Show notes
What happens when you finally realize the pain you’ve been carrying doesn’t have to define the rest of your life? In Part 1, G-Rex and Dirty Skittles sit down with Rocio Aquino and Angel Orengo, creators of The Orchid: The Secret Code of Modern Goddesses, for a raw conversation about forgiveness, trauma, self-awareness, relationships, and learning how to choose yourself.
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Sh!t That Goes On In Our Heads is a 2024 People’s Choice Podcast Award Winner (Best Health), 2024 Women in Podcasting Award Winner (Best Mental Health Podcast), 2026 Podcast Tonight Award Winner (Best Mental Health Podcast), and 2026 NYC Podcast Award Audience Choice Winner (Best Hosts), with over 4.5 million downloads and listened to in over 160 countries.
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Mental Health Quote
“Forgiveness isn’t about giving your power back to someone else. It’s about releasing what you no longer need to carry.” — Inspired by Rocio Aquino
Trigger Notice + 988 Crisis Reminder
This episode includes conversations about trauma, abuse, suicidal thoughts, and a suicide attempt. Please take care of yourself while listening.
If you or someone you love is experiencing a mental health crisis in the United States, call or text 988 to connect with the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. You do not have to be suicidal to reach out. Support is available for anyone experiencing emotional distress or crisis.
https://988lifeline.org/
Episode Description
What if forgiveness isn’t really about the person who hurt you?
In Part 1 of this powerful two-part conversation, Rocio Aquino and Angel Orengo join G-Rex and Dirty Skittles to talk about the experiences that shaped their personal healing and eventually inspired The Orchid: The Secret Code of Modern Goddesses.
Rocio opens up about carrying shame, guilt, trauma, and the belief that life was happening against her. After a painful financial loss left her feeling betrayed, defeated, and responsible, curiosity pushed her toward a life-changing question: How do I forgive?
What began as a search for relief became a deeper journey into psychology, self-awareness, acceptance, and understanding the beliefs she had been taught about herself. Rocio explains that forgiveness eventually stopped being about the person who hurt her and became about releasing the emotional weight she was carrying inside.
Angel shares what it was like witnessing Rocio’s transformation while discovering his own understanding of personal power. Together, they explain why awareness is the starting point for change and why gratitude, forgiveness, acceptance, and intention became central lessons behind The Orchid.
G-Rex also shares openly about her own suicide attempt, calling 988, and how therapy, self-forgiveness, and choosing to live changed her life. Dirty Skittles reflects on living in fight mode after childhood trauma and the process of becoming her own best friend.
This episode is a reminder that healing doesn’t erase what happened. It changes how much power the past gets to have over what comes next.
Keywords: forgiveness, trauma healing, self-forgiveness, self-awareness, emotional healing, childhood trauma, mental health recovery, inner child healing, self-discovery, intentional living, personal transformation, women’s mental health, gratitude, acceptance, overcoming shame
Meet Our Guests — Rocio Aquino & Angel Orengo
Rocio Aquino and Angel Orengo are the storytellers and creators behind The Orchid, a book and growing community dedicated to healing, self-discovery, purpose, and intentional living. Their work blends lived experience, honest reflection, storytelling, and meaningful conversation to help people better understand themselves, question inherited beliefs, and recognize their capacity for transformation.
Website: https://www.theorchidbook.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rocioangel__/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rocioangel.social
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@rocioangel.theorchid
Key Takeaways
Forgiveness can be less about the person who hurt you and more about freeing yourself from what you are still carrying.
Curiosity can become the first step out of survival mode and into genuine self-awareness.
Trauma, shame, guilt, and old family stories do not have to determine your identity forever.
Understanding why you think the way you think creates space to make different choices.
Gratitude, forgiveness, acceptance, awareness, and intention can become practical tools for personal transformation.
Becoming your own best friend can completely change how you experience yourself and the world around you.
Actionable Items
Ask yourself: “Why do I believe what I believe about myself?” Write down whatever comes up without immediately judging or correcting it.
Identify one resentment, painful memory, or old story that still takes up emotional energy and ask what releasing some of that weight could give back to you.
Choose one small decision this week based on what you genuinely want instead of what you believe other people expect from you.
References Mentioned
The Orchid: The Secret Code of Modern Goddesses
https://www.theorchidbook.com/
The Matrix — referenced by Rocio as an early catalyst for questioning limitations, reality, and personal possibility.
Important Chapters
00:00 – Welcome to Part 1 + Meet Rocio and Angel
Rocio and Angel introduce The Orchid and explain why the orchid became the symbol at the center of their story.
03:13 – Why They Chose Storytelling Over a Traditional Self-Help Book
Rocio and Angel explain how their lived experiences and entertainment backgrounds inspired them to teach healing concepts through story.
06:17 – Rocio’s Transformation Begins
Angel reflects on watching Rocio change after years of carrying shame, self-doubt, pain, and the feeling that she was never enough.
08:26 – Betrayal, Financial Loss, and the Search for Forgiveness
A failed investment becomes a major turning point that sends Rocio searching for a practical way to forgive and move forward.
11:08 – G-Rex on Suicide, 988, and Choosing to Live
G-Rex shares how calling 988 became part of her own turning point and how therapy, forgiveness, and doing the work changed her life.
18:13 – What Forgiveness Really Means
Rocio explains how she realized forgiveness was ultimately for her—not for the person who hurt her.
22:03 – Learning to Understand Yourself
Rocio discusses studying psychology, reading extensively, and recognizing how family, society, and old beliefs had shaped the way she saw herself.
24:58 – Curiosity, Travel, and Discovering Different Ways to Live
Angel shares how traveling around the world helped them see that many of the “rules” we live by are not the only options available.
27:53 – Hope, Healing, and Waiting for the Other Shoe to Drop
G-Rex reflects on how life changed after her darkest moment and what it feels like to experience genuine happiness after years of pain.
30:18 – What Humans Around the World Have in Common
Rocio and Angel talk about traveling to more than 70 countries and discovering how much people share across cultures.
33:00 – Angel’s Aha Moment: Recognizing His Own Power
Angel describes realizing that many limitations are learned stories and that alignment between thoughts, feelings, words, and actions can change everything.
35:13 – Rocio, The Matrix, and Becoming “Neo”
Rocio explains how seeing The Matrix in 1999 sparked questions about possibility, programming, and the life she could create.
37:02 – Becoming Your Own Best Friend
Dirty Skittles and Rocio reflect on learning to love yourself, listen to yourself, and recognize what you actually need.
42:15 – The Five Lessons Behind The Orchid
Angel breaks down the core framework woven into the book: awareness, gratitude, forgiveness, acceptance, and intention.
Closing CTA
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