What do Gilmore Girls and my kindergarten meltdown over a happy face stamp have in common? I am glad you asked. Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria (RSD) From a kindergarten meltdown over not earning a double smiley-face stamp to the emotional landmines of high school and adulthood, I share personal anecdotes about how RSD has shaped my life. I discuss how RSD affects creativity, relationships, and even the way we interpret simple texts like “Call me.” This episode is for anyone trying to understand themselves or their loved ones who may experience heightened sensitivity to rejection and failure. Tune in for insights, empathy, and a reminder that our unique traits—nerfs and buffs alike—can serve as both challenges and strengths.

In this episode titled "Mindfulness for a Busy Mind," I delve into the fascinating world of managing ADHD through mindfulness and meditation. One of the fun things that comes with ADHD is a busy mind, and I mean fun—like I'm never bored; my mind is always entertaining me. But this constant whirlwind of thoughts can be inconvenient when it comes to quieting intrusive and worrisome thoughts. The good news is, there's something that can be done with a busy mind. You can learn how to train your brain, take control of those intrusive thoughts, and that's where mindfulness comes in. I share my personal experience, emphasizing the joy and challenges of a constantly active mind. Through simple yet profound practices, I explain how listeners can train their brains to be intentional about their thoughts and actions, ultimately leading to improved concentration, reduced stress, and enhanced self-esteem. I break down the essence of mindfulness, debunking misconceptions and providing practical tips for incorporating meditation into daily life. Whether you're navigating the whirlwind of ADHD or simply seeking a deeper connection with the present moment, this episode serves as a gentle yet powerful reminder of the transformative potential of mindfulness.

In this episode, I’m talking about boundaries—the kind that don’t come from frustration, control, or emotional shutdown, but from love. I share why real boundaries aren’t a list of rules for other people to follow so we can feel okay. They’re about what we will do, what we will allow, and how we take responsibility for our own emotional well-being. When boundaries are rooted in love instead of fear, they protect connection instead of damaging it.

I also explore the idea of thinking of yourself as a sovereign country. You have resources—time, energy, attention, care—and it’s your job to steward them wisely. Healthy relationships require both sharing and protecting those resources. Without clear boundaries, resentment quietly builds and erodes even our most important connections. This episode is an invitation to honor your limits, preserve your energy, and create relationships that feel mutual, respectful, and sustainable.

Feeling stuck is one of the most common experiences in mental health—and one of the hardest to explain. In this episode, we explore what it really means to feel stuck, numb, or frozen, and why those feelings often show up when our nervous system is overwhelmed. Through the lens of the motivational triad—our brain’s drive to seek pleasure, avoid pain, and conserve energy—we unpack how staying stuck can actually be a form of protection, even when it’s costing us peace, connection, and growth.

We also talk about power—where we give it away, how victim thinking can quietly keep us trapped, and why the idea that we can only change ourselves is actually very good news. This episode offers compassionate insight, practical reframes, and gentle encouragement to take your power back, set boundaries, and make small, meaningful shifts that help you move forward. If you’ve been feeling overwhelmed by relationships, the state of the world, or your own inner landscape, this conversation is an invitation to step out of stuck and into agency—one choice at a time.

Lately, it feels like everything is too much—too much information, too much suffering, too much emotional weight to carry. In this episode, I talk honestly about what happens when empathy turns into emotional overload, burnout, or numbness. As someone whose top strength is empathy, I explore how constantly absorbing the pain of others—especially in a world fueled by social media and 24-hour news—can quietly erode our mental health. We’ll talk about toxic empathy, why our nervous systems weren’t designed to hold the weight of the world, and how “conceal, don’t feel” can become a survival strategy that ultimately disconnects us from ourselves.

This episode is about finding a healthier, more sustainable way to care. I introduce compassion as the antidote to hyper-empathy—empathy with boundaries, empathy with action, empathy with boots on. We’ll explore the difference between empathy and compassion, why numbness and over-feeling are two sides of the same coin, and how small practices like loving-kindness meditation can help us stay open without burning out. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, emotionally exhausted, or unsure how to care deeply without losing yourself, this conversation is for you.

contact me:

email: wendy@wendyparrish.com

Instagram @wendyparrishcoachin

In this episode, I’m talking openly about how I’ve been feeling lately—overwhelmed, stuck, and quietly sad about the state of the world. I share how those feelings slowly turned into an excuse in my mind, not just for stepping back from the podcast, but from a lot of things that matter to me. Instead of a polished outline or plan, I did the thing I’ve been avoiding: I plugged in the mic and pressed record. This episode is raw, unscripted, and real, because waiting until I felt “ready” was just another way I was talking myself out of showing up.

I also dive into the concept of the motivational triad—the subconscious drive to seek pleasure, avoid pain, and conserve energy—and how overwhelm, hopelessness, and feeling stuck can quietly serve that triad. Making decisions takes energy, taking risks feels uncomfortable, and doing hard things requires us to move through pain instead of around it. In this conversation, I explore how our minds use very believable reasons to keep us safe and small, and why recognizing those patterns can be the first step toward choosing action anyway, even when it feels messy, imperfect, or heavy.

contact me:

email: wendy@wendyparrish.com

instagra: @wendyparrishcoachin

The holidays can quietly amplify expectation pain—especially for parents of older kids. In this episode, I talk about how unmet expectations around Christmas traditions, family dynamics, and “how it’s supposed to feel” can lead to disappointment, grief, and emotional exhaustion. When the magic of little-kid Christmases fades and family life shifts, many parents are left wondering how to hold joy and sadness at the same time without lowering expectations so far that the season loses its meaning.

I share my own experience navigating Christmas with kids who are growing up, letting go of old traditions, and learning how to love and expect what is instead of what used to be. This episode explores expectation pain, emotional resilience, and the mental health work of choosing our thoughts when things don’t go as planned. If you’re a parent feeling tender during the holidays, grieving change, or trying to find peace in an imperfect season, this conversation offers compassion, perspective, and a gentler way forward.

Contact me:

email: wendy@wendyparrish.com

Instagram: @wendyparrishcoaching

In this episode, I dig into an idea from Deborah Adele’s The Yamas & Niyamas that completely shifted how I think about kindness: the difference between being nice and being real. We talk about why so many of us default to niceness as a way to keep the peace, avoid conflict, and manage how others see us—especially when we’ve been taught our whole lives that being agreeable makes us good. But beneath the surface, niceness often asks us to hide our truth, disconnect from our needs, and hold back the honesty that real relationships actually require.

Together, we explore how authenticity is a deeper form of kindness, not just to ourselves but to the people we care about. Being real doesn’t have to be harsh; it can be grounded, compassionate, and deeply respectful. I share how pretending, pleasing, and masking create tension in our bodies and distance in our relationships, and how telling the truth—with gentleness—can create more peace than performing ever will. If you’ve been stuck in the trap of “keeping everyone comfortable,” this episode will help you loosen that old pattern and step into a more honest, open, emotionally healthy way of connecting.

Contact me: wendy@wendyparrish.com

Instagram: @wendyparrishcoaching