AN UNEXPECTED BREAK

in this edition, i'm sharing:
- the scam with fake profiles
- i am having a childhood trauma, i am having a child
- this is WÆRE

it’s been a ride. the past weeks – omg. one fake profile copying mine after another started following my followers, inviting them into shady whatsapp groups to share crypto trading tips. some followers noticed right away, some joined those groups and got angry at me. and me – trying to report the accounts, arguing with support because “they did nothing wrong”... until they were finally deleted. and next to that: a golf ball sized tumor in my breast. the gyn said, “we have to check, this could be cancer.” but in the same week, i also started putting WÆRE out into the world. i shared the first insights and updates. then, after the relieving call on friday noon – no cancer – i just collapsed. i was so insanely tired, i needed a break. and to focus on what actually matters. now it’s been four weeks. i have so many topics to share, but i’m still very, very tired. i booked a vacation. this weather is just fueling depression – like, seriously, it’s called winter depression, not summer. love d.

the last episode was about “remember why you started.” and i’ve been thinking about that a lot. why i started this newsletter, that’s also the reason i’m continuing. not because i have to. but because i want to. and also: nothing has to happen under pressure. unexpected breaks are allowed.

THE SCAM WITH FAKE PROFILES

it’s happening to me. it’s happening to others. profiles are copying your identity, your content. they follow your followers and send them shady invitations to join trading groups. my followers trust me. i’ve built that relationship over years. so it’s easy to make them believe i started a group to share insights. i mean, i do that on instagram. i do it here in this newsletter. so why not a trading whatsapp group, right?

what really got me thinking is: why is it so hard to get these fake accounts deleted? meta keeps replying that these profiles are “following the guidelines.” honestly, it feels like they’re trying to push people into paying for the blue check. a bit of a conspiracy theory, i know. but still.

then another day, i was scrolling through reels and came across a bunch of videos that didn’t feel real. it took me a while to realize they were made by ai. usually i can tell right away, but it’s getting harder. i think way too soon, we won’t be able to tell the difference anymore. can you see the ai-work in this picture?

for this part, i needed a picture to advertise my new interview series that i’m writing for bitcoin-2go. we just published the first episode: an interview with dr. nike schmidt about crypto and law. the series is called “matcha & krypto.” but funny enough, the matcha was missing. i only had a nice setup and my macbook in the shot. so i asked chatgpt to add a photorealistic cup of matcha into the picture i took just before. (and yes, it worked.) the series is still a recommendation. every two weeks i sit down with someone from my network, drink a cup of matcha, and have a real conversation about crypto. it’s more than inspiring.

I AM HAVING A CHILDHOOD TRAUMA, I AM HAVING A CHILD

every time we pass another exhausting growth spurt, i realize how much this journey has taken from me. how much effort. how much energy. how much healing. everything at once. no break. no time to breathe through it. even though people say becoming parents is hard, i never thought it would be this hard. and so i started looking for help.

one emergency call with a therapist later, i found myself facing a truth: i had fallen for a lie i usually warn others not to believe — that the grass is always greener on the other side. somehow i thought i was the only one struggling. everyone else seemed happy, doing fine, deeply connected with their baby, supported by friends and family.

and there is me. i have to be but i’m not. i’m not happy “just being a mom.” if this were a job, no one would take it. you give 500%, while trying, with whatever tiny amount of energy is left, to still be or become yourself. to still be a partner. a wife. a friend. all of it while being tired a.f. not one single week in my life, building companies and traveling the world, ever exhausted me like this. but now, i have to make sure my trauma doesn’t become the trauma of my baby boy.

i recently came across the instagram profile of alina spieth, a psychologist researching the “mom brain.” in one of her podcast episodes, she mentions daniel siegel: “it’s not the trauma that gets passed on - it’s the inability to reflect on it.” that line hit deep.

the other day, i found a book in my mailbox - "kindheit ohne gepäck by carina thiemann.
i can’t wait to dive into it and finally meet her in person at her book reading.

so this is what i am doing now. reading. listening. writing. reflecting. healing. not passing my trauma.

NOTE2SELF

how do i break the cycle? how do i make sure the trauma stops with me? what if love is not enough? why do i keep finding myself in these moments of grief and pain - overwhelmed, doubting, thinking i’m not good enough as a mom? i don’t mean perfect. i mean present. connected. loved. as if i wasn’t made for this. for being a mother. and yet i thought, somehow, i would do better. love d.

THIS IS WÆRE

i told you something was coming … and now it is. WÆRE is my slowwear bodysuits, designed to support real life, not reshape it. each piece blends minimal design with soft, sustainable fabrics for movement, presence and ease. and now, i’m building it. with the help of talented women: taesh, who’s turning my design ideas into perfect fits and technical patterns and jasmine, founder of gooden sportswear, who’s sharing her functional and beautiful, sustainbly woven italian fabrics with us. next, we’re hosting a small launch event for business angels (yes, we need funding) and kicking off “the athleisure club”, a community event series with pilates, breathwork, inspiring women, and a mastermind session over protein shakes. this is only the beginning. you want more? stay close - follow via instagram. website and waitlist launching soon.

you made a powerful decision for yourself by reading RE:FRAME to the end. let’s turn that power into action - add five more in: five forwards to friends, five shares, or simply your five mins of reflections. your next step matters.