The Postpartum Mental Health Factor Nobody Talks About: Fulfillment for Ambitious Moms

027. From Losing Yourself to Reclaiming Yourself: Identity, Faith, and Motherhood with Audra Phelps

When was the last time you knew, without hesitating, what you actually wanted?  This week I'm sitting down with my very first podcast guest — Audra Phelps, a neuroscience-based coach who helps moms rebuild their identity after leaving high-demand religion. Audra spent years quietly pushing down her doubts before she finally walked away from the Mormon church she was raised in — and had raised her own kids in. We talk about what it actually looks like to lose yourself so completely that you don't know your own favorite kind of pie, and what it takes to build a new identity from the ground up, as an adult, alongside your own children. Even if faith deconstruction isn't your story, this conversation is really about something every mom in the middle of it will recognize: the slow erosion of self, and the deliberate, sometimes scary work of getting yourself back. In this episode, you'll hear us talk about: * Audra's decade-long "slow erosion" out of the Mormon church, and the exact moment she knew she was done * Why she didn't have the big conversation with her kids about leaving — and what her twenty-one-year-old daughter later taught her about that * How to tell the difference between a belief that's actually yours and one that was handed to you * The neuroscience behind rewiring subconscious beliefs (and why "poking holes" in an old belief is the first step) * How EFT, tapping, and visualization can retrain your nervous system to feel safe with something new * The Thanksgiving apple pie moment that made Audra realize just how far she'd drifted from herself Mentioned in this episode: * Audra's coaching program, Reclaimed — an 8-week identity-rebuilding container for moms who've left high-demand religion * Audra's free masterclass, "5 Shifts Every Former Mormon Mom Needs to Make," at mamaaudra.com [https://www.mamaaudra.com] Stay Connected! * 🌐 erinleech.com * 📸 Instagram: @iamerinleech * 🎵 TikTok: @erinleech

026. Mindset Shifts for Mom Entrepreneurs: Perfectionism, Fears + Feeling Ready

You don't need to feel ready. You just need to decide you are. In this episode, I'm digging into something I think about constantly as I build this business and this podcast: why we stay stuck waiting to feel "ready enough," "expert enough," or "polished enough" before we put ourselves out there — and why that waiting is costing us more than we realize. I share the story behind Anne Lamott's book Bird by Bird and her chapter on "shitty first drafts," why that idea has stuck with me since grad school, and how it applies directly to building a business, a brand, or a following as a mom. I also walk you through my own messy path to get here — the wedding planning membership, the wellness-for-photographers idea, Family in Focus — because none of what I'm doing now would exist if I hadn't started with all the versions that weren't it. In this episode, you'll hear me talk about: * Why every expert and thought leader you admire started exactly where you are right now, and what actually separates them from everyone who stays stuck * The mindset shift around perfectionism — and why waiting for the "polished" version is quietly keeping someone out there from the help they need from you * Why you don't have to be a full-blown expert to start creating and sharing — you just need to be a step or two ahead of who you're talking to * My real, three-year path through multiple failed business ideas before landing on the one I'm building now, and why I needed every single "wrong" draft to get here * Why readiness isn't a feeling that arrives — it's a decision you make, and how clarity actually comes from action, not the other way around * How motherhood's built-in time pressure can actually work in your favor instead of becoming another excuse to stay stuck Mentioned in this episode: * Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott — her chapter on "shitty first drafts" and the origin of the book's title * Episode 24 — my OCD episode, referenced as an example of sharing perspective over "expert" credentials Stay Connected! * 🌐 erinleech.com * 📸 Instagram: @iamerinleech * 🎵 TikTok: @erinleech

025. Breaking the Feast or Famine Cycle as an Entrepreneurial Mom: An Unscripted Update

I almost didn't record this one until I had it all figured out. Then I realized that was exactly the problem. This episode is unscripted, unedited, and recorded before I fully worked through what I'm talking about — on purpose. After weeks of going quiet online, I'm finally naming what was actually happening behind the silence: a feast-or-famine posting cycle, a limiting belief that I'm "not yet a good enough coach," and a whole lot of pressure I was putting on myself to make money and get it right. I'm walking you through how I identified the pattern, what came up when I got quiet enough to hear it, and where I am now — still in the middle of it, still figuring it out, but showing up anyway. In this episode, you'll hear me talk about: * The feast-or-famine content cycle I kept falling into and finally named * The limiting belief I uncovered — that I need confidence before experience, when it actually works the other way around * How comparison and envy toward other mom coaches was quietly running in the background * The internal work I did during my "quiet" weeks: visualizations, journaling, EFT tapping, and curating what I consume * Reframing pressure around money and provider guilt while pivoting away from wedding photography * Why silence doesn't mean failure — and why you don't owe anyone an explanation for a gap Mentioned in this episode: * My "Manifest" playlist [https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7tv3VdyfN8ZTMO40mFURII?si=6WdczeefQhWG_3G168isyA&pi=nrgj-eRfSAa0M] Stay Connected! * 🌐 erinleech.com [https://erinleech.com] * 📸 Instagram: @iamerinleech [https://instagram.com/iamerinleech] * 🎵 TikTok: @erinleech [https://www.tiktok.com/@erinleech]

024. OCD, Intrusive Thoughts, and Motherhood: What Nobody Talks About

Most people think OCD is about cleaning rituals and checking the stove. What they don't know is that there's an entire side of OCD that goes completely unseen — and for a lot of moms, it shows up postpartum in ways that are terrifying to admit out loud. This episode is the conversation I've been wanting to have for a while. I got my OCD diagnosis at the Women & Infants Day Hospital program — which I mentioned in last week's episode — and I said it deserved more than a fleeting mention. So here it is. I'm sharing what OCD actually is beyond the stereotypes, what harm OCD and intrusive thoughts really feel like from the inside, and why so many moms carry this completely alone because the shame of it feels unsurvivable. I also talk about the "just right" OCD subtype that I honestly thought was just my personality for my entire life — until I learned it wasn't. My goal is simple: if even one mom hears this and recognizes herself, and it gets her to talk to someone, then this was worth recording. In this episode, you'll hear me talk about: * What OCD actually is — obsessions, compulsions, and why the compulsions make the cycle worse * Harm OCD and intrusive thoughts: what ego dystonic means and why the horror you feel is proof you're a good mom * The moment I finally told my provider Stephanie what I had been experiencing — and what happened when I did * "Just right" OCD, what it looks like in real everyday life, and why it's so easy to write off as just being particular * The OCD IOP program, ERP therapy, and what it actually looked like to work through this * How OCD showed up postpartum specifically around control and letting other people care for Leon Mentioned in this episode: * Women & Infants Day Hospital Program, Providence, RI * Episode 23 — The Signs I Missed: A Postpartum Mental Health Story and What I'd Do Differently Stay Connected! * 🌐 erinleech.com [https://erinleech.com] * 📸 Instagram: @iamerinleech [https://instagram.com/iamerinleech] * 🎵 TikTok: @erinleech [https://tiktok.com/@erinleech] postpartum OCD, intrusive thoughts postpartum, harm OCD moms, OCD and motherhood, postpartum mental health, maternal mental health, just right OCD, ego dystonic thoughts, OCD intrusive thoughts, postpartum anxiety, new mom mental health, OCD diagnosis story, ERP therapy, OCD IOP program, postpartum intrusive thoughts, mom guilt OCD, postpartum rage, fourth trimester mental health, mental health awareness month, Women and Infants day hospital, OCD treatment postpartum, am I a bad mom, intrusive thoughts new mom, postpartum identity, ambitious mom mental health, obsessive compulsive disorder moms, postpartum control issues, perinatal mental health, OCD subtypes, postpartum support Rhode Island

023. What Marriage Really Looks Like When You're Raising Babies and Building a Business

Nobody's posting the 2am feeding fight or the "whose turn is it" standoff on their Instagram grid. But that's the stuff that's actually happening — and it's the stuff worth talking about. This week's episode is airing on my wedding anniversary, and even though Scott didn't end up joining me, I still wanted to mark it with something honest. I'm sharing what marriage actually looks like for us right now — in this season of two kids, two businesses, and all the beautiful mundane chaos in between. And then I'm getting into what I genuinely believe it takes to stay connected to your partner when life is this full. In this episode, you'll hear me talk about: * What our marriage really looks like day-to-day — the real version, not the anniversary dinner version * Why the "roommate era" of early parenthood is real, temporary, and doesn't mean anything is wrong * The difference between little things and real things — and the question I ask myself before I open my mouth * Why Scott and I started couples therapy when nothing was "wrong" — and what that taught me about investing in what's good before it breaks * What it's actually like when both partners are building online businesses at the same time, and how we navigate the tension around bandwidth and who carries what Mentioned in this episode: * Scott Leech — my husband, who also has his own coaching business, podcast, courses, and membership Stay Connected! * 🌐 erinleech.com [https://www.erinleech.com] * 📸 Instagram: @iamerinleech [https://www.instagram.com/iamerinleech] * 🎵 TikTok: @erinleech [https://tiktok.com/@erinleech] marriage and motherhood podcast, raising babies and building a business, marriage in the newborn phase, entrepreneurial couple, stay connected to your partner, roommate era marriage, couples therapy for healthy marriages, intentional marriage, co-parenting and business, ambitious mom marriage, female entrepreneur relationship, default parent burnout, marriage mindset, both partners building businesses, newborn season marriage, choosing each other, work life balance marriage, postpartum relationship, mindset for moms, in the middle of it podcast