Life Lessons from a Psychotherapist (who's also my mom)

In this special episode, I sit down with my mom, Marcia, a psychotherapist with decades of experience working in hospitals, private practice, and various clinical settings. This deeply personal conversation explores the intersection of therapy and coaching, the journey from reaction to response, and the lifelong practice of building resilience. Marcia shares insights on yielding versus pushing through, the importance of asking for help, and how to navigate difficult emotions and conversations. They discuss practical tools for stress management and prioritization, the power of internal awareness, and how their relationship evolved from teenage tension to mutual respect. The conversation also touches on Marcia's strength training journey in her 70s and what "doing cool shit" means at every stage of life.Oh ya.... you'll also laugh and hear some fun mother-daughter dynamics. Key Takeaways:Yielding isn't weakness - There's strength in yielding rather than constantly pushing through. Learning to distinguish between productive perseverance and survival mode is crucial for growth.Not asking for help isn't a flex - Seeking help doesn't mean you're incompetent; it means you're wise enough to recognize when support would be beneficial. This applies to coaching, therapy, and everyday life.Reaction vs. response requires practice - Building awareness of your internal reactions creates space to choose your response. This doesn't happen automatically and requires ongoing maintenance throughout life.Prioritization is stress management - Use the ABC method: assign priorities (A = most important, C = least important) and tackle high-priority tasks first, rather than checking off easy items to feel productive.Set up conversations for success - Before difficult conversations, acknowledge your fears about how the other person might react. Use "I" statements instead of "you" statements, and clarify whether you want help or just need to vent.People only change when the need is greater than the fear - Everyone wants to grow, but no one wants to change. Real transformation happens when staying the same becomes more painful than the discomfort of change.Mind-body connection is a closed loop - Tuning into where you physically experience stress or emotions in your body helps you respond more effectively and manage your nervous system.Investing in yourself now saves later - Whether it's strength training, therapy, or other forms of self-care, spending resources on yourself now prevents bigger problems (and expenses) down the road.Connection is a basic human need - We're built for communication and sharing. Isolation (as seen in solitary confinement or COVID) shows how essential human connection is to our wellbeing.Doing cool shit is alignment - Living in alignment with your values, whether that's making soup, lifting weights, or having deep connections with people, is what makes life meaningful at any age.Connect with Meryl:⁠www.wickedironstrength.com⁠Email: ⁠[email protected]⁠Instagram: ⁠www.instagram.com/merylcbc⁠ & ⁠www.instagram.com/wickedironstrength⁠Email list: ⁠https://go.wickedironstrength.com/newsletter⁠Connect with Marcia:www.instagram.com/margaritamarcia