Episode #4 The Cost of Healing (When You’re Broke and Tired)

What does healing look like when you’re emotionally bankrupt and financially just… tired? When you’re barely making it through the week, let alone making it to therapy? This episode is about the version of healing no one glamorizes. The one that happens in between paycheck-to-paycheck survival and 2AM mental spirals. The one that doesn’t look like journaling in a linen robe with a matcha latte—but more like frozen

dinners and emotional autopilot.

In this solo reflection, we get into it.

I talk about the real cost of healing—not just the financial part (though, let’s be honest, therapy ain’t cheap), but the emotional toll, the energy tax, and the shame spiral that comes when you feel like you’re falling behind on your healing just because life is life-ing. I unpack what it feels like to be too tired to do the work. Too broke to access the tools. Too overwhelmed to even feel your feelings, let alone fix them. And yet… we’re still trying.

Because even in the exhaustion, the grief, the tight budgets and tight chests, we’re still showing up in small ways. And that counts.

We talk about:

• ​The lie that healing is always accessible
• ​Why emotional labor is expensive in more ways than one
• ​The guilt of “not doing enough” when you’re surviving
• ​The myth of productivity-based healing
• ​How resting, saying no, or staying in bed can be sacred
• ​

This isn’t a self-help pep talk. This is a soul check-in. A digital exhale. A place to name the pressure, the burnout, and the invisible weight that comes with being the strong one, the cycle breaker, the emotionally aware person… when you’re already tired.

If you’ve ever looked at your bank account and your emotional capacity and thought,“Yeah, I can’t afford to fall apart today,”this one’s for you.

Frame of Mind (Photography Metaphor of the Week):

This week, healing feels like shooting on manual focus—everything’s blurry, your hands are shaking, and you’re just trying to lock in on something. Or maybe it’s like an underexposed photo—dark, shadowed, not quite ready to be seen… but still real. Still there. Still worth developing later.

Reflection Prompt:“If healing didn’t have to be perfect… or productive… what would it look like for you today?”

Who this episode is for:

• ​People too emotionally exhausted to do shadow work this week
• ​Anyone feeling guilt for not being “consistent” with their healing
• ​Creatives, caregivers, cycle-breakers, and burnt-out feelers
• ​Listeners trying to grow while still working two jobs, raising kids, or surviving in silence
• ​Anyone who feels behind in their healing and needs to hear: you’re not.

This is Therapy is Expensive So Here We Are.It’s not polished. It’s not linear. It’s not always inspiring.But it’s honest. It’s heavy. It’s healing in progress.And it’s yours if you want it.

🎧 Listen now if you need:

• ​Permission to rest
• ​Words for the weight you’ve been carrying
• ​To feel seen, not fixed
• ​A reminder that healing isn’t a luxury—it’s a right.But even rights come with real-world roadblocks.

💬 Rate, review, share, or just sit with this one quietly. Either way… I’m glad you’re here.

🎶 Music in this episode: Lo-fi ambient, warm tones, soft beats—meant to carry your thoughts without crowding your space.

📲 TikTok & Visual Drops: @therapyisexpensivepod on TikTok and @imphotography915 on IG

📸 Visual journal + companion content drops every month as part of the IMPHOTOGRAPHY ecosystem.