I’m back with one of my favorite guests who is always up for the challenge of a podcast–no matter what the topic is! I want to explore the term rejection sensitivity dysphoria and get Dr. Lesley Cook’s take on it because I have so many questions. Let’s learn more together!
 Dr. Lesley Cook is a psychologist who works with those with ADHD and other kinds of neurodivergence. Born and raised in Hawaii, she now lives in Virginia and works with children, adolescents, adults, couples, and families.

Show Highlights:
●      What RSD (rejection sensitivity dysphoria) is and how it is manifested
●      KC’s personal experience with RSD and feelings of worthlessness
●      How RSD is different from sensory sensitivity and autism
●      Thoughts about the strong word dysphoria in RSD
●      KC’s personal experience with RSD and being told she is “too sensitive”
●      How we can grow, change, and find regulatory strategies for RSD
●      Why it is difficult to communicate the facets and nuances of RSD and other interpersonal difficulties

Resources and Links:
Connect with Dr. Lesley Cook: TikTok
Connect with KC: Website, TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook
Get KC’s book, How to Keep House While Drowning
We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website: www.strugglecare.com/promo-codes.

61: Is Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria Real? with Dr. Lesley Cook

A podcast about self-care by a host that hates the term self-care. Therapist KC Davis, author of the book How to Keep House While Drowning talks about mental health, care tasks, and more.

Education

Training

Language Courses

Higher Education

K-12

Educational Technology

Self-Improvement

Please be advised that today’s episode is adult content; it’s not safe for work or little ears. We are talking all things kink with Sunny Megatron, a clinical sexologist, kink educator, and consultant. Join us for an interesting and informative conversation!

Show Highlights:


Understanding what kink really is—and how it measures up to the assumptions we have

The difference between kink and a fetish

Sunny explains “kink done well” and “kink done wrong”

The concept of “aftercare” in kink

Societal messages around sex that lead to shame, embarrassment, and an overall lack of open communication

We don’t understand our sexual motivations.

Stigma busting around sexual assault, trauma, and fantasy

Red flags to look for in sexual power dynamics

The slippery slope of fear (of what kink may lead to)

Problems in kink relationships are the SAME problems in “vanilla sex” relationships! 


Resources and Links:
Connect with Sunny Megatron: Website, TikTok, and Instagram 
Connect with KC: Website, TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook
Get KC’s book, How to Keep House While Drowning
We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website: www.strugglecare.com/promo-codes.

91: When Kinky Sex is the Healthier Option with Sunny Megatron

If you have felt the pressure to put meals on the table that adhere to the expectations of others, even when you could barely function in life, this episode is for you. I’m joined by Amy G.S.A. Brooks of Wandering Ames. She’s one of my favorite content creators who posts about the OK Kitchen. There is more to life than succumbing to societal pressure to prepare perfect, five-star meals. Join us!
 
Show Highlights: 
●      The beginnings of the OK Kitchen and the forming of a new community
●      Food insecurity and diet culture during the pandemic
●      Messages surround us everywhere about how we feed ourselves and fuel our bodies.
●      Thinking about preparing food for three meals every day seems like never-ending labor!
●      Meal plans can be a helpful tool–but should be set aside when needed.
●      Wasteful in food or wasteful in being unkind to ourselves? Which is worse?
●      Be willing to break the rules: dinner doesn’t have to be a big meal or a fancy production, and food plans should be simple and flexible.
●      The point of meals is to get what our bodies need.
 
Resources and Links:
Connect with Amy G.S.A. Brooks: TikTok
Connect with KC: Website, TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook
Get KC’s book, How to Keep House While Drowning
We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website: www.strugglecare.com/promo-codes.

90: How to Feed Yourself When the World is Burning Down Around You with Amy G.S.A. Brooks

I’m joined today by Monica Parker, host of the About Progress podcast, as we talk about habits. Specifically, our discussion focuses on why the habit-forming advice out there written by men does not work for women. Join us!
 
Show Highlights: 
●      Monica’s background as a blogger and podcaster who had to “learn how to fail”
●      Understanding that perfectionism is a spectrum that affects our ability to form “good habits”
●      Monica’s lightbulb moment: “Maybe our methods are broken.”
●      The biggest difference between men’s and women’s habits: invisible labor
●      How invisible labor is defined–and what the statistics show
●      Examples of the mental load that women carry
●      Popular culture advice (about forming habits) that DOES NOT work
●      Monica’s tips for forming habits: redefine consistency, shift your view of habits, and start with the smallest and simplest form of the ideal
●      Bedtime Revenge Procrastination is real for many women!
●      The goal of habits is to support you—so do it YOUR way!
●      Understanding trade-offs and how they work for most women

Resources and Links:
Connect with Monica Packer: Website, About Progress Podcast, Instagram, and The Sticky Habit Intensive Course
Books mentioned by Monica: Fair Play by Eve Rodsky and Invisible Women by Caroline Criado Perez
 Connect with KC: Website, TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook
Get KC’s book, How to Keep House While Drowning
We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website: www.strugglecare.com/promo-codes.

89: Why Women MUST Do Habits Differently with Monica Parker

Today’s episode is all about mental health, therapy, and being online as a therapist. We are diving in with my guest, DeeDee Wednesday, who has created a space for intentional healing and empowerment through therapy and leadership coaching. Join us to learn more!
 
Show Highlights:
 
●      An overview of DeeDee’s work as a therapist in Louisiana
●      Traditional therapy is NOT today’s therapy.
●      An open mind, a balancing act, and showing up as an authentic therapist
●      Navigating the tricky world of TikTok (or any social media platform) as a therapist
●      DeeDee’s work to show up as a therapist when entitlement, racism, and white supremacy are at play
●      Understanding how moral perfectionism causes some people to act
●      Having a line that you won’t cross to “do no harm”
●      What it means to be self-aware
●      Dealing with difficult people
●      “Power is really the ability to choose.”
 
Resources and Links:
Connect with DeeDee Wednesday: Website, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest
 
Connect with KC: Website, TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook
Get KC’s book, How to Keep House While Drowning
We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website: www.strugglecare.com/promo-codes.

88: Therapists on TikTok (will sometimes be mean to you) with DeeDee Wednesday, LPC-S

Every mother needs to hear this conversation. It just doesn’t make sense that we put so much undue pressure on ourselves and are quick to criticize and judge other moms for their parenting styles. I’m joined today by Erica Djossa, the author of Releasing the Mother Load: How to Carry Less and Enjoy Motherhood More. We are talking about all things motherhood and expectations, why I’ve been blasted over a couple of recent TikToks, and Erica’s parenting wisdom from her book. Join us to learn more!

Show Highlights:
●      One of KC’s videos about how she “doesn’t play” with her kids—and the flurry of negative responses over parenting choices
●      The intensive mothering ideation: motherhood equals martyrdom, mothers must put everyone else’s needs about their own, shelve all their interests, and be self-sacrificial in every way
●      The second of KC’s videos about sending her dog away from home for training—and the flurry of anger and shame over her inadequacies as a dog owner
●      Mainstay pillars of the intensive mothering ideology and the BS that is promoted as healthy attachment and “good mothering”
●      Giving less can sometimes mean giving more.
●      The truth that shows up in the bedtime routine (“Are you holding space for yourself, mom?”)
●      The scope, dynamic, and importance of “independent play,” creativity, and solving problems
●      Healthy attachment: safety, security, reliability, and dependability
●      The space for moms to have unique and different personalities and mothering styles, like bedroom parents vs. living room parents
●      Projecting our mother wounds on other moms (Why do we do it?)
●      Understanding why not all NOs are equal
●      The disparity in expectations and judgment for moms and dads
●      Motherhood expectations, boundaries, and the stories we tell ourselves

Resources and Links:
Connect with Erica Djossa: Website, Instagram, Momwell Podcast, and Releasing the Mother Load book
                       Mentioned by Erica: Needy by Mara Glatzel
 
Connect with KC: Website, TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook
Get KC’s book, How to Keep House While Drowning
We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website: www.strugglecare.com/promo-codes.

61: Is Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria Real? with Dr. Lesley Cook

Download our free app to listen on your phone