
Postcards I Never Sent
Part travel diary, part emotional processing, part “what the hell am I doing?” These are the stories I didn’t post—messy, honest, slightly unhinged, and human AF.
Postcards I Never Sent is a voice memo from the road—raw, reflective, and a little emotionally chaotic. Hosted by Krista, a full-time vanlifer from Alaska to Argentina, this storytelling travel podcast shares the quiet moments, emotional healing and self-discovery that never made it to Instagram.
These are the postcards I didn’t send—because I was too overwhelmed, too cracked open, or just emotionally distracted by bad Wi-Fi and a soggy burrito.
Recorded somewhere between signal and stillness, each episode is part storytime, part therapy, part “please send snacks.” It’s for the overthinkers, the wanderers, and anyone still figuring it out.
This isn’t a motivational “you’ve got this!” podcast. It’s not about pretending I have the answers. This is going to be more like a collection of voice notes I’d send a close friend. Just real-time reflections, quiet realizations, and stories I probably should’ve kept to myself—but didn’t.
Whether you’re into slow travel, soul-searching, personal growth, or just need someone else to admit they’re spiraling in a Walmart parking lot—this podcast is for you.
Come for the travel podcast. Stay for the existential spiral.
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Postcards I Never Sent
Postcard #3: My Inner Critic Went on This Trip Too and She Won’t Shut Up
This one isn’t from a beach or a scenic overlook—it’s from the backseat of my brain.
In today’s episode, we’re talking about the mental baggage that somehow snuck into the van: the overthinking, the spiraling, and that inner critic who never shuts up. I share what it’s like to chase a dream life but still feel like you’re messing it up, how overthinking affects your body, and the quiet voice I’m learning to listen to instead.
We’ll get into:
•How your inner critic thrives on exhaustion and self-doubt
•The connection between anxiety, overthinking, and your gut health
•Why “just enjoying the moment” is sometimes the hardest thing to do
•The one daily habit that’s actually helping me turn the volume down
If your brain has ever sabotaged a perfectly good day with a spiral of “you’re not doing enough,” this one’s for you.
✨ Want to Support My Adventures?✨
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/kristascompass
⬇️ One-time donations ⬇️
https://buymeacoffee.com/kristahameq
✨Follow The Podcast!✨
Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/postcardsineversentpod
Podcast YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@postcardsineversent
Podcast TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@postcardsineversent/
Podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/postcardsineversent/
✨Follow Krista's Adventures!✨
Where to Listen to my Podcast: https://postcardsineversent.buzzsprout.com/
Main Travel Instagram: https://instagram.com/kristascompass
Travel YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@kristascompass
Blog: https://www.kristascompass.com
Travel Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kristascompass
Travel TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@kristascompass
Sign up for my Newsletter - https://kristascompass.com/insta/
Today's postcard isn't from a place on the map. It's from somewhere a little louder. The backseat of my brain. Because as it turns out, when I left for this trip, I accidentally brought something I didn't mean to. I brought my inner critic, and she is loud. She didn't need a passport. She didn't take up any space in the van. She didn't ask to come. She didn't even help pack. But she's had plenty to say. That's what you're wearing? Wow, another taco? You should be getting B-roll right now. Honestly, I'm not sure if she's a travel companion or an unpaid production assistant. Hey, I'm Krista, and welcome to Postcards I Never Send. I'm currently somewhere in a fan between Alaska and Argentina, geographically and emotionally. This podcast is part travel diary, part spiraling, mostly human AF. This is where I say all the things I never put into captions, the conversations I was too scared to have, and the thoughts that I scribbled into notebooks that never made it to the mailbox. It's not about pretending I have all the answers, it's about sharing the mess, the magic, and everything in between. I'm just trying to make sense of it all, and maybe help you feel a little more seen in the process. So whether you're on your own journey, or just eavesdropping on mine, I'm really glad you're here. Everyone has an inner critic, and if yours is anything like mine, she never shuts up. And she's always there whether you want her there or not. Sometimes it's not even one thought. Sometimes it's like 43 tabs open in my brain and I forget which one's playing music. That's what it feels like. That is what she does to me. It's like walking into a cafeteria of children, all talking above each other, Sometimes I wonder if there's 30 tiny little versions of me living inside my head. There's 50 unfinished thoughts, ideas, questions, and solutions all torpedoing at me at once, making it impossible to latch on to just one simple thought, one simple idea, one simple answer or solution. It's impossible to focus, setting your brain into overdrive. My inner critic likes to enhance my anxiety and make me overthink everything. She shows up when I post something and the likes are low, when I wake up late, when I skip a hike, when I'm not making the most of it. Even before we crossed the border, she was already talking. She had things to say about the way I packed, what I forgot, how my photos weren't good enough, how I didn't do enough research, and how I should definitely be more productive if I was going to be living this dream life. The worst part? I believe her more often than not. Even in a beautiful place, even when your body is rested and the sun is warm and everything around you is telling you to just be, she finds a way to make you question your existence. I've started to notice that she's loudest when I'm tired, and lately I've been tired a lot. She's loudest when I'm already feeling small, when I'm craving validation instead of connection. She's just loudest any time that I'm not feeling my best. Here's the thing. She's not new. She's been around forever. Sometimes she disappears for short periods of time, but then she returns from hiding, feeling all renewed and full of all kinds of crap to say. Most of the time, she's incredibly hard on me. But sometimes, just sometimes, if I sit quietly long enough, I can hear another voice beneath her. There's another part of me that speaks up. softer and gentler that tells me, hey, maybe rest isn't failure. You are enough and you don't have to prove that to anyone. This moment is beautiful and you don't need to earn it. You are here and that's enough. You don't need to have it all figured out. I've started to listen to her more. It's not always easy when you're used to believing your louder, meaner, more obnoxious inner critic She can be quite a bitch. She triggers my anxiety and gets me overthinking every aspect of my life. And the thing is, it's not just annoying. It's not just some harmless background noise. Overthinking and constant self-criticism, they do real damage. When your brain is constantly in overdrive, worrying, spiraling, trying to solve problems that haven't even happened yet, your nervous system doesn't know the difference between an actual threat and a mental one. Your gut slows down because your body thinks it needs to prioritize survival over digestion. Your stress hormones spike. You release inflammatory chemicals that can throw off your immune system, wreck your sleep, and over time, actually age you faster. This isn't just emotional burnout. It's allostatic load. The wear and tear on your body from chronic stress. It messes with your digestion, your memory, your ability to focus. And long term, it can even lead to cognitive decline. Like actual brain damage. I read that and I was like, oh, okay, cool. Love that for me. So yeah, your inner critic might not take up physical space in your van or in your life, but she takes up a lot of mental real estate. And if you don't kick her out every now and then, she will absolutely trash the place. This is what my inner critic sounded like this week. You're starting a podcast? How stupid is that? Nobody's going to listen to that. What a waste of time. That's what you're saying? That's what you're going to talk about? Seriously, nobody's ever going to listen to that. How worthless. How stupid. Don't do that. And probably like a billion other thoughts, but those are some of the main ones that I was able to pick out. But here's what I chose to believe instead this week. That gentler voice underneath that's telling me, your stories could help. You'll help people feel seen and heard. You're not oversharing. You're just sharing the real shit that people don't often hear. You should do it. It'll be good for you and it'll be good for other people too. Even if you help five people, that's enough. I don't have all the answers for dealing with your inner critic, but one of the things I started to do and have been doing since the end of March and I truly think is helping significantly is writing morning pages every morning. If you're unfamiliar with morning pages, let me explain. I learned this from a book I'm working through called The Artist's Way. Essentially, every morning you write three whole pages of whatever enters your mind. Unfiltered, no prompts, no specific topics, not an overview of your day. Don't worry about spelling, just write. Don't worry about making your handwriting look good or punctuation. Write whatever crosses your mind. Nothing about it needs to flow. You just need to write. When I started off, I didn't fully believe that it would help. I kind of thought it was dumb, but I started doing it anyways. And Julia Cameron, the author of the book said, if you find the idea of the morning pages dumb, write that in your pages. If this is so dumb, why am I doing this? This is such a waste of my precious time, is what comes to your mind when your pen hits the paper, write it. If you suddenly think, oh my God, I love blueberries, write it. If you have a headache and your head is pounding and that's all you can think about, write it. Write, my head hurts, it's pounding so hard, it's throbbing, why won't it go away? Just write whatever comes to your mind. If all you can think about was your girls' night last night, write about your girls' night a little bit. Just write a few sentences, then move on to whatever thoughts cross your mind. If you have a thought that cuts off your last thought, switch to writing that. Literally write everything that comes to mind. Let it not make sense. Let it be messy. It helps you get rid of the brain clutter and have an outlet to release it. It helps you get rid of all these random and sometimes useless thoughts. Sometimes you're sitting there writing and you think to yourself, what the heck, that's super random, or wow, I didn't really realize that was on my mind. It may sound like a waste of time to some people, but trust me, it really does help. If you're listening to this and thinking, my brain never shuts up either, you're not broken. You might just need a pressure valve. Morning pages aren't magic, but they're kind of like opening a window to air out the mental clutter. Since I've started doing this, I've noticed that my inner critic is quieter during the day. I find myself a little more often being able to sit in the van, on the beach, or wherever and just be at peace without overthinking a single thing. It's such an odd feeling to hear nothing but silence in your mind. It's not something I'm used to. For once, I can actually process a single thought that comes across my mind instead of battling 30 at once. I even find myself being at peace at night while laying in bed trying to sleep. That's usually the hardest part of my day because that's when all the overthinking comes rushing in and flooding my mind. I think that's when it hits a lot of people. And why is it always before bed? Like, why does my inner critic think, oh, it's 11.47pm, time to bring up that one embarrassing thing I said back in 2012. But it's less now. It's a really weird feeling, but it feels pretty damn good. This isn't to say she's completely gone away. Some days she's louder and has a heck of a lot more opinions, and some days she just sits on the sidelines and lets me do me. And that's a big improvement, even if it's only 20% better. These days, I try to track the tiny wins. When I post something without spiraling. When I let myself take a nap without guilt. When I hear her voice and don't believe it. If you've had one of those days lately, celebrate it. It means you're getting louder than the voice in your head. If you're listening to this and your inner critic's been especially loud lately, pause for a second. What's the one thing she keeps repeating that you know isn't true? Say it out loud. Great, now say, that is not mine. Another super random tip for when your brain is going nutso and won't shut up, ask yourself, what is my next thought going to be? Go ahead, ask yourself that right now, and then listen. What is my next thought going to be? Did your brain basically go silent? Mine did, and it always does. At least most of the time, so maybe not always. But it works more often than not, even if it's just for 10 seconds. And it works for a lot of other people, too. It's a neat little trick. If I could send a postcard to myself in those spiraling moments, I would say, You don't have to earn your rest. You don't need to prove your worth. You're allowed to be here, even when you feel unproductive, even when your mind is loud. The beauty of this life isn't how perfectly you live it. It's in the quiet moments where you learn to soften just a little bit. So exhale. You're doing better than you think. If you constantly hear your inner critic and assume they're telling the truth, just know that they're not. But I see you and I totally get it. This has been Postcards I Never Sent from the backseat of my brain, from the passenger I didn't invite but couldn't leave behind. And even if she joins me on every mile of this trip, she does not get to drive. And you shouldn't let yours take the wheel of your life either. Until next time, I'll be trying to chill even if my inner critic keeps sending me passive-aggressive reminders.