This Is Woman's Work with Nicole Kalil

Somewhere along the way, mental toughness became synonymous with pushing through pain, ignoring exhaustion, suppressing emotions, and pretending we're fine when we're one minor inconvenience away from losing our shit. But what if being mentally strong isn't about how much we can endure? What if it's about knowing when to push, when to pause, and when to say, "Nope, this isn't working anymore"?

Joining us is Amy Morin, psychotherapist, mental strength trainer, internationally bestselling author of 13 Things Mentally Strong People Don't Do, and host of the Mentally Stronger podcast. Her newest book, The Mental Strength Playbook: 50 Tools to Cope with Stress, Thrive Under Pressure, and Gain a Competitive Edge in the Workplace, offers practical, research-backed strategies for building emotional resilience, managing anxiety, overcoming self-doubt, and handling workplace stress.

In this episode, we explore:

Mental strength vs. mental toughness: Why pushing through everything isn't always a sign of strength, and how to recognize when it's time to change course.

How to manage anxiety and stress: Simple techniques to turn nervous energy into confidence before important meetings, presentations, and high-pressure situations.

How to stop overthinking and make better decisions: Why taking a break can actually improve problem-solving, and how to overcome decision fatigue.

How to deal with difficult people: A surprisingly hilarious strategy called "behavior bingo" that helps us protect our energy without trying to change everyone around us.

How to build confidence and emotional resilience: Why we don't have to feel strong to act strong, and how everyday choices build mental strength.

How to stop excessive worrying: The 15-minute daily worry technique that can help quiet an anxious mind and improve focus.

How to recognize burnout and unhealthy stress: Knowing the difference between discomfort that helps us grow and situations that are doing real damage.

Because women have been handling hard things for generations. We don't need another motivational speaker telling us to toughen up. We need practical tools to navigate stress, trust ourselves, set boundaries, and stop treating every struggle like a personal failure.

Thank you to our sponsors!

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Connect with Amy:

Website: https://amymorinlcsw.com

Book: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/789708/the-mental-strength-playbook-by-amy-morin/

Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mentally-stronger-with-therapist-amy-morin/id1687655510

IG: https://www.instagram.com/amymorinauthor/

X: https://x.com/amymorinlcsw

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFbv757kup4

Related Podcast Episodes:

Emotional Fitness for Real Life with Dr. Emily Anhalt | 371

The Resilience Myth with Soraya Chemaly | 249

Beyond Quick Fixes: Building Better Mental Health From the Inside Out with Dr. Celeste Birkhofer

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Trauma sucks. It doesn’t need a gratitude journal, a silver lining, or a rebrand as “the best thing that ever happened.” So when a book called Trauma Is Your Superpower landed on Nicole Kalil’s radar, she had questions.

In this episode of This Is Woman’s Work, Nicole welcomes Dr. Louise Stanger, a nationally recognized interventionist, licensed clinical social worker, and author of Trauma Is Your Superpower. With more than four decades helping individuals and families navigate addiction, trauma, and crisis, Louise explores how painful experiences can shape a life without getting to run the whole show.

Together, they discuss grief, trauma recovery, self-blame, and the difference between taking responsibility and deciding everything is somehow one’s fault. They also explore why healing needs connection, why friendship breakups deserve space to be mourned, and how compassion can coexist with honesty and accountability.

Topics include:

How trauma can shape identity without becoming the entire identity

Giving grief room without putting healing on a deadline

Recognizing repetitive thoughts, shame, and self-blame

Separating personal responsibility from fault

Finding community, trustworthy support, and a nonjudgmental listener

Practicing compassion while still telling the truth

Making space for different responses to loss, including relief

Seeking support when grief or painful experiences remain unresolved

Nobody owes the world an inspirational comeback story. Reclaiming voice, self-trust, and choice can be powerful enough—and what happened doesn’t get to write every chapter that follows.

Thank you to our sponsors!

Start your risk-free Greenlight trial today at Greenlight.com/TIWW. Don't wait to teach your kids real-world money skills!

Connect with Louise:

Website: https://allaboutinterventions.com/

Book: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Trauma+Is+Your+Superpower+Louise+Stanger

Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/ask-dr-louise/id1893970305

Related Podcast Episodes:

The Biology Of Trauma - And How To Heal It with Dr. Aimie Apigian | 346

The Fourth Trauma Response You’ve Never Heard Of (And How It’s Running Your Life) with Dr. Ingrid Clayton | 342

127 / Trauma with Jessi Beyer

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Many women spend years building successful careers, raising families, checking every box, and creating lives they can be proud of—only to realize something important is missing: community. Somewhere along the way, connection becomes something to get to later, replaced by busyness, productivity, and the belief that meaningful relationships will somehow happen on their own.

In this episode of This Is Woman's Work, Nicole Kalil sits down with journalist, podcast creator, and author Katherine Goldstein to explore why friendship isn't enough, why community requires intention, and how small acts of neighboring can create the kind of meaningful support so many women are longing for. Together, they challenge the idea that connection is reserved for extroverts or people with unlimited free time, offering practical ways to build deeper relationships through everyday interactions.

In This Episode, Nicole and Katherine Discuss:

The difference between friendship and community—and why both matter.

Why so many women are missing the "middle ring" of meaningful relationships.

How modern life has made building community more difficult.

Why community often becomes most important during times of crisis.

How to shift from waiting to "find your people" to intentionally building connection.

Why no community will ever meet 100% of your needs—and why that's okay.

Katherine's definition of "neighboring" and why small actions matter.

The concept of "deep casual" gatherings and how low-pressure hosting creates stronger relationships.

Why lowering the bar for entertaining actually leads to deeper connection.

The importance of protecting community from logistical burnout.

The surprising types of groups Katherine recommends not relying on to build lasting community.

Why investing in nearby relationships can create the support systems we all need.

Together, these insights offer a practical and refreshing roadmap for building the kind of community that sustains us in everyday life.

Thank you to our sponsors!

To see what Scribe could look like for your team, head to https://scribe.how/TIWW and mention TIWW for your first month of Scribe Capture free on select plans

Protect your loved ones without spying on them. Go to https://heypolo.com/work or use code WORK and get 70% off your first year

Connect with Katherine:

Substack: https://thedoubleshift.substack.com/

Website: katherinegoldstein.com

Pre-order the Book: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/796461/neighboring-by-katherine-goldstein/

Related Podcast Episodes:

The Connection Cure: Social Prescribing, Loneliness, and Why Belonging Is Medicine with Julia Hotz | 373

The Power of Conscious Connection with Talia Fox | 263

Creating A Connected Community to Grow Your Business with Kami Guildner | 221

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We tell women to speak up, set boundaries, advocate for themselves, negotiate for more, and stop waiting for permission. Great advice. But there's one tiny problem: What the hell are we actually supposed to say?

Because knowing what you want and knowing how to ask for it are two very different skills. Especially when your brain decides to take an unscheduled vacation right when you need it most.

Joining This Is Woman's Work is Emily Lampkin, author of Duct Tape and White Lies, founder of the Women Leader series, and a speaker and advisor with more than 25 years of experience helping women lead, succeed, and get what they want.

In this episode, we explore:

How to ask for what you want without overexplaining, oversharing, or apologizing

What to say when you freeze in a difficult conversation and can't find the right words

How to set boundaries and say no without feeling guilty or needing to justify yourself

Why self-advocacy and self-promotion aren't bragging, and how to confidently communicate your value

Practical strategies for asking for a raise, negotiating a promotion, and creating career opportunities

Why every woman needs a "swimsuit friend" who will tell her the truth

How to handle rejection, follow up when you're ghosted, and stop taking every no personally

Why taking action before you feel ready is the secret to building confidence and getting what you want

Because confidence doesn't come from getting every conversation right. It comes from trusting yourself enough to have the conversation.

Thank you to our sponsors!

To see what Scribe could look like for your team, head to https://scribe.how/TIWW and mention TIWW for your first month of Scribe Capture free on select plans

Protect your loved ones without spying on them. Go to https://heypolo.com/work or use code WORK and get 70% off your first year

Connect with Emily:

Website: https://www.emilylampkin.com/

Book: https://www.emilylampkin.com/author

FB: https://www.facebook.com/emily.k.lampkin

LI: linkedin.com/in/emilylampkin

Related Podcast Episodes

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Women are taught to be agreeable, accommodating, self-sacrificing, and well-behaved. To stay quiet, make everyone comfortable, and take up as little space as possible.

Yeah, no thanks.

What if the goal isn't to become a better-behaved woman, but to reclaim who we were before the world taught us to shrink?

Avril Millar, author of Feral: A Grown Woman's Guide to a Free and Ferocious Life, joins Nicole Kalil to challenge societal expectations keeping women small. After five careers, losing everything in her 40s, and starting over at 50, Avril is now 74 and has plenty to say about confidence, self-love, reinvention, and refusing to be tamed.

We explore:

What it means to be feral and reclaim your authentic self

How societal conditioning teaches women to be agreeable and self-sacrificing

Why midlife and menopause can be opportunities for reinvention

How to recognize the expectations and "shoulds" holding us back

Why trusting your intuition starts with learning to pause

How to stop worrying about what other people think

Why self-awareness is essential to confidence and personal growth

How to build a healthier relationship with yourself and practice unconditional self-love

What Avril has learned about resilience, starting over, and embracing life at 74

Being feral isn't about being reckless or selfish. It's about questioning the rules we've been following, trusting ourselves, and deciding which expectations no longer deserve our obedience.

Perhaps the most important relationship we'll ever have is the one we have with ourselves. So it's time to stop becoming who everyone else needs us to be and start embracing who we actually are.

We were never meant to become less of ourselves. We were meant to become more.

Thank you to our sponsors!

To see what Scribe could look like for your team, head to https://scribe.how/TIWW and mention TIWW for your first month of Scribe Capture free on select plans

Protect your loved ones without spying on them. Go to https://heypolo.com/work or use code WORK and get 70% off your first year

Connect with Avril:

Website: https://www.avrilmillar.com

Book: https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/Avril-Millar/author/B00DCLLFUS

LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/avrilmillar

IG: https://www.instagram.com/avrilmillar/

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Share the Love:

If you found this episode insightful, please share it with a friend, tag us on social media, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform!

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Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices