Where Did I Go...? – Details, episodes & analysis

The phrase having it all used to sound like freedom. Now, for many women, it feels like pressure to do everything perfectly, all at once: raise the kids, run the meetings, look good doing it, and never drop the ball.

In this episode, I’m joined by Dr. Giselle Goodwin, author of Can Women Really Have It All?, to unpack how that idea shifted from empowerment to exhaustion.

We talk about what having it all really means in 2025, why women are statistically less happy than they were 50 years ago, and how we can start letting go of the myths that keep us stuck. We also explore what needs to change - not just in our mindset, but in the systems around us - so that women can build full, joyful lives without burning out trying to prove themselves.

What You’ll Hear:

• The real story behind Giselle’s leap from entrepreneur to full-time writer and researcher on women, wellbeing and work

• The hidden cost of perfectionism and performance in modern womanhood

• Why our idea of success needs a serious rethink

• How to start building a life that feels good, not just one that sounds good

More from Giselle: You can get your own copy of Can Women Really Have It All? on Amazon and Audible 🌐 gisellegoodwin.com – download her free Personal Happiness Manifesto 📬 Sign up to her newsletter 📷 Instagram: @gisellegoodwinwrites 🔗 LinkedIn | Facebook

 

If you enjoy the podcast please help us grow by sharing this episode, or writing a review ✨

You can also connect with me at https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniella-bell/ or on instagram @wdig.podcast

In this episode, I sit down with Belinda Jane Batt, founder of The Flourishing Mother and an expert in maternal guilt. We dive into why guilt is such a common feature of modern motherhood, how it affects our confidence, and most importantly, how we can break free from the guilt spiral.

Belinda shares her expertise in positive psychology and coaching, offering practical and compassionate strategies to help mothers balance their personal and professional lives without being overwhelmed by guilt.

If you’ve ever felt like you’re constantly falling short as a mom, this conversation will help you understand why...and how to reclaim your sense of self and well-being.

Spoiler: You’re doing so much better than you think. --------------

Tune in to understand:

• Where guilt and shame in motherhood come from, how they show up, and why they negatively impact our well-being
• How to identify helpful vs. unhelpful guilt, and why the latter is problematic
• What we can do to flip the script and socially un-condition ourselves from unhelpful guilt
• Practical, evidence-based tools to move past guilt and flourish

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Want to find out more about Belinda?

Check out The Flourishing Mother or download her new book 'Challenge Your Guilt: How To Flourish In Motherhood, Work And Life' here 

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maternal guilt, motherhood, self-care, societal pressures, emotional well-being, positive psychology, invisible labor, self-compassion, identity crisis, matrescence

 

In this episode of Where Did I Go?, I sit down with Jess Ringgenberg, founder of ELIXR and creator of the groundbreaking Five Phases of Matrescence, a practical framework to guide women and businesses through the constant evolution that is caregiving while working.

Together we unpack:

• What matrescence really is, and how it's a lifelong journey

• How understanding matrescence helps make sense of career and identity shifts at work

• The practical steps workplaces can take to support mothers through every phase of this lifelong journey

• Why the mental load mothers carry isn't a weakness but an untapped strength in leadership

If you've ever felt confused by the constant shifts in your identity or wondered how to better navigate motherhood and work, this episode will offer the clarity, compassion, and validation you've been searching for.

Key Moments:

• [03:15] Defining matrescence and the "invisible changes"

• [11:40] Why returning to work is a reinvention, not a return

• [19:30] Breaking down the Five Phases of Matrescence

• [27:05] Why maternal mental load is actually leadership in disguise

• [33:50] Tangible ways workplaces can evolve to support mothers

About Jess Ringgenberg, PCC

Founder & CEO, ELIXR

Jess Ringgenberg is an organizational advisor, researcher, and former Fortune 500 leader with deep expertise in workforce strategy, matrescence, and leadership development. As the founder of ELIXR, a workforce advisory firm, she partners with companies to support working mothers and caregivers—driving retention, engagement, and advancement across the employee lifecycle.

Jess is the creator of The Science of Modern Motherhood, a groundbreaking research initiative that explores the five phases of matrescence and the evolving role of workplace support. She is trusted by global companies, communities, and conferences to deliver actionable insights that shape culture, elevate well-being, and spark organizational change.

She lives in Dallas, TX with her husband and two boys, building a life centered on presence, challenging traditional norms, and creating lasting impact.

Connect with Jess & her work here:

LinkedIn, full research report, and the guide we they launched this month.

Code for 50% off the guide for all WDIG listeners: Mom2Mom ------

motherhood, matressence, self-discovery, work-life balance, women empowerment, modern motherhood, emotional intelligence, workplace support, career development, parenting challenges, care conscious cultures, workplace support, working mothers, self-advocacy, matressence, employee engagement, leadership development, caregiver support, workplace culture, women empowerment

 

 

What if ambition doesn’t mean climbing a ladder, but rather finding your own way across a web?

In this episode of Where Did I Go?, I talk to Dr. Anne Welsh — coach, consultant, writer, clinical psychologist, and mum of four — about how motherhood reshapes our relationship with ambition, identity, and success.

We explore what happens when the career ladder stops working for you, and why it’s okay — even powerful — to move sideways, pause, or choose a completely different path. Anne shares her brilliant metaphor of ambition as a web instead of a ladder, and how that small shift in perspective can bring massive relief, clarity, and energy.

We talk about why caregiving is inherently ambitious. How to redefine ambition as drive, not status. The mental health realities that often surface after returning to work. And how to let go of old expectations and start telling a new story about who you are and what you want.

Anne also shares a simple metaphor-based exercise to help unpack your identity after motherhood — one that might just change how you see yourself.

Whether you’re feeling stuck, questioning your career, or quietly wondering where did my ambition go?, this conversation will leave you feeling seen, supported, and more hopeful about what’s next.

Where Did I Go? is a podcast for women in the messy middle of modern motherhood — the part no one warned you about, where your identity starts to shift, your ambition gets complicated, and the old stories just don’t fit anymore. Connect with Dr Anne Welsh: Linkedin / Instagram / Website 

motherhood, mental health, ambition, postpartum, career, working moms, identity, coaching, personal growth, motherhood journey, work-life balance, women empowerment, career development, self-discovery, matrescence, caregiving, perinatal mental health, modern motherhood, redefining success

TW: A quick note before we begin, this episode includes a conversation about suicide and maternal mental health, so if you're in a vulnerable place, please take good care of yourself while listening and take a look in the show notes for some links to places where you can get some support if and when you need it. This week, I’m talking to my old friend Rich Baish about something no family should ever have to go through: losing a new mum to postpartum psychosis.

Rich tragically lost his wife Alex to postpartum psychosis just a few weeks after their second daughter was born. In this conversation, he shares what happened, what the warning signs were and what he wishes he’d known at the time. We also talk about what it means to grieve while raising young children, how he’s rebuilt a life he never asked for, and why he’s now working to make sure other families don’t slip through the cracks.

Postpartum psychosis affects 1–2 in every 1,000 new mums. It can come on suddenly, even if there’s no history of mental illness, but it is treatable, if acted on fast enough.

This is a conversation about maternal mental health, yes, for sure, but it's also a conversation about fatherhood, about friendship, about resilience, and above all about love. It's absolutely heartbreaking, but it's also strangely hopeful because what Rich shows us is that even in the darkest of times, it is possible to keep going, to keep showing up, to hold space for what was, while also making space for what comes next.

If you’re pregnant, postpartum, or supporting someone who is, please give it a listen. It might just save a life.

Resources and Support

If you or someone you love might be experiencing symptoms of postpartum psychosis, it is a medical emergency. Don’t wait. Go straight to A&E (UK) or the Emergency Room (US). The sooner help is given, the better the outcome.

UK Resources

• Action on Postpartum Psychosis (APP): The UK’s only charity dedicated to supporting women and families affected by postpartum psychosis. Offers peer support, information, training for healthcare professionals, and bereavement services.
• NHS information on Postpartum Psychosis
• Samaritans – 116 123 (24/7) or chat online any time
• PANDAS Foundation – Support for postnatal depression and other perinatal mental health challenges

US Resources

• Postpartum Support International (PSI): Extensive resources including a helpline, online support groups, and provider directories.
• PSI Helpline
• 998 Lifeline: Call or text 988 for 24/7, confidential support

Welcome to another episode of "Where Did I Go?"! This week, we're diving into the transformative power of motherhood on creativity.

Most of us have heard the spiel that becoming a mother takes away our freedom and sense of self. What we don’t often hear is how it can also spark a massive creative expansion; a total cosmic realignment of who you are and what you’re here to make.

In this episode, I chat with the incredible Katie McCrory, a brand storyteller at IKEA and a passionate writer, about how becoming a mum didn’t shrink her creative life. It blew it wide open.

While on maternity leave, Katie wrote the book she’d been thinking about for years. Not because she finally had spare time (lol), but because motherhood stripped everything back and made what really mattered impossible to ignore. The result? A creative identity that could never go back in the box.

Join us as we explore how becoming a mother can feel like the catalyst for extraordinary creative expansion.

Katie shares her poignant journey, revealing how the challenges of infertility and the joyous chaos of parenting reshaped her artistic identity. Her story is all about leaning into life's upheavals and embracing them as transformative, alchemic experiences.

We delve into Katie's writing process, her enchanting 'cosmic safety net', and the liberating shift from structured, task-oriented mindsets to a freer, more intuitive form of creation. And of course, we discuss the blessings of finding authenticity and backing yourself during one of life's most intense transitions.

So, grab a cozy drink, snuggle in, and let's get inspired by stories of maternal creativity and inner growth capturing the magic in all its forms. You won't want to miss this one!

Topics We Cover:

• How motherhood can spark creative rebirth
• Infertility, loss, and the liminal space of transformation
• Writing a book on maternity leave: the truth behind the fairytale
• Letting go of guilt and reclaiming time for yourself
• The myth of the tortured (usually male) artist
• Why creativity because of motherhood hits different
• Alchemy, identity shifts, and trusting the process
• Practical rituals and writing habits that work for busy mums

Timestamps:

00:00 – Katie’s journey to motherhood and what cracked her open 07:30 – The magic of the liminal space: life, death, and deep creative clarity 15:00 – IVF, grief, and asking the cosmos for help 22:00 – How Katie wrote her book on maternity leave 33:00 – Writing in 8-minute sprints, spreadsheet planning, and loving the process 41:00 – Substack, daily writing, and keeping creativity alive after the book deal 48:00 – Why your passions matter (and why your kids should see that) 53:00 – How to start: letting go of mum guilt and just taking the first step

  Resources & Links:

Pre-order Katie’s book: Where the Heart Is → Amazon UK | Waterstones (search: “Katie McCrory Where the Heart Is”)

Subscribe to Katie’s newsletter: → lifeathome.substack.com

 

📖 Mentioned in this episode:

• Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert
• The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron
• The Baby on the Fire Escape by Julie Phillips
• Atomic Habits by James Clear

If You Loved This Episode…

Please share it with someone who needs permission to create again — especially mothers. Tag us on Instagram, leave a review, or message Dani directly. We’d love to hear what resonated.

👉 Follow the podcast: linktr.ee/wdig

🎙️ Subscribe for new episodes every week on Spotify, Apple, or wherever you listen.

Is balance a myth for working mums? Or have we just misunderstood what it really looks like?

In this episode of Where Did I Go?, Dani sits down with psychologist and founder of Balanced Mum Academy, Roz Davies, to talk about the emotional, psychological, and identity-level shifts that happen when you’re a parent trying to do it all.

Together, they explore:

• Why burnout rewires the brain and makes change feel impossible
• The 9 emotional needs that must be met for us to feel truly balanced
• How time and energy are directly linked to our sense of identity
• Why staying stuck can feel easier than asking yourself hard questions
• The difference between perceived success and true fulfilment
• Practical ways to reconnect with who you are and what matters now

Whether you're feeling lost after returning to work, struggling to juggle it all, or just questioning what "success" even means anymore—this conversation will help you reflect and realign.

Mentioned in this episode

Follow Roz Davies:

• On Instagram
• At Rozdavies.com
• Join her free Facebook community: Authentic and Energised Mums

Explore her programs: ✨ Balanced Mum Academy – for working mums ready to reconnect with themselves ✨ Let’s Get Present – a course to help you feel more present and connected with your children

💡 Key takeaways

• Burnout isn’t just emotional exhaustion. It’s a physiological shift that pushes us into survival mode.
• Your emotional needs—from connection to purpose—must be met at the right level for you in order to feel balanced.
• Change requires energy, reflection, and permission. And only you can give that to yourself.
• You don’t have to burn it all down. Sometimes the smallest realignment brings the biggest relief.
• You’re allowed to define success on your own terms, even if it looks nothing like it used to.

🎧 New episodes drop weekly. Don’t forget to follow, rate and review the show

 

Burnout recovery, balance for working mums, emotional needs, motherhood identity shift, burnout symptoms, redefine success, parental burnout, Roz Davies, Balanced Mum Academy, mum guilt, mental load, postnatal burnout

 

Just as you begin to reclaim your identity post-motherhood, sneaky symptoms like brain fog, hot flashes, and anxiety start knocking on your door. Is it hormone havoc, burnout, fatigue, or...perimenopause?

Join me for a candid chat with the lovely Emma Thomas, who's on a mission to unravel the mysteries of the messy middle of life for women everywhere. Emma, founder of The Triple Shift and host of the Middling Along podcast, has pivoted in her career to become a menopause educator, helping women regain control and clarity through the middle bit of life. 

Why should you listen to this episode?

Because no one really prepares us for the hormonal rollercoaster that can hit just as we’re trying to get our footing back after having kids. This conversation will help you understand what’s going on in your body, what to look out for, and how to get the support you need. It’s practical, reassuring, and full of the kind of insight that helps you take your power back.

About this week's guest, Emma Thomas: Emma Thomas is the Founder of The Triple Shift and Managing the Menopause. She is also the host of the Middling Along Podcast.    For 30 years Emma worked in academic publishing with many well-known brands with roles spanning business development, strategy, business process optimization, change and transformation, and internal communications. In 2021 she set up her podcast and has now interviewed dozens of midlife wellbeing and menopause experts, inspiring women who have undergone midlife reinventions, and tackled topics relating to multigenerational workforces and ageism in the workplace.  In 2022 she founded Managing the Menopause, which works with companies to help them become menopause-supportive employers, and after training at Henley Business School she set up The Triple Shift, her coaching practice. Holding Up The Sky is her latest venture, with burnout expert Lisa Tyler, helping women navigate their 'midlife collision' without cracking up.    You can find out more about Emma and the brilliant work she does here:

• www.thetripleshift.org
• www.managingthemenopause.com  
• www.holdingupthesky.com
• www.middlingalong.com 
• Or connect with Emma on Linkedin

 

Motherhood is full of contradictions. You’re never truly alone -- kids, partners, colleagues are always nearby -- yet it can feel like one of the loneliest seasons of life.

In this conversation, I sit down with Kate Westlund Tovsen, communications consultant and founder of The Society of Working Moms (SOWM), to talk about why working motherhood so often feels isolating and what it takes to build the kind of community we all crave.

Kate shares the story behind creating SOWM, an online Slack-based community designed to be a real village for women navigating both careers and motherhood. We dig into the surprising ways digital connections can become lifelines, how to overcome the hesitation of engaging in online spaces, and why vulnerability is the secret ingredient to building real support.

We also explore:

• Why motherhood can feel more isolating than expected—even when you’re surrounded by people.
• The value of connecting with women at different stages of life and motherhood.
• How digital communities can replicate the generational wisdom that many of us are missing.
• Practical ways to use your voice, share what you need, and start building your own village.
• Stories of how small acts of honesty and courage sparked meaningful connection inside SOWM.

If you’ve ever felt like your “village” is missing, this episode is for you. Whether online or offline, connection is possible, and it often starts with one brave step.

Links and resources:

• Connect with Kate on LinkedIn

• Learn more about The Society of Working Moms: working-moms.com

Hello and welcome back to the penultimate episode of Season 1 of WDIG? If you’ve been feeling foggy, exhausted, or like everything’s a little heavier than it should be, this episode is for you. Alison Campbell, founder of Unburnt, talks honestly about why working mums are especially at risk of burnout, how the expectations of an “always-on” culture quietly stack the pressure, and why none of this is your personal failure.

Alison shares her own wake-up story and explains why normalising constant overwhelm is exactly what keeps people stuck.

If you want practical, doable tools (not more toxic productivity pep talks), you’ll love the micro-habits Alison walks through in this episode. 

This is a conversation about naming the load instead of carrying it alone. Permission to stop pushing through, to ask for help, and to carve out space for yourself. If you’re drowning in the idea that you must do it all, this episode gently reminds you: you’re not failing, you’re being let down by unsustainable expectations. It might not always feel this way, but you DO have choices and there ARE  manageable ways to stay unburnt.

Want to go deeper? Alison’s work is at getunburnt.com and she shares practical tips on LinkedIn under Alison Campbell.

Now, take a breath, and let's get into it.