Shows
Motherhood & The BrainWhen Your Child Wants To Live With The Other Parent. Today I’m bringing back one of the most listened-to episodes on the podcast, and for good reason. It's called “When Your Child Wants to Live with the Other Parent” and if you’ve ever felt the sting of those words, or worried they might come, this one’s for you.This episode struck a chord with so many of you because it goes deeper than just what your child says in the heat of the moment. It’s about what comes up inside you when it happens [the fear, the guilt, the heartbreak] and how to stay grounded...2025-07-2911 min
Motherhood & The BrainAnxious About Going Back To Work After Maternity Leave? Today I'm bringing back one of the most downloaded episodes of the podcast [this one really struck a chord]. Whether you're just heading back to work or you're still wrestling with mixed emotions long after maternity leave ended, this episode is for you. We’re talking about the anxiety, the guilt, the fear of being forgotten and why you’re not alone. So if your heart feels heavy about leaving your baby and diving back into the working world, this one will speak right to it. Today, Esther dives into the deep waters of motherhood and career...2025-07-2222 min
Motherhood & The BrainWhen Our Kids Pull AwayRejection hurts. When our teenagers pull away, spending hours alone in their rooms and responding with one-word answers or slammed doors, many mothers experience it as personal rejection. This pain isn't imaginary, neuroscience confirms that social rejection activates the same brain regions as physical pain, a mechanism evolved from our ancestors' dependence on group acceptance for survival.For mothers who experienced rejection in their own childhoods, their children's natural bid for independence can trigger deep-seated wounds.Having learned to associate closeness with safety and distance with danger, these mothers may unconsciously i...2025-07-1518 min
Motherhood & The BrainReacting vs RespondingWhat happens in the split second before you yell at your children? The answer lies not in your parenting skills or your children's behavior, but in the invisible thought patterns running beneath your conscious awareness.When your child slams a door in your face or ignores you for the fifth time, thoughts like "they're disrespecting me" or "no one listens unless I yell" aren't your conscious choices. They're programmed responses shaped by your childhood, culture, and years of unconscious repetition. These automatic thoughts trigger physical reactions, tension in your chest, quickened breathing, rising voice, before y...2025-07-0918 min
Motherhood & The BrainYour Future Self: Creating the Mother You Want to BeMotherhood transforms not just our lives, but our entire sense of self. Yet many of us find ourselves caught in patterns we desperately want to break, the yelling, the frustration, the guilt cycle that leaves us feeling like we're failing our children and ourselves. What if the calm, intentional mother you aspire to be isn't someone you need to wait for, but someone you can begin embodying right now?The journey toward becoming that future version of yourself isn't about fake smiles or gritted teeth while chaos swirls around you. That's just performance, an...2025-07-0128 min
Motherhood & The BrainBreaking The PatternEver stood in your kitchen, overwhelmed by noise and chaos, and suddenly found yourself yelling at your kids, again? That familiar wave of guilt follows, leaving you wondering why you can't stay calm despite your best intentions.Drawing an unexpected parallel to Neo's red candy moment in The Matrix, this episode reveals what's actually happening in your brain during those triggering motherhood moments. Your brain isn't broken, it's following efficient neural pathways it has developed over time. When you've unconsciously learned that yelling gets results, your brain reaches for that shortcut under pressure, no...2025-06-2411 min
Motherhood & The BrainThe 90-Second Emotional ResetEver feel that fire bubbling up when your kid rolls their eyes, slams a door, or flat-out ignores you for the tenth time? That heat in your chest, the tight jaw, the sharp tone that slips out before you even know it; it's easy to think they caused it. But... what if that wasn’t the whole story?Turns out, there’s something pretty surprising about how emotions actually work, and it might change the way you see those moments.Most of us deal with hard feelings in the usual ways: we push through, blow up...2025-06-1819 min
Motherhood & The BrainThe Motherhood Pattern You Never Chose (But Keep Repeating) Ever wonder why you react in ways you later regret, with yelling, snapping, or shutting down? In this episode, we explore what's really behind those parenting moments and why your child's behavior isn't the true trigger.You'll hear how a small but powerful shift can change everything, plus a story of a mom who turned constant conflict into calm connection. If you're tired of reacting and ready to respond with intention, this one's for you. What You’ll Walk Away With: A surprising source of your parenting reactionsA small m...2025-06-1019 min
Motherhood & The BrainYou want to change something, but you just… don’t. You’ve promised yourself you wouldn’t yell again… and yet, it keeps happening. Why? In this episode, we explore the hidden reason so many moms stay stuck in cycles they want to break, but don’t. If you’ve ever wondered why the change you crave feels just out of reach, this conversation will shine a light on what’s really going on beneath the surface, and what it actually takes to shift. This isn’t about more willpower. It’s about something deeper. Tune in if you’re ready to take the fir...2025-06-0313 min
Motherhood & The BrainThis Invisible Habit That’s Making You Yell More Than You Realize You promised yourself today would be different. You’d stay calm. You’d be patient. And then… the arguing started. The eye rolls. The power struggles over screen time or homework. And before you knew it, you snapped, again. If you're stuck in the cycle of yelling, guilt, and shame, you're not alone. So many loving, intentional moms are carrying this same quiet heartbreak: Why do I keep reacting like this, even when I want so badly to stop? This episode isn’t about blame or trying harder to be “good.” It’s about uncovering what’s really goi...2025-05-2727 min
Motherhood & The BrainCould Letting Go Of This Be The Relief You Need As a Mom? This week on the podcast: You’re doing all the things; showing up, staying calm (most of the time), trying to say the right words—and yet somehow, it still feels like you’re failing when your kid rolls their eyes, slams the door, or pushes you away. In this episode, we’re digging into the unspoken rules so many moms carry about how our kids “should” behave… and what it says about us when they don’t. These quiet expectations are sneaky and exhausting. They make everyday moments feel like personal attacks and leave y...2025-05-2017 min
Motherhood & The BrainYou’re Trying to Be a Good Mom — So Why Does It Feel So Hard? Have you ever found yourself quickly explaining your tone when someone says you sound upset or a bit strict? That knee-jerk reaction to explain or smooth things over—even when you haven’t done anything wrong—is something many of us do without even thinking. A lot of it comes from the way we were raised. If we were taught that anger was bad, it makes sense that our kid’s anger feels hard to handle. If no one made space for our emotions growing up, then it might sting when our child sets a boundary or pulls away...2025-05-1225 min
Motherhood & The BrainHow Motherhood Expectations Shape Our Reactions Ever found yourself asking, “Why do I keep yelling at my kids?” Or maybe, after a rough moment with your preteen, you’ve whispered to yourself, “I yelled at my child and feel horrible.” If that’s you—this episode is for you. Today we’re talking about what’s really going on underneath those moments where you snap, shut down, or walk away in silence. (Spoiler: it’s not because you’re a bad mom.) We’ll explore: Why your nervous system reacts the way it does when your preteen slams doors or argues about screen timeThe...2025-05-0517 min
Motherhood & The BrainThe Hidden Cost of Yelling; And How to Stop It Have you ever told yourself, “I’m not going to yell today,” but then lost your cool before breakfast even ended? You’re not broken. Your brain is just doing what it thinks is best.Your brain is built to keep you safe. It tries to avoid hard stuff, find comfort, and save energy. That’s great when you’re in real danger; but not so helpful when your kids are whining, fighting, or not listening. In those moments, your brain thinks, “This is too much!” and reacts by yelling, snapping, or shutting down. It’s not because you’re fail...2025-04-2812 min
Motherhood & The BrainFeel Proud of How You Handle the Hardest Motherhood Moments Ever wonder what happens in that tiny moment between your preteen slamming a door or rolling their eyes—and you reacting? That split second feels intense, like your heart is racing and your chest is tight. And believe it or not, what happens in that moment can change everything, how you feel, how your child responds, and what your relationship looks like in the long run. In this episode, I share a surprising story that has nothing to do with parenting, but everything to do with what’s really going on when you feel like you're about to los...2025-04-2117 min
Motherhood & The BrainAvoid the #1 Thought That Keeps Moms Up at Night Have you ever been lying in bed thinking, “Why do I always mess up?” or “Why can’t I be more patient?” That heavy feeling of guilt and shame doesn’t mean something is wrong with you. It means you’re trying really hard to be perfect while your brain is just doing what it’s built to do. Here’s the truth: Your brain is wired to notice the bad stuff more than the good. That’s called negativity bias. So even if you were calm 10 times, your brain will focus on the 1 time you yelled. It...2025-04-1618 min
Motherhood & The BrainAvoid Becoming the Mom You Swore You’d Never Be!Have you ever told yourself, “I’m not going to yell at my kids today,” and then lost your cool before breakfast? You’re not the only one—and nothing is wrong with you. In this episode, we talk about why it’s so hard to stay calm sometimes. It has to do with how your brain is built. Your brain is always trying to protect you. It wants to avoid pain, stay comfy, and save energy. That’s great for staying safe, but not so helpful when your kids are arguing or not listening. When things get too stressf...2025-03-3113 min
Motherhood & The BrainIf Your Teen’s Behavior Feels Like A Personal Attack - Listen To ThisThat sting you feel when your preteen rolls their eyes or slams the door—it’s not just in your head. Your brain sees that moment as a real threat. Not because you’re overreacting, but because it’s wired to protect the connection between you and your child. A long time ago, if a child pulled away or got separated from a parent, it was dangerous. And even though things are different now, your brain still responds the same way. That’s why your heart races. Your chest tightens. You feel hot or shaky. It’s your body’s w...2025-03-2418 min
Motherhood & The BrainFrom 200 Applications to Breakthrough: What Motherhood Can Learn from Persistence In this special 51st episode, you’ll hear a story that might make you see things in a whole new way—especially if you’ve ever felt stuck, even though you’ve been trying hard to be calmer with your kids. You’ll follow the journey of someone who chased a big dream and almost gave up right before it came true. After months of trying, and hearing “no” again and again, she kept going. And then… something amazing happened. But here’s the question that really matters: what if she had quit one step before the breakthrough? 2025-03-1711 min
Motherhood & The BrainFeel Like You’re Always Snapping? Here’s How to Take Back ControlHave you ever felt so mad or frustrated as a mom that you didn’t know what to do? In this episode of Motherhood from the Brain, I share real stories and simple tips to help you handle those big emotions without losing your cool.We’ll talk about how your brain reacts to tough moments, and how understanding this can help you feel less frustrated and more in control. You’ll learn about the “thinking brain” and how it can help you pause before reacting, so you can respond in a way that matches the kind of...2025-03-0318 min
Motherhood & The BrainThe Dark Thought No Mom Admits—It’s This Picture this: You’re sitting in a quiet room with your child, watching as their shoulders tense, their gaze drifts, or their frustration builds. The weight of these moments presses down on you, making you feel powerless, uncertain, maybe even alone. But what if, instead of resisting them, you leaned in? What if these very moments—though painful and unpredictable—held the key to something deeper?In this heartfelt episode of Motherhood from the Brain, we tackle the hidden traps of longing for a picture-perfect family life—the unrealistic vision that keeps you stuck in f...2025-02-2415 min
Motherhood & The BrainTired of Snapping at Your Kids Before Your Period? Try This Instead Your preteen rolls their eyes when you remind them about homework. Your teen argues for just ten more minutes of screen time—again. Dishes pile up in the sink because no one bothered to clean up after themselves. And just like that, you feel it—the heat rising in your chest, the urge to yell bubbling up.PMS makes everything feel louder, harder, more frustrating. But what if you could see it coming and stay in control?IN this very short episode, I share a tool called "Noticing and Naming". It’s like spottin...2025-02-1707 min
Motherhood & The BrainThe Secret to Feeling Less Overwhelmed (Even When Organizing and Meal Prepping Aren’t Working)You ever catch yourself yelling at your kid, even after swearing you wouldn’t? I’ve been there. No matter how many times you promise yourself, something just snaps. And honestly you're not alone. All the usual advice, like meal planning and strict schedules, doesn’t really help when what’s actually setting you off is something deeper.I talk about noticing what’s happening in your brain when you’re about to lose it. Like, just pausing for a second, taking a breath, and paying attention to what you’re feeling instead of reacting right away. It...2025-02-1015 min
Motherhood & The BrainEnd Power Struggles With Your ChildFor so long, I thought my job as a mom was to steer the ship—to make sure my kids stayed on the right path. But what if motherhood isn’t about controlling the course, but learning to ride the current?In this episode, we’re talking about the tug-of-war between guiding our kids and letting go. What if their choices aren’t a reflection of our parenting, but simply part of their own journey? And what if staying calm is sometimes the most powerful thing we can do?Join me as we explore what it reall...2025-02-0305 min
Motherhood & The BrainHelp! My Child Doesn't Want Hugs AnymoreNavigating the emotional maze of motherhood can often feel like uncharted territory, especially when your once affectionate preteen daughter begins to pull away. Join me, Esther Mbabazi, as I unravel the complexities behind this natural phase in our latest episode of Motherhood and the Brain. Drawing from personal experiences and insights from my coaching practice, I promise you'll gain a deeper understanding of why this shift occurs and how it’s a crucial step towards your child’s independence. We'll explore the significant brain changes happening in your Motherhood is wild. One minute, your preteen daughter is all s...2025-01-2716 min
Motherhood & The BrainFuture YouAs a mom, you want to be the calm, thoughtful guide your child needs—but when tensions rise, it’s easy to fall into reactive patterns. You’re not alone in feeling this way, and the good news is that change is possible.In this episode, we’ll help you move from overwhelm to confidence by offering practical tools and reflections that empower you to strengthen your emotional resilience and your connection with your kids.Here’s what we’ll explore together:Reflecting on the year and aligning with your parenting goals.Understanding how the protecti...2025-01-0624 min