Women Under Pressure

Too tired to relax after work, and too depleted to even know what you need? Kristen answers a listener's question with the recovery paradox: the harder the day, the more recovery you need, and the less capacity you have left to get it. She comes back to last week's hospice social worker and looks at what happens when you leave a job where people depend on you and walk straight into a home where they depend on you again. Some takeaways: The harder the day, the harder it is to decompress Even decompressing asks for energy you may not have left Most rest advice assumes an after-work you with energy to spare Judge the whole day, not the last five minutes at home Signs a better transition after work isn't enough on its own Decide ahead of time how your first few minutes home go Tell Kristen on Instagram: what's the hardest part of coming home after a high-pressure day? Connect with Kristen: 🌐 Frontline Wellness Group 📋 Free High Pressure Leadership Assessment 🎙️ Work with Kristen 📱 Instagram Chapters: 00:00 Running on Empty and Can't Switch Off 01:05 The Driveway After a Long Shift 02:09 The Recovery Paradox 03:13 More Rest, Less Capacity Left 04:56 When Rest Advice Stops Being Useful 05:53 Working Mothers Study and Scrolling 07:22 10 Minutes in the Car 09:00 Three Questions to Ask Yourself 09:45 Clinical Note, Assessment, Next Episode Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode unpacks psychological detachment, the ability to mentally leave work once the day is over, and why getting home doesn't always mean you're off duty. Kristen uses a hospice social worker's story to show how caring about someone can look the same as still feeling responsible for them. She keeps the research on work-related rumination separate from her own clinical read, then asks a question worth sitting with: are you still feeling something about what happened, or still trying to take care of it? Some takeaways: What work-related rumination is and why work can keep running in your mind after you've physically left it Why psychological detachment, not just being physically home, is linked to better recovery after high-pressure work How grief and lingering responsibility can feel the same even though they are different things Why your mind doesn't just flip a switch when the workday ends A reflection practice to try this week: ask yourself whether you are still feeling something about what happened or still trying to take care of something about it, and if something keeps coming back, ask what you are still trying to do here Connect with Kristen: 🌐 Frontline Wellness Group 📋 Free High Pressure Leadership Assessment 🎙️ Work with Kristen 📱 Instagram Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 00:38 The Quiet Pressure 01:18 The Switch You Make 04:21 The Unspoken Rules at Work 04:58 Surface Acting vs. Deep Acting 07:26 Suppression and the Body’s Stress Response 09:36 Gendered Expectations at Work 12:55 A Weekly Reflection Practice 13:51 A Clinical Note and Next Steps 15:06 Outro and Free Leadership Assessment Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode is about emotional labor and the gap between what you feel and what you actually show when a job requires composure. Kristen looks at why staying steady for others has a cost, even when you look calm on the outside. She separates the research on display rules, surface acting and expressive suppression from her own clinical view, then asks a simple question: did you calm down, or did you just look calm? Some takeaways: What display rules are and how they shape which emotions feel acceptable to show at work The difference between surface acting and deep acting, and why surface acting is more consistently linked to exhaustion Why hiding your feelings can increase physiological strain even when you appear calm Why generic advice to just feel your feelings misses what composure actually costs How gendered expectations add pressure, including research on how women's anger gets judged differently depending on whether a reason is given A reflection practice to try this week: pick one moment you had to pull yourself together, then ask what you actually felt versus what you showed, and whether you calmed down or just looked calm Connect with Kristen: 🌐 Frontline Wellness Group 📋 Free High Pressure Leadership Assessment 🎙️ Work with Kristen 📱 Instagram Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 00:38 The Quiet Pressure 01:18 The Switch You Make 04:21 The Unspoken Rules at Work 04:58 Surface Acting vs. Deep Acting 07:26 Suppression and the Body’s Stress Response 09:36 Gendered Expectations at Work 12:55 A Weekly Reflection Practice 13:51 A Clinical Note and Next Steps 15:06 Outro and Free Leadership Assessment Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Kristen talks with Chelsea Ryckis, a business owner, wife, and first-time mom of a one-year-old. She shares how she learned to stay accountable as a leader by deciding where her involvement is necessary. Some takeaways: How becoming the woman who handles everything lead to a physical and mental decline The burnout moment that pushed her to a 360 life change that operationalized accountability in her team Operating in survival mode and how motherhood impacts mindset How to pursue ambition with more deliberate choices about your time and involvement. A practical exercise that will help you pause and reflect Connect with Kristen 🌐 Frontline Wellness Group 🌐 Free High Pressure Leadership Assessment 🎙️ Work with Kristen 📱 Instagram Conect with Chelsea 📱Instagram 🌐EthoBenefits Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode unpacks why even in the moments when you choose to delegate, you still can't stop yourself from taking the work back. Kristen shares the story of Danielle, an emergency management director who is over-functioning and why this pattern is damaging. Some takeaways: The difference between being accountable for an outcome and personally carrying every action How family systems of over-functioning and under-functioning create this pattern Why the body feels relieved when you take over and trains the brain to repeat it What inflated responsibility is A reflection question to ask yourself before stepping in Connect with Kristen: 🌐Frontline Wellness Group 📋Free High Pressure Leadership Assessment 🎙️Work with Kristen 📱Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.