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The Strong Pretender
The Strong Pretender episodes
- When Perfect Isn’t Enough: The Hidden Cost of High-Functioning Perfectionism
Perfectionism doesn’t always look like control sometimes it looks like collapse.
In this episode, we unpack how perfectionism shows up in high-functioning women as overworking, overthinking, procrastination, or complete emotional burnout.
We explore what happens when your worth becomes tied to your performance… and how even “success” can feel like failure when you’re constantly bracing for the moment it all falls apart.
Inside this episode:
- The emotional root of high-functioning perfectionism
- Why procrastination isn’t laziness but rather it’s fear masked in paralysis
- How early praise and pressure shape our adult coping
- The internal toll of always looking polished but feeling unwell
- Real-life examples in “The Client Files”
- Guided reflection and first steps toward loosening perfectionism’s grip
If you’ve ever felt like one mistake would unravel everything or like you’re tired of earning your place in every room you enter, this conversation is for you.
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19 min - When Your Body Becomes a Project, Not a HomeWhat happens when your body stops feeling like a home — and starts feeling like a project to manage, perfect, or punish?
In this episode of The Strong Pretender, we explore the invisible side of body dysmorphia in high-functioning women, the kind that doesn’t show up in dramatic before-and-after photos or eating disorder headlines.This is about the polished executive who skips meals before meetings. The mom who flinches at compliments. The woman who hides during vacations and fears being seen without filters, lighting, or control.Through real-life scenarios, journal prompts, and somatic reflection, we unpack how body shame embeds itself in our relationships, careers, parenting and most of all, our sense of self.If you’ve ever been praised for looking good while quietly falling apart, this episode is for you.
🔍 Topics include:
• What body dysmorphia looks like beyond eating disorders
• How high-achieving women disconnect from their bodies
• The link between appearance and performance in corporate culture
• Rebuilding body trust through somatic and narrative practices
🎙️ Follow @executivetherapycoach for more conversations that go deeper than self-help clichés.
or check out www.executivetherapycoach.comSupport the show
26 min - I Was Grown Up In My Childhood and It Still Haunts me
Why do so many high-achieving women feel like they’re one mistake away from losing everything? In this powerful premiere of The Strong Pretender, therapist and host Carole Trilokekar pulls back the curtain on a painful truth: behind many women’s success stories is a relentless, fear-driven need to survive, not thrive.
We explore how fear of failure, childhood survival patterns, and performance-based self-worth fuel burnout, imposter syndrome, and emotional disconnection. Carole shares raw reflections from her own life and therapy practice, exposing what it really costs to “keep it all together.”
Whether you’re a corporate executive, entrepreneur, mother, or perfectionist in recovery, this episode will resonate deeply—and challenge everything you thought was strength.
In this episode, we cover:
- The connection between childhood trauma and overachievement
- How fear-based ambition disguises emotional exhaustion
- The nervous system’s role in burnout and anxiety
- Practical strategies to stop performing and start feeling
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26 min
About The Strong Pretender
From the publisher's feed
The Strong Pretender is a raw, unfiltered podcast for high-achieving women who look like they have it all together but feel like they’re unraveling behind the scenes. Hosted by executive therapist…
Carole Trilokekar, this weekly show confronts the silent burnout, unspoken grief, and hidden emotional labor that come with being “the strong one” in every room.
Each episode dives deep into real conversations around trauma, perfectionism, self-erasure, identity shifts, and the pressure to perform. With clinical insight and lived experience, Carole exposes the root of emotional exhaustion and explores the messy, liberating path to healing. Some episodes feature solo reflections, while others bring on guests who’ve learned to break their silence and reclaim their narrative.
This is not therapy but it’s therapeutic. Whether you’re a CEO, caretaker, creative, or someone quietly breaking generational patterns, The Strong Pretender gives language to what you’ve been carrying and offers a space to exhale.
New episodes every Tuesday 6am PST
Topics include: trauma healing, executive burnout, emotional resilience, inner child work, cultural identity, cosmetic surgery recovery, nervous system regulation, and reclaiming authenticity in leadership and life.