worked in the marketing department my fifth year doing the social media for the university, and now yeah, I'm I'm doing uh social media content and analytics for Vita Cocoa, the coconut water company, and I've been there two months now and absolutely loving it. It it suits me down to the ground.
SPEAKER_02:So yeah, that's that's kind of my I don't know if it's possible to drink too much of it, but I don't know. I don't want to stack it's crazy because like I never I would drink a hundred bottles of it a day.
SPEAKER_01:It's like it gets addictive. I was never a coconut water girl before working there, and now I guess it's it's in the office 24-7, and I've I'm just reaching for it every single day.
SPEAKER_02:Oh, it's in it's incredible, and you know, obviously the branding is is great too. And I mean, we have to you know give an ode to our original influencer. I know you touched upon that. There wasn't like back in the day, Paris Hilton. Yes, like the original influencer, a super smart person, changed the game for everyone. And obviously, with social media and marketing, it's changed since 2020. We see so especially, you know, a ton of people went viral during 2020, like obviously like Chris Olsen and Alex Earl and all these big names. And when we're thinking about, you know, coming up, you know, we have both college-age students that are listening, millennials. And when you're thinking about maybe building your personal brand, and I know you're an analytics girl and numbers girl, so am I. What do people like to see? I mean, that's such a huge question, but what do people like to see? Because for some people, they can feel like I am in TikTok jail or I am in jail. So, what is the maybe the the tips or the tricks to kind of beat that algorithm that at times possible?
SPEAKER_01:I think honestly, this is gonna sound the most cliche thing ever, but the problem is that people are trying to beat the algorithm and not posting what they want to post. I think the content that does the best that you see on your for you page is people who are just being themselves posting what they want, it can be a 20-second video of them just putting up the camera and talking. It can be like a day in my life, it but it depends on that person. And I think so so much now, everyone's looking at the algorithm and what trends are happening, and it's like, yeah, the trends are fun, but if it doesn't speak to you personally, like why do it for your followers? I I see social media as the highlights of my life. Like I post things that make me happy that I want to see on my own page. Like, I'm not gonna post something for other people, I'm I'm posting for myself, and if that resonates with other people, great. That's how you gain real followers, real engagement. So I think that's where people are going wrong now, is it's like they're trying to hack the system. There is no hack. There's you're either being yourself or you're not. If you're yourself, you'll find your people. That's that's how I view it, at least.
SPEAKER_02:And have you followed Poppy, the founder of Poppy?
SPEAKER_01:Yes, yes.
SPEAKER_02:I love, I mean, talk about like she took so many chances in business, very out of the box thinking. Like she started, she was nine months pregnant, then they launched during COVID, and she turned TikTok, and they took a lot of risk, like 80-20 risk in terms of the way that they were branding and storytelling. I'm curious, what is your favorite brand? And you can maybe one separate from Vitae, although you can mention Vi, that is taking a lot of risks in terms of the way that they're marketing and storytelling and and their products.
SPEAKER_01:It's it's funny that you mentioned Poppy because that's someone like that we look at for you know inspiration and things like that because they're unapologetically themselves, you know, they they have a humor, they have you know authenticity, and that's something that really stands out. I think people who are like cookie cutter doing the same thing as everyone else is, you know, people aren't gonna resonate with that. If you're doing something different, then people are like, oh, that's new. Like now we have we see so much on social media nowadays. Like you scroll and you scroll and you scroll and you see the same thing again and again and again. Like I cannot I had this ad for like an an athleisure brand. I can't I couldn't even tell you which one it was because they all look the same. It's crazy, crazy to me how there's no real I mean, there are authentic people, obviously, but trying to highlight that on social media is getting like harder and harder, I'd say. So the brands that stand out to me are the ones who do something fun. I mean, Duncan, for example, their Halloween spider and the donut is just hilarious. Like they're just having fun with it, and that's what people want to see on their social on their 40 pages.
SPEAKER_02:Yes, I want to see authenticity, you know. And I, you know, being in the wellness brand, it's well, and with therapy, and it's it's kind of hard to be like shockingly, you know, be sort of in people's faces because you want to be considerate. But yeah, I started the podcast because I was sick of listening to podcasts where people were like were asking, like, what it what's your favorite color and what's your routine? Like, no one care. No one cares. About like what makes you tick, like what yeah, you know, at one point in my life it was hard for me to get up, get up out of bed in the morning, like so depressed after my adversity, and then I'm here like planning years in advance. And I think that, you know, at that time I was listening to the podcast myself because I wanted to feel you know motivated and inspired. And people need that, especially the next generation. You know, they need to know, you know, they're at their earliest 20s of their years of their life and they don't have the retrospect that we have, the life gets better.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, no, it's it's it's kind of sad seeing now what like kids are gonna be seeing on social media. Yes, yeah, like it's scary to think about like they're growing up with just that kind of information. And I feel like we, or at least I like grew up where there was no social media and then there was, so there was a kind of a learning curve. Um, but now it's like that's it, that's what they're seeing from five years old. It's crazy to me.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. There is this is actually really funny. There's a photo of me, because again, I remember a world without social media. I remember getting the phone, the razor phone, the slider phone. Oh, yeah. I miss those days. But there's a photo of me as a little kid. I was on my bicycle and I was kind of like just standing on top of the bike with obviously my helmet on and then a book. I feel left out. That was so me. But I was an only child, you know, I felt more comfortable around adults, obviously, because when you're an older child, you're on adults a lot. Um, but I just miss the days for children before, you know, technology can be so tough. I see my little 13-year-old cousin on TikTok. I'm like, please get off top. We don't and you talked about earlier that your nighttime, which I really love, I need to do that. You kind of drift away from social media. What are your tips? You know, obviously you have to be on social media for your job. So, like, what do you exactly kind of decompress away from social media? And then do you ever feel you know, a sense of comparison on social media? Are there moments when it can diminish or hurt your mental health?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, I think that um, yeah, like you said, I'm I'm on my phone nine till five for my job, so I'm constantly. Constantly getting fed information through TikTok, through Instagram. And I know that's unhealthy, but like that's what I do for work. So it's it's a it's a tough gig in that sort of sense, but I think I used to be way, way worse with my screen time. I used to spend my evenings then scrolling through my phone, my mornings, my every second. I mean, I still pretty I still have a pretty high screen time, but I feel like I've definitely learned to to shut off nowadays. Because I feel like when you shut off your phone, my brain can switch off. Like I can fully just be. And in that sense, like I loved reading as a kid, and then I've kind of picked it up beginning of this year again, I'd say. Like I didn't have time in college to read a book. So now it's like, okay, I have my evenings to myself, I have like time in the day, which is weird because I'm working full-time, like and doing a shit ton of other things. But I feel like in college I was tennis, I was working, I had class, like it was there was no time in the day for me to even like think. And then coming out of college and being like, oh, I have I have free time, I can go on a walk, I can read a book, it's crazy. Um, so now I'm really appreciating those moments where it's like, let me let me just read something like stupid. I I love a good like fantasy book, you know. I don't want to, I don't want to have to think in the evenings because all day you're you're looking at your screen, you're taking in information. I want to do something where I can actually just relax. And that has helped me massively. Like I feel like such a calmer person because I have those moments of quiet, you know. Um, I don't know if there's a trick to it. I just picked up a book and started. Um but yeah, I'd I'd highly recommend people to start switching off their phones in the evening, especially when it gets like dark outside in the winter. It's so easy to pick up your phone and start doom scrolling. Like it's so easy.
SPEAKER_02:I texted my intern the other day and I was like, what is group seven? What is this trend? I don't know what it is. Explain it to me. I wish I could live in a world in which the phone was just like in the you know, we can't, we can't do that. But yeah, I what is this? What and she did explain it to me. And it's funny because I was saying to her, like, you you want to set boundaries, you know. What in your early 20s, you're like, please let me let me work in a week. No, don't work in a week. Yes, cut it at five or six. And sometimes, you know, when you have a when you have a job, you have to work past six, or you might have to work a weekend to hit a deadline. But I think what you're talking about is you're setting boundaries for yourself.
SPEAKER_01:And I've gotten way better at that. I did not used to be like that. I was very much the people pleaser, do anything for everyone. And I realized I was draining myself. Yeah. So now I'm just like so proud of myself like for getting over that and being like, hey, I need me time. I need I need to shut the door and have a quiet moment, you know? So yes, that's really helped.
SPEAKER_02:You have you have to set boundaries because you'll burn out. And you know, being an athlete, um, that if you you without your health, you have nothing. Your physical, emotional health, you have nothing. And you have to look at it holistically. Um, because you don't want to burn out. Like, what's the worst that could happen? You tell someone no, what's going to happen? Yeah, it's not life or death.
SPEAKER_01:Like the world No, I know. But it felt like it when I was younger. It did, which is crazy to think back at that now. Um, I like I can't believe how how much I was doing at one time, and now I'm like, oh, going out past 8 p.m.
SPEAKER_02:Oh, yeah.
SPEAKER_01:That's crazy.
SPEAKER_02:Interesting. You know what's like my dream? My dream on a Saturday is like maybe I'm like on the couch for one scandal. You know, maybe I'm you know, eating some lunch. Like, I don't know, just just like oh, or I'm going on a walk.
SPEAKER_01:Just yeah, just shutting off. That's like my favorite way of describing it is shutting my brain off. Like, I don't have to think about anything. Like, I'm someone who does have pretty bad ADHD, and my brain is go, go, go, go, go, like, all the time. And it's definitely it got worse after college, I'd say, for a little time period, and I had to like kind of deal with I guess the change in schedule really showed for me. Um, because I was so used to being non-stop that it never really bothered me before, and then stopping and being like, well, after I graduated, I didn't have a job straight away, I didn't have tennis, and I I basically was just looking for a job or something to do, and that's when I like I was I was spiraled for a little bit. I was like, oh my gosh, what do I do with myself? Um and then getting those moments of just just relax, like take like take a second. You're you're allowed to enjoy a Sunday morning. You don't have to go run, you don't have to go like be there to do anything with anyone, like just be with yourself. That's that's a huge, huge thing for me.
SPEAKER_02:What's the mantra you say in your head to slow down your brain when it's rapid fire?
SPEAKER_01:It's probably just like Scarlet, stop. Like just stop what you're doing, like take a second, you know. It's I wouldn't say it's much of a mantra, just like telling myself off. It's and my boyfriend's really good uh helping me with that too, because he can tell if I'm like like wandering around doing nothing. I just feel like I have to be doing something, and he's like, Scarlett, sit down, just sit on the sofa. It's it's an evening, like chill out. Um, but yeah, that's that's been a transition for me, which I'm still working on, still working through, but I'm I'm definitely getting there.
SPEAKER_02:It sounds from self-love. Like for me, it's like I love you, Bettina. It's gonna it's okay, you know, and and what I do is I'll go out for a walk. Like, I'm if if I am just like sitting at my laptop and I'm like over-stimulated and not getting done, I go for a walk and I reset. Yeah, I work out every day. That's like the perks of having something throughout childhood and early adulthood, like a sport. Like I consider dance a sport as well. And it definitely is routine, is it it stays with you? Like I am working, you know, five, six, I'd like to do seven. I don't always do seven, but I'm working at it. I'm moving my body every single day. It feels it hurts so good and it feels great. Well, do you ever spend time with your inner childs?
SPEAKER_01:I wouldn't say that I do, but I think my inner child, my inner child was so busy. I think it's time to give her a break. She's she's done what she needed to do, you know. She worked super, super hard. She was one of those kids who did everything, every after school club, every academic achievement I could try and get. Um tennis. It just I think she deserves deserves time off.
SPEAKER_02:And what do you think she would ask you and what would you say back?
SPEAKER_01:I think she would just ask, like, are you happy? And I think I'd I'd say yes. Like, I'd I'm I've gotten to the point where like happiness is just those little moments, you know. Happiness is waking up in the morning and having a cup of coffee. Like I used to think being happy meant being like overly excited about everything and having these big moments in life. And I think now I like at least for me, my happiness comes in just like the small things. Like this weekend, I'm I'm visiting um a friend down in DC and just like spending time with people that you love is happiness, spending time with yourself is happiness. So that has definitely been a big shift, and that's that's what I tell my my younger self.
SPEAKER_02:And happiness for me is waking up in the morning and running Duncan coffee. You know, that is I need that, yeah. That's what's needed, you know, and I think it's so important, and I think having the emotions are important and happiness comes and goes, and knowing how to manage when we might not be feeling that way and when we are is just such a place to be. So, what what's your advice for college-age students that are like, but I have midterms and and now I have finals and I don't know how to be happy and you know what what is your advice for that?
SPEAKER_01:So that that college-age student, I feel you've just you've gotta know what's important to you. Like, is getting an a hundred on your midterm gonna be important to you in a year's time? No, it's not. Is I think for college kids now, I just say enjoy yourself, have fun, do the the stupid bowling things that they put on, or like the little events that you think are silly, that like the the RAs, you know, they they're just they're there, people are there to help, people are there to get to know people. Um like in college you you find you know friends for life, and I think college kids now so focused on doing the most in class, doing the most in sport, just I think for me, connection really helps you get through. So connect with people, that's that would be my overarching um advice to college kids.
SPEAKER_02:I 100% agree. I mean, the first week of of you know school when everyone's you know meeting and doing all the bowling crap, you know, all that I was inside doing homework. And yeah, yep, and and what you what I didn't know at that time, and obviously there's a balance, like you want to do well and you also want to enjoy life. Um, but it's your network is your net worth.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:No, definitely do the internship, meet those people, network, network, network, because you're gonna need, you know, you think it's so individual, and it's not you need people, it's not we need people, you need people to get through experiences, good and bad, and you can't do it alone and ask for help.
SPEAKER_01:No, like I I thought everything I had to do was I had to do it and get through it alone. Like 16-year-old Scarlett going through stuff would not tell a soul, like, and I'm so mad at her for that because I made it so much harder on myself. Um, and learning how to open up to people, learning how to trust other people was huge for me, and it helped beyond belief. And you find that in you know, going through things and leaning other people, they lean back, like they need you too. So I think that that's just um a huge change or a huge shift in my uh mentality over the years.
SPEAKER_02:Well, Scarlett, thank you so much for joining us today. I appreciate you. Thank you.
SPEAKER_01:This was a this is a great chat.
SPEAKER_02:Thank you for listening to the Fortify Wellness Pod, where we empower mind, body, and soul to reach new heights. Your well-being is your greatest dream. Nurture it, honor it, and watch yourself thrive. If today's episode inspired you, subscribe, share your thoughts in the comments, and come back next week for more insights to elevate your journey. Stay empowered, stay true, and remember, you're not alone. This is a Fortify Wellness production, all rights reserved, 2025.