Episode 155: When Life Feels Heavy: Choosing Care, Margin, and What You Need
It felt important to slow down and speak honestly in this episode. After some time away from the microphone, I wanted to return not with a lesson but with a real conversation. This episode is like a coffee-shop chat, and an open look behind the scenes at what the last few months have held for me, and why things are changing moving forward.
A Much-Needed Catch-Up
Life has felt heavy lately, and I know I’m not alone in that. In this episode, I share openly about the anxiety, depression, and mental exhaustion that have been present for me since late fall, and how those feelings eventually made it impossible to keep creating at the same pace. This isn’t shared for sympathy, but for honesty. Behind every podcast, business, or creative output is a real person navigating real life.
Protecting Your Mind Is an Act of Care
One of the biggest realizations I’ve had in this season is just how valuable our minds are. The small choices we make each day (what we consume, how we rest, where our attention goes) quietly shape our emotional and mental health. I share why I chose to remove social media from my phone entirely and how that decision helped turn down the “radio static” of anxiety and mental noise. Not as a rule for everyone, but as an example of listening to what I needed.
Getting Back to Baseline
When stress piles up from multiple directions, it can feel paralyzing. In this episode, I talk about the importance of getting back to baseline by creating enough mental space to breathe, think, and choose your next step. Sometimes that means removing something instead of adding more, and sometimes it means asking for help or giving yourself permission to slow way down.
Creating Margin Instead of Burning Out
I also share an important update about the future of The Tillage Podcast. After nearly three years of weekly episodes, I’ve decided to move to an every-other-week schedule. This decision comes from a desire to create sustainability, protect my mental health, and continue showing up in a way that feels grounded instead of frantic.
You Get to Call the Shots
At the heart of this episode is a reminder I often forget myself: you are allowed to call the shots in your life and your creative work. Many of the expectations we feel aren’t external, but they’re ones we’ve placed on ourselves. You are allowed to pivot, adjust your pace, and choose what works for this season, even if it looks different than before.
A Gentle Invitation
As we close, I offer a few questions to sit with this week:
How are you caring for your mind right now?
Where might you be asking too much of yourself?
What kind of support would actually help you in this season?
It’s so worthwhile to protect what’s tender and allow your pace to change when it needs to. Thank you for being here, for allowing this space to breathe, and for walking through this season with me.
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
Pausing doesn’t mean you’ve failed. Sometimes stopping is simply your body and mind asking you to listen, especially when life starts to feel heavy or layered.
Your mind is incredibly valuable, and the small choices you make each day—how you rest, what you consume, what you carry—either support it or quietly drain it.
You get to call the shots in your life and your creative work, even when expectations or outside noise feel loud. Creating margin isn’t quitting; often, it’s what allows you to keep showing up in a way that’s sustainable.
Stress is rarely just one thing, and carrying a lot doesn’t mean you’re weak or behind. Small steps of support still matter, and you don’t need a full reset to begin caring for yourself.
Asking for help is part of knowing yourself. Seasons change, and your pace is allowed to change with them, and honoring what you need isn’t selfish, it’s how you stay rooted and keep going.
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