Mary's Cup of Tea: the Self Love Podcast for Women

Your voice changes when you feel insecure. It gets tighter, faster, or smaller, and suddenly you don’t feel confident anymore. In this conversation, we explore how to build real confidence by regulating your nervous system and learning to speak from a grounded, embodied confident place.

Mary is joined by voice and communication coach Ryan O’Shea to explore how your voice can make or break your confidence. And no, this isn’t about fixing vocal fry or sounding “more professional.” It’s about learning how to feel more grounded, authentic, present, and confident no matter who you’re communicating with.

You will learn…

Why some people naturally command attention while others feel chronically unheard

How nervous system regulation directly affects your voice and presence

The difference between rambling and inhibition — and how to find the sweet spot

A simple real-time practice you can use before a presentation, job interview, date, or hard conversation to feel more confident

The 3 components of a powerful vocal presence

Remember: confidence isn’t about sounding perfect. It’s about feeling safe and connected in your body when you speak. Your voice isn’t something to fix — it’s something to reclaim.

Ryan O’Shea is a Los Angeles based voice, accent, and communication coach certified in Fitzmaurice Voicework®, Knight-Thompson Speechwork®, and Organic Intelligence®. Ryan combines her experience as an actor and coach to develop a holistic approach to voice and communication. She wants her clients to feel that learning voice and communication skills can help them feel more like themselves, so she merges voice and delivery skills with tools of nervous system regulation and presence. Ryan works with actors who you've seen (and heard!) on HBO, Showtime, Netflix, AppleTV, Fox, ABC, as well in audiobooks, commercials, and theatres across the world. And she’s worked with countless entrepreneurs, and corporate communication clients from Adidas, Tinder, Alpinestars, and more.

Website: https://www.voiceandspeechwithryan.com/

Instagram: @voiceandspeechwithryan

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-o-shea-27a473277/

Self-led Voice Course: Foundations of Voicework, https://www.voiceandspeechwithryan.com/foundations-of-voicework

If you enjoyed this episode, share it with the women in your life! Or on social media! Be sure to tag @maryspodcast and @voiceandspeechwithryan

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Eating disorder recovery is a journey, and sometimes old patterns will show up even after you’re fully recovered. Let’s talk about 5 disordered habits you might still be doing (despite knowing better) and how to stop doing them.
These subtle disordered eating are often framed as “normal” in our culture, but in reality, they’re leftover patterns from diet culture. Whether you’ve been in eating disorder recovery for years or are just beginning to heal your relationship with food and your body, it’s important to notice these sneaky habits so you can break free from them once and for all.
Mary talks about the common ways women internalize harmful beauty standards and how those beliefs show up in everyday choices. From body-checking to moralizing food, these eating disorder behaviors might feel second nature, but they don’t serve your self love journey. Recovery is about unlearning toxic patterns and choosing self love, compassion, and confidence instead.
Take a moment to reflect: Which of these 5 eating disorder habits are you still holding onto? Becoming aware is the first step toward true healing and building a positive mindset around food, body image, and self love.
If you’re enjoying our self love podcast, share it with the women in your life! Your support helps spread women empowerment and self-love!
Deepen your self love journey with Mary’s books:
The Gift of Self-Love, an interactive workbook to help you build confidence, recognize your worth, and learn to finally love yourself.
100 Days of Self-Love, a guided journal with 100 prompts for calming self-criticism and learning to love yourself.
Follow Mary's self love journey on IG: @maryscupofteaa and @maryspodcast

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With special guest: my Sister!!! For my 28th birthday, I sat down with my 18-year-old sister to share 28 truths about confidence, dating, boys, people, and being a woman with self-worth.
This conversation moves from chaotic sister humor to the deeper realities of building confidence as a woman. We talk about why most mistakes get made after midnight, how everything feels more dramatic in the dark, and why intensity is not the same thing as compatibility. We unpack the difference between attraction and anxiety, and why calm, secure love can is often the healthiest.
Beyond dating and relationships, we get into the foundations of self-love: choosing your environment wisely, eating consistently, setting boundaries without over-explaining, and remembering that no one is coming to save you. We talk about body image, spotlight syndrome, conquering insecurities, being the average of the people you spend time with, getting to know your mom as a person, and why embarrassment is a choice.
I hope this Mary’s Cup of Tea episode feels like a confidence pep talk from your virtual big sister.
Remember: “The worst thing in the world can happen, but the next day the sun will come up. And you will eat your toast. And you will drink your tea.”
Hope this episode is somehow entertaining and somewhat useful to your self-love journey.
If you’re enjoying our self love podcast, share it with the women in your life! Your support helps spread women empowerment and self-love!
Deepen your self love journey with Mary’s books:
The Gift of Self-Love, an interactive workbook to help you build confidence, recognize your worth, and learn to finally love yourself.
100 Days of Self-Love, a guided journal with 100 prompts for calming self-criticism and learning to love yourself.
Follow Mary Jelkovsky on IG: @maryscupofteaa and @maryspodcast
Mentioned In This Episode...
Mary’s Self-Love Playlist: maryscupoftea.com/playlist

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When the external world feels heavy, your internal world must stay regulated. Self-care is not about escaping reality. It’s about standing steadily inside it. This conversation is about how to stay emotionally regulated when the noise feels constant and the news cycle never ends.
We’ll talk about protecting your energy, being intentional with your attention, and practicing self-care through boundaries with yourself. If your mental health has felt stretched thin by the state of the world, this episode offers perspective and encouragement.
You will learn about…
how social media functions similarly to propaganda
why energy management might be better than time management
how I approach giving and charitable contribution
the idea of “joy stacking” as a form of self care
why eye contact is a form of resistance
small rituals that help you come back home to yourself
Remember: self-care is not disengagement from the world, it is how you stay resourced enough to meet it. Real self-care supports your mental health AND lets you contribute to causes you care about.
If you’re enjoying our self love podcast, share it with the women in your life! Your support expands our self-love circle and shows others that mental health matters.
Deepen your self love journey with Mary’s books:
The Gift of Self-Love, an interactive workbook to help you build confidence, recognize your worth, and learn to finally love yourself.
100 Days of Self-Love, a guided journal with 100 prompts for calming self-criticism and learning to love yourself.
Follow Mary's self care journey on IG: @maryscupofteaa and @maryspodcast
Mentioned In This Episode...
A Small Light series on Prime Video
“I’m Russian. Here’s how propaganda really works” by Silent East

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Many women talk about anxiety as if it’s a personality trait, but Dr. Ellen Vora offers a different lens: anxiety could be a mind-body signal that something in your mental health ecosystem needs support. In this conversation, we unpack what women misunderstand about anxiety, why mental health is deeply physical, and how to stop seeing anxiety as a personal flaw.
You will learn…
the difference between “false anxiety” vs. “true anxiety” (and why that distinction changes everything)
is it the mind-body connection or the body-mind connection?
how women’s bodies, hormones, and cultural stressors create a unique anxiety landscape
the drawbacks of traditional cognitive behavioral therapy
physical ways to take care of your mental health
 
Remember: Anxiety doesn’t automatically mean something is mentally wrong with you. Often it’s your physical body asking for care, and sometimes it’s your inner compass asking for honesty. Either way, you deserve support that helps you feel safer in your body and steadier in your mental health.
Dr. Ellen Vora is a board-certified psychiatrist who takes a functional medicine approach to mental health. Dr. Vora received her B.A. from Yale University and her M.D. from Columbia University. She’s also the bestselling author of The Anatomy of Anxiety: Understanding and Overcoming the Body’s Fear Response where she shares a whole-person perspective on anxiety, mental health, and overall well-being– especially for women.
Follow Dr. Ellen on Instagram: @ellenvoramd Get Dr. Ellen’s book, The Anatomy of Anxiety: Understanding and Overcoming the Body’s Fear Response
And if you enjoyed this episode, share it with the women in your life! Make sure to tag @maryspodcast and @ellenvoramd
Mentioned In This Episode...
Quit Like a Woman by Holly Whitaker
Healing Back Pain: The Mind-Body Connection by Dr. John Sarno
The Way Out by Alan Gordon
research on Ketamine-assisted therapy
Wizard of Oz & Dark Side of the Moon Pink Floyd Theory EXPLAINED

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