What if your mood isn’t a verdict about who you are, but a message from your nervous system? We pull back the curtain on the myths that turn feelings into identity and replace them with a grounded, body-first way to understand anxiety, irritability, and shutdown without shame. Instead of waking up asking What’s wrong with me? we walk through how to notice sensations, map your state, and choose the next helpful rung on the polyvagal ladder.
I share how 25 years as a psychotherapist transformed my lens from pathologizing emotions to reading the body’s language: tight jaw, shallow breath, heat in the limbs, or heavy stillness. You’ll learn a practical ventral–sympathetic–dorsal framework, why fight or flight is adaptive, and how prolonged activation can tip you into collapse. We talk about glimmers—micro-moments of safety and connection—and how intentionally collecting them builds a wider window of tolerance so you can move through stress with more ease and less reactivity.
We also get real about the hard days when tools don’t budge the needle. When capacity is low, forcing action backfires. Meeting yourself where you are, choosing restorative steps, and trusting that states shift can be the most regulating move you make. By shifting from story-first to sensation-first, you interrupt shame loops, return to clarity faster, and show up more fully in your relationships.
If this approach resonates, subscribe, share the episode with someone who needs a gentle reframe, and leave a review to help others find the show. Your nervous system is speaking—let’s learn to listen together.
Thank you for listening to Marriage Motherhood & The Messy Middle; When the therapist gets real!
