The Overwhelmed Brain | Stress | Anxiety | Relationship | Critical Thinking | Emotional Intelligence | Emotional Abuse

When you learn what your boundaries are and why enforcing them makes you a happier, more fulfilled person, your life changes. It's time to change your life!

If you want true happiness, you might have to do the scariest thing imaginable: Show up and express the most authentic version of yourself. That can be scary and difficult, and that's why it's important to address and figure out what it entails and how to do it.

Do you make small compromises with the people you love so that they will like or love you more? There are two ways to compromise: One has attached resentments, the other doesn't. I'll give you one guess which method of compromise works better for the relationships in your life.

What if there's a better job or partner out there for you? Why in the world would you commit to what you have when there's a chance someone or something better could come along? Why commit to anyone or anything ever again when you are plagued with the fear that you may not have the best you could get? What if this isn't the person I'm supposed to marry? What if I buy this house but a year later I realize I don't like the city? What if I commit to this job and it turns out I hate it? I address the "What if?" game in a way that makes you think, so you can stop thinking "What if?"

Many fears you have can probably be traced back to a lack of knowledge or exposure. Overexposure to what you don't want creates fear. Underexposure to what you don't want also creates fear. So what does it take to become more fearless? More knowledge and exposure! If it were only that easy.

When your family has dysfunction, family gatherings can be quite a challenge. What do you do in the midst of family drama? Do you recoil and transform into the old, pre-personally-developed you? Or do you stand firm in who you are today and love then with your healthy boundaries? Family is the final frontier of personal growth. You don't want to miss this episode.

Part 2 of "Making decisions that are right for you and tackling obsession and overthinking once and for all". Obsessive thoughts and over analyzing can lead to terrible (or no) decision making causing you to stay in a rut that you can never get out of (or get out of really, really slowly). In this episode, I talk about what it takes to make decisions that are right for you so that you stay out of obsessive thinking and get back to a more efficient, more productive, more fulfilling life.

Obsessive thoughts and over analyzing can lead to terrible (or no) decision making causing you to stay in a rut that you can never get out of (or get out of really, really slowly). In this episode, I talk about what it takes to make decisions that are right for you so that you stay out of obsessive thinking and get back to a more efficient, more productive, more fulfilling life.

What can you do when you are getting humiliated or criticized? Are there practical methods of dealing with embarrassing situations? How about hurtful criticism? There's a lot to unpack here. This episode gets into the challenge of dealing with humiliation and criticism.

When a guilty conscience stops you from living a fulfilling life, it's time to do something about it. In part 1, I talk about an email I received from a woman who was in an emotionally abusive relationship and feels guilty because she thinks she may have been an abuser.  In part 2, I talk about the steps you can take to go from guilt to great and why it's so important you release guilt as soon as possible.

When is the right time to leave that toxic person, place or thing? You can have a toxic job, you can live in a toxic city, you can be married to that toxic person, but do you leave? Should you leave? I address something that I believe plagues us all at one time or another.

What do you do about the freeloader hanging out taking advantage of your time, energy and money? How about people that just don't respect you? Do you care enough about yourself to make sure people don't treat you less than you deserve? An important episode if you have people in your life that just don't seem to care what you think.

Want to change your life? These habits may be just what you need to create the life you want. This is a small departure from your typical Overwhelmed Brain content because in this episode I introduce you to another podcast called Optimal Living Daily. OLD is like an audiobook where the hosts reads you personal growth articles every single day.  One of the best things about Optimal Living Daily is that it comes at you from every angle because the articles are written by different people with different experiences. It's good to be exposed to all sorts of teachings so that you can come to your own conclusion on what works for you.  Enjoy this bonus episode of TOB and subscribe to the Optimal Living Daily podcast to get more personal growth and development to improve your life. 

Lots more to explore in part two of the self-help variety show. What you are upset about has an origin from the past, exploring that can heal the present. Do you stand up to your family for your significant other? Is it a good idea? How do you handle apologies and forgiveness? Should you ask for forgiveness? What happens when you partner's child doesn't accept you in their life? What do you do with the feelings of shame and anger around someone's death? Lots to explore in this New Year's edition of TOB.

I answer several questions about overcoming jealousy, people that impose their values on you, self-worth and self-esteem, getting over insecurities about body comments, letting go of intrusive, distressing thoughts, expressing yourself and more! It's the variety episode on emotional intelligence.

Some careers just don't fit. You can be happy-ish, but not necessarily happy. Or, you could be downright miserable. I invite Scott Barlow from Happen to Your Career on the show to talk about what it takes to find a career you can be happy in AND successful. Get Scott's free 8 day mini video course on figuring out what career fits you at https://theoverwhelmedbrain.com/career/

Do you give someone a second chance after there's been a conflict, toxic relationship, betrayal or something else that you swore you'd never do again? What are some positive signs that someone has changed and deserves a second chance? What should you look for? In this episode, I provide important, practical things to observe in someone who might deserve a second chance in your life. Today's highlight is loveandabuse.com

How do you know if the relationship you're starting (or the relationship you're in) is everything you want it to be? How do you know you aren't getting led into yet another heartbreak? Learning the signs of a healthy, functioning, and even happy relationship is how you know whether the relationship is worth continuing or letting go.

As the holidays come around, you will likely meet up with family and friends. And you may also run into that toxic person or people that you don't look forward to seeing again. Dealing with toxic people requires a few tools so that you can make it through the evening or the week. This episode gives you those tools.

How many decisions do you make in your life that are actually based on what you want instead of how someone else will respond? Sometimes it takes a swift kick in the emotional behind to get moving on your decisions so that you can get out of the emotional rut of trying to please others while losing yourself.