Happy New Year.
I just wanted to send a quick note to say thank you for being here.
This last year has been a big one for me, and from what I hear in your comments and emails, it’s been a big year for many of you too.
This year wasn't easy, but it was meaningful and I'm grateful for the challenges that came my way. The main thing I’m proud of is my consistency. I kept showing up, I kept making new content even when I didn’t want to, and the channel grew in a way I honestly didn’t expect (175,000 subscribers and counting).
I’ve also kept my YouTube channel focused on one thing: sleep.
Sleep meditations. Sleep hypnosis. Tools that help your nervous system settle... so that ultimately you can sleep better!
At the start of the year I had a mildly funny realisation… I got lots of feedback that my meditations were kinda hypnotic... and so I thought, if I’m going to be hypnotising millions of people around the world, why not literally hypnotise millions of people?
So one of my goals this year was to properly train, and I became a certified clinical hypnotherapist. So now as well as sleep meditations, you can see plenty of sleep hypnosis on my channel as well.
And because I’ve made my 'Chibs Meditations' channel all about sleep meditations, sleep hypnosis, and relaxation meditations, I decided to start up a second channel and go back to my original roots: mindfulness for high-achievers.
My 'Mindfulness for Strivers' channel is where I’m talking about stress, burnout, and the traits that drive burnout: perfectionism, people-pleasing, overthinking, workaholism, the lot.
The Burnout Guy Burns Out
This year I also went deep into learning about complex trauma, and how childhood experiences shape the coping strategies we carry into adulthood. It’s changed how I see burnout. And the intersection and interaction of childhood experiences and risk of burnout is going to be a big feature of my new channel.
Also… small confession. I had a bit of burnout myself. Yes… the burnout guy. Mildly embarrassing 😅
But honestly, I’m grateful for it. Firstly, I didn’t stay burnt out for long. I caught myself early. I had the tools.
And secondly, it taught me something I really needed to know. Burnout doesn’t only show up when everything is going wrong. It can show up when everything is going perfectly… when you’ve got the stuff, the status, the success… all the things you thought you wanted.
Protecting my capacity
But what we actually need above anything is our mental health. If you don’t have that, none of the other stuff makes any difference... nothing you have or experience FEELS good. You won’t appreciate it. And frankly… it’s wasted on you.
That was a bit of a wake-up call for me. One of the things I had to do to protect myself was take a hard look at where I could cut back… and where I was making the most impact. So another change this year was my decision not to do one-to-one sessions anymore.
Not because they don’t matter. They really do. But because I want to put my time into creating support that can reach more people, in more places.
A lot of what we beat ourselves up for is not “lazy” or “broken”. It’s protection. It’s adaptation. It’s you doing the best you can with the tools you had.
That learning has hit home for me as a parent too.
I did a very intense group complex trauma course for around 7 hours a week for 6 months, and I learned a lot about my patterns, my parents, and my parenting.
Also… another slight irony… that course was one of the things that helped burn me out. Apparently there is such a thing as “too much therapy”… but that’s a story for another newsletter.
My theme for 2026
My parents didn’t get everything right with me. And I haven’t gotten everything right with my daughter either. But I’m trying.
I keep learning. I apologise when I need to. I repair.
And I teach her what I’m learning, so she can do even better than me. That’s good enough.
So I’m calling it now. 2026 is the year of self love and self compassion.
Not as an excuse to be selfish. But as a way to stop adding extra suffering with that inner critic voice. Because when we’re kind and forgiving with ourselves, we recover faster. And we’re better with other people too.
To start the year, I’ve just released a self love sleep hypnosis, and I’m going to turn this into a series. Self love, self compassion, self kindness… I honestly think this is the foundation of real happiness, and it makes us better humans.
Here’s the first one: https://youtu.be/rXPxaDQDKtw
▶ Watch: Sleep Hypnosis for Deep Healing and Self-Love | Chibs Okereke Affirmations | Pink Noise
And if you’ve got perfectionism in the mix, I want to reshare this too (You've done enough 👇🏾👇🏾👇🏾).
It’s VERY different to my usual meditations, and it’s some of my best work.
Have a wonderful 2026!
Much love,
Chibs 💙
▶ Watch: Perfectionism | Sleep-Friendly Guided Night Meditation (Let Go and Rest)
