At some point, being the woman who can handle everything stops feeling impressive and starts feeling exhausting.

In this episode, I’m talking with Cherylanne Skolnicki, founder of Brilliant Balance, about what she calls the peak of complexity—that season when your career is demanding more, your family is demanding more, your ambition is still very much alive…and your available capacity is basically gone.

We talk about why the same operating system that helped us climb professionally eventually stops working, why so many women become the default person for everyone and everything, and why letting go can bring up guilt, judgment, FOMO and a whole lot of control issues.

Cherylanne also shares practical ways to start changing the pattern—without lowering your standards, losing your ambition or waiting for life to magically calm down.

You’ll learn:

• Why successful women hit a “peak of complexity”
• How to rethink your week when there’s no time left over for you
• The four emotions that make letting go so hard
• A better way to think about boundaries
• Why delegation usually feels harder before it gets easier
• How to decide what actually needs to be yours
• The question: “Am I uniquely qualified to do this?”

If you’ve built the career, the family and the full life—and you’re wondering why it still feels like too much—this one is for you.

Chapters

01:05 The Gen X Promise of “Having It All”

04:10 Why Cherylanne Left the Corporate Ladder

11:35 The Complexity Curve

14:30 When the Way You’ve Always Operated Stops Working

17:05 The Peak of Complexity

19:40 Why You Need a New Operating System

21:20 Treat Your Week Like Your Life in Miniature

24:15 Put Yourself Into the Week First

27:25 Becoming the Default Person for Everyone

29:15 Guilt, FOMO, Judgment and Control

31:55 Boundaries Other People May Not Like

34:25 Delegating Without Lowering Your Standards

36:25 Small Experiments That Create More Capacity

38:05 No One Is Coming to Save You

Links

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Brilliant Balance

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You are exhausted. You cannot sleep. Your anxiety feels higher. Your focus is off. And suddenly you are wondering why things that used to feel manageable now seem so much harder.

It might be stress.

But what if it is not just stress?

In this Quick Lift, Betsy shares the key takeaways from her conversation with Dr. Caissa Troutman about perimenopause, leadership and why women can mistakenly interpret very real symptoms as a loss of capability.

This is not a medical deep dive. It is the girlfriend version of what women need to know: what to pay attention to, why brain fog and poor sleep can affect confidence at work, when to seek support and why powering through is not always the answer.

You’ll learn:

• Why perimenopause symptoms are so easily mistaken for stress or burnout
• How poor sleep, anxiety and brain fog can affect confidence and credibility at work
• Why perimenopause often collides with some of women’s biggest career years
• Why “normal” does not mean you have to suffer
• What to pay attention to when something suddenly feels different
• How to find a provider who understands perimenopause
• Why you should get curious before deciding you are losing your edge
• How to think about support at work without feeling like you need to disclose everything

Perimenopause is common. It can affect your career. And it does not mean you are becoming less capable.

Links

Listen to the full episode

Connect with Dr. Troutman

Perimenopause often arrives during the exact years women are leading teams, running businesses, pursuing promotions and managing enormous responsibilities at work and at home.

But many women do not recognize what is happening.

They blame the anxiety on stress. The exhaustion on their schedule. The 3:00 a.m. wake-ups on everything running through their minds. And because they are not having hot flashes, they dismiss perimenopause as a possible explanation.

In this episode, Betsy sits down with Dr. Caissa Troutman, a physician specializing in menopause and midlife health—and Betsy’s own doctor—to talk about how perimenopause can affect sleep, focus, confidence, credibility and career decisions.

They explore the difference between perimenopause and menopause, the symptoms women commonly miss and why women are so often told that what they are experiencing is simply stress or aging. Dr. Troutman also shares the treatment options available, including hormone therapy, nutrition, movement, stress support and individualized medical care.

This is not about women becoming less capable. It is about understanding what is happening before women—or the people around them—mistake it for decline.

You’ll learn:

• How perimenopause differs from menopause
• Why anxiety, fatigue, sleep disruption and brain fog are commonly overlooked symptoms
• How perimenopause can affect confidence and credibility at work
• Why women often blame themselves and try to power through
• How untreated symptoms can influence promotions, leadership opportunities and career decisions
• Why hormone therapy may help some women but is not the only option
• What to look for in a provider who understands menopause care
• Why there is no medal for suffering through a normal biological transition

Perimenopause is common. It is okay to talk about it. And there are solutions.

Chapters

0:00 — Why Perimenopause Belongs in a Leadership Conversation

1:40 — What Perimenopause Actually Is3:55 — The Symptoms Women Don’t Expect

7:55 — What’s Happening With Your Hormones

9:05 — “I Thought It Was Just Stress”

13:20 — Brain Fog, Confidence & the Career Credibility Hit

15:45 — Should You Talk About Perimenopause at Work?

19:20 — How to Know When It’s Time to Get Help

22:05 — What to Do If Your Doctor Dismisses You

24:00 — The Career Cost of Untreated Symptoms

25:45 — HRT and Other Treatment Options

27:10 — Meals, Movement, Mind & Meds

31:10 — Stop Powering Through & Start Prioritizing Yourself

33:00 — Where to Connect With Dr. Troutman

Links

Connect with Dr. Troutman

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