Welcome to Episode 11 of The Rise Room. As we move closer to the end of Season 1, this episode invites a deeper, generational conversation, one about the emotional rooms we’re creating for those who come after us.

In The Rooms We Build for the Next Generation, we explore how our words, behaviors, healing, and even our avoidance shape emotional environments that are passed down quietly but powerfully. This episode is about legacy, not just what we teach, but what we model.

If you’ve ever reflected on how you were raised emotionally, or wondered how your healing (or lack of it) impacts others, this conversation is for you.

References

Here are scholarly sources you can reference for this episode:

Felitti, V. J., et al. (1998). Relationship of childhood abuse and household dysfunction to adult health status. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 14(4), 245–258.

Gross, J. J. (2015). Emotion regulation: Current status and future prospects. Psychological Inquiry, 26(1), 1–26.

Perry, B. D. (2006). Applying principles of neurodevelopment to clinical work with maltreated and traumatized children. Journal of Social Work Practice, 20(1), 65–77.

Shonkoff, J. P., et al. (2012). The lifelong effects of early childhood adversity and toxic stress. Pediatrics, 129(1), e232–e246.

Yehuda, R., et al. (2016). Holocaust exposure induced intergenerational effects on FKBP5 methylation. Biological Psychiatry, 80(5), 372–380.

Siegel, D. J. (2012). The Developing Mind. Guilford Press.

Cicchetti, D., & Toth, S. L. (2005). Child maltreatment. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 1, 409–438.

Episode Highlights

“Enough is enough” moments aren’t dramatic, they’re often quiet warning signs from your mind and body.

Feeling constantly drained, unheard, or emotionally overloaded are signals that your limits are being pushed.

I share my personal experiences with staying in situations too long, and how choosing myself became a turning point toward emotional clarity.

Research shows that chronic stress, emotional overload, and ignoring your boundaries can increase anxiety, burnout, and symptoms of depression.

Your body reacts to emotional strain the same way it responds to physical stress, proving that boundaries aren’t optional for mental wellness.

Healing begins with pausing, naming your limits, and taking one aligned step toward peace.

You learn that choosing your boundaries is choosing your mental health, and it is never selfish.

References

Here are scholarly sources you can reference for the research on words and mental health discussed in this episode:

Bianchi, R., Schonfeld, I. S., & Laurent, E. (2015). Burnout-depression overlap: A review. Clinical Psychology Review, 36, 28–41.

Gross, J. J. (2015). Emotion regulation: Current status and future prospects. Psychological Inquiry, 26(1), 1–26.

Maslach, C., & Leiter, M. P. (2016). Understanding the burnout experience: Recent research and its implications for psychiatry. World Psychiatry, 15(2), 103–111.

Miller, G. E., Chen, E., & Zhou, E. S. (2007). Chronic stress and the HPA axis in humans. Psychological Bulletin, 133(1), 25–45.

Schwartz, H. A., et al. (2022). Signs of emotional overload: Psychological and physiological markers of stress. Annual Review of Psychology, 73, 271–298.

Smith, M. M., & Jordan, C. H. (2015). Self-compassion and emotional well-being: A meta-analysis. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 19(3), 234–258.

Teo, A. R., et al. (2018). Loneliness and mental health: Mechanisms and implications. Current Psychiatry Reports, 20(3), 55.

Welcome to Episode 9 of The Rise Room! Today, I’m diving into one of the quietest heartbreaks we experience, the end of a friendship. We talk about romantic breakups all the time, but the grief of losing someone who once felt like home? That’s a conversation most people carry alone.

In this episode, I’m breaking down why friendship breakups hurt so deeply, how they impact your mental and emotional wellbeing, and what it truly takes to rise after someone you love becomes someone you used to know.

This one’s for anyone replaying old conversations, missing old versions of themselves, or wondering why the end of a friendship still echoes years later.

Friendship breakups activate real grief responses in the brain, similar to romantic heartbreak.

Emotional intimacy in friendships means losing a friend is not losing “just a person,” but losing shared identity, daily connection, and a piece of your history.

Signs a friendship breakup is affecting you: replaying moments, struggling to trust new people, feeling ashamed for caring “too much,” grieving who you were with them.

I share my own experience with friendship loss, how it shifted my identity and how long it took to stop blaming myself for the end of something that mattered.

Here are scholarly sources you can reference for the research on words and mental health discussed in this episode:

Auerbach, R. P., Admon, R., & Pizzagalli, D. A. (2014). Adolescent loss of friendships and its impact on neural responses to social rejection. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 123(3), 662–678.

Badenes-Ribera, L., Fabris, M. A., Gastaldi, F. G. M., & Longobardi, C. (2019). Social pain and the brain: Neural responses to social exclusion. Social Neuroscience, 14(2), 156–168.

Bos, A. E. R., Snippe, E., de Wit, J., & Schuengel, C. (2021). Friendship quality and mental health: A meta-analytic review. Clinical Psychology Review, 87, 102038.

Chopik, W. J. (2017). The benefits of social connection: Loneliness predicts mortality and health outcomes. Psychology and Aging, 32(2), 186–198.

Eisenberger, N. I., & Lieberman, M. D. (2004). Why rejection hurts: A common neural alarm system for physical and social pain. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 8(7), 294–300.

Welcome to Episode 8 of The Rise Room! Today, we’re stepping into the quiet but powerful world of words, the ones spoken over us, the ones we absorb without realizing it, and the ones we end up repeating back to ourselves for years.

We’re talking about how the messages we hear from childhood through adulthood shape our identity, our confidence, our self-worth, and even the way we love.

If you’ve ever wondered why certain phrases still echo in your mind, or why someone’s comment from years ago still influences how you show up today, this episode is your reminder: the stories you were told are not the stories you have to keep.

Episode Highlights

What people repeatedly tell you becomes the voice you talk to yourself with, and how early messages shape identity.

Why seemingly small comments linger, and how words shape confidence, safety, belonging, and self-worth.

How childhood messaging shows up in adulthood: apologizing before speaking, shrinking, overachieving, self-doubt, emotional suppression.

References

Here are scholarly sources you can reference for the research on words and mental health discussed in this episode:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2020). Violence against children: Key facts.

Child Welfare Information Gateway. (2021). Child abuse and neglect statistics. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Lieberman, A. F., & Van Horn, P. (2008). Childhood trauma and its effects: Studies in emotional development. Guilford Press.

Lieberman, M. D., Eisenberger, N. I., et al. (2007). Putting feelings into words: Affect labeling disrupts amygdala activity. Psychological Science, 18(5), 421–428.

Teicher, M. H., Samson, J. A., et al. (2016). The effects of childhood maltreatment on brain structure and connectivity. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 17(10), 652–666.

Welcome to Episode 7 of The Rise Room! Today, we’re stepping into a conversation every leader, and honestly, every human, needs to hear: how empathy shapes mental health in the workplace.

We’re talking about why empathetic leadership isn’t soft or optional anymore… it’s essential. Because when people feel seen, supported, and safe, everything changes, stress levels drop, creativity rises, and teams become healthier and more resilient.
If you’ve ever wondered how to lead with both strength and humanity, this episode is your blueprint.

Episode Highlights

How empathetic leaders dramatically reduce burnout, stress, and emotional overload in their teams.

What psychological safety actually looks like in day-to-day leadership.

The subtle signs someone on your team may be struggling, and what to do before they hit burnout.

Here are scholarly sources you can reference for the research on empathy and mental health discussed in this episode:

Mayer, J. D., & Salovey, P. (1997). What is emotional intelligence? In P. Salovey & D. Sluyter (Eds.), Emotional development and emotional intelligence. Basic Books.

Muss, C., Tüxen, D., & Fürstenau, B. (2025). Empathy in leadership: A systematic literature review on the effects of empathetic leaders in organizations. Management Review Quarterly.

Gentry, W. (2025). Empathy in the Workplace: A Tool for Effective Leadership. Center for Creative Leadership.

World Health Organization (2022). Mental health in the workplace.

Welcome to Episode 6 of The Rise Room!
In this episode, we’re slowing things all the way down. Today, we’re exploring the power of meditation, a simple, grounding practice that helps you find calm, clarity, and connection with yourself.

Whether you’ve never meditated before or you’ve been practicing for years, this one’s for you. Let’s take a breath together… and just be.

Episode Highlights

✨ Meditation isn’t about emptying your mind, it’s about understanding it.

✨ It’s the small space between thought and reaction, the quiet pause where peace actually lives.

✨ You can start anywhere: One deep breath before checking your phone. A pause before you speak.

✨ Each breath is a chance to come home to yourself.

Welcome to Episode 5 of The Rise Room! In this episode, I’m bringing you into the murky territory of control, charm, and emotional manipulation, exploring how manipulators and narcissists operate, how their behaviors impact mental health, and how you can reclaim your power and peace.

This one’s for anyone who’s ever left a conversation wondering if their memory is wrong, their feelings are too much, or their reality is just warped. We’re pulling back the curtain on what’s really going on.
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Episode Highlights

🔑 A manipulator uses guilt, fear, or emotional tactics to steer outcomes in their favour.

🔑 A narcissist often has a fragile core, needs constant admiration, and reacts with control or withdrawal when that admiration isn’t there.

🔑 Gaslighting blurs truth and makes you doubt your memory, your feelings, your sanity.

🔑 Coercive control turns emotional or social independence into an invisible trap.

🔑 These aren’t just “bad traits” they’re patterns that quietly degrade your mental health: anxiety, self-doubt, emotional exhaustion.

🔑 We’ll hear real-life phrases you may recognize (“After everything I’ve done for you…”, “You’re too sensitive”, “I’m just trying to protect you”) and unpack what’s going on underneath.

🔑 Research tells us that narcissistic traits and manipulative behaviors connect to higher risk of trauma, relationship harm and mental-health issues. (See citations below.)

🔑 I share my personal journey of realising I was being gaslit, how I rebuilt trust in my own memory and feeling, and what healing looked like.

🔑 Burnout isn’t just being tired, it’s emotional, mental, and physical exhaustion caused by prolonged stress.

🔑 We wear exhaustion like armor and call it ambition, but real strength is knowing when to pause.

🔑 Boundaries are self-respect, not selfishness. Learning to say “no” protects your purpose.

🔑 Healing takes time. Resting, reconnecting with your “why,” and asking for help are vital steps toward recovery.

🔑 Dr. Tashy shares her personal journey through burnout in healthcare leadership, and how slowing down saved her.

🔑 Burnout is a cultural epidemic, not a personal failure. Awareness, compassion, and change begin with us.