You’re not lazy. You’re not cold. You’re maxed out—and your nervous system hit pause.

In this episode of My Brain’s a Mess (And That’s Okay), we talk about emotional numbness—the foggy, flat, disconnected feeling that shows up when your system is overloaded. You might not be panicking. You might not even be sad. You might just feel... nothing.

This episode unpacks how overwhelm triggers dorsal vagal shutdown, why your brain checks out when emotions pile up, and how to re-engage gently, without pushing yourself to “snap out of it.”

In This Episode, You’ll Learn:

• Why numbness is actually a survival response to emotional overload

• How the nervous system decides to shut down when it’s overwhelmed

• Gentle practices to reconnect with your body and shift out of the fog

This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for mental health treatment. Listening to this show does not create a therapist-client relationship. I’m a licensed therapist, but I’m not your therapist. If you’re looking for personalized support, I encourage you to connect with a qualified mental health provider in your area.

It’s not just being “nice”—it’s a survival strategy your nervous system learned a long time ago.

In this episode of My Brain’s a Mess (And That’s Okay), we dive deep into the fawn response: the lesser-known trauma response that looks like people-pleasing, over-accommodating, and smoothing everything over—even when you’re hurting.

If you’ve ever said yes when you meant no, apologized for having needs, or kept the peace at the expense of your own well-being, this episode is for you. We’ll explore why fawning shows up, how it protects us, and what it looks like to start reclaiming your “no” with nervous-system-informed boundaries.

In This Episode, You’ll Learn:

• What fawning is and how it differs from freeze, flight, and fight responses

• How people-pleasing can be a trauma response, not a personality trait

• How to begin setting boundaries without triggering guilt or shutdown

This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for mental health treatment. Listening to this show does not create a therapist-client relationship. I’m a licensed therapist, but I’m not your therapist. If you’re looking for personalized support, I encourage you to connect with a qualified mental health provider in your area.

You’re productive, punctual, and praised—and also panicking inside. Let’s talk about it.

In this episode of My Brain’s a Mess (And That’s Okay), we’re calling out high-functioning anxiety for what it really is: a coping mechanism dressed up as achievement. You’re managing your life like a pro on the outside—color-coded calendars, perfect emails, a reputation for being dependable—but inside, it’s chaos.

We break down how high-functioning anxiety shows up, why it’s often misread (or rewarded), and how to start regulating instead of overfunctioning. Because “doing it all” isn’t the same as being well—and you deserve more than survival mode in a nice outfit.

In This Episode, You’ll Learn:

• What high-functioning anxiety looks like behind the scenes

• Why perfectionism, overpreparing, and people-pleasing feel protective

• Nervous system-based strategies for moving from panic-fueled action to calm, connected living

This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for mental health treatment. Listening to this show does not create a therapist-client relationship. I’m a licensed therapist, but I’m not your therapist. If you’re looking for personalized support, I encourage you to connect with a qualified mental health provider in your area.

Joy shouldn’t feel like a setup—but your nervous system might not know that yet.

In this episode of My Brain’s a Mess (And That’s Okay), we unpack the weird and uncomfortable experience of joy-induced anxiety. If you’ve ever had a good moment and immediately panicked about what might go wrong next—you’re not broken. You’re likely protecting yourself in a body that’s been blindsided before.

We explore how trauma and chronic stress wire us to expect the worst, even during moments of rest, relief, or happiness—and what it means to let good things in without panic.

In This Episode, You’ll Learn:

• Why joy can feel like danger when you’ve lived in survival mode

• How the nervous system reacts to positive emotions

• Gentle ways to increase your capacity for goodness without bracing for loss

This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for mental health treatment. Listening to this show does not create a therapist-client relationship. I’m a licensed therapist, but I’m not your therapist. If you’re looking for personalized support, I encourage you to connect with a qualified mental health provider in your area.

Sometimes the anxiety isn’t fear—it’s unspoken grief trying to surface.

In this episode of My Brain’s a Mess (And That’s Okay), we’re talking about hidden grief: the quiet, unnamed losses that don’t get closure or acknowledgment but still weigh heavily. Maybe it’s the life you didn’t get, the version of you that never existed, or the safety you never felt. If you’ve ever wondered why your anxiety feels oddly emotional, this might be why.

We explore the connection between anxiety and unprocessed grief, how loss shows up in your nervous system, and what to do when sadness disguises itself as spiraling.

In This Episode, You’ll Learn:

• What hidden grief actually is (and how to identify it)

• Why grief often shows up as anxiety, irritability, or shutdown

• Nervous system strategies for gently processing loss without overwhelm

This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for mental health treatment. Listening to this show does not create a therapist-client relationship. I’m a licensed therapist, but I’m not your therapist. If you’re looking for personalized support, I encourage you to connect with a qualified mental health provider in your area.

Hope isn’t naive—it’s how your nervous system keeps moving forward.

In this episode of My Brain’s a Mess (And That’s Okay), we’re reclaiming hope from the clutches of toxic positivity and fragile Pinterest quotes. If you’ve ever felt like you’re too realistic, too tired, or too guarded to hope, this conversation will gently challenge that.

We talk about how real hope works in the nervous system, why it often feels dangerous when you’ve been through chronic stress or trauma, and how to start building your hope muscle even when things still feel hard.

In This Episode, You’ll Learn:

• Why hope can feel threatening (and why that makes sense)

• The difference between grounded hope and toxic positivity

• Micro-hopes and nervous system-friendly ways to hold possibility

This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for mental health treatment. Listening to this show does not create a therapist-client relationship. I’m a licensed therapist, but I’m not your therapist. If you’re looking for personalized support, I encourage you to connect with a qualified mental health provider in your area.

You did the hard thing. So why do you feel like a monster?

In this episode of My Brain’s a Mess (And That’s Okay), we unpack the emotional backlash that often follows a brave boundary. You said no. You spoke your truth. You protected your peace—and now your brain is spiraling with guilt, self-doubt, and what-if scenarios.

If you’ve ever wondered why setting boundaries feels like losing control instead of gaining it, this one’s for you. We’ll break down the nervous system’s reaction to change, especially for those who fawn, people-please, or grew up equating self-sacrifice with safety.

In This Episode, You’ll Learn:

• Why boundaries can feel worse before they feel better

• How guilt, fear, and self-doubt show up after a healthy “no”

• Tools to ride the emotional wave without collapsing or apologizing

This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for mental health treatment. Listening to this show does not create a therapist-client relationship. I’m a licensed therapist, but I’m not your therapist. If you’re looking for personalized support, I encourage you to connect with a qualified mental health provider in your area.

Growth doesn’t look like a straight line—it looks like a loop, a scribble, and a couple of detours.

In this episode of My Brain’s a Mess (And That’s Okay), we tackle one of the most frustrating myths about healing: that it should be neat, fast, or predictable. If you’ve ever felt like you were “doing better” and then crashed into an old pattern or spiral, this is your permission slip to stop beating yourself up.

We break down how nervous system healing actually works (hint: slowly, in cycles), why “setbacks” are often signs of deeper work, and how to measure progress in more compassionate ways.

In This Episode, You’ll Learn:

• Why nervous system healing often feels messy or backward

• How to spot hidden progress even when it feels like regression

• Gentle ways to support yourself through loops and relapses

This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for mental health treatment. Listening to this show does not create a therapist-client relationship. I’m a licensed therapist, but I’m not your therapist. If you’re looking for personalized support, I encourage you to connect with a qualified mental health provider in your area.