⚠️ Trigger Warning: This post contains discussion of depression, suicidal ideation, and grief-related experiences. Please proceed with care, and take breaks if you need to. If you’re in crisis, text 988 in the U.S. and Canada for free, 24/7 support.
Empowered by Love: Healing through Self-Compassion
“I love you, even if I don’t feel like it.”
That’s not a throwaway affirmation from some pastel-toned Instagram page. Those were the words that saved Rashi Nayar’s life.
On the surface, she had everything. A serial entrepreneur with multiple seven-figure businesses, clients, momentum — the kind of success we all say we’re chasing. But behind the closed doors of her mind, Rashi lived in a hollow cave carved out by depression. It lasted for 18 years.
In this episode of Suicide Zen Forgiveness, we don’t just talk about healing — we talk about how it actually happens. The quiet, brutal, boring, relentless inner work of turning toward yourself instead of away.
From Profit to Pitfall: When Success Isn’t Enough
“I was scaling companies… but inside, I was desperate,” Rashi tells Elaine. “I wasn’t connected to my soul.”
Her first real brush with profound loss came in 2007, when her dog — her source of unconditional love — died in her arms. The trauma cracked open something she couldn’t name, and the silence that followed lasted nearly two decades.
Yes, she kept going. She built businesses. Got married. Had kids. But the pit inside didn’t shrink — it grew. “I lived with this low-grade anxiety. Constant. Like I was never good enough.”
A Whisper from the Beyond: Love Yourself
It wasn’t until 2025 that everything stopped.
Her aunt passed away, and Rashi began hearing her voice — not metaphorically, but literally, like a drumbeat in her head: “Rashi, love yourself. Stop. Love yourself.”
She listened. She stopped everything. She blocked her calendar. She sat in silence — not for a weekend, but for two full months.
She didn’t retreat to Bali. She stayed home with her children, doing the basics — cooking, cleaning — and repeating one thing over and over:
“I love you, Rashi. I love you, Rashi.”
At first it felt fake. Ridiculous. Like playing pretend with emotions she didn’t even believe she deserved. But she didn’t stop. And over time, something shifted. The numbness cracked.
Love as Practice, Not Performance
“I became invincible,” she says. “Not because I changed who I was — but because I stopped trying to be anyone else.”
This wasn’t some overnight epiphany. It was repetition. Boring, awkward, emotionally clumsy repetition.
- I love you, even if you don’t believe it.
- I love you, even if you’re numb.
- I love you, even if you feel broken.
It’s not about waiting until you feel it. It’s about doing it anyway.
Depression’s Lie: You’re Broken (You’re Not)
Rashi names something that so many who’ve stood at the edge of oblivion will recognize: the lie of depression.
It tells you you’re broken. It isolates you. It mimics your voice and says, “This is just how it is.” But it’s a damn liar.
“The truth is, we’re not broken,” Elaine reminds us in the episode. “We just forgot our light.”
Whether the pain comes from a pet, a person, a divorce, a childhood wound — it doesn’t matter. The grief is real. The loss is valid. But your worth? Untouched.
What If Sales… Were Love?
As the conversation turns toward business, Rashi shares something unexpected: that this love practice has completely transformed her sales.
“I used to see sales as pushy or fake,” she says. “But when I showed up full of love — love for myself and for the person I was speaking to — I didn’t need a script.”
She started seeing clients not as transactions but as sacred connections. Her clients began closing at 75% conversion rates, not because she got slicker — but because she got realer.
“Sales is an act of love,” she says. “When you lead with love, people feel safe. Seen. Empowered.”
When the Practice Feels Too Fake
Let’s be honest: self-love isn’t cute when you’re in the pit.
If you’ve ever tried to repeat affirmations while hating yourself, you know exactly how absurd it can feel.
So Rashi offers a bridge:
“Even if you don’t feel like you love yourself… say it anyway.”
Or:
“I am the kind of person who is learning to love myself.”
Or Elaine’s go-to:
“I love myself — even if I don’t love myself yet.”
These micro-steps, repeated in the face of resistance, begin to rewire what depression tried to destroy.
Gratitude, Flow & That Guest House Rumi Talked About
Toward the end of the conversation, Elaine shares her own nightly practice — a trio of affirmations that help ground her in gratitude, release, and intention.
And they both speak to the value of flow — of letting life unfold without clawing against it.
“You’re like a guest house,” Rashi says, echoing the Rumi poem. “Let everything come. Don’t judge it. Don’t become it. Just witness it. And then let the light consume the dark.”
Final Thoughts: The Light’s Already In You
This episode isn’t about getting fixed. It’s about getting honest.
- With what hurts.
- With what you’ve survived.
- With what you still need.
- And with the parts of yourself that are still waiting to be loved.
Whether you’re years into your healing or still sitting in the silence… this episode is an invitation. To whisper the words that Rashi used to come home:
“I love you. Even if you don’t believe it.”
“I love you. Especially then.”
📞 If You’re in Crisis:
If you’re in North America, text 988 for free, 24/7 support.
Elsewhere? Please reach out to your local suicide prevention or mental health hotline. #YouMatter
💬 Let’s Keep Talking
If this moved you, please rate, share, and comment. It might be the lifeline someone else didn’t know they needed. #ConverSAVEtions
