In this deeply personal solo episode, Julie responds to listener questions about her hysterectomy experience four years after surgery. 

From the realities of recovery and unexpected complications to the impact on sex, orgasm, identity, and womanhood, she shares the parts few people talk about openly. This is a candid conversation about what she gained, what she lost, what surprised her most, and why she would still make the same decision again. 

Fair warning: there is plenty of TMI in this episode - including discussions about vaginas, orgasms, catheters, numbness, butt pain, and all the messy, human realities of healing.

In this episode, Julie discusses:
- Why she ultimately chose hysterectomy after 17 years of prolapse and adenomyosis
- The years-long decision-making process leading up to surgery
- The unexpected emotional impact of community criticism and losing friendships
- What happened when her urethra stopped functioning after surgery
- Why self-catheterisation became a surprisingly empowering experience
- The reality of recovery versus the commonly promoted six-week timeline
- Significant fatigue and healing challenges during the first six months
- The surgical complexity of removing a severely enlarged uterus
- What nobody told her about post-surgical butt pain
- Developing vaginismus for the first time after surgery
- Nerve healing, numbness, and changing sensation inside the vagina
- The loss of cervical orgasm and how that affected her sexuality
- Whether orgasmic capacity can be rebuilt after hysterectomy
- The surprising sexual benefits she experienced post-surgery
- Using tantra, somatic practice, toys, vibrators and blindfolds to support recovery
- Rewiring pleasure pathways and treating sexual healing as neurorehabilitation
- Navigating identity without a uterus while still feeling deeply connected to womanhood
- Continuing womb-space practices despite no longer having a womb
- The overlap between hysterectomy recovery and perimenopause
- What she wishes she'd known before surgery
- The advice she would give any woman considering a hysterectomy today
- Why, despite the trade-offs, she has never regretted her decision

Other episodes on Julie's hysterectomy journey:

351
https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/ntm-351-lets-lift-the-veil-on-the-shame-of-post-partum-healing/id1013746031?i=1000554021072

356
https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/ntm-356-post-birth-pelvic-pain-shame-and-dysfunction/id1013746031?i=1000557953386

357
https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/ntm-357-post-birth-pelvic-pain-shame-and-dysfunction/id1013746031?i=1000558686443

378
https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/ntm-378-when-you-dance-with-becoming-what-youve-always/id1013746031?i=1000579970437

385
https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/nourishing-the-mother/id1013746031?i=1000585379354

NTM 443: Healing from pelvic surgery - what’s it like, one year on?
https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/ntm-443-healing-from-pelvic-surgery-whats-it-like-one-year-on/id1013746031?i=1000638978979

Want support on this journey? Come join us inside Honey Club - where we melt these blocks together, one breath, one practice, one deep remembering at a time. Find out more at julietenner.love or visit: https://julie-tenner.newzenler.com/courses/honeyclub


Reach out to Bridget for 1:1 coaching - bridgetwood.life

If you've ever found yourself snapping at your partner, yelling at your children, or wondering why your anger feels bigger, faster and harder to contain than it used to, this conversation is for you. In this episode, we unpack the silence-explode cycle so many women find themselves trapped in, particularly during the motherhood and perimenopause years. We explore why anger isn't the problem, what it's trying to tell you, how depletion, over-functioning, sleep deprivation and hormonal changes shorten your fuse, and why the real work isn't suppressing your anger or unleashing it on everyone around you - it's learning to listen to the deeper truth underneath it.

In this episode we discuss:
- Why anger isn't the problem - and why we need to stop making it the villain
- The silence-explode cycle and how pressure builds long before the outburst
- Why motherhood, perimenopause, ADHD, burnout and depletion can shorten your fuse
- Anger as a messenger rather than something to suppress or fear
- The shame spiral that often follows explosive reactions
- The difference between expressing a feeling and reacting from it
- Emotional truth versus conscious, integrity-led behaviour
- How threat responses hijack our ability to choose how we show up
- The softer truths often hiding beneath anger - hurt, loneliness, disappointment and unmet needs
- Why anger acts as armour protecting something more vulnerable
- Learning to stay in your body instead of abandoning yourself when anger arises
- The importance of safety, pauses and nervous system regulation before communication
- Creating more space between trigger and reaction
- Self-compassion, accountability and personal responsibility
- The identity shifts many women experience through motherhood and perimenopause
- Letting go of the "good girl" who keeps everything together until she can't
- Why sleep, nourishment, hydration and rest matter more than we think
- Building a healthier relationship with anger that supports connection rather than destruction
- Asking: What is anger trying to tell me?
- How self-awareness becomes the pathway from rage to revealing.

Want support on this journey? Come join us inside Honey Club - where we melt these blocks together, one breath, one practice, one deep remembering at a time. Find out more at julietenner.love or visit: https://julie-tenner.newzenler.com/courses/honeyclub


Reach out to Bridget for 1:1 coaching - bridgetwood.life

What happens when one partner feels like they are carrying the invisible weight of parenting, household management, life admin, remembering, planning, and emotional labour… while the other insists they’re helping?

In this episode, Julie and Bridget unpack one of the most common resentment loops they see in relationships: the gap between effort and ownership. They explore why “helping” can still leave a primary parent feeling deeply alone, how over-functioning and under-functioning quietly reinforce each other, and why this conversation is so often less about chores… and more about responsibility. Together, they dive into the mental load, the defensiveness trap, gendered conditioning, breadwinning, and the exhausting dynamic of one person becoming the household manager while the other becomes the assistant.

This is not about blame or shame - it’s about redefining partnership, shared ownership, and what it actually means to fully participate in the adult life you created together. If you’ve ever found yourself stuck in the “But I already do so much” versus “I still feel alone in this” cycle… this episode is for you.


In this episode we discuss:
- Why the mental load conversation so often becomes one of the most emotionally charged dynamics in modern relationships
- The difference between “helping” and genuine ownership - and why that distinction matters more than most couples realise
- How “I’m helping” can still leave one partner feeling like the default manager of the household, children, and life admin
- Why this issue is often less about effort… and more about responsibility
- The invisible labour of parenting: appointments, school calendars, sports runs, permission slips, meal planning, remembering, anticipating, emotional regulation
- How “Just tell me what to do” can still leave the primary parent carrying the full cognitive burden
- Why one partner often feels deeply alone… while the other feels like nothing they do is ever enough
- The defensiveness cycle: “But I already do so much” vs “I still feel like I carry this alone”
- How over-functioning in one partner can unintentionally create under-functioning in the other
- The impact of gender roles, family-of-origin modelling, and socialisation on how couples divide responsibility
- Why “help” language can accidentally reinforce inequality rather than partnership
- The shift from assistance… to shared ownership
- Why being a primary breadwinner matters - but doesn’t automatically exempt someone from adult responsibility at home
- How to stop “borrowing the brain” of the overloaded partner and start taking proactive responsibility
- Why couples often need skill-building, handover conversations, and grace while renegotiating long-held patterns
- The importance of moving from scorekeeping and blame… into conscious, regularly renegotiated partnership
- Why becoming better housemates can often be the first step toward becoming better lovers
- The real goal: creating a family system where neither partner feels like they are carrying adulthood alone

Want support on this journey? Come join us inside Honey Club - where we melt these blocks together, one breath, one practice, one deep remembering at a time. Find out more at julietenner.love or visit: https://julie-tenner.newzenler.com/courses/honeyclub


Reach out to Bridget for 1:1 coaching - bridgetwood.life

Perimenopause can feel like your body, mind and identity are shifting beneath your feet - but what if this season is not simply hormonal chaos to survive, but a profound invitation into your next evolution?

In this powerful conversation, naturopath and counsellor Charmaine Newmark joins us to explore perimenopause as the transition from mother to matriarch - a deeply biological, emotional and spiritual rite of passage that so many women are navigating without enough support. Together, we unpack the symptoms, stress, body changes, identity shifts and nervous system depletion that can shape this chapter, while offering grounded, practical ways to support your hormones, energy, sleep and sense of self.

In this episode we discuss:
- What perimenopause actually is - and why it can begin years before menopause
- Common symptoms including brain fog, fatigue, sleep disruption, libido changes and weight shifts
- Why stress, burnout and nervous system depletion can intensify hormonal symptoms
- The transition from reproductive woman to matriarch, and the identity shifts that can come with it
- Reframing symptoms from “something is wrong” to understanding what your body is asking for
- The role of protein, fibre, muscle-building and blood sugar support in hormonal wellbeing
- Why sleep becomes essential: and practical ways to improve it
- Rest as a personalised practice rather than a one-size-fits-all approach
- Ownership of time, energy and capacity in this life stage
- How to recognise your limits and support yourself with greater compassion and wisdom
- The importance of self-care that genuinely restores rather than simply adds pressure
- Perimenopause as a powerful opportunity for recalibration, deeper self-trust and redefining how you want to live next

Free guide when you're feeling too tired and overwhelmed to start >>> Nourished You Free Guide — Charmaine Newmark - The Nourished Naturopath
Facebook >>> https://www.facebook.com/charmainenewmarkthenourishednaturopath
Insta >>> https://www.instagram.com/charmaine.newmark.nourished
Website >>> Charmaine Newmark - The Nourished Naturopath


Want support on this journey? Come join us inside Honey Club - where we melt these blocks together, one breath, one practice, one deep remembering at a time. Find out more at julietenner.love or visit: https://julie-tenner.newzenler.com/courses/honeyclub


Reach out to Bridget for 1:1 coaching - bridgetwood.life

Attraction doesn’t switch off when you’re in a committed relationship — but what it means, and what you do with it, is where everything changes. 

This episode reframes attraction from something dangerous or disloyal into something deeply human, and explores how to hold that energy with integrity, self-awareness, and choice, rather than repression or collapse.

In this episode we discuss:
- why attraction to others doesn’t disappear in monogamy… and what it actually signals
- how we’ve been conditioned to equate attraction with betrayal, especially as women
- the difference between feeling attraction and acting on it
- how repression creates more charge, secrecy, and disconnection in relationships
- using attraction as feedback; about your energy, your aliveness, your unmet parts
- the concept of sexual sovereignty: holding your desire without outsourcing it or acting impulsively
- how to stay in integrity with your relationship while still being a fully expressed, turned-on human
- the importance of self-discipline: not from suppression, but from deep self-respect
- how conscious conversations and agreements create safety around these edges

Want support on this journey? Come join us inside Honey Club - where we melt these blocks together, one breath, one practice, one deep remembering at a time. Find out more at julietenner.love or visit: https://julie-tenner.newzenler.com/courses/honeyclub


Reach out to Bridget for 1:1 coaching - bridgetwood.life

There’s a quiet, almost surreal moment when you realise… it didn’t pass through you. The reaction that used to be automatic doesn’t land the same. The pattern that shaped your family line stops with you. 

This episode explores what it actually feels like to break generational patterns - not as a loud, triumphant moment, but as a series of subtle, powerful choices that change the trajectory of everything that comes after you.

In this episode we discuss:

- the moment you notice you didn’t react the way you were wired to… and how significant that actually is
- how breaking the pattern often feels quiet, almost underwhelming…but deeply profound
- recognising the inherited dynamics you’ve been living inside of, without even realising
- the tension of holding both where you came from and who you’re becoming
- why growth isn’t about rejecting your lineage, but integrating and choosing differently
- the grief and pride that can coexist when you see the pattern clearly
- how your children reflect back the shifts you’ve made; in how they move, choose, and relate
- the responsibility and power in knowing… this doesn’t continue through me

Want support on this journey? Come join us inside Honey Club - where we melt these blocks together, one breath, one practice, one deep remembering at a time. Find out more at julietenner.love or visit: https://julie-tenner.newzenler.com/courses/honeyclub


Reach out to Bridget for 1:1 coaching - bridgetwood.life

There’s a particular kind of fall that happens after we’ve tried to be the perfect parent - not just good, but better than what we had growing up; more conscious, more patient, more healed. And when we inevitably hit our edge, it doesn’t just feel like a bad moment… it feels like a collapse of identity. This episode unpacks how that spiral is not a sign you’re failing, but a direct consequence of the pedestal you’ve placed on who you think you need to be…and how softening the fantasy is what actually frees you from the shame loop.

In this episode we discuss:
- how you didn’t just become a parent… you stepped into a version of yourself you’d been rehearsing for years
the “perfect parent” as a fantasy built from everything you didn’t get, and everything you swore you’d be
- why the higher the pedestal, the harder the fall: pride into guilt, control into collapse
- the moment you hear your parent come out of your mouth… and the shame lands hard and fast
- how the spiral isn’t because you’re failing…it’s because the standard was never human to begin with
- the quiet compensation of “I’ll be perfect somewhere else” when you can’t feel it here
- why trying to pull yourself out of the spiral keeps you stuck… instead of questioning the fantasy that created it
- what it actually looks like to equalise the high: bringing the “perfect parent” back into something real, messy, and sustainable

Want support on this journey? Come join us inside Honey Club - where we melt these blocks together, one breath, one practice, one deep remembering at a time. Find out more at julietenner.love or visit: https://julie-tenner.newzenler.com/courses/honeyclub


Reach out to Bridget for 1:1 coaching - bridgetwood.life

In this episode, we’re joined by family therapist and author Lisa Taylor (The Perfect Parent Trap) for a deeply honest conversation about what’s really happening underneath our parenting. Lisa brings over 25 years of clinical experience into this discussion as we unpack the difference between reacting to our children versus truly responding to them — and how often we’re unknowingly parenting from our own unresolved “heartprints” rather than the child in front of us. We explore the pull toward control, the moments that hijack us, and what it actually looks like to pause, repair, and reconnect in real time. This is a conversation about letting go of perfection, understanding behaviour as communication, and learning how to hold boundaries from a place of love — not fear.

Connect with Lisa:

Book - https://www.amazon.com.au/Perfect-Parent-Trap-Therapists-Traditional/dp/1923403583/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2E8VQDPV2U8TU&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9._ao0PRbW0zBY3kS7KnQ3DUz7-q2qOlhvDeJZgzHdOUwgmDudrVGboz5JAjB-ltXPadqtvGtmzN2J9WgpHPWK1cPmbTJkpf_D23VGctUQbYNLUzFVy3e57ktSLo1wYBWPMZB_nuODGg4lk47n8ew6fA12lwI43ckJ2Rois18URTa7Ed8eAni5WdUbulUUOOEc94irCe3QynwqKXkMTw3bTKfAyRmwQ3uqqGYM9aXr6jLfuubxtJfnBca2pYIgj7PrJGRFhAm_n2VAUkQDX4tJ7mQydWQB0jjErppf6tziYp8.vJ0s9YwswYLjAts_LtqLsFT7n8Vyu_UYsnG3WPKmZBA&dib_tag=se&keywords=the+perfect+parent+trap&qid=1775017583&sprefix=The+perfect+par%2Caps%2C260&sr=8-1

https://www.facebook.com/SFACounsellingService

https://strengtheningfamiliesaustralia.com.au/

https://www.instagram.com/lisataylor.au/


Book recommendation:

Virginia Satir https://www.booktopia.com.au/virginia-satir-steve-andreas/book/9780911226386.html?source=pla&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=21618274688&gbraid=0AAAAA-Ia9hP8VfN-cfNAAaQ7omSeUbDuX

Want support on this journey? Come join us inside Honey Club - where we melt these blocks together, one breath, one practice, one deep remembering at a time. Find out more at julietenner.love.

Reach out to Bridget for 1:1 coaching - bridgetwood.life

This one goes right to the heart of what so many long-term couples quietly sit in but rarely say out loud; the moments where you question everything, where disinterest creeps in, and where part of you starts scanning for the exit. 

Julie and Bridget unpack the truth that these seasons don’t mean your relationship is broken, but they do ask something deeper of you. 

They explore the concept of the “exit girl” - the part of you that wants out - not as something to suppress, but something to understand, honour, and get honest with. Because when you know what that part of you actually needs, you stop making reactive decisions and start making powerful ones. This is a conversation about choice, clarity, and taking responsibility for the relationship you’re in; whether that means staying, leaving, or completely redefining how you show up inside it.

In this episode we discuss:
• the normalisation of disinterest, distance and “co-existing” seasons in long-term love
• why questioning your relationship doesn’t mean it’s failing…it often means you’re waking up
• meeting your inner “exit girl” and understanding what she’s really trying to communicate
• the difference between reactive “I want out” energy vs grounded, self-led choice
• how over-functioning, motherhood, perimenopause and mental load shift relationship dynamics
• the moment women realise “I don’t actually need this” and what sits underneath that
• why stress strips capacity, lowers emotional intelligence, and impacts connection and desire
• the danger of making relationship decisions from burnout, resentment or nervous system overwhelm
• creating an “exit strategy” as empowerment, not as a threat, ultimatum or escape plan
• getting radically clear on what you do want instead of circling what you don’t
• how economic power, self-trust and support systems shape your choices in love
• the importance of clean, honest communication that invites growth instead of blame
• the truth about long-term love: that it requires ongoing attention, not autopilot
• the role of AI in support spaces and why human-to-human connection still matters deeply
• choosing your relationship consciously, again and again, rather than staying by default

Want support on this journey? Come join us inside Honey Club - where we melt these blocks together, one breath, one practice, one deep remembering at a time. Find out more at julietenner.love or visit: https://julie-tenner.newzenler.com/courses/honeyclub


Reach out to Bridget for 1:1 coaching - bridgetwood.life

Friendships are one of the first places our children meet the raw edges of relationship: loyalty, exclusion, conflict, repair and belonging. And if you’re a parent watching from the sidelines, it can stir up everything. In this conversation, Julie and Bridget unpack the emotional complexity of children’s friendships, particularly through the tween and teenage years, where identity, social power and belonging start to take shape. 

They explore the difference between protecting our children and rescuing them, the courage required to teach accountability, and why sometimes the most powerful thing we can do as parents is step back and allow our children to learn how relationships actually work.

In this episode we discuss:

• Why our children’s friendships can trigger such a deep emotional response in parents…especially mothers

• The different ways boys and girls often develop socially and how this shapes their friendship dynamics

• Why the tween years are a “trying on” period for identity, belonging and social power

• The challenge of holding the reality that our child can sometimes be both the hurt one and the one who hurts others

• The temptation to rescue our children socially - and why stepping back is often the more powerful parenting move

• Teaching children accountability and helping them understand the impact of their behaviour on others

• The difference between true bullying and the messy, normal friction of childhood friendships

• How parents can guide children through conflict without taking sides or becoming the referee

• Why going directly to other parents about friendship issues often escalates problems rather than resolving them

• The importance of partnering with teachers and schools when social issues arise

• Navigating the complicated world of group chats, devices and digital friendships

• Helping children recognise who their friends really are and what healthy friendship actually looks like

• Allowing our children to learn resilience, communication and repair through real-life friendship experiences

• Why parenting through friendship struggles is less about fixing the problem, and more about raising relationally aware humans

Want support on this journey? Come join us inside Honey Club - where we melt these blocks together, one breath, one practice, one deep remembering at a time. Find out more at julietenner.love or visit: https://julie-tenner.newzenler.com/courses/honeyclub


Reach out to Bridget for 1:1 coaching - bridgetwood.life