This episode on Before You Cut Bangs, we’re talking about something that should be simple… but somehow feels like advanced emotional calculus:

Receiving gifts, compliments, help, and kindness. Maybe a casserole you didn’t ask for. Perhaps a gorgeous candle from a friend when you... you guessed it... got them nothing.

Why is it SO HARD to say thank you without immediately blurting out, “Oh, this old thing? I’ve had it for 12 years,” or “Girl, it was $5 at Target,” or the classic Southern special:

“You didn’t have to do that!” (Spoiler: They wanted to.)

Claire walks us through her brilliant “garland” practice—yes, garland, like the Christmas kind—and why we need to throw away the emotional tinsel that keeps us from letting good things in.

Laura gets vulnerable about walking through a season of capacity and emotional poverty and how hard it was to learn how to receive from her friends.

We cover:

Why women self-deprecate the minute anyone says something nice

Why receiving feels like guilt, debt, or competition

Why you panic when someone brings you a gift and you have nothing for them

How receiving is actually a spiritual practice

Why receiving is the gateway to giving (and to healing)

How to stop making it weird and just say… THANK YOU.

Listen now and share with the friend who says “I don’t need anything…” while absolutely needing everything.

This week on Before You Cut Bangs, we’re talking about what happens when ChatGPT stops being a helpful tool… and starts becoming your entire emotional ecosystem.

We kick it off by letting our own ChatGPTs ROAST THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS out of us —

Laura, Claire, and Will each asked their ChatGPT,

“What am I using you for in an unhealthy way?”

and the answers were… brutal.

(Because nothing says self-awareness like being dragged by a robot.)

From there, we get into the real conversation:

• how ChatGPT’s positive bias makes you feel deeply seen — but also deeply isolated

• why it’s becoming people’s best friend, therapist, hype woman, and soulmate

• the slippery slope from “this is helpful” → “this is my emotional lifeline”

• how relying on AI for emotional support keeps you from building real community

• why vulnerability with a chatbot feels safer than vulnerability with your people

• the intimacy problem: ChatGPT can mirror you, but it can’t connect with you

• and why some of us are telling AI secrets we’ve never told a human

We’re not anti-AI — we’re pro-connection.

And we think it’s time to ask:

If your AI knows more about your life than your friends do… is that helping you, or isolating you?

Plus: hear the unhinged ways we personally use ChatGPT, and why our AI called us out for treating it like a therapist, house manager, co-parent, creative partner, Google replacement, and occasionally a spiritual advisor.

In this week’s episode of Before You Cut Bangs, Laura and Claire get brutally honest about what happens when life hits you with more plot twists than a sad country music song.

Laura opens up about walking through a season where everything changed at once — a move, personal upheaval, emotional whiplash — while Claire deals with her own chaos (think: her hardwood floors literally being ripped out).

Together, they unpack the real question: Why do we show up as totally different versions of ourselves when we’re in crisis versus when life is calm?

From stress responses to survival mode to the weird ways chaos makes us react, this episode is part therapy, part comedic relief, and part permission slip for anyone who feels like they’re “handling it” but also maybe… not handling it.

As we move into the holiday season — a time when chaos tends to multiply — Laura and Claire talk about:

• What actually makes a day feel chaotic

• Why small things hit so much harder when you’re already at capacity

• How to give yourself grace when you’re not the “chill version” of yourself

• The little anchors that help you come back to center

• Why going through hard seasons doesn’t make you dramatic — it makes you human

If you’re going through a lot right now, this one will make you feel a little less alone and a lot more normal. Grab your headphones, pour something warm, and let’s laugh our way through the mess.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

In this episode we cover:

• The difference between me in crisis and me when I’m chill

• Why chaos makes everything feel bigger, heavier, and more dramatic

• Laura’s “my life is a country music song” season

• Claire’s own home-renovation nightmare

• What actually defines chaos (spoiler: it’s rarely the big thing)

• Why you get snappy, defensive, avoidant, or shut down when you’re overwhelmed

• How fast life can change — and how to stay grounded when it does

• What to expect as the holidays approach and emotional load increases

• Small, practical ways to return to yourself in the middle of a storm

In this week’s episode, Laura and Claire get real about what it looks like when life tips from busy to buried. Laura confesses to nearly ending up in Southwest Airlines jail after a full-blown airport meltdown, while Claire shares her own spiral into chaos courtesy of a nightmare insurance claim.

Together, they unpack why overwhelm sneaks in even when everything looks “fine,” how to recognize when your tank’s actually empty, and why doing hard things (like trail running, emotional honesty, or even saying “no”) can stretch your capacity in the best ways.

Because sometimes the only way to handle life’s turbulence is to laugh, lace up, and start running toward the mountain—one dramatic story at a time.

You’ve got boundaries, triggers, and toxic traits—but do you have a therapist? 👀

In this episode, Laura and Claire unpack the rise of therapy-speak and how we’ve turned healing into a hobby and trauma into a TikTok trend. From calling your ex a narcissist (because a girl on Instagram said so) to diagnosing your boss as “emotionally unavailable,” we’re all fluent in self-help now—just not always fluent in self-awareness.

🧠 What we get into:

• How “doing the work” turned into posting about the work

• Why therapy language makes great content but terrible communication

• The fine line between “I’m setting boundaries” and “I’m just avoiding accountability”

• And how your words are literally building the house you have to live in 🏠

It’s funny. It’s honest. It’s slightly uncomfortable—like realizing your “healing era” might actually be your “main character delusion.” 😅

This season finale takes us on a journey through the hosts' "emotional fanny packs" – what essentials would we all carry if we could magically bring anything to help us navigate life's challenges?

Looking back at Season 2's most memorable moments, the hosts celebrate their guest superlatives and reflect on their own vulnerability throughout the season. From Laura's intimate disclosures in the very first episode to Claire's revealing stories, they've created a space where authenticity reigns supreme. "Vulnerability always wins," as Laura reminds us – perhaps the perfect encapsulation of what makes this podcast so valuable.

Part two of what happens when persistent pain leads to an unexpected, life-threatening diagnosis? In this riveting conversation, Claire welcomes her childhood friend, Beau, to share the first part of his extraordinary health journey—from mysterious jaw pain to a rare cancer diagnosis that turned his world upside down.

What happens when persistent pain leads to an unexpected, life-threatening diagnosis? In this riveting conversation, Claire welcomes her childhood friend, Beau, to share the first part of his extraordinary health journey—from mysterious jaw pain to a rare cancer diagnosis that turned his world upside down.