

Make Your Damn Bed
Julie Merica
@MYDBpodcast is a bite sized, real talk, daily motivation podcast to play while you make your bed every morning. Build momentum - better your life.Each episode is around 10 minutes and intended to encourage, motivate, and inspire you to get out of bed - so you can start making it! Julie Merica and Make Your Damn Bed Podcast is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.All content, including text, graphics, images and information, is for general information purposes only. This content is presented on an "as-is" basis.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/make-your-damn-bed. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Aug 3, 2025 • 10min
1528 || Defining "bad faith actors"
Bad Faith Actors - meaning going into interactions with either 1. the intention to deceive or 2. A belief and conviction and faith so profound that they become unable to confront facts or logic or reality that contradicts that belief in any way. The Sources:"Fascism is not an idea to be debated but a set of actions to fight": https://lithub.com/fascism-is-not-an-idea-to-be-debated-its-a-set-of-actions-to-fight/Psychology Today's "Troll Wars": https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/culture-shrink/201411/troll-wars-and-narcissistic-rage"The Case for Not Debating Fascists": https://criticalresist.medium.com/the-case-for-not-debating-fascists-3608623f00e"Why are political discussions with fascists impossible?": https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/political-science/articles/10.3389/fpos.2022.951236/full"Lose the Debate": https://armoxon.substack.com/p/lose-the-debate"Why you shouldn't debate fascists": https://www.vaia.com/en-us/magazine/troll-on-the-internet/https://aurelmondon.medium.com/why-you-should-never-debate-fascists-racists-and-other-reactionaries-6478572c16aResources for Resisting a Coup: https://makeyourdamnbed.medium.com/practical-guides-to-resisting-a-coup-b44571b9ad66SUPPORT Julie (and the show!): https://supporter.acast.com/make-your-damn-bedDONATE to the Palestinian Children's Relief Fund: www.pcrf.netGET AN OCCASIONAL PERSONAL EMAIL FROM ME: www.makeyourdamnbedpodcast.comTUNE IN ON INSTAGRAM FOR COOL CONTENT: www.instagram.com/mydbpodcastOR BE A REAL GEM + TUNE IN ON PATREON: www.patreon.com/MYDBpodcastOR WATCH ON YOUTUBE: www.youtube.com/juliemerica The opinions expressed by Julie Merica and Make Your Damn Bed Podcast are intended for entertainment purposes only. Make Your Damn Bed podcast is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/make-your-damn-bed. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Aug 2, 2025 • 10min
1527 || my fight with a bigot (a true story)
"He had sown chaos between me and my friend and he truly didn’t give a fuck. In fact, he looked like he was enjoying it. He was manipulating me and I was watching it happen but unaware of how to make it stop. I couldn’t let a man who didn’t deny being a nazi get away with this, but I truly had no idea how to stop him."Later I learned, defusing and mediating and compromising ONLY works with people who are willing to compromise, mediate, and be defused. THE LESSON: DON’T DEBATE WITH FASCISTS, DON’T FEED THE TROLLS (THE ONLY WAY TO DEFEAT A FASCIST IS TO SHAME + FIGHT)Resources for Resisting a Coup: https://makeyourdamnbed.medium.com/practical-guides-to-resisting-a-coup-b44571b9ad66SUPPORT Julie (and the show!): https://supporter.acast.com/make-your-damn-bedDONATE to the Palestinian Children's Relief Fund: www.pcrf.netGET AN OCCASIONAL PERSONAL EMAIL FROM ME: www.makeyourdamnbedpodcast.comTUNE IN ON INSTAGRAM FOR COOL CONTENT: www.instagram.com/mydbpodcastOR BE A REAL GEM + TUNE IN ON PATREON: www.patreon.com/MYDBpodcastOR WATCH ON YOUTUBE: www.youtube.com/juliemerica The opinions expressed by Julie Merica and Make Your Damn Bed Podcast are intended for entertainment purposes only. Make Your Damn Bed podcast is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/make-your-damn-bed. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Aug 1, 2025 • 8min
1526 || the problem with tragic optimism
According to Meg-John Barker at rewriting the rules, "My own way of dealing with meaninglessness in life, has also been to embrace it as an inevitable part of life which will happen with some regularity. There will be times – perhaps quite frequently – when we feel that our projects are pointless in the grand scheme of things, or when the world feels an overwhelming and cold place to live in, or when disconnections and conflicts with others feel unbearable and we feel utterly broken by life. If we see such times as evidence that we are ‘getting it wrong’ and try desperately to find some meaning quickly, we are – perhaps – likely to spiral even further into hopelessness. When we have such moments, it can be useful to focus on the very basic mundane activities of life (walking the dog, making our breakfast, having a shower), getting on with it until it has passed. And sometimes we just have to be with the horror of the meaninglessness while it is there without trying to change it, and without being able to do anything whilst it is happening."The Sources: A blog post breakdown of "The Case for Tragic Optimism" https://www.rewriting-the-rules.com/self/tragic-optimism/ Lit Charts for "The Case for Tragic Optimism": https://www.litcharts.com/lit/man-s-search-for-meaning/postscript-1984-the-case-for-tragic-optimismVictor Frankl's "Man's Search for Meaning" and "The Case for Tragic Optimism" https://antilogicalism.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/mans-search-for-meaning.pdfResources for Resisting a Coup: https://makeyourdamnbed.medium.com/practical-guides-to-resisting-a-coup-b44571b9ad66SUPPORT Julie (and the show!): https://supporter.acast.com/make-your-damn-bedDONATE to the Palestinian Children's Relief Fund: www.pcrf.netGET AN OCCASIONAL PERSONAL EMAIL FROM ME: www.makeyourdamnbedpodcast.comTUNE IN ON INSTAGRAM FOR COOL CONTENT: www.instagram.com/mydbpodcastOR BE A REAL GEM + TUNE IN ON PATREON: www.patreon.com/MYDBpodcastOR WATCH ON YOUTUBE: www.youtube.com/juliemerica The opinions expressed by Julie Merica and Make Your Damn Bed Podcast are intended for entertainment purposes only. Make Your Damn Bed podcast is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/make-your-damn-bed. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jul 31, 2025 • 10min
1525 || the case for tragic optimism
Because humanity has been here a while, and books exist where people write down what they do to deal with hard shit, there are plenty of first hand accounts of people not just surviving but thriving after dealing with the impossible. Survival is context based and has no rules or generalizations that would be fair, so I’ll skip that - but beyond surviving, if you want to feel like you’re actually filling that deep, dark void that has been strategically implanted into all of us when we were born into a society that puts profits over people, you have to sometimes face or shoulder shit that shouldn’t be your responsibility to face or shoulder. So how do we do it? Victor Frankl makes a case for tragic optimism. Today we discuss what that means. The Sources: Victor Frankl's "Man's Search for Meaning" and "The Case for Tragic Optimism" https://antilogicalism.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/mans-search-for-meaning.pdfA blog post breakdown of "The Case for Tragic Optimism" https://www.rewriting-the-rules.com/self/tragic-optimism/ Lit Charts for "The Case for Tragic Optimism": https://www.litcharts.com/lit/man-s-search-for-meaning/postscript-1984-the-case-for-tragic-optimismResources for Resisting a Coup: https://makeyourdamnbed.medium.com/practical-guides-to-resisting-a-coup-b44571b9ad66SUPPORT Julie (and the show!): https://supporter.acast.com/make-your-damn-bedDONATE to the Palestinian Children's Relief Fund: www.pcrf.netGET AN OCCASIONAL PERSONAL EMAIL FROM ME: www.makeyourdamnbedpodcast.comTUNE IN ON INSTAGRAM FOR COOL CONTENT: www.instagram.com/mydbpodcastOR BE A REAL GEM + TUNE IN ON PATREON: www.patreon.com/MYDBpodcastOR WATCH ON YOUTUBE: www.youtube.com/juliemerica The opinions expressed by Julie Merica and Make Your Damn Bed Podcast are intended for entertainment purposes only. Make Your Damn Bed podcast is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/make-your-damn-bed. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jul 30, 2025 • 9min
1524 || filling the "hole"
Maybe you don't need more things, you just need a thing. What happens when the shit that surrounds us starts to feel like it’s weighing us down rather than free us? When it feels like more shit to deal with, rather than tools and resources, or sources of joy. Resources for Resisting a Coup: https://makeyourdamnbed.medium.com/practical-guides-to-resisting-a-coup-b44571b9ad66SUPPORT Julie (and the show!): https://supporter.acast.com/make-your-damn-bedDONATE to the Palestinian Children's Relief Fund: www.pcrf.netGET AN OCCASIONAL PERSONAL EMAIL FROM ME: www.makeyourdamnbedpodcast.comTUNE IN ON INSTAGRAM FOR COOL CONTENT: www.instagram.com/mydbpodcastOR BE A REAL GEM + TUNE IN ON PATREON: www.patreon.com/MYDBpodcastOR WATCH ON YOUTUBE: www.youtube.com/juliemerica The opinions expressed by Julie Merica and Make Your Damn Bed Podcast are intended for entertainment purposes only. Make Your Damn Bed podcast is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/make-your-damn-bed. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jul 29, 2025 • 9min
1523 || becoming optimistic using the ABCDE method
The ABCDE coaching model has five stages: Activating event or situation, Beliefs, Consequences, Disputation of the beliefs and Effective new approach to dealing with the problem. It's a coaching model that can help challenge your more pessimistic beliefs and actually improve how you respond to life. The Source: https://worldofwork.io/2019/06/abcde-coaching-model/A lil Worksheet: https://www.dau.edu/sites/default/files/Migrated/ToolAttachments/The%203Ps%20Worksheet.pdfMore sources: https://positivepsychology.com/albert-ellis-abc-model-rebt-cbt/AND: https://www.mindfulnessmuse.com/cognitive-behavioral-therapy/gaining-control-is-as-easy-as-a-b-c-d-eResources for Resisting a Coup: https://makeyourdamnbed.medium.com/practical-guides-to-resisting-a-coup-b44571b9ad66SUPPORT Julie (and the show!): https://supporter.acast.com/make-your-damn-bedDONATE to the Palestinian Children's Relief Fund: www.pcrf.netGET AN OCCASIONAL PERSONAL EMAIL FROM ME: www.makeyourdamnbedpodcast.comTUNE IN ON INSTAGRAM FOR COOL CONTENT: www.instagram.com/mydbpodcastOR BE A REAL GEM + TUNE IN ON PATREON: www.patreon.com/MYDBpodcastOR WATCH ON YOUTUBE: www.youtube.com/juliemerica The opinions expressed by Julie Merica and Make Your Damn Bed Podcast are intended for entertainment purposes only. Make Your Damn Bed podcast is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/make-your-damn-bed. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jul 28, 2025 • 9min
1522 || learned optimism
Some of us are predisposed to less optimistic than others. Fortunately, there are ways we can LEARN to be more optimistic with time and practice.The source: https://positivepsychology.com/learned-optimism/Resources for Resisting a Coup: https://makeyourdamnbed.medium.com/practical-guides-to-resisting-a-coup-b44571b9ad66SUPPORT Julie (and the show!): https://supporter.acast.com/make-your-damn-bedDONATE to the Palestinian Children's Relief Fund: www.pcrf.netGET AN OCCASIONAL PERSONAL EMAIL FROM ME: www.makeyourdamnbedpodcast.comTUNE IN ON INSTAGRAM FOR COOL CONTENT: www.instagram.com/mydbpodcastOR BE A REAL GEM + TUNE IN ON PATREON: www.patreon.com/MYDBpodcastOR WATCH ON YOUTUBE: www.youtube.com/juliemerica The opinions expressed by Julie Merica and Make Your Damn Bed Podcast are intended for entertainment purposes only. Make Your Damn Bed podcast is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/make-your-damn-bed. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jul 27, 2025 • 8min
1521 || why don't I remember my childhood?
You weren't absent, you were on high alert. Survival mode means. you can't make memories. Let's talk about ways to get out of survival mode, and why it's so important to do so with intention, regularly. @TheCafeScrawls Post on Threads: https://www.threads.com/@thecafescrawls/post/DMBSvjtzCsqResources for Resisting a Coup: https://makeyourdamnbed.medium.com/practical-guides-to-resisting-a-coup-b44571b9ad66SUPPORT Julie (and the show!): https://supporter.acast.com/make-your-damn-bedDONATE to the Palestinian Children's Relief Fund: www.pcrf.netGET AN OCCASIONAL PERSONAL EMAIL FROM ME: www.makeyourdamnbedpodcast.comTUNE IN ON INSTAGRAM FOR COOL CONTENT: www.instagram.com/mydbpodcastOR BE A REAL GEM + TUNE IN ON PATREON: www.patreon.com/MYDBpodcastOR WATCH ON YOUTUBE: www.youtube.com/juliemerica The opinions expressed by Julie Merica and Make Your Damn Bed Podcast are intended for entertainment purposes only. Make Your Damn Bed podcast is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/make-your-damn-bed. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jul 26, 2025 • 10min
1520 || shame, cringe, + the fear of being perceived.
Cringe is the ultimate vibe killer. Plus, when I fear being judged that's me writing your story for you, and that's not fair for either of you. Today we talk about the fear of being perceived and how I'm working around it. THE INSPIRATION VIDEO: https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8k8BVdo/Resources for Resisting a Coup: https://makeyourdamnbed.medium.com/practical-guides-to-resisting-a-coup-b44571b9ad66SUPPORT Julie (and the show!): https://supporter.acast.com/make-your-damn-bedDONATE to the Palestinian Children's Relief Fund: www.pcrf.netGET AN OCCASIONAL PERSONAL EMAIL FROM ME: www.makeyourdamnbedpodcast.comTUNE IN ON INSTAGRAM FOR COOL CONTENT: www.instagram.com/mydbpodcastOR BE A REAL GEM + TUNE IN ON PATREON: www.patreon.com/MYDBpodcastOR WATCH ON YOUTUBE: www.youtube.com/juliemerica The opinions expressed by Julie Merica and Make Your Damn Bed Podcast are intended for entertainment purposes only. Make Your Damn Bed podcast is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/make-your-damn-bed. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jul 25, 2025 • 10min
1519 || the "value" of nature part 2
Why have some gifts of nature remained free? By: Alyssa BattistoniTHE RESOURCE: The Value of Nature: https://www.dissentmagazine.org/article/the-value-of-nature/Resources for Resisting a Coup: https://makeyourdamnbed.medium.com/practical-guides-to-resisting-a-coup-b44571b9ad66SUPPORT Julie (and the show!): https://supporter.acast.com/make-your-damn-bedDONATE to the Palestinian Children's Relief Fund: www.pcrf.netGET AN OCCASIONAL PERSONAL EMAIL FROM ME: www.makeyourdamnbedpodcast.comTUNE IN ON INSTAGRAM FOR COOL CONTENT: www.instagram.com/mydbpodcastOR BE A REAL GEM + TUNE IN ON PATREON: www.patreon.com/MYDBpodcastOR WATCH ON YOUTUBE: www.youtube.com/juliemerica The opinions expressed by Julie Merica and Make Your Damn Bed Podcast are intended for entertainment purposes only. Make Your Damn Bed podcast is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/make-your-damn-bed. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.