As middle aged women, we all know what it's like to be exhausted. Not the kind of exhausted where you need a nap—the kind where you've been running on fumes for so long you forgot what actual energy feels like.

You're already doing everything you can to eat well, exercise, get better sleep and cut back on the wine. You've probably got rows of supplements lined up on your counter like little soldiers. You do lots of research and see holistic practitioners because your health is important to you.

And it's not so much that something is wrong–it's that something isn't right.

Here's what you're missing: you can't expect your symptoms to improve if you haven't corrected the root cause–which is energetic. It's the patriarchal programming that makes you feel like your self-worth is tied to your productivity. It's the part of you that doesn't know how to relax because relaxing literally doesn't feel safe.

My guest today is Hope Pedraza. She's a functional diagnostic nutrition practitioner who uses human design as a diagnostic tool—and before you roll your eyes, stay with me. She combines the labs, the data, the science, with your energetic blueprint to show you exactly where the disconnect is. How you're designed to operate versus how you're actually living.

In this episode, you'll learn:

→ What human design actually is (and the science behind it—yes, there's science)

→ The connection between your energy centers and specific organs—and how emotional patterns literally show up on your labs

→ Why it's physiologically impossible to change your habits when you're in survival mode

→ The two-step process to start repatterning your operating system

If you are ready to get support from a community of women who are co-creating this change with intention and clarity— Click here to BOOK A DISCOVERY CALL.

Do you want help from Colleen with a situation you're struggling with? Click here to submit your question for Colleen's NEW Q&A episodes. Your name will not be mentioned on air!

Find me on:

YouTube: @HangoverWhisperer

TikTok: @hangoverwhisperer

Instagram: @thehangoverwhisperer

X (Twitter) : @NotAboutTheAlc

Connect with Hope Pedraza:

• Podcast: Hopeful and Wholesome

• Website: hopefulandwholesome.com

• Instagram: @thehopepedraza
  
  
  
  

Transcript

In this episode, Colleen pulls the curtain back on overwhelm and names it for what it really is: a trauma response living in your nervous system, not a personal failing or lack of willpower. She walks through the five stages your body moves through when the demands on you exceed your capacity, and why trying to "push through" that wall only drives you deeper into shutdown.

Instead of treating overwhelm as something to beat, Colleen shows you how to use it as a litmus test that tells you exactly when to stop, step back, and tend to your nervous system first. You'll learn a simple five-minute reset practice you can use anytime you feel yourself hit the wall, so you can move forward from compassion instead of self-criticism.

🔑 Key Takeaways

• Overwhelm isn't weakness or drama; it's a physiological trauma response in your nervous system
  
  

• The five stages of the body's trauma response: startle, stress activation, hitting the wall, freeze, and shutdown
  
  

• Why trying to "power through" overwhelm keeps you stuck and deepens shame, anxiety, and self-doubt
  
  

• How chronic internal narratives (people pleasing, perfectionism, fear, guilt) quietly drain your capacity long before the "last straw"
  
  

• A simple litmus test and five-minute pause practice to respond to overwhelm with compassion instead of pressure

If you are ready to get support from a community of women who are co-creating this change with intention and clarity— Click here to BOOK A DISCOVERY CALL.

Do you want help from Colleen with a situation you're struggling with? Click here to submit your question for Colleen's NEW Q&A episodes. Your name will not be mentioned on air!

Find me on:

YouTube: @HangoverWhisperer

TikTok: @hangoverwhisperer

Instagram: @thehangoverwhisperer

X (Twitter) : @NotAboutTheAlc

Transcript

In this episode, Colleen gets brutally honest about something most "high-functioning" women never admit out loud: what happens when your old motivation system collapses. Divorce, sobriety, and building a business forced her to drop the over-functioning, over-exercising version of herself and face a hard truth: she'd been using fitness to run on stress, shame, and hangovers.

She unpacks why, after quitting drinking, her drive completely disappeared, why post-acute withdrawal wasn't just about brain chemistry, and how dopamine is actually tied to the stories you tell yourself about reward and worth. From there, she walks through how she rebuilt movement from the inside out with tiny, sustainable habits that actually feel good instead of punitive.

You'll hear how she went from daily marathons and hot yoga to "slug on a log" mode, and then into a realistic, sustainable routine that supports bone density, strength, and future adventures… without relying on self-hate, perfectionism, or external validation to get her moving.

🔑 Key Takeaways

• Why so many women lose their motivation after sobriety or big life changes (hint: your old rewards stop working, not your willpower)
  
  

• How dopamine is tied to your internal narrative about reward, identity, and what "counts" as success
  
  

• The difference between forcing yourself with willpower vs building habits that feel sustainable, kind, and matched to where you actually are
  
  

• Why you're never just building "one habit" (like working out) but a whole stack of upstream habits that make follow-through possible
  
  

• Red flags that your routine is fueled by shame and "shoulds" instead of genuine desire, and why that guarantees burnout instead of long-term change

If you are ready to get support from a community of women who are co-creating this change with intention and clarity— Click here to BOOK A DISCOVERY CALL.

Do you want help from Colleen with a situation you're struggling with? Click here to submit your question for Colleen's NEW Q&A episodes. Your name will not be mentioned on air!

Find me on:

YouTube: @HangoverWhisperer

TikTok: @hangoverwhisperer

Instagram: @thehangoverwhisperer

X (Twitter) : @NotAboutTheAlc

Transcript