You Keep Me Sane

Episode Overview
Why can a delayed reply, a critical comment or a relationship ending feel so emotionally overwhelming?
In this episode, we talk about rejection sensitivity — the tendency to strongly react to real or perceived rejection, criticism or exclusion.
We explore why rejection can feel less like a single disappointing moment and more like proof that you’re unwanted, unimportant or not enough. We also look at how this can lead to overthinking, over-explaining, apologising, withdrawing or avoiding situations where you might be judged.

In this episode, we discuss:
What rejection sensitivity can look and feel like
Why small moments can trigger such intense reactions
The connection between rejection, belonging and self-worth
Why logic often doesn’t calm the nervous system
How fear of rejection can quietly shrink your life
Separating what happened from what you made it mean
Pausing before reacting, explaining or seeking reassurance
Why being rejected is not the same as being unworthy
Rejection will always hurt. The work isn’t to stop caring. It’s to stop treating other people’s responses as the final truth about who you are.

BetterHelp Paid Partnership - Get 10% off your first month
If you’re struggling, consider therapy with our paid partner BetterHelp. Visit https://betterhelp.com/youkeepmesane for a 10% discount on your first month of therapy.
BetterHelp makes it easy to find a therapist who suits your needs. Their online platform connects you with credentialed therapists, and if your first match isn’t the right fit, you can switch.
Links:
Download Enough - Our Self Worth Reset.
Follow YKMS Podcast on IG @youkeepmesane.pod  
Follow YKMS on FB https://www.facebook.com/YouKeepMeSanePod
Email us at  hello@youkeepmesane.com
Subscribe to our Newsletter: https://www.youkeepmesane.com/subscribe/
Hosts: Aileen Harvey & Julie Fahy
See https://www.buzzsprout.com/privacy for privacy information
Disclaimer: 
Remember, we’re two friends sharing our personal experiences and discussing everyday challenges. We’re not qualified coaches or therapists, and our content is for general information and supportive conversation only. If you need professional help, please seek advice from a licensed therapist.

Every scroll tells us there is something else to improve - our body, sleep, health, productivity, appearance or mindset.
In this episode, we talk about how self-improvement can quietly become another form of pressure, especially in midlife. When every part of life becomes something to fix or track, we stop feeling like people and start feeling like projects.

We discuss:
Why wellness can feel like another full-time job
How tracking can disconnect us from our bodies
The difference between self-care and self-correction
Why accepting change is not the same as giving up
How optimisation can become conditional self-worth

Takeaways:
You can care for yourself without constantly trying to fix yourself.
Your needs now may be different from ten years ago.
Rest does not need to be earned.
You can want to feel better without believing you are broken.
You do not have to be optimised to be worthy.
If this resonated with you, please let us know. We love hearing your comments. You can email us at hello@youkeepmesane.com or DM us on instagram @youkeepmesane.pod.

BetterHelp Paid Partnership - Get 10% off your first month
If you’re struggling, consider therapy with our paid partner BetterHelp. Visit https://betterhelp.com/youkeepmesane for a 10% discount on your first month of therapy.
BetterHelp makes it easy to find a therapist who suits your needs. Their online platform connects you with credentialed therapists, and if your first match isn’t the right fit, you can switch.
Links:
Download Enough - Our Self Worth Reset.
Follow YKMS Podcast on IG @youkeepmesane.pod  
Follow YKMS on FB https://www.facebook.com/YouKeepMeSanePod
Email us at  hello@youkeepmesane.com
Subscribe to our Newsletter: https://www.youkeepmesane.com/subscribe/
Hosts: Aileen Harvey & Julie Fahy
See https://www.buzzsprout.com/privacy for privacy information
Disclaimer: 
Remember, we’re two friends sharing our personal experiences and discussing everyday challenges. We’re not qualified coaches or therapists, and our content is for general information and supportive conversation only. If you need professional help, please seek advice from a licensed therapist.

Episode Overview
Have you ever caught yourself snapping, shutting down, feeling flat, or reacting in a way that doesn’t feel like you?
In this episode, we talk about how stress can make us feel like we’ve become a different person - less patient, less warm, less fun, more defensive, more resentful, or simply unable to enjoy things we usually would.
We explore the difference between someone’s personality and their stress response, especially when life has been stretching them for too long.
This isn’t about excusing hurtful behaviour. Boundaries matter. Repair matters. But there’s a big difference between saying, “I’m a horrible person,” and saying, “I’m overloaded, and this is coming out sideways.”

Key Discussion Points
How stress can make ordinary questions, plans, or requests feel like one demand too many.
Why overwhelm can change our tone, patience, humour, warmth, and ability to enjoy good things.
The difference between someone’s core character and how they behave when they’re anxious, overloaded, or dysregulated.
How shame turns stress into self-attack — especially when we start asking, “Why can’t I cope?” instead of “What am I carrying?”

Listener Takeaways
The stressed version of you isn’t the whole of who you are.
Feeling snappy, flat, defensive, or withdrawn may be a sign your nervous system has been under pressure for too long.
Repair is more useful than shame. You can own your behaviour without turning it into your identity.
When we understand our own stress response, it can help us respond with more compassion to our children, partners, friends, and ourselves.

Mentioned in This Episode
If this conversation speaks to something deeper around self-worth, boundaries, shame, people-pleasing, or feeling like you’re never enough, we’ll pop the link to Enough in the show notes.
It’s our self-worth guide and a simple place to start untangling some of these patterns.

Join the Conversation
Have you noticed stress changing the way you show up?
Have you ever looked at yourself and thought, “This isn’t me”?
Or have you seen someone you love become almost unrecognisable when they’re overwhelmed?
We’d love to hear your thoughts. Send us a DM, leave us a voice note, or come and continue the conversation with us on Instagram.

BetterHelp Paid Partnership - Get 10% off your first month
If you’re struggling, consider therapy with our paid partner BetterHelp. Visit https://betterhelp.com/youkeepmesane for a 10% discount on your first month of therapy.
BetterHelp makes it easy to find a therapist who suits your needs. Their online platform connects you with credentialed therapists, and if your first match isn’t the right fit, you can switch.
Links:
Download Enough - Our Self Worth Reset.
Follow YKMS Podcast on IG @youkeepmesane.pod  
Follow YKMS on FB https://www.facebook.com/YouKeepMeSanePod
Email us at  hello@youkeepmesane.com
Subscribe to our Newsletter: https://www.youkeepmesane.com/subscribe/
Hosts: Aileen Harvey & Julie Fahy
See https://www.buzzsprout.com/privacy for privacy information
Disclaimer: 
Remember, we’re two friends sharing our personal experiences and discussing everyday challenges. We’re not qualified coaches or therapists, and our content is for general information and supportive conversation only. If you need professional help, please seek advice from a licensed therapist.

Episode Overview
In this episode, we read a listener letter from Sarah, who describes something many women feel but rarely say out loud - the quiet sense of being “in between” versions of themselves.
Life looks good on paper. Nothing is obviously wrong. But something doesn’t feel quite right either.
We explore what happens when the roles we’ve held for years start to loosen, and instead of clarity, we’re met with questions. This is a conversation about identity, change, and why this stage of life can feel so unsettling - even when everything looks fine.

Key Discussion Points
Feeling “in between” versions of yourself and why it’s more common than we think
The shift from being needed to having space - and what that brings up
Why finding your voice can feel unsettling, not empowering
Letting go of the pressure to have everything figured out

Listener Takeaways
Feeling lost doesn’t mean something’s wrong - it often means something’s changing
You don’t need all the answers right now
This phase is less about certainty and more about discovery
You’re not alone in feeling this way

Join the Conversation
Have you ever felt like you’re in between versions of yourself?
Not quite who you were, but not sure who you’re becoming?
We’d love to hear from you.
Send us a DM or email us at hello@youkeepmesane.pod - your story might help someone else feel less alone.

Links:
Download Enough - Our Self Worth Reset.
Follow YKMS Podcast on IG @youkeepmesane.pod  
Follow YKMS on FB https://www.facebook.com/YouKeepMeSanePod
Email us at  hello@youkeepmesane.com
Subscribe to our Newsletter: https://www.youkeepmesane.com/subscribe/
Hosts: Aileen Harvey & Julie Fahy
See https://www.buzzsprout.com/privacy for privacy information
Disclaimer: 
Remember, we’re two friends sharing our personal experiences and discussing everyday challenges. We’re not qualified coaches or therapists, and our content is for general information and supportive conversation only. If you need professional help, please seek advice from a licensed therapist.

Episode Overview
In this episode, we’re joined by menopause practitioner Laura Lambe for a clear, reassuring conversation about what really happens to women during perimenopause, menopause and post-menopause.
We talk about why so many women feel blindsided by this phase — the brain fog, fatigue, body changes, sleep issues, anxiety, low confidence, and the feeling that the old rules no longer work.
Laura explains why this isn’t a personal failing. Your body is going through one of the biggest biological shifts it will ever experience, and many women are trying to navigate it with very little education, support or proper information.
This conversation is about moving from confusion to clarity, understanding what your body is asking for, and remembering that you haven’t disappeared. You’re still in there.

Key Discussion Points
Why so many women enter perimenopause or menopause feeling confused, unsettled and unsure of what’s happening in their body.
Why women are often told their bloods are “normal” or that they’re “too young,” leaving them questioning themselves.
How menopause can affect confidence, identity, mood, work, relationships and self-worth - not just physical symptoms.
The role of sleep, fatigue, gut health, protein, fibre, bone density, muscle mass and stress in this phase of life.
Why Laura encourages women to move from confusion to clarity before trying to fix everything at once.
How diet culture, under-eating, cutting carbs and over-exercising can catch up with women in midlife.
The loneliness many women feel when partners don’t understand the impact of menopause on mood, libido, energy and confidence.
Why Laura warns against the noise of menopause marketing, quick fixes and supplement overload.

Listener Takeaways
You are not lazy because you’re exhausted.
Menopause is not just physical - it can affect how you see yourself.
If the old rules have stopped working, it may be because your body needs a different kind of support now.
Sleep and fatigue can affect everything: mood, motivation, brain fog, cravings and stress tolerance.
Proper information matters. So does filtering out the noise from social media.
Food, movement, rest, HRT, supplements and lifestyle changes can all be part of the toolbox, but there is no one-size-fits-all answer.
You would probably never call a friend lazy for struggling — so try not to speak to yourself that way either.
You haven’t lost yourself forever. You’re still in there.

Join the Conversation
This episode is such an important reminder that menopause isn’t just about hot flushes or periods stopping. It can affect how we feel in our bodies, how we show up in our relationships, how we work, how we parent, and how much we trust ourselves.
We’d love to know:
Have you ever felt like you stopped recognising yourself during perimenopause or menopause?
Come and join the conversation with us on Instagram. We’d love to hear what this episode brings up for you.

BetterHelp Paid Partnership - Get 10% off your first month
If you’re struggling, consider therapy with our paid partner BetterHelp. Visit https://betterhelp.com/youkeepmesane for a 10% discount on your first month of therapy.
BetterHelp makes it easy to find a therapist who suits your needs. Their online platform connects you with credentialed therapists, and if your first match isn’t the right fit, you can switch.
Links:
Download Enough - Our Self Worth Reset.
Follow YKMS Podcast on IG @youkeepmesane.pod  
Follow YKMS on FB https://www.facebook.com/YouKeepMeSanePod
Email us at  hello@youkeepmesane.com
Subscribe to our Newsletter: https://www.youkeepmesane.com/subscribe/
Hosts: Aileen Harvey & Julie Fahy
See https://www.buzzsprout.com/privacy for privacy information
Disclaimer: 
Remember, we’re two friends sharing our personal experiences and discussing everyday challenges. We’re not qualified coaches or therapists, and our content is for general information and supportive conversation only. If you need professional help, please seek advice from a licensed therapist.