Turia Pitt was doing it all — working, mothering, wifeing — and she was exhausted. Being everything to everyone came at a huge cost to her mental health — she was close to burnout, and so she decided to flip the script on being a 'good woman'.

Over a decade after sustaining life threatening burns to most of her body in a grassfire, Turia's become a famous author, speaker and athlete. She also had two kids. When Turia's family moved away from their support network for her husband's career, Turia took on a lot and did it with a smile on her face. But inside, she was suffocating.

Turia realised that being selfless wasn't getting her where she wanted in life, so it was time to be selfish! She sits down with Yumi Stynes in a refreshingly honest conversation about mum-guilt, saying no, vices, disability and leaving the husbands at home to go hiking with your besties.

Turia Pitt is the author of Selfish: How to unlearn the rules that are breaking you.

What to listen to next: 

Body image and babies with Turia Pitt and Sophie Walker

Sandwich generation — the women looking after everyone

Mental health: Overcoming depression

Mental health: Anxiety and how to beat it

You can binge more episodes of Ladies, We Need to Talk on the ABC listen app (in Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts.  

What to read next:  

How Turia Pitt's body image changed in motherhood

What loving someone with an addiction or dependence can look like

The dark side of being a perfectionist

Why genital herpes does not mean the end of your sex life

This episode will answer questions like:  

• Why do I feel so tired as a working mum? 
• What does burnout feel like? 
• What can I do to feel more present with my kids? 
• How can you tell if you’re leaning on alcohol too much? 
• How do get mental health support? 
• What does it feel like to move away from family and friends with young kids? 
• How can I put myself first as a working mum? 
• How do I start saying no? 

This episode contains references to motherhood, mental load, depression, burnout, stress, disability, running, hiking, exercise, marriage, family, gender roles, parenting, boundaries, people pleasing, alcohol, mental health care plan, trauma, ironman.