Your emotional energy is not in your job description.

There! I said it. Did you feel a little jolt of recognition, a sense of relief—or maybe a stab of rage?

Hi, I'm Lauren Howard. You can call me L2. Like other people do. And in this episode of "Different, Not Broken" I'm asking if you’ve ever slogged through unbearable meetings, survived a boss who’d rather watch you squirm than support you, or felt your job siphoning off bits of your sanity day after day… this episode is your permission slip to stop surrendering your mental health on the altar of toxic work culture.

If you’ve ever heard “No job is worth your mental health” and nodded vigorously, only to feel that familiar panic rising when rent is due and quitting might mean eviction, you’re in the right place.

This episode won’t hand you Instagram-worthy mantras divorced from the realities of bills, healthcare, and responsibility.

Instead, I'm calling bullshit on the “just quit” narrative, sharing the reality, along with some actionable insights, and the kinds of boundary-setting wisdom you wish someone told you before your workplace broke you—not because you were broken, but because you were different in a system built for sameness.

You’ll find out:

• Why the burn-it-all-down mentality works for trust-fund babies but not so much for the rest of us.
• How your emotional labor is being quietly exploited—and how to reclaim it without burning bridges (or burning out).
• The single most important thing to do before leaving a toxic workplace (hint: it's not just quitting).
• How to spot the difference between jobs that are simply tough, and jobs that are actively toxic.
• What actually leads to burnout (spoiler: it’s almost never the actual work).

Most importantly, you'll hear a deeply personal story of what happens when you reach your breaking point—and what you wish you knew before walking away.

No job deserves your mental health.

Listen now. Your sanity—and future self—will thank you.

Stuff that helps you become awesome even if you're different: https://stan.store/elletwo

My grown up job: https://lbeehealth.com/

00:00 "No Job Over Mental Health"

06:11 "Choosing Your Emotional Boundaries"

08:49 "Leaving to Save My Sanity"

12:49 "Questioning Corporate Processes"

15:11 Corporate Misfit to Happy Entrepreneur

19:46 Weekend Questions I Hate

23:10 "Choosing Between Fun or Rest"

25:27 Navigating Choices and Conversations

Mentioned in this episode:

Build Your Better course

Build your better course - https://stan.store/elletwo/p/build-your-better

To be honest, I’ve hit my limit with holiday guilt and the weird pressure to act like everything’s cosy and magical just because the calendar says so. Holidays are made up. They only exist if you get paid time off or you genuinely enjoy them… and most people don’t.

In this episode, I’m pulling the curtains back on the whole thing.

The family expectations.

The traditions no one even likes.

The so-called “peacekeeping” that’s really just self-abandonment.

This one’s a little ranty, a little chaotic, and probably the most comforting thing you’ll hear all season.

Let’s talk about ditching guilt, skipping the bullshit, and building holidays that don’t make you want to scream.

I survived a healthcare conference in Las Vegas… and honestly, I’m still a little surprised.

Hi, I'm Lauren Howard. You can call me L2. Like other people do. And in this episode of "Different, Not Broken" I'm sharing my story of peopling in sin city.

Between the cigarette-tinged air, the giant hotel that somehow has no sunlight, the time-zone confusion, and the very real possibility that I could’ve wandered straight into a meetup hosted by people I’m literally in a legal dispute with, this trip shouldn’t have been fun — but weirdly, it was.

In this episode, I talk about:

• Why Vegas feels like a desert with no actual sun

• How I almost RSVP’d myself straight into the lion’s den (yes, that lion)

• My team acting like emotional support humans so I didn’t melt into a puddle in the middle of the crowd

• The bizarre networking moments where founders, lawyers, and random strangers kept appearing out of nowhere

• Why meeting listeners in real life makes me want to slide between the cracks of a sewer grate and disappear forever

• And — shockingly — why I’d actually do this whole thing again

Also, Alison brings us another listener question in Small Talk all about productivity.

Stuff that helps you become awesome even if you're different: https://stan.store/elletwo

My grown up job: https://lbeehealth.com/

00:00 "Time, Smoke, and Healthcare Irony"

05:30 "Almost Entering the Lion's Den"

07:12 "Introvert at the Party"

13:12 "Dateline Rule: No Second Location"

13:49 "Conference Reflections: Fun & Validation"

17:11 "Overcoming Exhaustion and Enjoyment"

20:20 Checklist Productivity vs Mental Effort

23:55 Redefining Daily Productivity

Mentioned in this episode:

Build Your Better course

Build your better course - https://stan.store/elletwo/p/build-your-better