No Guilt Mom | Overcoming Mom Guilt, Parenting Tips, & Self Care for Moms

New here? Start with our Start Here playlist — five episodes that will change how you think about motherhood.

You know you need rest. You know you need to slow down. And yet the moment you try — the moment you actually sit still — something in you won't let you stay there. You start scanning for what's wrong. You think of everything you should be doing. Someone looks unhappy and suddenly that's your emergency to fix.

This isn't a self-care problem. It's a nervous system problem. And in this solo episode, JoAnn breaks down exactly what's happening — using the three-state nervous system framework from Dr. Cassidy Freitas's book Mom Needs a Moment — and why more bubble baths aren't going to fix it.

In this episode:

Why someone being upset with you can make rest feel physically impossible

The voices in your head about productivity, selfishness, and doing it all yourself — where they came from

How the millennial achievement-equals-safety wiring is keeping you stuck in overdrive

The three states of the nervous system: connected, mobilized (fight/flight/fawn), and shutdown

Why you can't scroll your way out of burnout (and why it makes it worse)

What margin actually looks like — and why it's not a spa day

What thriving looks like inside the life you've already built

Plus: JoAnn shares details about the Happy Mom Reset — a free live event on June 30th (no replay) where we'll dig into your specific triggers, name the voice keeping you from rest, and figure out one thing to put on your calendar just for you.

Save your seat (free): learn.noguiltmom.com/happy-mom-reset

Grab Dr. Cassidy Freitas's book Mom Needs a Moment (Workman, June 16, 2026) — her episode is coming to No Guilt Mom in August.

If you're listening on Spotify, hit the Follow button right now — it's the best way to make sure you never miss an episode and it helps me reach more moms like you.

Remember: the best mom is a happy mom. Take care of you.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

New here? Start with our Start Here playlist — five episodes that will change how you think about motherhood.

You know you should declutter. You feel better when you do it. And yet the stuff just keeps piling up — on the counters, in the closets, in that one chair. If you've been carrying guilt about the state of your home, this episode is your permission slip.

JoAnn sits down with Emily McDermott, decluttering coach and host of the Moms Overcoming Overwhelm podcast, to dig into why letting go feels so hard — and why it has almost nothing to do with laziness. From the guilt of getting rid of gifts to the psychology of why Target and Costco are basically designed to fill your home with things you'll never use, this conversation is equal parts validating and genuinely useful.

In this episode:

Why we have so much more stuff than previous generations — and why it just keeps coming

The real reason decluttering gets put off again and again (hint: it's not that you don't care)

How to handle the guilt of getting rid of a gift — especially when the gift-giver asks where it went

Why keeping a gift out of guilt doesn't actually honor the relationship

The photo trick that lets you release a gift without the weight of it

What Costco and Target are actually selling you (it's not the stuff)

The "aspirational self" trap — and why buying for who you wish you were is filling up your home

What to do if you're catching the pattern after the fact, not in the moment

Why holding onto something you feel guilty about buying is costing you more than you think

The one thing to remember when you need permission to let something go

Whether it's the Costco tent you bought because you thought maybe you'd camp, or the gift from your mom that's been sitting in a closet for three years — this episode will help you release the weight of it. You don't have to keep things out of guilt. And you don't have to earn the right to a home that actually feels good to be in.

Find Emily and the Moms Overcoming Overwhelm podcast wherever you listen to podcasts.

If you're listening on Spotify, hit the Follow button right now — it's the best way to make sure you never miss an episode and it helps me reach more moms like you.

Remember: the best mom is a happy mom. Take care of you.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

New here? Start with our Start Here playlist — five episodes that will change how you think about motherhood.

If you feel like your teen has stopped listening to you — like everything you say gets met with eye rolls, pushback, or total silence — this episode is going to change how you see that.

JoAnn sits down with Dr. Cam Caswell, developmental psychologist and teen relationship expert, to dig into what's actually happening in the teen brain when parents nag, demand, and try to take control. Spoiler: your teen's "defiance" isn't personal, it isn't intentional, and it isn't a sign you've failed. It's biology — and once you understand it, everything shifts.

In this episode:

Why teens are wired to resist control — and why that's actually healthy development, not defiance

What nagging is really teaching your teen (hint: it's not what you think)

The difference between demanding respect and earning it — and why one of them backfires every time

Why the messy room battle isn't worth fighting — and what it's actually doing to your relationship

The behaviors parents punish that are actually signs of healthy development

How to regulate your own emotions first — so you don't make things worse before they get better

Why chores should be about teaching skills, not paying rent — and how that one reframe changes everything

The counterintuitive trick that gets teens to step up: remove yourself

Dr. Cam's take on teens is genuinely refreshing — she doesn't talk about how to control your teen or get them to comply. She talks about how to actually understand them.

If you're listening on Spotify, hit the Follow button right now — it's the best way to make sure you never miss an episode and it helps me reach more moms like you.

Find Dr. Cam at drcamcaswell.com and on Instagram @dr.camcaswell.

Resources Mentioned:

Join the No Guilt Mom Inner Circle

Download the Free Guide, How to Get Kids To Listen Without Unnecessary Structure and Routine

Remember: the best mom is a happy mom. Take care of you.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

New here? Start with our Start Here playlist — five episodes that will change how you think about motherhood.

You've probably heard the advice: create a consistent routine for your ADHD kid, avoid artificial dyes and flavors, protect their sleep schedule. And on paper? It's not bad advice. But nobody talks about what happens when the parent trying to implement all of it has ADHD too.

In this solo episode, JoAnn breaks down why so much ADHD parenting advice quietly assumes a neurotypical parent is the one executing it — and what that means for the rest of us. You'll learn about three things that explain why this advice feels so much harder than it should: Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria (RSD), demand avoidance, and the interest-based nervous system. Then JoAnn shares three practical strategies that actually work with an ADHD brain — including the timer trick she uses to write her own books, why permissive language isn't the same as permissive parenting, and how body doubling helped her finish a rough draft in a month.

In this episode:

Why "just create a routine" doesn't work when you're the ADHD parent too

The truth about artificial dyes, fear-based advice, and what's actually driving the panic

Why enforcing a sleep schedule is especially hard for neurodiverse parents

Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria (RSD): what it is, what it feels like in your body, and how to work with it

Demand avoidance: why even your own to-do list can trigger an automatic "nope"

Permissive language: how softening a request can actually get more done

The PINCH framework: the five things that actually motivate an ADHD brain

Timers and gamification: how to turn any task into a game you actually want to play

Why rewards need to stay novel — and what actually works long-term

Body doubling: how JoAnn used it to finish her book, and how to set it up for your kids too

If you've been feeling like a hypocrite for not being able to do the things you're asking of your ADHD kid, this episode is your permission slip. You're not failing. You're an ADHD parent trying to follow advice written for someone else's brain. Now you've got tools that work for yours.

Resources Mentioned

Want to try body doubling and learn more about how your brain works? Join the No Guilt Mom Inner Circle — three body doubling sessions a day, a book club, and a community that gets it. First month is $19. learn.noguiltmom.com/go

And grab JoAnn's free guide on getting your kids to listen and cooperate — without the structure and routines: learn.noguiltmom.com/get-kids-to-listen

If you're listening on Spotify, hit the Follow button right now — it's the best way to make sure you never miss an episode and it helps me reach more moms like you.

Remember: the best mom is a happy mom. Take care of you.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

New here? Start with our Start Here playlist — five episodes that will change how you think about motherhood.

Have you ever found yourself praying for rain — just so every activity gets cancelled and your family has an excuse to stay home in pajamas?

You're not alone. And according to today's guest, that fantasy might actually be the start of something important.

Christine Gunderson is a former TV news anchor, Capitol Hill press secretary, and now a novelist. Her latest book, Behind White Picket Fences, follows three moms who decide to drop out of the exhausting cycle of activities, expectations, and busyness for an entire year — and discover that the picture-perfect life they were chasing might not be what it seems.

In this episode, JoAnn and Christine talk about where the relentless pressure on moms actually comes from, how it's shifted over generations, and why the friendships you build in the carpool line might be the thing that gets you through it all.

What you'll learn:

Why more is expected of mothers than any other group of people — and why no human being can actually do it all

The "what if we just stopped?" question that inspired Christine's latest novel

How the expectations placed on moms have shifted from a perfect house in the 1960s to a perfect, overscheduled childhood today

Why travel sports have created a level of pressure and cost that didn't exist a generation ago — and why opting out can feel like failing your kid

The real reason behind the relentless busyness: fear of an unknowable future for our kids

What Christine learned from interviewing women in their 80s about what motherhood was actually like in 1965 (and why it wasn't the easier, simpler time we imagine)

Why honoring both the choice to stay home and the choice to work matters — because every mom does what makes sense for her family

The one thing that gets moms through the hardest seasons: female friendship and community

Christine's most important message for every overwhelmed mom listening

"I think more is expected of mothers than any other group of people on the planet — because we are expected to civilize, teach, and nurture an entire generation while simultaneously cooking healthy meals, keeping a clean house, and having a full-time job. There is no way any human being can do all the things women are expected to do."

"You are a great mom. And we cannot do this alone. You've got to have people walking beside you in the trenches."

Behind White Picket Fences

Three moms who barely know each other decide to drop out of the exhausting cycle of activities and expectations for one year — and discover their picture-perfect cul-de-sac is hiding secrets dating back to 1965. A thriller about motherhood, friendship, and what we've really gained (and lost) since our mothers' generation.

Available now wherever books are sold.

Resources mentioned:

Behind White Picket Fences by Christine Gunderson — available now

Join the No Guilt Mom Inner Circle to join book club with Christine

Listen next:

Why You're Killing It on Paper But Empty on the Inside with Brooke Taylor

Remember: the best mom is a happy mom. Take care of you.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices