If you’ve ever found yourself stuck in cycles of anxiety, low mood, or emotional patterns you just can’t seem to shake, today’s episode might be the perspective shift you’ve been waiting for. The Happier Life Project dives into EMDR therapy: Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. This episode is for anyone who’s heard of EMDR but only knows it as “that thing where you move your eyes,” and wants a clear, grounded understanding of what it actually is and how it works.

Gabby Sanderson is joined by Dana Carretta‑Stein, a licensed mental health counselor, certified EMDR therapist, and author whose work focuses on helping people process unresolved experiences that continue to shape their emotional lives. Dana specialises in trauma‑informed EMDR practice and has guided countless clients through the process of reprocessing memories that the body continues to hold onto long after the mind believes it has moved on. Her ability to explain EMDR in a relatable, accessible way makes her the perfect guide for anyone curious about the science and structure behind this powerful therapeutic approach.

In this episode, Dana breaks down the ABC’s of EMDR - what it is, why it works, and what actually happens in a session. Dana demystifies the method, explains the role of bilateral stimulation, and offers insight into why EMDR can be so effective for people who feel stuck; despite years of talking, analysing, or trying to “think their way” out of old patterns. Gabby also asks Dana about the surge of celebrity interest in EMDR, from Lady Gaga to Sandra Bullock and Prince Harry, and why Dana welcomes their openness and feedback. Throughout the episode, Dana addresses common misconceptions and provides a realistic, compassionate overview of what EMDR can genuinely help with.

This episode offers a clear, human explanation of a therapy that helps people heal not just by understanding their past, but by finally processing it. It’s an essential listen for anyone curious about EMDR and ready to learn what really makes it such a transformative tool.

To download the free My Possible Self App: https://mypossibleself.app.link/podcast

To follow My Possible Self on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mypossibleself/

To follow Dana on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_emdr_coach/

Learn more about Dana Carretta‑Stein and EMDR at: https://www.danacarretta.com/

To purchase book: https://www.danacarretta.com/product-page/the-emdr-therapy-progress-journal-ebook

Welcome to this extremely special episode of The Happier Life Project, to kick off the new series. Host Gabby Sanderson takes listeners inside Dau Dayal School for Girls in Firozabad, India, just 50 minutes from the Taj Mahal, where she spent a month living on campus and teaching yoga and mindfulness six days a week to more than 400 students.

What began as a volunteer placement soon became something much deeper: a powerful reminder of the connection between giving back, perspective, and wellbeing. Through moments of joy, challenge, and unexpected connection, the experience revealed how acts of service can profoundly impact both those who give and those who receive.

Listeners are brought into the classrooms and playgrounds of the school, meeting the girls whose laughter and resilience shine through even the toughest realities. Alongside fellow kids’ yoga teacher Mimi Sinfield and school president Mala Rastogi, Gabby shares moving conversations about hope, community, and the impact of simple wellbeing practices.

This episode explores the power of yoga, breathwork, and mindfulness as tools for emotional support and resilience, and the extraordinary spirit of the young people who embraced them.

If you’d like to support the Dau Dayal English Medium School, you can donate through the GoFundMe page https://www.gofundme.com/f/educate-her-today-transform-her-future

Contributions go directly towards building and equipping a new school campus providing classrooms, resources, and opportunities that will transform not only the lives of the girls, but also their families and communities.

This episode is dedicated to Chanchal and Chaya, and to all the incredible girls at Dau Dayal School, whose courage, warmth, and spirit made Gabby’s experience unforgettable.

To download the free My Possible Self App: https://mypossibleself.app.link/podcast

To follow My Possible Self on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mypossibleself/

Dau Dayal School website: https://ddgic.org/

Dau Dayal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dau_dayal_school/

Donate and support: https://www.gofundme.com/f/educate-her-today-transform-her-future

Rainbow Kids on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rainbowkidsyoga/

Rainbow Kids website: https://www.rainbowyogatraining.com/

Yoga Gives Back Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yogagivesback/

Yoga Gives Back website: https://yogagivesback.org/

EDU Girls Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/edugirls/

EDU Girls website: https://edugirls.org/

The Happier Life Project's Self-Love Sessions

Valentine’s Day often tells us love comes from someone else. But over these 14 days, you’ve been practising a love that starts with you.

In the final day of 14 Days of Self-Love, we celebrate becoming a safe place for yourself, not perfect, but present.

You’ll explore: • What it means to choose yourself • Turning care into love • Becoming your own home • Carrying this practice forward

You don’t have to wait for love. You are already here.

To download the free My Possible Self App: https://mypossibleself.app.link/podcast

To follow My Possible Self on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mypossibleself/

The Happier Life Project's Self-Love Sessions

You are allowed to grow. You are allowed to change your mind. You are allowed to become someone new.

In Day 13 of our 14 Days of Self-Love series, we practise releasing old versions of ourselves and making space for who we are becoming.

You’ll explore: • Outgrowing roles and identities • Letting go of who you used to be • Trusting your becoming • Choosing truth over familiarity

Change is not betrayal. It’s honesty.

To download the free My Possible Self App: https://mypossibleself.app.link/podcast

To follow My Possible Self on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mypossibleself/

The Happier Life Project's Self-Love Sessions

Self-abandonment happens when you silence your needs, feelings, or truth just to be accepted. It’s quiet, learned, and deeply human — but it doesn’t have to be your future.

In Day 12 of 14 Days of Self-Love, we explore what it means to stop leaving yourself behind and begin staying loyal to your needs, your feelings, and your truth.

You’ll explore: • What self-abandonment looks like • Why you learned it • How to start choosing yourself • Staying with yourself in small moments

Self-love is not loud. It is loyal.

To download the free My Possible Self App: https://mypossibleself.app.link/podcast

To follow My Possible Self on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mypossibleself/

The Happier Life Project's Self-Love Sessions

Self-love isn’t only about healing what hurts, it’s also about remembering what brings you back to yourself.

In Day 11 of 14 Days of Self-Love, this episode invites you to pause and ask one simple question: What lights me up?

You’ll explore: • Letting joy guide you, not pressure • Choosing what feels true, not impressive • Making space for what brings you back to yourself

Today’s practice is simple: choose one thing that lights you up and give it your attention.

You’re allowed to live for more than survival. You’re allowed to live for feeling too.

To download the free My Possible Self App: https://mypossibleself.app.link/podcast

To follow My Possible Self on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mypossibleself/

The Happier Life Project's Self-Love Sessions

How often do you explain yourself, overwork, overgive, or apologise just to feel allowed to exist? In Day 10 of our 14 Days of Self-Love, short daily audio clips to improve your worth, esteem and appreciation for yourself, we practise something practical: noticing where you try to earn your worth - and choosing to stop.

You’ll explore: • Where you try to prove you’re enough • What it looks like to choose ease instead • Resting without justification • Taking up space without apology

You don’t need proof to matter. You already do.

To download the free My Possible Self App: https://mypossibleself.app.link/podcast

To follow My Possible Self on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mypossibleself/

The Happier Life Project's Self-Love Sessions

So many of us live under quiet pressure, the voice that says I should be further, better, happier, different by now. But those “shoulds” aren’t truth - they’re stories we inherited from comparison and expectation.

In Day 9 of 14 Days of Self-Love, we gently question the “I should be” story and practise letting it go.

You’ll explore: • Where your “shoulds” come from • How comparison shapes self-worth • Naming stories instead of believing them • Trusting your own timing

Your life is not late. Your becoming is not wrong. Your timing is yours.

To download the free My Possible Self App: https://mypossibleself.app.link/podcast

To follow My Possible Self on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mypossibleself/