Welcome to the Hot Flash Files After Dark… the show where hormones are high, patience is low, and the thoughts we never admit to finally get their time in the spotlight. Tonight we are diving headfirst into intrusive thoughts… the call of the void… those sudden little brain flashes that show up out of nowhere and make you question whether you should be allowed in public without supervision.

You know the ones.

One minute you are minding your business… trying to be a functioning adult… and the next your brain is like… what if you yeeted the laundry basket off the deck… just to watch it soar like a majestic plastic bird.

Or you light a candle, trying to be peaceful and romantic for no one but yourself… and your brain whispers… blow it out with your hair… go on… be a human blowtorch… who needs eyebrows anyway.

Maybe you are cleaning the kitchen and grab your essential oils… the lavender… the peppermint… the ones influencers swear will realign your entire life… and your brain casually suggests… drink it… take a shot… become a peppermint infused ghost story.

And then… we get to the mother of all intrusive thoughts. The Thanksgiving special. You are at the table… passing the mashed potatoes… doing your best to be civil… and suddenly your brain says… tell off your mother in law… do it… say the sentence you have rehearsed in the shower for a decade.

And instantly you break into a stress sweat because you would never actually do it… but the fact that your brain even whispered the idea feels like you committed a small emotional crime.

These strange… dramatic… slightly unhinged thoughts do not mean you are broken. They do not mean you want to do anything wild or dangerous. They are simply your brain running quick little simulations… stress tests… nonsense scenarios… usually when you are hormonal… overwhelmed… overstimulated… or three seconds away from losing your mind because someone chewed too loudly.

In this episode we talk about why these thoughts happen… why they are more common in midlife… why women who have survived a lot tend to experience them more intensely… and why the call of the void is actually a sign of a very alive… very aware… very human brain. We unpack the science in a way that is comforting… not clinical… and we laugh about the intrusive thoughts that almost took us down this week.

Because if there is one thing we all know by now… it is that womanhood comes with a nervous system that refuses to be quiet. And somehow… talking about it together makes it feel a whole lot lighter.

Thank you for being here… for showing up in this late night space… for laughing… for breathing… for letting yourself feel human. If this episode made you feel seen… or normal… or less alone in the chaos that lives inside your head… come back again. There is always more to unravel… more to laugh about… and more to share in the dark hours when the world quiets down and our thoughts get loud.

Until next time… this has been the Hot Flash Files After Dark… and you are always welcome here.