Love From the Inside Out: Honest Conversations for Women About Midlife, Menopause, Body Changes and Becoming Yourself Again

How do you feel good without earning it first? In this episode, I’m talking about why so many of us wait to relax, enjoy life, or feel better until everything is done — and how choosing joy first can help break negative thought loops, shift your focus, and bring you back to what matters most.

This week, I’m sharing a personal story about getting ready to host Passover and noticing how quickly I can slip into pressure, overthinking, and the familiar habit of making everything just right. A simple reminder about joy as a daily practice brought me back to myself and reminded me that feeling good does not have to be something we earn at the very end.

In this episode, I talk about:

• why so many of us postpone joy until the work is done
• how negative thought loops shape the way we experience our lives
• what it means to choose joy first instead of waiting for proof
• why what you focus on expands
• how to shift your attention toward what matters most
• and how small delights can help you feel more grounded, present, and connected

If you’ve been stuck in overthinking, pressure, or the feeling that you have to do more before you’re allowed to exhale, this episode is a reminder that you may not need to earn feeling good first.

Looking for more support?
If this episode spoke to something in you, Return is my private podcast feed for the moments when you need a little extra support coming back to yourself. You’ll receive at least two private audio drops each month, including resets for overwhelm, scripts for hard conversations and boundaries, and some months, audio-letter-style reflections to help you feel grounded and supported.

Join Return here: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2369290/subscribe

Text Susan about this episode

🎧 Connect & Stay in Touch

• Instagram: @susan.kricun — DM me to share your story or ask a question.

• Join me on Substack: Love From the Inside Out® — Personal reflections, bonus content, and more ways to connect. Free and paid options.

• I'd love your feedback! Take my anonymous listener survey and tell me what you'd like more of.

✨ Support the Show

• Follow, rate, or review the podcast wherever you listen.
• Share this episode with a friend who might enjoy it.

🎙️ Interested in Being a Guest?

Fill out the guest interest form.

🎶 Music Credit

“Seize the Day” by Andrey Rossi, via #Uppbeat (uppbeat.io/t/andrey-rossi/seize-the-day)

© 2025–present Susan Kricun. Love From the Inside Out® is a registered trademark of Kricun Media, LLC. All rights reserved.

All opinions are my own. This podcast is educational, not medical or legal advice.

What if nothing is exactly wrong, but something still feels off?

In this episode, I’m talking about 7 signs you may have outgrown your life and are at a midlife turning point. If you’ve been feeling more irritated, more disconnected, more exhausted, or less like yourself lately, this conversation is for you. I’m talking about the quiet ways self-abandonment can show up, why your life can look fine on paper but not feel right in your body, and how to recognize when something in you is asking for a more honest relationship with your life.

I also talk about why rest may not be fixing the deeper exhaustion, what fantasies of escape or reinvention may really be pointing to, and why your body often knows something before your mind has fully caught up.

If this episode resonates, send it to a friend who may look like she’s holding it all together but quietly feels disconnected inside her own life.

Looking for more support?
If this episode spoke to something in you, Return is my private podcast feed for the moments when you need a little extra support coming back to yourself. You’ll receive at least two private audio drops each month, including resets for overwhelm, scripts for hard conversations and boundaries, and, some months, audio-letter style reflections to help you feel grounded and supported.
Join Return here.

Note: This podcast is educational and supportive and is not medical, mental health, or therapy advice.

Text Susan about this episode

🎧 Connect & Stay in Touch

• Instagram: @susan.kricun — DM me to share your story or ask a question.

• Join me on Substack: Love From the Inside Out® — Personal reflections, bonus content, and more ways to connect. Free and paid options.

• I'd love your feedback! Take my anonymous listener survey and tell me what you'd like more of.

✨ Support the Show

• Follow, rate, or review the podcast wherever you listen.
• Share this episode with a friend who might enjoy it.

🎙️ Interested in Being a Guest?

Fill out the guest interest form.

🎶 Music Credit

“Seize the Day” by Andrey Rossi, via #Uppbeat (uppbeat.io/t/andrey-rossi/seize-the-day)

© 2025–present Susan Kricun. Love From the Inside Out® is a registered trademark of Kricun Media, LLC. All rights reserved.

All opinions are my own. This podcast is educational, not medical or legal advice.

What if abundance isn’t about getting more — but about caring for what you already have?

In this episode of Love From the Inside Out, Susan reflects on an unexpected lesson about abundance after repotting a money tree plant. What started as a simple moment turned into a deeper realization about care, attention, self-loyalty, and why things in life rarely fall apart overnight.

Through this personal story, Susan explores what an abundance mindset really means beyond money, how inconsistent care can quietly affect our relationships, health, creativity, and peace, and why true personal growth often begins by tending what is already present in our lives.

In this episode, we explore:

• abundance beyond money
• why things don’t fall apart overnight
• self-loyalty vs self-abandonment
• creating the conditions for growth
• tending what already exists in your life

Looking for more support?
If this episode spoke to something in you, Return is my private podcast feed for those moments when you need help coming back to yourself. You’ll receive at least two private audio drops each month, including resets for overwhelm, scripts for hard conversations and boundaries, and, some months, audio-letter style reflections to help you feel grounded and supported.
Join Return here.

Note: This podcast is educational and supportive and is not medical, mental health, or therapy advice.

Text Susan about this episode

🎧 Connect & Stay in Touch

• Instagram: @susan.kricun — DM me to share your story or ask a question.

• Join me on Substack: Love From the Inside Out® — Personal reflections, bonus content, and more ways to connect. Free and paid options.

• I'd love your feedback! Take my anonymous listener survey and tell me what you'd like more of.

✨ Support the Show

• Follow, rate, or review the podcast wherever you listen.
• Share this episode with a friend who might enjoy it.

🎙️ Interested in Being a Guest?

Fill out the guest interest form.

🎶 Music Credit

“Seize the Day” by Andrey Rossi, via #Uppbeat (uppbeat.io/t/andrey-rossi/seize-the-day)

© 2025–present Susan Kricun. Love From the Inside Out® is a registered trademark of Kricun Media, LLC. All rights reserved.

All opinions are my own. This podcast is educational, not medical or legal advice.

A few days before her birthday, Susan shares a personal reflection on what it means to get older, get clearer, and choose how she wants to meet this season of life.

In this episode of Love From the Inside Out, she opens up about why birthdays have always meant so much to her, what feels different this year, and how midlife has brought both deeper perspective and a greater sense of possibility. She also reflects on the thoughts that can surface around aging, appearance, and change — and the power we have to notice those thoughts without letting them define us.

This is a conversation about celebrating the gift of being alive, honoring your growth, and remembering that getting older is not only about what changes. It is also about what becomes clearer, wiser, and more true.

In this episode, Susan reflects on:

• why birthdays have always mattered to her
• what feels different about this birthday
• the emotional complexity and beauty of midlife
• how to notice thoughts about aging without automatically believing them
• what launching Love From the Inside Out has taught her
• why she feels like she is just getting started

Looking for more support?
If this episode spoke to something in you, Return is my private podcast feed for those moments when you need help coming back to yourself. You’ll receive at least two private audio drops each month, including resets for overwhelm, scripts for hard conversations and boundaries, and, some months, audio-letter style reflections to help you feel grounded and supported.
Join Return here.

Note: This podcast is educational and supportive and is not medical, mental health, or therapy advice.

Text Susan about this episode

🎧 Connect & Stay in Touch

• Instagram: @susan.kricun — DM me to share your story or ask a question.

• Join me on Substack: Love From the Inside Out® — Personal reflections, bonus content, and more ways to connect. Free and paid options.

• I'd love your feedback! Take my anonymous listener survey and tell me what you'd like more of.

✨ Support the Show

• Follow, rate, or review the podcast wherever you listen.
• Share this episode with a friend who might enjoy it.

🎙️ Interested in Being a Guest?

Fill out the guest interest form.

🎶 Music Credit

“Seize the Day” by Andrey Rossi, via #Uppbeat (uppbeat.io/t/andrey-rossi/seize-the-day)

© 2025–present Susan Kricun. Love From the Inside Out® is a registered trademark of Kricun Media, LLC. All rights reserved.

All opinions are my own. This podcast is educational, not medical or legal advice.

Want support you can press play on?
Return is my private podcast feed for the moments you can feel yourself slipping into urgency, overthinking, over-functioning, or self-abandonment. Inside, you’ll receive at least two private audio drops each month, plus occasional reflections, prompts, and practices to help you come back to yourself.
Join Return here.

In this episode, I’m talking about what it really costs to lose yourself — in relationships, in work, in identity, and in the quiet ways we override what we already know.

I share a deeply personal story about staying too long in a relationship I knew wasn’t right for me, what that season cost me emotionally and physically, and how it ultimately shaped the work I’m doing now. We also talk about the difference between knowing and acting, why so many women override themselves, and what it means to come back to yourself one honest choice at a time.

If you’ve ever felt yourself shrinking, bargaining, overexplaining, or trying to make peace with something your soul has already outgrown, this episode is for you.

In this episode, I talk about:

• losing yourself in relationships, work, or old identities
• the hidden cost of overriding yourself
• why familiar can feel safer than true
• how self-abandonment shows up in everyday life
• what it means to come back to yourself
• the connection between honesty, alignment, and healthier love

Links mentioned in this episode:

• Return private podcast feed: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2369290/subscribe
• Related episode: I Tried Every Dating App: What Actually Worked, Self-Love, Boundaries, and Message Scripts 

A question to take with you:
What am I overriding right now — and what might become possible if I stopped abandoning myself, even in small ways?

Looking for more support?
If this episode spoke to something in you, Return is my private podcast feed for those moments when you need help coming back to yourself. You’ll receive at least two private audio drops each month, including resets for overwhelm, scripts for hard conversations and boundaries, and, some months, audio-letter style reflections to help you feel grounded and supported.
Join Return here.

Note: This podcast is educational and supportive and is not medical, mental health, or therapy advice.

Text Susan about this episode

🎧 Connect & Stay in Touch

• Instagram: @susan.kricun — DM me to share your story or ask a question.

• Join me on Substack: Love From the Inside Out® — Personal reflections, bonus content, and more ways to connect. Free and paid options.

• I'd love your feedback! Take my anonymous listener survey and tell me what you'd like more of.

✨ Support the Show

• Follow, rate, or review the podcast wherever you listen.
• Share this episode with a friend who might enjoy it.

🎙️ Interested in Being a Guest?

Fill out the guest interest form.

🎶 Music Credit

“Seize the Day” by Andrey Rossi, via #Uppbeat (uppbeat.io/t/andrey-rossi/seize-the-day)

© 2025–present Susan Kricun. Love From the Inside Out® is a registered trademark of Kricun Media, LLC. All rights reserved.

All opinions are my own. This podcast is educational, not medical or legal advice.

Join Return (private podcast feed) here.

If you’ve been feeling more irritated or resentful lately, this episode will help. Even if anger isn’t your main signal, keep listening because self-abandonment can look like rushing, jaw tension, over-explaining, people-pleasing, doom-emailing, snapping, or feeling “behind.” In When Anger Is the Signal: Irritability, Resentment, and Self-Abandonment, I’m sharing how I’m learning to treat anger as information—not a character flaw—and how to come back without shame.

This is a follow-up to last week’s episode, Stop Self-Abandonment: Nervous System Healing and Learning to Stay with Yourself. We’ll talk about how self-abandonment shows up for high-functioning women, why resentment can signal you’re overriding your needs, and what it looks like to return without a shame spiral. I also share a real-life story (hello, full production dinner mode) and one of my biggest patterns: over-explaining texts and emails.

In this episode, we talk about:

• Why anger and resentment can be a nervous system signal, not a personality flaw
• How over-functioning and over-explaining are often attempts to feel safe
• Catching yourself midstream and coming back without shame
• Why we return: when we don’t, we start making decisions from urgency instead of truth
• The “over-explaining” pattern and how to practice sending one clean line instead
• Consistency over intensity, and why it builds self-trust in real life
• A quick note on levity as a practical way to change the energy without bypassing what you feel

Return is my private podcast feed for real-time support in the moments you can feel yourself starting to slip into urgency, over-functioning, or self-abandonment.

Inside Return, you’ll receive at least two private drops each month:

• Resets for overwhelm, rushing, spiraling, and “I can’t slow down” moments
• Scripts: clear, kind boundary language you can borrow (texts, work, family, dating, friendships)
• Audio letters (some months): supportive voice-note style reflections to help you stay oriented

No community. No calls. Nothing to keep up with. Just support you can press play on.

Join Return here.

Note: This content is educational and supportive and is not medical or therapy advice.

Text Susan about this episode

🎧 Connect & Stay in Touch

• Instagram: @susan.kricun — DM me to share your story or ask a question.

• Join me on Substack: Love From the Inside Out® — Personal reflections, bonus content, and more ways to connect. Free and paid options.

• I'd love your feedback! Take my anonymous listener survey and tell me what you'd like more of.

✨ Support the Show

• Follow, rate, or review the podcast wherever you listen.
• Share this episode with a friend who might enjoy it.

🎙️ Interested in Being a Guest?

Fill out the guest interest form.

🎶 Music Credit

“Seize the Day” by Andrey Rossi, via #Uppbeat (uppbeat.io/t/andrey-rossi/seize-the-day)

© 2025–present Susan Kricun. Love From the Inside Out® is a registered trademark of Kricun Media, LLC. All rights reserved.

All opinions are my own. This podcast is educational, not medical or legal advice.

A quick orientation to what Return is, what you’ll find here, and how to use this feed when real life hits.

Welcome. I’m so glad you’re here.

Return is the private feed inside Love From the Inside Out—created for the moments you can feel yourself starting to slip into urgency, over-functioning, or self-abandonment.

Here’s what you’ll find inside:

• Resets: short audios for overwhelm, rushing, spiraling, and “I can’t slow down” moments
• Scripts: clear, kind boundary language you can borrow (texts, work, family, dating, friendships)
• Audio letters (some months): supportive voice-note style reflections to help you stay oriented

You’ll receive at least two private drops each month, with flexibility for occasional extras.

New here? Start in this order: Welcome → Awareness Over Shame → Reset: Stop the Spiral → Scripts: No Over-Explaining

Tip: bookmark/favorite the episodes that help you so you can find them fast when you need them.

Note: This content is educational and supportive and is not medical or therapy advice.

Support the show

🎧 Connect & Get More:
• Instagram: @susan.kricun
• Drop in my DMs and share your story or ask a question.
• Sign up for my newsletter for free resources and updates.

🎶 Music Credit:
“Seize the Day” by Andrey Rossi, via #Uppbeat (uppbeat.io/t/andrey-rossi/seize-the-day)

✨ Support the Show:
• Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or anywhere you listen
• Share this episode with a friend who could use a little more love—right where it matters most.

📚 Susan’s Favorite Books + Tools
• This link leads you to a curated list of books and tools I genuinely love and use.
• Some links are Amazon affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.

🎙️ Be a Guest on the Show. Fill out this form.

© 2025–present Susan Kricun. Love From the Inside Out™ is a trademark of Susan Kricun.

All rights reserved. All opinions are my own. This podcast is educational, not medical or legal advice.

Use this when everything feels “right now”—a short reset to slow your system and get clear.

Hi. It’s Susan.

This is a Reset you can use in real time when you feel rushed, tight, buzzy, or like you’re about to over-function.

This episode is for the moment you notice:

• Your jaw or shoulders are tense and you’re moving too fast
• Your mind is racing and you’re trying to get ahead of everything
• You’re reaching for your phone, your inbox, or the next task to feel in control

Inside this reset, we’ll do something simple and repeatable:

• Interrupt urgency and bring your attention back to the present moment
• Help your body feel safe enough to slow down
• Choose the next right thing—from clarity instead of pressure

Tip: bookmark/favorite/download this episode so you can find it fast when you need it. This is meant to be replayed.

Note: This content is educational and supportive and is not medical or therapy advice.

Support the show

🎧 Connect & Get More:
• Instagram: @susan.kricun
• Drop in my DMs and share your story or ask a question.
• Sign up for my newsletter for free resources and updates.

🎶 Music Credit:
“Seize the Day” by Andrey Rossi, via #Uppbeat (uppbeat.io/t/andrey-rossi/seize-the-day)

✨ Support the Show:
• Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or anywhere you listen
• Share this episode with a friend who could use a little more love—right where it matters most.

📚 Susan’s Favorite Books + Tools
• This link leads you to a curated list of books and tools I genuinely love and use.
• Some links are Amazon affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.

🎙️ Be a Guest on the Show. Fill out this form.

© 2025–present Susan Kricun. Love From the Inside Out™ is a trademark of Susan Kricun.

All rights reserved. All opinions are my own. This podcast is educational, not medical or legal advice.

When you catch yourself doing it again, this is your permission to get curious, not cruel—and come back.

Hi. It’s Susan.

This is the episode I want you to come back to the moment you notice you’re self-abandoning and your brain wants to pile on judgment.

Self-abandonment isn’t a personal failure — it’s a human pattern, and a lot of it is learned.

In this episode, we’ll focus on:

• Noticing your signs (jaw tension, rushing, over-explaining, resentment, going into “handle it” mode)
• Dropping the shame spiral and becoming a nonjudgmental observer of what’s happening
• Coming back to yourself by one notch — one honest, self-loyal choice
• Why we return: because when we don’t, we start making decisions from urgency instead of truth.

Tip: bookmark/favorite/download this episode so you can find it fast the next time you need it.

Note: This content is educational and supportive and is not medical or therapy advice.

Support the show

🎧 Connect & Get More:
• Instagram: @susan.kricun
• Drop in my DMs and share your story or ask a question.
• Sign up for my newsletter for free resources and updates.

🎶 Music Credit:
“Seize the Day” by Andrey Rossi, via #Uppbeat (uppbeat.io/t/andrey-rossi/seize-the-day)

✨ Support the Show:
• Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or anywhere you listen
• Share this episode with a friend who could use a little more love—right where it matters most.

📚 Susan’s Favorite Books + Tools
• This link leads you to a curated list of books and tools I genuinely love and use.
• Some links are Amazon affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.

🎙️ Be a Guest on the Show. Fill out this form.

© 2025–present Susan Kricun. Love From the Inside Out™ is a trademark of Susan Kricun.

All rights reserved. All opinions are my own. This podcast is educational, not medical or legal advice.

Borrow these clear, kind scripts for work, family, and relationships—especially when you feel the urge to explain yourself to death.

Hi. It’s Susan.

This is a Boundary Script Pack you can come back to anytime you want to say what you mean without over-apologizing, over-performing, or writing a whole novel.

Inside this pack, you’ll get scripts for:

• Buying yourself time (“I saw this—I'll get back to you.”)
• A clean no (“Thank you for thinking of me, but I can’t.”)
• A no with a container (“I can’t do X, but I can do Y.”)
• Repeating the boundary when someone pushes (“I know—and it’s still a no.”)
• Short internal scripts for when you feel the pull to people-please

Tip: bookmark/favorite/download this episode so you can find it fast the next time you need words.

Note: This content is educational and supportive and is not medical or therapy advice.

Support the show

🎧 Connect & Get More:
• Instagram: @susan.kricun
• Drop in my DMs and share your story or ask a question.
• Sign up for my newsletter for free resources and updates.

🎶 Music Credit:
“Seize the Day” by Andrey Rossi, via #Uppbeat (uppbeat.io/t/andrey-rossi/seize-the-day)

✨ Support the Show:
• Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or anywhere you listen
• Share this episode with a friend who could use a little more love—right where it matters most.

📚 Susan’s Favorite Books + Tools
• This link leads you to a curated list of books and tools I genuinely love and use.
• Some links are Amazon affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.

🎙️ Be a Guest on the Show. Fill out this form.

© 2025–present Susan Kricun. Love From the Inside Out™ is a trademark of Susan Kricun.

All rights reserved. All opinions are my own. This podcast is educational, not medical or legal advice.