The Librarian Who Learned to Put Herself First | Julie Chavez

At 38, a panic attack forced her to stop—and start listening to her body. Julie Chavez—librarian, mother of two, and author of the forthcoming memoir Everyone But Myself—joins Dara Levan to share her powerful journey through anxiety, depression, and the radical act of putting herself on her own to-do list. After spending years caring for everyone else while running on empty, Julie experienced her first panic attack. She opens up about the warning signs she ignored, the shame she didn't feel (but could have), and the hard-won tools she now uses daily to stay grounded—including hydration, movement, therapy, and simply paying attention to her own escalation. Julie reveals how she learned to reframe her mindset from "everyone but myself" to "everyone and myself," and how she teaches her boys that "don't fail alone" is a family value. Her message is clear: the thing you're not dealing with is dealing with you, and the only way out is through. Keywords: Julie Chavez, anxiety, panic attacks, depression, memoir, self-care, motherhood, librarian, mental health, Everyone But Myself, burnout.


0:04 - Intro
2:15 - First panic attack at 38
4:46 - Book & the shift to self-care
6:13 - Immunotherapy reaction & fear
8:47 - Body whispers then screams
9:22 - Everyone but myself to everyone and myself
10:44 - Shame, hiding & therapy
14:00 - Career path & library work
17:30 - Grounding practices & tools
18:07 - Hydration, exercise & therapy
22:46 - Grounding & being in body
24:42 - Feeding the anxiety beast
26:17 - Teaching boys "don't fail alone"
30:36 - Where to find Julie
31:14 – Outro



• https://www.instagram.com/dara.levan/
• Website: daralevan.com3
https://www.juliewriteswords.com/


QUOTES:


"Showing up for ourselves as mothers, as women—that's a key thing we forget to talk about."
– Dara Levan

"I was insanely productive during that time. It's amazing what you can do when you just don't care for yourself. But then that came back to bite me."
– Julie Chavez