Repairing Relationships: What to Do When Patterns Have Already Played Out: Episode 34

Sleep Isn’t Optional: What Poor Sleep Is Doing to Your Mental Health: Episode 41

Sleep is not a luxury. It is healthcare. In this episode, Angela Weiss, MSN, APRN, FNP-C, PMHNP-BC, explores the powerful connection between sleep and mental health. From anxiety and depression to trauma, brain fog, irritability, and burnout, poor sleep can affect nearly every aspect of emotional and physical wellbeing. If you've ever found yourself exhausted but unable to sleep, waking up feeling unrested, struggling with racing thoughts at night, or wondering why your mental health feels worse after a stretch of poor sleep, this episode is for you. Angela discusses how sleep deprivation impacts the nervous system, why anxiety and insomnia often create a frustrating cycle, how depression can affect sleep differently, and why chronic stress can make it difficult for the brain and body to power down. She also covers: * The anxiety and insomnia cycle * Depression, oversleeping, and fatigue * Cortisol, chronic stress, and nervous system activation * Trauma, hypervigilance, nightmares, and disrupted sleep * When nightmares may benefit from therapy, medication, or both * Brain fog, irritability, cravings, and emotional reactivity * Sleep apnea, snoring, and when to ask about a sleep study * Practical sleep foundations and nighttime routines * When severe sleep deprivation may require medical or psychiatric evaluation Angela also shares insights from her upcoming book, Am I Going Crazy?, which explores how stress, overwhelm, insomnia, and nervous system overload can make people fear they are losing their minds when they are often experiencing an overwhelmed nervous system. You are not weak for needing sleep. You are not lazy for needing rest. And if your sleep has fallen apart during a season of stress, trauma, grief, burnout, or overwhelm, you are not alone. Sometimes the most compassionate thing we can do for our mental health is protect our sleep. Tertulia: tertulia.authors.com/angelaweiss-drafterher4xo Facebook: Life by Design Press Instagram: @AngelaWeissAuthor This podcast is intended for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute medical, psychiatric, or therapeutic advice. Listening to this podcast does not establish a provider-patient relationship. If you are experiencing a medical emergency, call 911 or seek immediate emergency care. If you are experiencing a mental health crisis or thoughts of self-harm, call or text 988, the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, or seek immediate local emergency support.

The Most Toxic Relationship I Ever Had Was With Myself: Episode 40

How do you speak to yourself when you make a mistake… when confidence feels shaky… when you’re trying something new… when you’re scared… when you feel behind? The person who talks to you the most in your lifetime… is you. In this episode of Life By Design with Angela Weiss, we’re talking about the relationship we often discuss the least: the relationship we have with ourselves. Because many of us would never tolerate someone speaking to our daughter, our son, our best friend, our patient, or someone we deeply love the way we quietly speak to ourselves every day. Inspired by themes from my books Always Never: The Most Toxic Relationship I Ever Had Was With Myself and You Wouldn’t Let Someone Talk to Your Daughter That Way, this episode explores confidence, self-talk, the inner critic, and the language we normalize inside our own heads. In this episode, we discuss: • confidence and self-talk • the inner critic • perfectionism, people pleasing, burnout, caregiving, and strong women who are harder on themselves than anyone else • how language shapes our internal environment • why confidence is difficult to build inside emotional hostility • practical tools to begin changing the relationship you have with yourself Practical Tools Discussed: Catch the Critic Notice recurring internal scripts with curiosity rather than shame. The Daughter Test Ask: Would I allow someone I love to be spoken to this way? Rewrite the Script Move from harsh criticism toward truthful compassion. Learn to Cheer for Yourself Confidence is not always fearless. Sometimes confidence looks like encouraging yourself enough to take the next step anyway. Key Takeaway: Confidence is very difficult to build inside a hostile internal environment. Reflection Question: If the voice inside your head became the voice following your daughter through life… would you be comfortable with what she was hearing? Connect with Angela Weiss: Website / Books / Author Page: tertulia.authors.com/angelaweiss-drafterher4xo Instagram: @AngelaWeissAuthor Facebook: Life By Design Press Podcast: Life By Design with Angela Weiss If this episode resonated with you, please consider subscribing, leaving a review, or sharing it with someone who may need it. Important Disclaimer: The information shared on Life By Design with Angela Weiss is intended for educational, informational, and inspirational purposes only and is not a substitute for individualized medical, mental health, psychological, legal, or professional advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Listening to this podcast or engaging with related content does not establish a provider-patient, therapist-client, coaching, or professional relationship with Angela Weiss or any affiliated entity. If you are experiencing a medical emergency, mental health crisis, thoughts of harming yourself or someone else, or feel unable to keep yourself safe, call 911, go to your nearest emergency room, or seek immediate emergency assistance. If you are experiencing emotional distress or suicidal thoughts in the United States or Canada, call or text 988 for free, confidential 24/7 crisis support.

When God Doesn’t Remove the Mountain… But Walks the Road With You: Episode 39

What happens to faith when the prayer is still unanswered? When the mountain doesn’t move… the grief remains… the diagnosis stays… the loneliness lingers… the road is harder than you ever imagined? In this Sunday Faith Edition, Angela shares a deeper conversation about the kind of faith that develops when life doesn’t unfold the way we prayed it would. This episode explores: * Trusting God in unanswered prayers * The difference between God’s power and God’s presence * Walking through grief, uncertainty, and difficult seasons * Daniel 3 and the faith of “even if He does not…” * Why surviving, healing, and living again can be holy ground * Learning to take the next step before the mountain disappears Because sometimes… faith isn’t God removing the mountain. Sometimes… faith is discovering He never stopped walking beside you. * John 16:33 * Isaiah 43:2 * Daniel 3:17–18 * Daniel 3:24–25 * Psalm 23:4 * Deuteronomy 31:8 The presence of struggle does not equal the absence of God. You may still be facing the mountain… walking through the valley… standing in the fire… but you do not walk alone. If this episode spoke to you, please subscribe, leave a review, and share with someone who may need this reminder today: God’s presence can still be found on the road you never wanted to walk. #LifeByDesignPodcast #SundayFaithEdition #ChristianPodcast #FaithAfterLoss #GriefAndFaith #HealingJourney #MentalHealthAndFaith #LifeByDesignWithAngelaWeiss

When You Thought You Were Doing Better… and Then Life Happened: Episode 38

Life by Design with Angela Weiss Podcast Episode 38 — Thursday Mini Mental Health Permission to Stand Down: When You Thought You Were Doing Better… and Then Life Happened Have you ever felt like you were doing better… and then life happened? The stress came back. The exhaustion came back. Your nervous system got loud again. And suddenly you found yourself wondering: Did I lose all my progress? In this episode, we’re talking about something people don’t discuss enough: healing is not linear. Learning to stand down does not mean you will never have hard seasons again. Life still happens. Work gets heavy. Bodies get tired. Grief shows up. Responsibilities pile up. And your nervous system notices that. This conversation explores the difference between living in chronic survival mode and having a very human response to a difficult season. We talk about: • why struggling again does not automatically mean you’re back at square one • the difference between stress responses and failure • what growth can actually look like in real life • recognizing when you’re carrying too much again • responding to yourself with awareness instead of criticism • why “I noticed sooner this time” is meaningful progress If you’ve been hard on yourself because you thought you should be farther along by now… this episode is for you. You do not have to be perfectly calm. Perfectly healed. Or perfectly regulated. You may simply be human… navigating a heavy season. Take what you need. Leave what you don’t. And keep living your life by design. Connect with me: Instagram: @AngelaWeissAuthor Facebook: Life by Design Press LinkedIn: Angela Weiss You can also find my book Permission to Stand Down on Amazon. If you'd like the Permission to Stand Down Workbook, email: angela@lifebydesignpress.org [angela@lifebydesignpress.org] with “Stand Down” in the subject line. Available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and wherever you listen.

I Lost Monday...and Thought My Dog's Penis Fell Off: Episode 37

What happens when you lose Monday… your podcast episode doesn’t upload… your rhythms change… your plans don’t go exactly right… and life gets a little messy? Apparently… you record your Tuesday podcast after 8 PM and talk about it. In this episode, Angela gets honest about real life, changing seasons, shifting rhythms, letting go of what no longer fits, and learning that showing up matters more than getting everything perfectly right. Because sometimes growth does not look like flawless execution. Sometimes it looks like: * adjusting to a new season * changing routines * releasing pressure to do everything * laughing through unexpected chaos * continuing anyway Topics in this episode include: * losing track of Monday after a changed schedule * working, creating, writing books, and evolving rhythms * why the daily blog fit one season but may not fit this one * when life, technology, schedules, and plans do not cooperate * real life, imperfect timing, and continuing anyway * showing up over perfection * why you are not the only one who feels like you’re getting it wrong sometimes Also addressed: If you are looking for Episode 36 on Spotify or Apple Podcasts… it is not there. Technology won that round. Episode 36 is currently available on YouTube. If you have ever felt like everyone else has it together except you… this episode is for you. Because you are not the only one. You are not failing because your rhythm changed. You are not behind because a season shifted. You do not have to get everything right to keep moving forward. You just have to keep showing up. Connect with Angela: Author Page / Website / Blog: https://authors.tertulia.com/angelaweiss-drafther4xo [https://authors.tertulia.com/angelaweiss-drafther4xo] Instagram: @AngelaWeissAuthor Facebook: Life by Design Press LinkedIn: Angela Weiss Find the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and other podcast platforms. Explore Angela’s books on attachment, relationships, burnout, healing, grief, emotional growth, faith, and building a life by design. This podcast is intended for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for medical or mental health care. Listening does not establish a provider-patient relationship. If you are in crisis, call or text 988 or call 911.