In relationships, dating burnout can make you want love while dreading the process of finding it. You start with more rules, more filters, and less patience because you are tired of getting your hopes up and getting so little back.

First dates start feeling like interviews.

You scan for red flags.

You rule people out faster.

And eventually you may not know whether you are protecting your standards—or protecting yourself from being disappointed again.

In this episode:

• Why dating can start feeling like work instead of possibility

• How exhaustion changes the way you evaluate new people

• When standards and discernment start functioning like self-protection

• Why expecting disappointment can change what you notice on a date

• How to know when dating burnout means it is time to pause

I’m joined by Ilana Dunn, host of Seeing Other People, for a conversation about modern dating, burnout, red flags, first dates, disappointment, and what dating itself may be training you to do.

Sometimes the hardest part is not admitting that dating has worn you down.

It is noticing what exhaustion has started deciding for you.

Listen to Hate Dating but Still Want Love? The 4 Mindset Shifts That Make You Want to Try Again and follow We Need To Talk with Dr. Darcy Sterling for more conversations about relationships, dating burnout, standards, vulnerability, and connection.

REFERENCES/RESOURCES

⁠⁠www.alternativescounseling.com⁠

https://www.instagram.com/ilanadunn/

CREDITS

“We Need To Talk With Dr. Darcy Sterling” is a Sterling Standard Production. Editing and sound engineering by Bart Migal. Our theme music is by Trending Music. Special thanks to Amanda Cristiani and Robyn Jaenchen.

⁠DISCLAIMER⁠

⁠Instagram:@drdarcysterling ⁠

⁠Facebook:Dr.Darcy Sterling⁠

⁠Tik Tok:@doctordarcysterling ⁠

X⁠:@DrDarcySterling ⁠

⁠YouTube:@DarcySterling ⁠

⁠Threads:@drdarcysterling⁠

⁠Watch this episode here on YouTube. ⁠

In relationships, menopause can change sex in ways neither partner understands at first. Pain, lower desire, slower arousal, or changes in orgasm can start getting interpreted as rejection, lost attraction, or proof that something is wrong between you.

You may start blaming yourself.

Your partner may start taking it personally.

And both of you can build a relationship story around a body change that has not been properly assessed yet.

In this episode:

• Why sexual changes in midlife are not always “just aging”

• How menopause can affect pain, desire, arousal, and orgasm

• Why spontaneous desire and responsive desire are not the same thing

• What couples may need to change in the bedroom when sex stops working the way it used to

• Why “this is normal” can become a dead end when the symptoms are disrupting your life

I’m joined by Dr. Somi Javaid, a physician specializing in menopause and women’s sexual health, for a conversation about what is actually happening in the body—and what couples can miss when they start turning those changes into a story about the relationship.

Sometimes the most damaging part is not the change itself.

It is deciding what the change means before you understand what is causing it.

Listen to You Are Being Misled About Menopause — And Your Sex Life Is Paying the Price and follow We Need To Talk with Dr. Darcy Sterling for more conversations about relationships, menopause, sexual health, desire, and intimacy.

REFERENCES/RESOURCES

⁠⁠www.alternativescounseling.com⁠

www.drsomi.com

www.askdrdarcy.com/references-2/

www.askdrdarcy.com/products/

CREDITS

“We Need To Talk With Dr. Darcy Sterling” is a Sterling Standard Production. Editing and sound engineering by Bart Migal. Our theme music is by Trending Music. Special thanks to Amanda Cristiani and Robyn Jaenchen.

⁠DISCLAIMER⁠

⁠Instagram:@drdarcysterling ⁠

⁠Facebook:Dr.Darcy Sterling⁠

⁠Tik Tok:@doctordarcysterling ⁠

X⁠:@DrDarcySterling ⁠

⁠YouTube:@DarcySterling ⁠

⁠Threads:@drdarcysterling⁠

⁠Watch this episode here on YouTube. ⁠

In relationships with our kids, helping can start to look a lot like stepping in too fast.Your child is upset, excluded, overwhelmed, or has failed at something—and every instinct in you says: fix it.

You email the teacher.

You smooth over the disappointment.

You solve the conflict before they have to sit in it.

In this episode:

• Why some kids may be getting fewer chances to build distress tolerance

• How over-involvement can unintentionally weaken confidence

• When structure supports a child—and when it starts serving the parent’s need for control

• Why achievement pressure can start shaping a child’s sense of worth

• How to tell whether your child needs help or you need relief from watching them struggle

I’m joined by Dr. Shefali Tsabary for a conversation about parenting anxiety, over-involvement, resilience, independence, and what happens when protection gets dialed up too high.

Sometimes the hardest part of parenting is not knowing what to do.

It is knowing when not to do it for them.

Listen to Are You Parenting Your Child — Or Managing Your Anxiety? and follow We Need To Talk with Dr. Darcy Sterling for more conversations about relationships, parenting, anxiety, resilience, and emotional development.

REFERENCES/RESOURCES

⁠Monmouth Plastic Surgery⁠

⁠⁠www.alternativescounseling.com⁠

https://www.drshefali.com/raisingconscious-daughters-sons/

CREDITS

“We Need To Talk With Dr. Darcy Sterling” is a Sterling Standard Production. Editing and sound engineering by Bart Migal. Our theme music is by Trending Music. Special thanks to Amanda Cristiani and Robyn Jaenchen.

⁠DISCLAIMER⁠

⁠Instagram:@drdarcysterling ⁠

⁠Facebook:Dr.Darcy Sterling⁠

⁠Tik Tok:@doctordarcysterling ⁠

X⁠:@DrDarcySterling ⁠

⁠YouTube:@DarcySterling ⁠

⁠Threads:@drdarcysterling⁠

⁠Watch this episode here on YouTube. ⁠