The Stories We Carry: Breaking the Silence on Mental Health

Beneath the Burnout: Rebalancing Masculine and Feminine Leadership

What happens when the very traits that helped you succeed start to work against you? In this episode of Unlearning in Progress, Julie Santiago, former Wall Street executive turned founder of We Are the Women, explores the tension between doing and being, and why so many high-achieving women feel exhausted, unfulfilled, and out of alignment, even when things look successful on the outside. Julie helps us to unpack a nuanced and frequently misunderstood topic: masculine and feminine leadership. Drawing from her own experience in high-performance corporate environments, Julie shares how many women learn to succeed by overdeveloping “doing” energy focused on output, control, and performance while suppressing equally important qualities like intuition, presence, and connection. This conversation is an invitation to reconnect with who you are beneath the achievement and to explore what becomes possible when you stop leading the way you were taught, and start leading as the woman you actually are. Connect with Julie: https://wearethewomen.com/ [https://wearethewomen.com/] https://www.instagram.com/iamjuliesantiago/ [https://www.instagram.com/iamjuliesantiago/] https://www.facebook.com/JulieSantiago/ [https://www.facebook.com/JulieSantiago/]

Beyond Overthinking: Getting Off the Thought Train

In this episode of Unlearning in Progress, Angela and Jaime sit down with transformational coach and guide Karen Brar for a conversation about the connection between the mind, the body, and the stories we carry through life. Together, they explore why so many of us live disconnected from ourselves, constantly operating from overthinking, achievement, survival mode, and the “thought train” of the mind. Karen shares how ancient teachings rooted in the Vedic tradition can help us better understand our nervous systems, our emotional patterns, and the whispers our bodies often give us long before burnout, anxiety, or disconnection fully take hold. The conversation dives into nervous system regulation, subconscious beliefs, corporate conditioning, self-worth, and the practice of returning to yourself in a world that constantly pulls your attention elsewhere. This episode is for anyone who has ever felt exhausted by their own thoughts, disconnected from their body, or quietly wondered: Why does life feel this hard when I’m doing everything “right”? Connect with Karen: https://anayawithin.com/ [https://anayawithin.com/]

When Your Body Knows: Unlearning the Logic-Only Path

What if your body has been trying to tell you something… and you’ve just been too used to pushing through to hear it? In this episode of Unlearning in Progress, we’re joined by Dr. Carly Hunt, a sport and health psychologist, former Division I golfer, and author of Train Your Brain to Beat Chronic Pain, to explore what it means to listen when your body starts signaling that something isn’t right. Carly shares her journey through academia, high achievement, and perfectionism, and how years of overworking, people-pleasing, and ignoring her internal signals eventually showed up physically through chronic pain. What started as a whisper became impossible to ignore. Together, we unpack the science behind the “gut brain” and why intuition isn’t just a feeling, it’s information. Carly walks us through how pain functions as the brain’s alarm system, what happens when that system gets stuck on high alert, and why healing requires more than just a purely logical, problem-solving approach. We also explore how these ideas extend far beyond chronic pain to burnout, stress, and the everyday ways we override what we actually need. If you’ve ever felt disconnected from your body, dismissed your intuition, or believed that pushing harder was the answer, this conversation offers a powerful reframe: your body isn’t working against you, it may be the most honest signal you have. Learn more and connect with Carly: https://www.thinkbettergolf.com/ [https://www.thinkbettergolf.com/] https://www.instagram.com/thinkbettergolf/ [https://www.instagram.com/thinkbettergolf/]

The Stories We Carry: Breaking the Silence on Mental Health

It’s Mental Health Awareness Month, but beyond the advice and resources, real stories are also needed. In this episode, Angela and Jaime share their own experiences openly and honestly. Not to offer advice or solutions, but to create space for honesty and to help anyone listening feel a little less alone in what they may be carrying. They also discuss the role we play in supporting mental health in their everyday lives, at work, in friendships, and within their communities. Sometimes, it starts with something as simple as noticing a change, asking a question, or taking a few minutes to check in. They hope that speaking openly encourages more honest conversations. If you take anything from this conversation, let it be this: you’re not alone and your presence in someone else’s life matters more than you think.

From Performance to Purpose: Unlearning Perfectionism

What happens when the mindset that helped you succeed starts working against you? In this episode of Unlearning in Progress, we’re joined by Katie Virtue, former Division I hockey player, corporate leader, and self‑described recovering perfectionist. Katie shares her journey from elite athletics to the corporate world, where busyness became a status symbol and performance was measured by constant output. We unpack the physical, emotional, and relational signals that something wasn’t sustainable, and the pivotal moment when a leader encouraged her to stop operating at 100% and try 70% instead. In our conversation, we examine why high performers often equate exhaustion with effectiveness, how identity becomes tied to titles and productivity, and what redefining performance around purpose, energy, and sustainability looks like. Katie also introduces her Energy Eval framework and explains how small, intentional shifts can create space for clearer thinking, stronger relationships, and long‑term impact. If you’ve ever felt stuck in overdrive, tied your worth to productivity, or struggled to slow down without guilt, this conversation offers a thoughtful reminder: sustainable growth often begins when we question what we were taught to believe about success.