Pandora’s Box: The Battle Between Control and Surrender

Hurt to Healing · 2025-05-04

20:17

This week, I’m opening up about some very real feelings I'm sitting with as I prepare for a family trip to Italy — and the challenges that come with stepping away from routine when you live with OCD and have a complicated relationship with control, food, and movement.

I reflect on how holidays, for me, have often triggered a lot of anxiety rather than rest, and how I’m trying to approach this trip differently: with more spontaneity, curiosity, and self-compassion. I also talk about the importance of embracing childlike joy, silliness, and imperfection in a world that constantly pressures us to be productive and goal-driven.

You'll hear about:

How my past patterns with holidays and control have looked — and how I’m trying to gently rewrite that narrativeThe concept of living life now, not as preparation for “real life” laterHow movement, spontaneity, and playful moments can be such powerful antidotes to heavy emotionsThe inner critic that creeps in when things feel unstructured — and how I'm learning to soften its voice

Finally, I share a little about last week's conversation with Emma Healey on overexercise, identity, and healing, and why it resonated so deeply with me.

If you've ever struggled with the pressure to get holidays "right," the need to control the uncontrollable, or simply allowing yourself to just be — I hope this episode reminds you that you're not alone.

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Hurt to Healing

Welcome to the Hurt to Healing podcast with me, Pandora Morris. I’ve been fighting an uphill battle with my mental health for years and it’s only now that I’ve started to see some glimmers of light. It’s almost unbelievable to think I am starting this podcast considering my incessant compulsions would normally try to talk me out of it. But here I am, continuing to fight my invisible bullies one day at a time.

As part of my own recovery, I’ve made it my mission to support as many of you as possible on your own healing journey. I’ll be speaking to wonderful people from all walks of life who will open up about their own invisible struggles in the hope that it will provide a bit of solace and comfort for some of you. I’ll also be speaking to leading experts and doctors about different disorders and therapies that might help each of you expand your knowledge on the world of mental health.

Visit my website www.hurttohealing.co.uk to learn more about me and the work that I do.

Produced by Rutherford Productions

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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