🎙️ Unapologetically Imperfect – Functioning-ish

S2, Ep 4: Motivation Hangover – The Drop After the Push

Segment: Functioning-ish

Seasonal Arc: Summer – Expansion

Theme: Post-Push Recovery & System Resets

🔗 Links & Resources

• 💬 Join The Balanced Life Lab – Jen’s private community for women living with ADHD, perimenopause, and lives that don’t sit still.👉 Learn more here
• 🎧 Share the love: If this episode helped you name the crash or release the shame, send it to someone who’s been stuck in the same spiral.

💥 Episode Summary

You finally finish the thing—the project, the launch, the deep-clean dopamine sprint—and then… you crash. Hard. Motivation? Gone. Energy? Nonexistent. Everything? Feels flat.

That’s a motivation hangover, and in this episode, Jen breaks down exactly what’s happening in your brain and body when the post-push crash hits—and why it’s not laziness, failure, or lack of discipline. It’s biology. And it needs a different kind of recovery plan.

Jen walks you through the science (ADHD, dopamine, perimenopause, and self-determination theory), shares her own recent crash (spoiler: nine days of meh), and gives you real tools to recover, regulate, and rebuild without shame.

🧠 What You’ll Learn

• What a motivation hangover actually is (and why it feels so weird)
• Why perimenopause + ADHD = dopamine crash cycle
• How to stop blaming yourself when your spark disappears
• What regulation really looks like (hint: it’s not productivity)
• How to build your own post-push survival kit
• What to do and not do when your energy flatlines

🔧 Tools & Frameworks Mentioned

• Self-Determination Theory – Why motivation needs autonomy, competence, and connection
• Self-Efficacy Theory – Small wins rebuild trust in yourself
• Polyvagal Theory – Regulation first, strategy second
• 5-Minute Reset Loops – Quick sensory and vagus nerve resets to bring you back online
• Soft Landing Kits – Real-life rest kits for recovery without pressure
• MVP Menus – Flexible task menus for low/medium/high energy days

🔁 Jen’s Favorite 5-Minute Resets

• Humming or singing (vagus nerve stimulation)
• Full-body shaking (looks weird, works great)
• Cold water on hands/face (nervous system jolt)
• Breathwork or tapping (slow exhales = calm brain)
• Scent cue rituals (e.g., lighting a candle for work mode)

These aren’t about powering through. They’re about coming back to baseline—so you can rebuild with intention, not guilt.

🌀 Season Note

Season 2 is a 5-week bridge: Summer – Expansion. It’s about scaling back in order to expand. Less pressure. More support. Smarter systems that actually hold when life (or your brain) doesn’t.

👋 Stay Connected

New episodes every Monday and Thursday:

• Monday = Hormone Headlines
• Thursday = Functioning-ish

Because sustainable systems > motivation hacks.

And you don’t need to earn your rest—you just need the right support.