Medium Lady Talks: Burnout Recovery for Millennials and Mothers

What happens when being “strong” stops working?

In this deeply affirming and practical conversation, Erin is joined by Dr. Nikia Smith — practicing anesthesiologist, wellness coach, and founder of She Is Fire Forged — to explore how the Superwoman myth quietly fuels burnout, especially for high-achieving women and women in healthcare.

Together, they unpack how resilience, people-pleasing, and productivity can become liabilities rat...

On the winter solstice — the darkest day of the year — Erin closes the Phone Free Fall series with a quiet, honest reflection on presence, capacity, and what it means to actually live inside the life you worked so hard to build.

This episode isn’t about advice, challenges, or optimizing your habits. It’s about noticing. About naming the ways we slip out of our own lives — into scrolling, distraction, and emotional distance — not be...

You put your phone down. Your screen time went down. And instead of feeling calm or proud… you felt bored. Then scrolling felt boring too. And suddenly, you felt lost.

If that’s been your experience, this episode is for you.

In this Phone Free Fall conversation, Erin explores why setting phone boundaries can bring up unexpected emotions — and why feeling bored, unsettled, or untethered is not a sign you’re failing. It’s a sign that...

If you’ve ever wondered why you can’t stop picking up your phone, especially in December, this is the episode you need. Erin breaks down the real reason you feel overstimulated, resentful, or stuck in the doomscroll — and spoiler: it’s not a lack of willpower. Your brain is just full.

In this Phone Free Fall episode, Erin explores how emotional labour, holiday chaos, mental load, and constant interruptions shape your relationship w...

Cutting back your screen time should feel peaceful… right? Except when you actually try it, quitting your phone feels uncomfortable, emotional, and surprisingly hard.

In Episode 161, part of Phone Free Fall, I’m sharing a deeply honest four-to-six-week check-in on what it’s really like to change your relationship with your phone — including the withdrawal phase no one talks about, the “brain bargaining” that happens in the early we...

In this episode of Medium Lady Talks, Erin sits down with watercolor artist and author Jaime Townzen for a heartfelt conversation about the shift from caregiving to creativity — and how making art became her most powerful source of rest.

Jaime shares her story of moving through years of intense caregiving, grief, and the emotional load of motherhood, and how a simple watercolor tutorial in 2020 opened the door to calm, grounding, a...

What if your phone could stop following you around?

In Episode 159 of Medium Lady Talks, Erin Vandeven sits down with creator and stay-at-home mom Kassadi Gabriel—the mind behind the viral idea of “landline mode.” Together they unpack how simple technology boundaries can restore your patience, creativity, and peace of mind in a culture addicted to constant connection.

They talk about:

• What “landline mode” really is and how to...

In this episode of Medium Lady Talks, Erin sits down with poet, grief coach, and tarot reader Anna Jollymore to explore what it means to slow down, feel deeply, and create from the fire within.

Anna is the author of Words for Becoming, a stunning debut collection that gazes unflinchingly at the shadow side of personal transformation. Together, Erin and Anna unpack how poetry can help us process grief, rest our overworked minds, and...

In an effort to continue to rest while also hosting a podcast, I'm reposting an episode from the archives. This episode of Medium Lady Talks originally aired on July 11, 2024. Enjoy and new episodes will air next Monday!

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Hello, hi! Today’s episode is a first for the show: Medium Lady Rants? After being influenced by a few videos critiquing BookTok and the Beauty Influencer space it occurred to me that some of the problems...

Series: Phone Free Fall – Scroll Less. Live More.

Keywords: phone addiction, sensory rest, digital wellness, mindfulness, motherhood burnout, nervous-system regulation, overstimulation, real rest, millennial moms, self-care

Summary : In Episode 157 of Medium Lady Talks, host Erin Vandeven takes listeners deeper into the Phone Free Fall series—exploring why so many of us instinctively reach for our phones and how that reflex keeps ...

🪂 Episode 156 — Welcome to Phone Free Fall

Keywords: phone addiction, digital wellness, social media burnout, motherhood and mental health, mindful living, rest, overstimulation, self-care, millennial mothers

Summary : In the first episode of her new series Phone Free Fall, host Erin Vandeven explores the surprising truth behind her biggest barrier to real rest — her phone. Building on the success of The Summer of Real Rest, Erin ...

Have you ever thought, “I don’t even know what would be restorative right now”? You’re not alone. In fact, nearly 60% of women report spending no time on self-care most days, leaving them depleted and unsure how to fill their own tank.

In this episode 155 of Medium Lady Talks, I share a practical way to bridge the gap between knowing you’re exhausted and actually choosing something restorative. Building on Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith’...

Feeling the shift from summer to fall? This episode of Medium Lady Talks guides you through my How to Start a New Month workbook — a simple, cozy ritual for reflection, balance, and self-care. Grab your free copy on Patreon and join me in creating a restful reset for what’s next.

The Fall Equinox is the perfect reminder that transitions are worth noticing. In episode 154 of Medium Lady Talks, I’m inviting you to pause, reflect, and...

What if the reason you feel so depleted isn’t that you’re not trying hard enough… but that you’re carrying too much?

In episode 153 of Medium Lady Talks, Erin explores the radical question: What can you put down, for now? As we close out the Summer of Real Rest series and transition toward fall, Erin guides you through a playful self-assessment quiz to help you identify the weight you’ve been carrying — and what you can finally rel...

Did you think the best summer of your life would carry you straight into fall with joy and energy—only to find yourself feeling tired, sad, or a little… beige? You’re not alone. Many of us experience the end of summer blues or what I’m calling summer grief.

In this Episode 152 of Medium Lady Talks, I dive into why seasonal transitions feel so heavy, and how to navigate them with intention. We’ll talk about:

• The emotional drop...

What season of life are you in—and what would it mean to actually honour that season instead of resisting it?

In this episode 151 of Medium Lady Talks, I’m joined by my friend and thoughtful powerhouse Ashley Gibson, who brings a beautiful mix of vulnerability, wisdom, and humour to her story. Ashley is a program management lead in tech, a creative multi-passionate elder millennial, a reformed perfectionist, and a chronic illness w...

What if the care you needed wasn’t one more task, but a radical act of self-trust?

In Episode 150, I’m joined by Amy C. Willis, sober coach, speaker, and founder of Hol + Well. Amy works with women and queer folks to explore what’s possible in a life free from alcohol—one rooted in rest, boundaries, and real self-care.

We explore the concept of mothering yourself—a tender and transformative practice that helped Amy through early so...

Do you ever feel completely drained after “being nice”? If so, you might not need more sleep — you might need emotional rest.

In Episode 149 of Medium Lady Talks, Erin explores how emotional fatigue often hides in plain sight, especially for chronic people pleasers. She shares why people-pleasing is a constant leak on your energy, how it erases your sense of self in relationships, and why emotional rest is one of the most overlooke...

What if the gap between burned out hot mess and well-rested badass is… just five minutes?

In Epidosde 148 of Medium Lady Talks, Erin shares a personal moment from a wildly stressful workday where a handful of tiny, intentional choices helped her find real rest—without escaping, quitting, or checking out. This is a grounded, gentle episode that proves rest is not about perfection. It’s about margin.

✨ Inside this episode:

• The ...