Unapologetically Misunderstood

When you start healing… when you stop performing and start aligning with who you really are—something shifts.

You begin to outgrow people, places, and patterns that once felt like home.

You stop shrinking to stay accepted.

You stop bending to be palatable.

And suddenly, you’re misunderstood.

In this episode of The Upgrade with L, host Lauren Hayes unpacks the emotional cost of personal growth and identity shifts—especially for Black women who are navigating healing in real time. This is for anyone who’s ever been labeled dramatic, distant, or different just for choosing peace over people-pleasing.

Lauren explores how outgrowing friendships, shedding survival patterns, and embracing emotional clarity can feel isolating—but ultimately liberating. She speaks directly to the woman standing in the in-between: no longer who she was, not yet fully where she’s going.

If you’ve ever felt like freedom made you unrecognizable to the people who once loved you—this episode will hit home.

This isn’t a breakdown. It’s a breakthrough.

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