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

If you’ve ever sat down to rest and immediately felt like you should be doing something else… this episode is for you.

For so many moms, guilt isn’t just a passing feeling. It’s a constant background noise. You feel guilty for working. Guilty for not working. Guilty for being exhausted. Guilty for needing a break. Even guilty for enjoying yourself.

In this conversation, psychiatrist and author Dr. Jennifer Reid puts language to what so many of us have been living with for years: guilt isn’t proof you’re failing. It’s often the result of unrealistic expectations that never turn off.

Dr. Reid, author of Guilt-Free: Reclaiming Your Life from Unreasonable Expectations, helps women understand the emotional weight they’ve been carrying—especially the kind of mom guilt that quietly fuels burnout.

We’re talking about why you feel like you’re never doing enough, how guilt becomes the decision-maker in your life, and the simple framework that can help you reclaim your agency.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode

Why guilt can actually be an adaptive emotion—and when it becomes harmful

How manipulative guilt shows up in parenting, work, and relationships

Why moms feel guilty even when no one is actively pressuring them

The four major expectations women are conditioned to carry:

Constant caretaking

Hyper-accountability for other people’s emotions

Perfection

“Effortless balance”

Why disappointment (yours or your kids’) can feel like an emergency—and how that fuels people-pleasing

How guilt drives burnout by pushing you into “should”-based decisions

The Guilt Equation: how expectations minus perceived reality creates guilt

Why comparison keeps mom guilt alive—and how to interrupt it

A self-compassion strategy to help you rest without spiraling into self-criticism

Dr. Reid’s SPEAK framework:


Show up


Pay attention


Examine


Act


Keep going

Resources Mentioned

Guilt Free: Reclaiming Your Life From Unreasonable Expectations by Dr. Jennifer Reid

Dr. Jennifer Reid’s podcast A Mind of Her Own

If mom guilt has been running your life like a manager who never clocks out, this episode will help you see what’s really driving it—and how to start making decisions from agency instead of pressure.
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You know the moment.

Your kid spills cereal and suddenly you’re reacting at a level 10… when the situation was maybe a 2.

And afterward? The shame spiral starts. Why did I react like that? What is wrong with me? Why can’t I just stay calm?

Here’s the truth: your overreactions aren’t random. And they’re not proof that you’re a bad parent.

They have roots.

Under most “overreactions” is either unrecognized shame… or a deeply held value that just got stepped on. When you understand that, everything shifts.

In this episode, we unpack what’s really happening beneath those big emotional moments — and how emotional awareness creates choice where you used to only have reaction.

In This Episode, We Talk About:

Why shame often hides underneath anger, defensiveness, or shutting down

How feeling “too much” or “not enough” fuels emotional overreactions

The surprising way your personal values drive your parenting triggers

Why the same situation can upset you deeply — but not bother someone else at all

How identifying patterns (not just isolated conflicts) helps you understand your reactions

The CPR framework (Conflict, Pattern, Relationship, Process) and how to use it in your relationships

How emotional awareness strengthens communication and self-regulation


Why This Matters for Parenting

When you believe your reactions are flaws, you try to suppress them.

When you understand your reactions as information, you start learning from them.

Shame thrives in the dark. Unmet values react loudly.

But once you name what’s actually happening — whether it’s a fear of being “too much,” a value like growth or connection being violated, or a long-standing relational pattern — you gain power.

You’re no longer stuck in automatic self-judgment.

You can pause. You can choose. You can respond instead of react.

And that’s emotional intelligence in action.

This episode isn’t about becoming perfectly calm. It’s about becoming aware enough to understand yourself — and that changes everything in your parenting and your relationships.

Resources Mentioned


The Best Mom Is a Happy Mom by JoAnn Crohn (includes access to the Values Sort bonus tool)

Crucial Conversations

No Guilt Mom Inner Circle

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You know that feeling when you say, “He helps.”

He does chores. He shows up. He’s not checked out.

And yet… you’re still exhausted.

If that’s you, you are not ungrateful. You are not asking for too much. And you are not broken.

In this episode, JoAnn sits down with comedian, actor, and author Jordan Carlos to talk about invisible work in marriage — what it really is, why “helping” still leaves one partner carrying the mental load, and what true responsibility sharing actually looks like in everyday family life.

Because the problem isn’t whether the dishes get done.

The problem is who is still managing the fact that they need to get done.

Jordan shares candidly about his own marriage, how COVID forced him to see the invisible labor his wife was carrying, and the mindset shift that moved him from “assistant” to actual partner.

This conversation is honest, funny, and practical — and it will help you rethink how responsibility lives in your home.

What We Cover in This Episode

1. What Invisible Work Really Is

Invisible work isn’t just chores. It’s tracking schedules, noticing when you’re low on toothpaste, remembering spirit days, and managing the emotional temperature of the house.

When one partner carries the mental load — even if the other “helps” — burnout and resentment quietly build.

2. Why “Helping” Keeps One Person in Charge

When someone helps, there is still a manager.

Delegating

Noticing

Reminding

Carrying responsibility if something falls through

Jordan talks about the moment he realized he was “redundant” in his own home — and how that realization changed everything.

3. The Resentment Signal

Resentment doesn’t show up overnight. It builds in the sighs, the tension, and the feeling of being alone in daily life.

Small shifts — like doing things without being asked — can dramatically lower that emotional temperature.

4. Responsibility Sharing vs. 50/50

What’s equal isn’t always fair. And what’s fair isn’t always equal.

True partnership isn’t about splitting every task down the middle. It’s about shared ownership. It’s about both adults seeing the home as theirs to steward.

Jordan shares how stepping into responsibility — not waiting for instructions — shifted his marriage in meaningful ways.

5. Why Self-Care Supports Partnership

When both partners take care of themselves, they show up better in the relationship.

Responsibility sharing doesn’t mean depletion. It means two adults who are capable, aware, and engaged.

Why This Episode Matters

So many overwhelmed moms feel guilty for wanting more support.

“He does a lot already.”

“I don’t want to nag.”

“Maybe this is just marriage.”

But when invisible work stays invisible, emotional disconnection grows.

This episode gives language to what you may have been feeling for years. It also gives you a starting place — not to control your partner, but to shift how responsibility is shared in your home.

Partnership isn’t about doing more. It’s about no longer carrying it alone.

Resources Mentioned


Chore Play: The Marriage Saving Magic of Getting Your Head Out of Your Ass by Jordan Carlos


Jordan Carlos— comedian, actor, and writer (The Nightly Show, Black Mirror, Everything’s Trash)

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You finally get everyone to bed. The house is quiet. No one is asking you for anything.

And instead of going to sleep… you stay up.

Maybe you scroll. Maybe you watch a show. Maybe you tackle that project that’s been swirling in your head all day. It feels like the only time that’s actually yours.

But the next morning? You’re exhausted. Snappier. Less patient. And wondering why everything feels so much harder.

In this episode, we’re talking about why you stay up too late — and what that lack of sleep is really doing to your emotional regulation, productivity, and mental health. Because this isn’t about being “bad at time management.” It’s about the very real tug-of-war happening inside you between rest and freedom.

And when you understand that conflict, you can finally stop sacrificing sleep just to feel like a person again.

In This Episode, We Cover:

Why staying up late feels like the only time that belongs to you

The connection between sleep and emotional regulation (and why you’re more triggered when you’re tired)

How sleep impacts stress, patience, productivity, and long-term wellness

The hidden “two parts” conflict between rest and personal freedom

A simple negotiation exercise to help you stop fighting yourself at night

Why treating rest as preventative care changes everything

How your sleep environment can make or break your wind-down routine

Why This Matters

When you’re tired, everything hits harder. Small frustrations feel enormous. You react faster. You recover slower. That’s not a character flaw — that’s biology.

Sleep affects your mental health, your parenting, your relationships, your stress levels, and even your long-term brain health. And yet, so many moms sacrifice it because it feels like the only way to reclaim time for themselves.

You don’t have to choose between rest and freedom. With the right structure and awareness, you can have both.

Resources Mentioned:

ADHD Love on Instagram:

Get Your free ticket to the Happy Mom Summit

Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams by Matthew Walker PhD

No Guilt Mom Inner Circle


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How to Support Your LGBTQ Child Without Saying the Wrong Thing with Heather Hester

Supporting your LGBTQ child can feel terrifying—not because you don’t love them, but because you do, and you’re afraid of messing it up.

So many moms tell me the same thing: they want to be supportive, but they feel frozen. What if they say the wrong thing? What if they accidentally hurt their child? What if their child thinks they don’t truly accept them?

If that’s you, this episode is here to help.

In today’s conversation, I’m joined by Heather Hester, host of the podcast More Human, More Kind and author of Parenting with Pride. Heather helps parents move from fear into informed love—with clarity, compassion, and courage. Together, we talk about how to show up for your child even when you’re scared, without needing perfect words or performative allyship.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode


The biggest fear that keeps supportive parents silent and why worrying about “saying the wrong thing” doesn’t mean you’re failing your child.


The difference between being a supportive ally and a performative one, and how to show up in ways that actually feel authentic to you.


Three mindset shifts that help you support your LGBTQ child with confidence:

Embracing being messy and imperfect

Understanding that it’s not your child’s job to teach you—it’s your responsibility to learn

Believing your child when they tell you who they are


What to say when you don’t know what to say, including simple language you can return to when fear takes over.


How fear shows up in your body and why recognizing your stress response helps you choose connection instead of panic.

Why This Episode Matters

Your child doesn’t need you to be perfect.

They need you to be present. They need you to be willing. And they need you to keep coming back—even when you stumble.

This episode is about letting go of the pressure to “get it right” and replacing it with something more powerful: connection, repair, and courage.

Resources Mentioned

Heather's podcast More Human, More Kind

Parenting with Pride by Heather Hester

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