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

If you're a people pleaser who can't figure out why you struggle to tell people how you really feel, especially when you're angry or hurt, this episode is for you.

What do you do when someone you love blames you for something that isn't your fault? JoAnn gets vulnerable about a recent conflict where, for the first time in her life, she didn't shrink. She's breaking down the fawn response, what the research actually says about staying quiet, and the exact words to use the next time silence feels safer than the truth.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Why the fawn response makes staying silent feel safer, even when it isn't
• What research on suppressed feelings actually predicts for your relationships (it's not what you'd guess)
• The difference between suppressing a feeling and simply choosing when to say it
• A 3-step script for naming what's bothering you without picking a fight
• Why setting a boundary and staying in a relationship are not opposites

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• JoAnn's previous episode on what her former friendships taught her: Why Mom Friendships Feel So One-Sided
• The Body Keeps the Score
• The Happy Mom Reset, JoAnn's free class

Ready to figure out where your guilt and people pleasing are running the show in your home? Join the free Happy Mom Reset class.

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Ever snap at your kid and then wonder where that even came from? Dr. Cassidy Freitas, licensed marriage and family therapist and author of Mom Needs a Moment, joins JoAnn to break down what's actually happening in your nervous system in the seconds before you react.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• How to catch a "ping," the body, thought, feeling, and behavior signals that show up right before you react
• Why calm can actually feel unsafe to your nervous system, and what to do about it
• How the "little t" traumas from your own childhood are still shaping your triggers today
• A simple phrase to use with your kids that creates space without shutting them out
• Why protecting your margin, not optimizing every moment, is what actually calms your nervous system

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Dr. Cassidy Freitas's website
• Mom Needs a Moment by Dr. Cassidy Freitas
• Dr. Cassidy on Instagram
• The Happy Mom Reset, a free class

Ready to stop reacting and start responding? Sign up for The Happy Mom Reset, a free class, and get started today.

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.

Do you feel a flash of guilt when you're running late, or a flash of irritation when someone else is? Alex Snider, author of Sometimes You Should Be Late: The Quiet Rebellion of Slowing Down, joins the show to unpack why that reaction has almost nothing to do with the minutes on the clock. This conversation cracked something open for JoAnn mid interview, and it might do the same for you.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Why your reaction to lateness, yours or someone else's, is rarely about the actual minutes
• What "emotional punctuality" means and how it can change the way you measure a good day
• The kindness buffer, a simple way to build space into your day so you show up present instead of rushed
• Why the thing you didn't cross off your list might have been the most values aligned choice you made all day

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Sometimes You Should Be Late by Alex Snider, available now
• Take Alex's Late Style Quiz
• Book club guide and bonus content for Sometimes You Should Be Late
• Alex's Substack, Slow Mindfulness
• The No Guilt Mom Inner Circle

Loved this one? Our Inner Circle book club is picking up Sometimes You Should Be Late next. Come join us.

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 set a boundary at work, and by dinner time you're doing your coworker's project anyway. In this episode, Courtney Cecil, founder of Working Moms Movement and former Fortune 50 culture leader, breaks down why rigid nine to five boundaries backfire and what to do instead when your job keeps rolling downhill into your home life.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Why "enough" is never defined for moms, and how that keeps you stuck in overwhelm
• Why squishy, flexible boundaries protect you better than rigid ones, and what that actually looks like
• The exact question to ask your boss before you say yes to a new project
• How to tell when you're absorbing your team's work instead of managing it
• Why naming your boundary out loud is the only way anyone will ever respect it

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Courtney Cecil, Working Moms Movement
• Follow Courtney on Instagram
• Register for the Mom's Setting Boundaries Summit

Courtney is speaking at the Mom's Setting Boundaries Summit. Register free to save your seat.

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 your teenager has looked at you lately like you're the most annoying person alive, this episode is for you. JoAnn breaks down why teens suddenly pull away, why it's not a reflection of your parenting, and what to actually say the next time your teen lands a low blow about your time management, your questions, or just your existence.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Why your teen's frustration with you is a normal, healthy part of development called emotional distancing, not a sign you've wrecked the relationship
• How to stop yourself from tightening the reins when your teen pushes back, and why loosening your grip is actually the right move
• A simple, confident comeback script for when your teen throws a barbed insult your way
• Why your own sense of well-being can take a hit during this stage, and why that's backed by research, not a personal failing
• A quick therapy-based question to ask yourself that builds self-compassion when your teen's words sting

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• The Explosive Child by Dr. Ross Greene
• Crucial Conversations (concept: contributing to the pool of meaning)
• No Guilt Mom Inner Circle: learn.noguiltmom.com/go
• Mom's Setting Boundaries Summit, free, August 10-13

Grab your free ticket to the Mom's Setting Boundaries Summit, August 10-13, and finally get the tools to stop over-explaining and start holding the boundary.

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.

Do you ever feel like you're failing at work and at home at the same time? Dr. Anne Welsh, psychologist, executive coach, and author of Ambitious Mother, joins JoAnn to explain why that feeling isn't a personal failure, it's a sign you're carrying too much without enough support.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• The difference between doing something because you want to and doing it out of guilt, and why that distinction changes everything
• Why the mental load keeps growing even as women achieve more at work
• The early signs of "functional burnout," where you're still showing up but feel numb, irritable, or completely disconnected from your own life
• How to redefine ambition using Anne's ladder versus web metaphor, so wanting more doesn't mean losing your edge
• The one degree compass shift that can start changing things without blowing up your whole life

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Dr. Anne Welsh on Instagram
• Ambitious Mother: From Surviving to Thriving in Your Career and at Home by Dr. Anne Welsh (Bloomsbury, out August 6) —https://amzn.to/4fxiyoo
• Pre-order bonuses on Dr. Anne Welsh's website — https://www.drannewelsh.com/ambitious-mother-book
• The Guilt Equation with Dr. Jen Reed
• Register for the Mom's Setting Boundaries Summit

Ready to work on your own boundaries? Register for the Moms Setting Boundaries Summit, it's free.

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.

Has someone ever told you that you made them feel disrespected or small, and your stomach just dropped? Maybe you replayed every conversation trying to find the moment you did it. Today JoAnn walks you through three actionable steps to work through that moment, rooted in the psychology of why accusations like this happen, especially between the people closest to you.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• How to check your own intentions after being accused of something, without spiraling into shame
• Why an accusation from someone close to you is often a report on their own identity, not a fact about your behavior
• The research on why confidence and success from women gets read differently than the same behavior from men
• Three steps to decide how you want to respond, including when it's okay to take space

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• The Tallest Poppy Survey (2023)
• The "Acting Wife" study on women and self-silencing in MBA programs
• Amanda's story about setting boundaries with in-laws
• The Best Mom is a Happy Mom by JoAnn Crohn
• The Happy Mom Reset, free class

Ready to stop carrying guilt that was never yours to hold? Join The Happy Mom Reset free class and get your plan to feel lighter this week.

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 tried the habit trackers, the 21 day challenges, and every "just be consistent" article out there, and none of it sticks for more than a week. Certified habit coach Monica Packer joins JoAnn to explain why most habit advice was never built for moms in the first place, and what actually works when your day never goes as planned.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Why the habit advice you've been given fails women's actual lives, and it's not a discipline problem
• How to build a baseline version of any habit so one hard day doesn't wreck your progress
• Why consistency and flexibility work together instead of competing against each other
• The three step sticky habit formula for making any new habit actually stick
• How invisible labor and mental load make typical productivity advice unworkable for moms

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Follow Monica Packer on Instagram
• Sticky Habits by Monica Packer, out in September with pre-order bonuses available now

• Happy Mom Reset Free Class

Ready to stop over apologizing and start setting boundaries that actually stick? Join the free Happy Mom Reset class.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You did something good for yourself, a massage, an hour off, a class you have always wanted to take, and then the guilt showed up like you had done something wrong. In this solo episode, JoAnn names exactly what is happening (she calls it the guilt slide) and walks you through how to catch it and step off before it takes down your day or your relationships.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• How to spot the "guilt slide," the moment a good thing you did for yourself turns into proof you did something wrong
• Why that guilt is a sign something is new for you, not a sign you are selfish or broken
• The one move that protects your closest relationships when the guilt hits, and why it is not asking "are you mad at me?"
• Three self-compassion steps to wait out the discomfort instead of projecting it onto everyone around you
• A simple way to redirect your brain so the feeling passes faster

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• "This Isn't a Sketchbook, its an Art Class" drawing workbook
• Podcast Episode: Why the ADHD Parenting Advice Doesn't Work (the RSD episode)
• The Happy Mom Reset, JoAnn's free class

New here? Start with The Happy Mom Reset, JoAnn's free class, at https://learn.noguiltmom.com/happy-mom-reset.

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Rewards feel like good parenting. A sticker chart here, screen time for finished homework there, and suddenly your kid won't do anything without asking what they get. In this episode, JoAnn sits down with Dr. Özgür Bolat, author of The Reward Trap, to unpack why rewards quietly backfire and what actually builds the motivation you want.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Why your reward systems stop working, even when you set them up perfectly
• The hidden message every reward sends your child, and why it lands like a threat
• The one situation where a reward genuinely helps, and how to use it without getting stuck
• A small shift you can try tonight that beats any sticker chart
• How rewards and praise quietly feed your own mom guilt, and what to do instead

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• The Reward Trap by Dr. Özgür Bolat
• Dr. Özgür Bolat on Instagram
• The Happy Mom Reset free class

Ready to feel less behind and more like yourself? Save your seat for The Happy Mom Reset free class.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You're at the party, the pool, the vacation you planned, and the second one of your kids gets miserable, your fun switches off like someone hit a light. In this episode, JoAnn breaks down the moment she caught herself doing exactly this at her nephew's birthday party, and the one question that snapped her out of it. If your kids' emotions are costing you your own, this one is going to hit home.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• The rushing cue: how to catch yourself before mild stress turns into full dysregulation
• The difference between consideration and responsibility for your kids' feelings, and why one is loving while the other is exhausting you both
• Exactly what to say when your kid says "I'm bored" (and how to spot the one situation where that script won't work)
• Why letting your kid sit in mild discomfort is some of the best parenting you can do
• The honest question to ask yourself when you rush to fix your kid's mood

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• JoAnn's interview with Jenna Free on recognizing dysregulation
• The Happy Mom Reset (free class)

Ready to stop running on guilt? Join JoAnn's free class, The Happy Mom Reset.

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