The Squeeze - Lexi Hensler: Destigmatize the Conversation

Episode Date: May 31, 2023

After returning from a long European trip, your hosts are thrilled to be back in the interview chair talking to social media star and mental health advocate, Lexi Hensler. Lexi is open about her struggles with anxiety and depression from a very young age and talks to the Lautners about what helps her manage it all. She also talks about her bucket list, something she came up with when she was in the hospital with an infection that resulted in organ failure and a panic attack disorder. Lexi is out to destigmatize the conversation around mental health, and one of the amazing ways she is doing that is through her weighted stuffed animal company, Hugz. Lexi talks about her biggest goal for the company, discusses her relationship with social media, and shares her love for Oprah. Plus, the three bond over their love of dogs and the value they bring to your life, especially on the hard days. Lexi’s message is loud and clear: please keep holding on and know it does get better. If you find yourself struggling with your mental health, please reach out for help. You can find various resources here.  Be sure to keep up with Lexi @lexihensler and check out givehugs.co  Thanks to our awesome sponsor!  Jenni Kayne — Find your forever pieces at jennikayne.com. Our listeners get 15% off your first order when you use code THESQUEEZE at checkout To email us your questions or share your story, you can reach out to [e-mail]. Be sure to rate, review, and follow the podcast so you don't miss an episode! Plus, follow us on Instagram, @thesqueeze and personally @taylautner and @taylorlautner. To learn more from The Lemons Foundation, follow @lemonsbytay on Instagram and visit lemonsbytay.com  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

When life gives you lemons, what do you do with them? Over here at The Squeeze, we talk about it. Hello, everyone. Welcome back to another episode of The Squeet. Happy Wednesday. Happy Wednesday. This feels so nice being back in here. I have missed this room.

I've missed this microphone. My headset. Girl loves the microphone. Not really, actually. I'm going to go. I like it more than you do. We did, yeah, we just got back from a long trip. Yep.

It was a great trip. We had so much fun. Yeah. We started in Germany. Mm-hmm. We attended German Comic-Con and met a bunch of people and that was super cool. A lot of squeeze listeners. Yeah.

Yeah, that was really fun. It's fun. It's fun when you have people come up and say, you know, I love Twilight. I love, you know, this, that, and the other. But there's something, there's something special when people come up and say that they listen to the podcast and they, you know, just puts a smile on their face or it moved them in some certain way or gave them some, like, helpful trick or tool. And that really gets me going. Yeah.

You know. Where'd we go after that? After Germany, we went to Cognac, France, stayed at an incredible home for a few days. And that was truly one of the coolest things we've ever done in our life. Yeah. If not the. And then we bopped to Portugal for a few days. Which I didn't know.

This is really bad. I didn't know where Portugal was until like a week. Before. Well, we also didn't know we were going to Portugal until the week before we left on our trip. But I learned where Portugal is, I thought it was. Freaking beautiful. Somewhere. Oh my gosh. I want to go back. I loved it. And then we went to New York. Yeah. And did some fun press for a little pod called the squeeze. We did. Got to talk about it and spread the word. And that was super fun. Yeah. But it's good to be home. It is good to be home. And if you're watching this video on YouTube, go ahead.

Give this video a little like, a little thumbs up, click that subscribe button. Please, please, please, please. Or if you're listening on, please, I'm begging you. We're listening on Spotify, Apple, wherever you get your podcast. Go ahead and give us, like, a rating, maybe like a five-star rating, maybe like a little comment. I actually love our comments. We tried to post the comments every, like, Monday or so on the squeeze account. just like reviews that you guys have left and they're all so sweet like it keeps me going.

Yeah, I love it. I just posted them. Oh yeah. Well, yeah, we both reposted them. They make me happy. Yeah. So thank you. It's very kind of you guys to do that. Well, I'm excited for today's episode because we have a guest and then we also had some other cute little. I have a question.

Yes. Have you ever started an episode by saying I'm not that excited about today's episode? I got, just out of curiosity. There's actually one episode that I wasn't that excited about. Spill. It's a joke. There isn't any. Oh, jeez.

I was like, what? Your episode. My episode. Yeah, it was not excited about your episode. Mediocre. Yeah, I get it. It was a. But on today's episode, we have Lexie Hensler on.

You may know her from social media. She has a huge social media presence on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube. She makes some great videos, but she has severed from anxiety and depression since childhood into adulthood and has really turned that around for good and started her own company called Hugs, which we dive fully into an episode. And also a few of them join us in the episode. Spoiler alert. Yeah. Oh, my gosh. I love them.

They're so cute. They're these weighted stuffed animals. Yeah, she can explain. Okay, we'll leave it to her, but we're big fans of them. Yeah. She talks openly often and gets into it a bit today about her mental health journey. And she talks openly about this, but she hit the lowest of lows where she. she really didn't know if she wanted to be here anymore.

Yeah. And thank goodness she is because she is just a wonderful joy of a human being. Yeah. And it was incredible getting to know her. And we were just so thankful that she is on this earth. Yeah. And she's also, she shared some crazy stories with us of this bucket list that she has. Oh, yeah.

So cool. She's done some really cool things. Yeah. Which I would just never, one, expect, like, looking at her. She's just, like, the cutest thing. And the things that she's, like, been able to cross off her bucket list. Yeah. I don't think you could pay me to do half of the things that she's done.

It made me want to start my own bucket list. Aw. What would be on your bucket list? Um, going back to Portugal. Full circle. Okay. Should we get into this episode? Yeah, let's dive in, guys.

Woo-hoo. Enjoy. Well, Lexi, thank you so much for joining us at The Squeeze. Yay, so happy to be here. We have some little friends with us. This is Sid. Say hi, Sid. And we have little Eugene over there in his headphones.

Listening in, he doesn't have a mic because he was feeling a little shy today. He's just listening. He's our producer for the back. Yeah, yeah. We should put him on the roadcaster, a little sound mixer. You should. It looks really serious over there. He's so cute.

So we start off each episode with our little citrus got real game. Right. If you would like to pull a piece of paper from that beautiful jar. Exciting. Okay. I'm excited because I love these. I love these questions. Ooh.

Okay. What would be the funniest sport to add a mandatory amount of alcohol to? Oh. Oh my gosh. Good question. So like a minimum amount you have to drink? Yeah. Like you have to be drunk to do this.

sport. I guess so. Well, hockey would be very dangerous. That would be. So maybe not that one. Maybe basketball would be funny. Just people just shooting and it's like the hoops there. You're just blurred vision seeing five hoops. I'm trying to think of any other sport. What sports exist? What sports exist? What are sports? What about curling? What is that? That's the thing you push? Yeah, you push it and then they're going,

and they're like brushing the ice so they guide the ball. I mean, it seems pretty boring. So I guess the alcohol would make it a little more fun. That's what I'm saying is no offense to anybody who loves to curl. But it is probably the boringest sport that exists. So if you add alcohol to it, maybe it will be more exciting. Yeah. Yeah, I think that one.

Okay. Let's go with it. We'll go with that. Love it. Perfect. So I would love to start the episode off with kind of going, back to your childhood. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe kind of depression and anxiety have kind of been

part of your life for a while. Yeah, definitely. I mean, since I was a kid, I experienced a lot of depression, anxiety, but I didn't know what it was. And I was really confused. And I'm so thankful for the generation that we're in now and people like you that are sharing these beautiful stories because I didn't have anyone to turn on the TV. or turn on the phone and see that they were struggling too.

And I thought I was weird. I thought I was the only one. I thought I was alone in it. Yeah. So that was definitely, I think, the hardest part. How old were you when you kind of started noticing? Yeah, noticing something was wrong. Were you diagnosed or you just knew?

I mean, as soon as like six, I felt different and weird from it. But it wasn't really until junior high high school when bullying came into play that it became of pretty serious issue. Yeah. I haven't met many. I mean, because like me, myself,

I didn't deal with any form of depression and anxiety until, you know, after working in the hospital. So I think it's really cool that you and your company now that we will dive into in a little bit. Just kind of like that you've had this in your life for so long and that you now get to give back to people. but also that you have been experiencing it for so long. Yeah.

Has there been something that throughout the years has kind of been like your go-to, like you feel like your depression creeping up, anxiety creeping in, kind of like your go-to release or noticing like kind of what you do if there's a flare-up, so to say. Yeah, definitely. I think trial and error of finding those things is so important because for some people, what they suggested wasn't my ultimate. best hack for it. But for me, it's kind of crazy. I've noticed exercise, even just going on like a walk with my dog. I feel this incredible just release of a weight off my shoulders. And I

notice if I'm consistent with it, it helps my mental health so much. And I used to think, oh, you have to do this crazy workout for it to have that effect. But honestly, just going on a walk for 10 minutes. Yeah. It helps so much. But I think that's made the biggest impact for me and having a dog. Yeah. Oh yeah. That is literally like Taylor's top two. Yeah, I would say, if I was asked that question, I would say the same exact thing. Yeah, I need to get better into the exercise part of it. Well, I do too. Yeah, I've been not a very good boy recently.

As of recently, since our wedding, we've. Yeah. Just never really gotten back into the groove. And guess what? Yeah, definitely. I've been feeling it. Shows in two areas. One on us and one.

Yeah, and mentally. Up here. Yeah. It's like, you know it's good for you. But it's hard to do sometimes. Oh, yeah. Yeah. It is. Yeah.

I always say like Taylor has such a hard time like getting me to go work at or do something. And then after I'm like, oh, I love that. Every time. Every time. Every time. Every time. So funny. I know.

I just need to keep like telling myself that that is a, that's what happens. At the beginning, it's like hard to get in like to take that first step. Yeah. And then, you know, and then it might suck at the beginning. But once you get in the groove, then it's actually enjoyable too. You're not just doing it. for the benefits afterwards. Yeah.

Like you do start to love it. But as soon as you get off that train or track, it's, you know, it takes some effort to get back on it. Yeah. We got the dog part handled. Yeah, definitely got the dog part handled. That's your good to yourself care as the dog. Yeah.

Definitely is the dog. So something, as you guys know, that has been a huge part of my mental health journey, Taylor's Mental Health Journey, journeys as individuals, and as a couple, has been therapy. Amen. And that is why I am so excited to share our next sponsor with you guys, which is cerebral.

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that therapy. We're kind of talking about this earlier, but I know you have this bucket list of like your top 50 things you want to do in your lifetime. What prompted you to make that? list. It was actually when I was in the hospital when I was 17, you have a lot of free time when you're staring at hospital walls. And I was like, if I ever get out of here, I haven't done anything. I hadn't, you know, been on a far plane. I hadn't seen anything. So I just started kind of jotting down all the things that I wanted to do and promised myself I would do when I got out of there. And it's crazy because I've definitely finished the 50. And the more I do them, the more I add to it. But I think that's so cool.

There's always something for you to go experience an adventure. And that was one of the things that really held me through the hard times in the hospital was the things that I was looking forward to doing after. Are you open to sharing what happened? Yeah. Yeah. I basically got an infection and got really sick from it. And I was only 17. So I didn't realize the importance of keeping your body fueled with food and hydration.

And so it hurt a lot to eat. so I just kind of stopped eating. And eventually a combination of that infection with not properly taking care of myself and nourishing myself, I started to have some organ failure. Oh, wow. And I ended up in the ER really, really sick. And it actually created a panic attack disorder for the first time in my life. So it was a very long recovery.

Mentally was the harder part to recover from than physical. I bet. But very glad to say that all of those. all of those hard times in the hospital were worth getting through it. Never thought I'd be doing what I'm doing now or traveling to the places I'm traveling to. Yeah. Wow. Are things like healthy now?

Like are your organs? Yeah. Yeah, they're great. You know, the body's amazing. If you treat it right, it bounces back. Oh, my gosh. Okay, so you've done the 50. So how, if you've added on to it?

Yeah, I mean, it keeps going. So I've lost count, but the initial 50. So what's at the top of your, like, list that you haven't? done yet that you're like got to do this. I really want to go to Africa and see animals in the wild. Oh, wow. One of my really good friends just got back from a safari where they actually went guerrilla trekking and walking with the guerrillas. And they do it in such a beautiful, respectful way where they're giving them plenty of space and they're just naturally tracking them. But he said it was really life-changing to be there and experience that. So that's something I'd

really love to do. Yeah. Oh my gosh. That would be so cool. Well, let us know when you go because Some available. Yeah, we'll plan a group trip. Group trip. What's your favorite thing? I mean, there's probably a lot, but maybe like a top three things that you've done so far that we're on the list that you've completed. Oh, probably flying a helicopter. You flew a helicopter?

That's actually insane. I don't know who trusted me to do this on my first lesson. Actually, I do, but I bless him. He just like fully gave me the controls. and I was like, wow, I'm fully flying this helicopter right past the Hollywood sign. And none of these people know they're like technically in danger right now. No, I'm just kidding. But it was really cool.

I found such a love for flying through that. And I mean, everything I've experienced, I found such a love for. But I think that was a really cool moment for me. All I could think about was being 17 laying in a hospital bed thinking my life was over, thinking I'd never move out because I was too scared and too anxious to leave my mom. And now I'm flying a helicopter. Los Angeles. So it was a cool moment. That's awesome. That is so cool. I've never even been in a helicopter. I honestly don't even really want to go in a helicopter. I used to want to.

Neither of us have been in a helicopter. Oh, you haven't? No, neither of us have been in a helicopter or on a train. Yes, that is true. Or to Hawaii. No, I've been to Hawaii. Sorry, I just haven't been to Hawaii. I feel like you guys need to do all of those things. Yeah, we need to start making our own list. We're behind on some things. Have you flown? a helicopter since then. Not since then. I looked into getting my license and it is very expensive as well as time consuming. So it's something I want to accomplish in the future, but not since. Oh my gosh. That is so funny. That is so cool. That is like such a fun fact. Have you ever been in like one of those small like acrobat planes? I know that's not what they're

called, but like a small like jet or not a jet because it has a propeller, I think. But it's like hold two people and it can do like flips and stuff. Oh no. But that that would be on the bucket list for sure. Okay. I would love someone to just throw me around in a plane. That sounds really fun. I would probably eat spiders before I did that.

Really? Oh yeah. I can't even like take. I've developed this like fear of flying as of the past couple of years. I think it's from, I think it's like a claustrophobia and not being in control like just from my PTSD. I think that like somehow now I'm afraid of flying. Yeah.

But like I like get so I've not I've never been a roller coaster person. I like my body physically like can't do it. I just like black out of the simplest things. It's the the bumpiest thing in our relationship. Yeah. Yeah. Oh really? He likes roller coasters and I don't.

Who knows? Because I haven't been on one in five years. Sorry. Hey, I will walk the line and then when they open that thing, I will just cross over. Yeah. She does.

She says she'll go with me. And I'm like, I don't want to go on it alone. It's like, I'll wait for you at the end. I'm like, that is not fun. See, that's a great girlfriend, though. Like, I'll go to sushi. I won't eat the sushi.

Okay. But, like, I'll go with you. Yeah. You're not saying that he can't. Yeah. I just don't like sushi. So funny. Would you add sushi to your bucket list?

No. Okay. So that's like a pass on that. That's surprising to me. Like, you being from here, like from California, near the water, your whole life. life. That I don't eat fish. Yeah.

So no fish at all. You know what's funny is I'm genuinely more afraid of trying new food than I am of jumping out of planes. Yeah. I don't know why. Yeah. But yeah. I feel like I'd rather have that problem than my problem.

Yeah. My younger sister, it's just the two of us. We're both like pretty adventurous eaters and like everything. And my sister is just like you, like will not. She knows what she likes and will not. It's just a deal breaker for her. Fish. Like one time, what was it?

It was like pork or something. This one time Taylor made, we had her and his parents over and Taylor said that he was making, like, it was either, said he was making chicken or steak and it was actually pork. Pork chops. Pork chops. These delicious pork chops. And she, like, earlier on Taylor was like, I'm going to make pork. And she was like, I'm not eating it. But she had never tried it.

And then... So I told her I was making chicken for her. And then Taylor made me swear, I couldn't tell. So McKenna, that's why I didn't say anything. Because after she ate it, and then Taylor told her it was pork, she immediately looked at me. It was like, you didn't say anything. Right. But you forgot the part where she loved it.

She did. Before I told her it was pork. She loved it. Maybe people need to do that for me. You know, maybe I would love it. Yeah. It's just a mental thing. I don't know how they lie to you about the sushi, but...

Yeah. That's a little hard. Taylor eats sushi, but he doesn't like cooked fish. Oh, most people are the opposite. Yeah, I know. I'm fine with it because sushi is my favorite. So I'm happy that. I'm happy that.

We both will do sushi, but. He's learned to make me salmon, too. Like, cook salmon. He'll cook it. Yeah. I'm good at cooking it. I mean, you guys are taking this while. I've been told me not liking sushi is my biggest red flag.

So thanks for being so nice about it. Any side. We accept all. Here at the squeeze, we are welcoming to all sushi or non-sushi eaters. Oh, my gosh. Where were we even talking about? I don't know. We're really trailing off.

Oh, my gosh. Okay. Let's talk. Oh, wait. What? I need to go back here a quick. Oh, sorry. I have been on an acrobat plane and I flipped it myself.

Oh, my gosh. Yeah. I was terrified. It's probably. When did you do that? I don't know, a long time ago. And I went up with this guy. He like does it.

Not for a living, but it's like a professional hobby of his. And we were up there and he's like, okay, you cool if I do a backflip? I'm like, sure. And then he started back flipping and barrel rolling and like the G forces. Yeah. I hated it. I was like, get me down. But he then was like, do you want to do a barrel roll?

And I was like, yeah. And I barrel rolled it myself. That's crazy. Yeah. It's probably what I'm most proud about in my entire life. Even though you forgot about it until just now. Yeah. Her talking about flying a helicopter reminded me of it.

Oh my gosh. That's wild. Sorry, continue. Pass on that one. I do want to touch on social media because obviously that is a huge part of what you do. You have a lot of followers. I'm not even going to try to add them up in my mind right now across all. of your platforms, but how do you balance social media? Because I'm fairly new at, I mean,

I don't even do it consistently, but even just me, like when I do things occasionally, I'm like, I'm done with this. Like I get either like burnt out or I'm just over it. How do you like balance that and keep your mental health in check? Yeah, I think honestly, I don't know how maybe just everything I went through growing up really conditioned me in a way. But I've been pretty good. It's almost like a time stamp. Like I clock in and then I clock out. And for me, it's been so important to have those moments where I'm at the beach and I leave my phone in the car or I'm going on a trip where I don't film anything. Or I watch a movie and I have to force someone to not let me talk about work and just having those moments to shut off. But for me, I mean, I love it. Obviously,

I love the creativity of it. I love being able to connect with people across the world and laugh it. And laugh at animal videos. But yeah, I think just being able to have a healthy balance and not let that equal your value in life and knowing that the numbers you're seeing, the attention you're getting, that doesn't hold any real value about what kind of person you are. I think that was the most important thing for me to come to terms with. Yeah. Yeah, that's so true.

That's so true. And that's definitely something we talk about a lot on here because I am a big believer that a large reason of why we have so many mental health problems or why so many people are struggling is because of social media because, you know, our brains aren't supposed to, like, be as triggered or we're not supposed to be like as on as we are all the time on social media and also, you know, like a comparison thing too. So like really setting those boundaries. And I love that you're able to just like leave your phone or, you know, like not document something. Yeah. That's really cool.

Sure. That's needed. Yeah. It's kind of crazy. I mean, I always think back to how we have been as humans throughout humanity. And, you know, we used to work 10 hours a day churning butter or building houses and doing all these active things. And now we just sit on a couch and stare at a screen and only work our thumbs. And I feel like that's also why that exercise or walking release has been so big for me because it even just messes your mental in the way of you're not supposed to just be so sedentary and so isolated.

Yeah. Yeah. That's true. That's so true. Okay. It's time to talk about our little friends. Yes. I love these guys.

Can you tell all of our listeners and people watching right now as I wave his little hand. Who these little guys are and about hugs and where this all started? Yeah. I mean, I definitely wanted a way once I started struggling with panic attacks to help my anxiety and my stress and everything that didn't have a list of side effects. on it. So I actually discovered weighted blankets and I was blown away at how they worked. I was like, there's no way this is real. I like set it on me and I immediately felt so much calmer. Yeah. And so I started looking to the science behind it and how it brings down your blood pressure, your heart rate, the weight being applied just completely calms your central nervous system.

And I was like, well, what if there is a way that we can make these portable and cute and thus hugs the weighted stuffed animal brand was born. And then even my hope. was to make it even destigmatize a conversation further where, you know, I come over and I'm like, oh, hey, Tay, like, that's a cool stuff to animal. You're like, you know what? It actually kind of helps me sleep. And I'm like, oh my gosh, I have sleeping issues too. And so maybe it's even a pathway to open up those conversations between friends. But yeah, yeah, I'm excited about it. That's awesome. How long have you had the company for? I launched a weighted llama in 2020, question mark, I believe. And that was kind of the first test just to see if anyone really liked it or if this was all in my head.

There is definitely an overwhelming amount of people that really loved it and noticed benefits from it. And so I then created hugs in November of last year. Oh, wow. Oh, my gosh. Wait, that's so exciting. Yeah. And there's four animals. Yes, for now.

We're going to come out with one a few times a year. So build a whole farm. We have. filled the whole farm. Sid? Ted the sloth. Eugene the elephant. Quackers the duck.

Yeah. And I'm missing the last one. You know what it's funny. The llama. No. The llama? Yeah. Okay.

You, you, the llama. Lexi Lama. Yeah. Yes. That's impressive. You all know your stuff. Thank you. Thank you.

We do our work. We dabble on the website. I was the same with like weighted blankets when I first started hearing about them. I'm like, There's no way that actually works. And then I just never tried one. And then we have a facialist who we love. And I noticed every time I went into her and like laid down in her bed,

I just felt so calm and relaxed and just like everything went away. And one time I said something to her. I was like, is there something with your bed or something? Every time I lay in this bed, I just instantly just go, and she's like, there's like a heated, weighted blanket. And I was like, you're kidding me. That's exactly what it is. This thing is heaven.

Yeah. No way. Yeah. So I've become a big fan since then. And that wasn't too long ago. I mean, that's within like the last year that I realized that. Yeah. We love finding things that can help ease our anxiety and whatnot that are, you know, just simple,

like at home things. love trying all that new stuff. I'm very excited to snuggle with this one tonight. I recall dibs on him for those listening, even though he's been in Taylor's lap this whole episode. Wait, can you? Eat them. You can.

Yes. You can heat them. You can heat them or put them in the freezer. Oh. You should probably put it in the freezer. Yeah. Do run hot. Yeah.

Wow. That's awesome. I can't wait to snuggle with you, Sid. What is, like, your biggest, dreams or hope or goal for the company? Probably just being able to actually reach and help as many people as possible and then try to spread that awareness and keep those conversations open. I think that's the most important thing.

And one of the benefits we can take from social media is being able to connect with people and make a community. And I feel like that's really one of the biggest steps towards helping this pandemic of mental health. And hopefully, I mean, even just percentage of processes. Do seeds do go to Kids Mental Health Funds. So that's awesome. Even just helping in that way, in any possible way we can.

That's amazing. I love that. Yeah. Congrats. Yeah. It's an awesome company. We are so excited. They are so cute.

The website is so cute. I'm going to leave. We'll leave it linked down below for you guys. Earlier she was like, wait, you got to come look at this. And she scrolled to the bottom of the page where one has its arm around the other. Scroll down to the bottom of the homepage and you will see how cute it is. Oh my gosh. Not cuter than Eugene with his headphones.

but a close second. It's a close second. Okay, perfect. Should we head into our Lemon 11? 11. Let's do it. You want to kick us off? Sure.

All right. This is our Lemon 11 segment. 11 random questions. So, number one, what movie or song title best describes your mental health today? Probably it's complicated by Avril Levine. Oh, my gosh. Love it. I love that.

Or maybe. like looking up by Elton John. I mean, mental health is a roller coaster and it has its ups and downs and it is quite complicated. But I, I'm on an upswing right now of really focusing on all the things that help a lot. And so I'm feeling good. I love that. I feel like that's been, I've been feeling that as of recently.

I feel like it's just been not that I don't feel like we're in it up. I feel like we're in like a, it's good, but there's just like, I just feel like it's very much one thing after another recently. So I'm just like, we're going to keep, we're going to keep looking up here. It's another thing just happened. It's okay. When it rains, it pours. Yep.

That's definitely how I've been feeling recently. But all good, all good stuff. All good things. All good things. At least you can look forward to that upswing though. Yes. You know it's coming. You know it's there.

It's coming at some point. That's so good. Okay. Number two, how open are you with the people in your life when struggling? I've always been extremely open. It's funny because I used to get the advice in high school like, oh, you can't tell people that they're going to, I don't know, people think your mental health contagious or something. And I'm like, you know, I just don't know how to be any other way than open.

And I've noticed that, you know, you do find those people that you can lean on and they lean on you. And I mean, I'm always a person where if someone comes to me, I feel so honored that they were able to confide in me. And so I started to realize that I can feel that. with other people as well. And I'm sure they feel that. But being able to lean on people and vent to friends and connect with people and make those connections, I feel has made one of the biggest impacts of my mental health. Even if I just talk to my dog in the mornings, I'm like, you know what?

I don't feel like doing life today. And he just looks at me and I feel a little better. Yeah. Now, that's the biggest thing is just talking about it because the worst thing you can do is just what we tend to do a lot of the time or what I tend to do is just. Push it down and down and not talk about it to anyone. Yeah. Yeah.

All right. Number three. What is your favorite part of your morning or night routine? I mean, I love both because the morning routine, I feel like you set yourself up for your day. So you're like, okay, I'm going to drink my lemon water. And then I'm going to go on a walk and really just set myself up to have like an epic day. Yeah. But then my nighttime routine is when I do my skincare and potentially take a walk.

bubble bath and that's really oh you know it's like that therapeutic unwind like give yourself pat on the back you just had a whole day yeah maybe all you did was go to the grocery store but maybe it was hard for you to do that today so amen to that you deserve that that extra face mask today oh my gosh that is there's speak in my language that sounds like a lovely day I know now I'm my cook job bath I know I know what I'm doing tonight number four how is your career impacted your well-being. Definitely bullying and everything in the hospital and all those experiences conditioned me, thankfully, to be a lot stronger and have kind of a good head on my shoulders about challenges I may face because obviously, you know, hate comments or having, you know,

looking, people looking at you like with a microscope almost. And I'm sure both of you feel that on a scale that I could never even imagine. But I think there's a lot of ways that it could impact your mental health so negatively, but if anything, it's made me work harder for my mental health and pay so much closer attention because I'm like, you know, I really, I have to be more mindful about how I'm treating myself and how I'm not comparing myself and how I'm giving myself value by having a purpose and not a number of views. You know, I left a YouTube group and my whole career took a massive hit in views because I wasn't in that group. anymore and so people weren't interested in watching me and I had to realize that you know what

I'm still making content I love and that's what matters it's not the number that I'm saying or the attention or any of that addiction that may come from you know people like yeah watching you amen to that yeah that's so awesome that you're able to come to that yeah realization because um I imagine that like even you know the most confident of people that that would be hard. Yeah. To, you know, kind of have that. And then for you being in like so closely knit in that world at like the highest

level coming out of that in, you know, determining for yourself that things are more important than that is awesome. I mean, it's a challenge and, you know, I know that, but I still like have my days where I'm like, oh my gosh and I'm getting down on myself. but you do have to remind yourself and people are always like, oh, do you regret leaving that group now that you have awful YouTube views? And I just say, you know what? Yeah, because I did it for my mental health and I'm so happy now. Yeah.

Yeah. I love that. Yeah. Okay. Number five, what would you say is the most misunderstood thing about you? I mean, probably just that I've had things handed to me or that things have been easy for me when I feel like that really wasn't the case. I went through a lot of trauma growing up, but turned it around and it's shaped me into the person I am. And that's why, you know, I find it so important to share my story because I would love if I was looking up to someone back when I was struggling at 13, 14, to be like, oh, I love this person's music or whatever it is. And to know that they struggled and now they're at this point.

Yeah. Could be really inspiring and encouraging. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. How cool you get to like be that for people. You know, try.

That are younger now. Oh, you're doing it. I know. Number six. What is the greatest advice you've ever received? You know, what's funny is at the risk of being very cheesy. I love Oprah. And my love for Oprah came from my mother.

But you get a hugs. You get a hugs. I would love to do that one. That's a great idea. Right? I'm surprised you haven't yet. I'm not. We'll do it.

We're working on it. I mean, she just has so much. much advice about so many different quotes all come down to just, I mean, I feel like our purpose on this planet is to just connect with people and serve in people and love in people. And I feel like that's really where I found my most happiness is, you know, just being selfless, like doing something for someone because you genuinely love and want to help them, not because you expect them to help you in return later. And I feel like living my life like. that has really led to a point where nothing can affect me as much as it used to because

I'm just living an honest, authentic, happy way where I just want everyone to be happy and feel loved because I didn't feel that way growing up. Yeah. That's so special. Yeah. I'm not agree more with that. Yeah. Okay.

Number seven, what does wellness mean to you? You know, physical and mental. It's making sure that you're taking care of yourself in whatever way that you're, means to you and being your authentic self and making those connections with people and yeah I guess just really taking care of yourself yeah yeah that's so true yeah in all aspects yeah not just physically not just mentally like all got a mesh all encompassing yeah number eight what is your relationship with social media and do you think it affects your well being well it is my job

So obviously, you know, it's something that as much as I do love it and I chose to do it, I do have to pay rent. So if there's days that I don't feel like filming, you know, it is kind of something where I have to remind myself like, hey, like this is the amazing, incredible job that you're so thankful that you signed up for. We're going to pull it together. But I think if anything, kind of like I touched on earlier, it's almost forced me to improve my mental health and make sure that I'm checking it with myself and taking care of my. And now having this opportunity and this platform to connect with people and speak on mental health so much and have this brand that hopefully can help people, I definitely, I love that so much about the job. And there's a lot of negatives that come with social media, unfortunately. And the fact is it's probably not going away. So really trying to just harness into those

positives of being able to have a conversation with someone in India or someone in Australia and making those beautiful connections in this community. I feel like focusing on that helps me. That's awesome. Yeah. Well said. Yeah. Okay.

Number nine, what is your favorite form of self-care? I mean, I just know the exercise has made the biggest impact for me. And then just being with my dog, taking him to the dog beach. I don't know if you've ever just been to anyone listening, been to a dog beach and watched a dog. run on that beach with like their tongue hanging out of their mouth but that is instant euphoria just watching how happy they are I took my mom to the dog beach for the first time years ago and she said it was better than any massage or anything she's ever had she's like this was the best day

of my life oh my gosh but yeah finding those forms of self-care where you know whether it's like soothing relaxing a healthy endorphin release or just watching a dog I feel like I love all of those so much I go to the dog beach now. Where are these dog beaches? I go to the other one in Huntington. Okay. But it's a massive stretch that goes on for like half a mile and there's just so many dogs. Wow.

It's amazing. So it's heaven. It is heaven. Okay. That's what I imagine. Yeah. It's like I know what we're doing tomorrow. Right.

I'm going to Google dog beaches close to us. Yeah. Number 10. Who has had the most positive impact on your mental health? Oh, that would be my dog. Yeah. Oh my gosh. I know I'm just all about the dogs, but I actually, I knew I wanted an Australian Shepherd and I had researched like a breeder because I wanted to kind of train him in emotional support tactics. And I had one of my lowest days I had had in years. And I literally called the

breeder because everyone in my life was like, you can't have a dog right now. It's going to cut into all this stuff you're doing. It's a big sacrifice. And I was like, you know what? I know that. But my mental health is so bad right now that if I don't do something, I don't know how I'm going to come out of it. So I got him. And then COVID happened to hit. So one silver lining was I had time to just be at home with him all the time. But, you know, on my hardest days, he's there unconditional love. Even just petting a dog, they've done studies on the nervous system and, you know, just the positive, even physical health of having those pets around you. But he's made a kid. He's made a lot of. He's made, huge impact on me.

Oh, what's his name? Benji. Benji. Benji. Oh, my God. How old is he? Three, four. Yeah, he just turned three.

Okay. He's born on Valentine's Day. Oh. He just had a birthday. Yeah. Happy belated. Well, he's kind of ruining. Three days after me.

Oh, wow. Me and Benji. What are you? Aquarius is. Oh. Is that how you say plural Aquarius? No, it felt bad coming out. Aquarius.

Aquarius. Aquarius. Aquarius. Aquarius. Aquarius. I. Aquarius. Aquarius.

A. Okay. Number 11. If you could go back to one moment in your life, what moment would that be? And what would you say to yourself? I would definitely go back to right when I was about 12 or 13 and just sit down and be like, hey, kid, life is about to rock you for the next eight years. And it is going to be hard. But it is going to be worth it.

So please keep holding on. And I mean, frankly, this is a message to anyone struggling. Like, please keep going because it does get better. There is a light at the end of that tunnel. You're going to come out of it. Yeah, I would have loved to be able to tell myself that, that it's all going to get better one day because it did feel so hopeless for so long. But here we are.

I wouldn't be sitting here with the Tay and the Taye and the cute dogs outside and said. Aw. Well, that's, yeah. There are so many people struggling with that. And, you know, yeah, unfortunately there are always probably is going to be. But it is so important to know that there is a brighter future. And we applaud you for taking this platform that you have and sharing that message with everyone. It's really powerful.

And we just thank you so much for being here today. I mean, you guys too. I love the squeeze so much. I'm glad I found it. Oh, thank you. All right, we are back. What a great chat with Lexi. Again, we're just so honored to have her on and get to know her a bit more.

She's really special and doing some cool things, including flying helicopters. Flying helicopters starting companies, we're going to leave a link to the Hugg's website in the description. you guys need to go check out this website. I said it in the episode. I'll say it again. The website is absolutely the cutest thing. I think you'll ever see if you scroll the way down at the bottom, there's these two little animals,

like one's like hugging the other and it's their backs. It's the cutest thing. Hayes is the biggest fan. Yeah, I am. Well, I literally have been sleeping with my sloth. Yes. I also like him because his arms are weighted. So I'll like throw his arms over.

I'll like heat him up and I'll throw his arms over me. Like he's giving you a big old bear hug. Yeah. Or a sloth hug. Yeah. That's why I love it. But they got Quackers the Duck. They got Sid the Sloth, Lexi the Lama, and Eugene the elephant.

Eugene the elephant. So little Eugene in his headphones, man. Yeah. So cute. But yeah, we'll leave a link. As always, make sure to subscribe, like the video, all that good stuff. I am Tay. That is Taylor Loudney.

You can find us on Instagram there. also at The Squeeze and at Lemons by Tay for additional resources. Whatever you guys are looking for, Lemons has got some great stuff up. We also have our email, Lautner. dot the Squeeze podcast at jemal.com. For any people you want to have on, any stories, any thing you guys feel like sharing and speaking. Any insight, any recommendations, any advice. We want it all.

We love hearing from you guys. Yeah. I just want everyone to know that out of the blue, Tay had the idea to read somebody, read everyone an inspirational quote and just, what did you Google? Inspirational quotes? Maybe. Because she felt the need that somebody needed to hear this. So you're probably right. So I'm excited to hear what you came up with from your Google search.

Yeah. Okay. It is often the small steps, not the giant leaps that bring about the most lasting. change. Yes. That makes, that's good. Does that make sense? Yeah. You remember the, oh my gosh, that's the Miley quote. What? The quote that Miley says in that video that everybody's like sending around Instagram and TikTok and whatever. I'm not even on TikTok, but I'm a part of the cool kids, so I know these things. It's, she talks about, she says it's the journey that you remember, not just like where you came from, where you are those giant steps.

It is the little steps, the journey that you look back on. Yeah. And you realize, like, is what shaped you. Yeah. So. Very true. Yeah. Miley Cyrus and Queen Elizabeth.

It is often the small steps, not the giant leaps that bring about the most lasting change. I love that. Awesome. We'll leave it there. Yeah. All right. Thanks for listening, everyone. Have a great rest of your week. We appreciate you. You are wonderful. And we shall see you next week. See you next Wednesday. This podcast has been brought to you by Podcast Nation.