This episode is a behind-the-scenes look at what really happens when success comes faster than your nervous system knows how to hold.

I’m sharing the full story of what unfolded after a wildly intuitive, expansive year in business and how unworthiness, perfectionism, and fear quietly took over once things felt “too easy.” What followed was burnout, over-efforting, identity collapse, and ultimately a five-month sabbatical that changed everything.

We’re talking about the nervous system science behind becoming the woman you desire to be… not through force or mindset hacks, but through safety, practice, and embodiment. Why “acting as if” actually works, how success can feel threatening to the body, and why breaking was the doorway to everything I was trying to create.

This is about becoming her from the inside out.

TOPICS & TANGENTS:
• What happens when success outpaces nervous system capacity
• The hidden unworthiness that follows “too easy” wins
• Perfectionism as protection, not discipline
• Why success can feel unsafe to the body
• The be–do–have model vs. chasing outcomes
• Acting as if through nervous system rehearsal, not pretending
• Identity, safety, and practicing your future before it arrives
• Why abundance requires regulation, not effort
• Micro decisions that rewire who you’re becoming

POINT OF THE STORY:
You don’t become her by achieving more.
You become her by teaching your body it’s safe to be who you already are.

MENTIONED:
• Microdosing as a nervous-system support for neuroplasticity and regulation
• Golden Rule — including Superflow and Soul Gummies
• Code ASH10 for 10% off

If you’re setting goals for the next season of your life and wondering why they feel heavy instead of exciting, this episode is your reminder: becoming her starts with safety, not pressure.

Are you loving it? Send Ash a text!

MORE ABOUT ASH
I am the definition of duality — I swear like a sailor and break rules like it’s my job, but I also hold incredible space for my clients and work my ass off to help them achieve the success they’re after. But I'm also here for the non-preneur woman, too. My background in counseling gives me a unique perspective on what it means to show up, serve, & create connection for those who feel like they've never belonged before.

LINKS:

• Become the Regulated Woman
• Get emails that feel like your best friend (if your best friend was a therapist and actually told you the truth).
• Use code BB20 to get The Burnout Breakthrough for only $7
• Follow me on IG (dropping in once a quarter for updates & gossip)
• Website: ashmcdonaldmentoring.com

Work with me 1:1

• Therapeutic Mentorship
• Business Therapy (therapy + strategic mentorship)
• ...

Sometimes you’re doing “fine”… but your body is exhausted.
Irritable. Tight. Overstimulated.
And you can’t quite explain why.

In this bonus episode, I’m sharing a behind-the-scenes audio from The Regulated Woman private podcast. This is one of my favorite micro-tools for releasing stress that gets trapped in the body throughout the day.

We’re talking about emotional residue... the irritation, disappointment, pressure, or overwhelm your body absorbs when you don’t have time (or space) to fully process what you feel. Even when your mind has moved on, your nervous system might still be holding the weight.

This episode walks you through a simple, 60-second somatic release you can use in real life, no journaling, no deep dive, no long breathwork session required.

Just practical nervous-system care for women who are carrying a lot.

TOPICS & TANGENTS:
• What emotional residue is and why it drains your energy
• How stress and emotion live in the body, not just the mind
• Why “pushing through” costs more than you think
• A simple three-step somatic release you can use anytime
• How incomplete stress responses keep you exhausted
• Reclaiming mental, emotional, and physical energy without effort

POINT OF THE STORY:
You’re not tired because you’re weak... you’re tired because your body is holding too much. When you allow stress responses to complete, you get your energy back.

MENTIONED:
• My conversation with Alison Hardy on Six Figure Secrets — a raw discussion on success, burnout, and redefining what “enough” actually feels like

If this episode lands for you and you want more support like this — short, effective, body-based tools you can actually use — The Regulated Woman might be exactly what your nervous system has been asking for.

Are you loving it? Send Ash a text!

MORE ABOUT ASH
I am the definition of duality — I swear like a sailor and break rules like it’s my job, but I also hold incredible space for my clients and work my ass off to help them achieve the success they’re after. But I'm also here for the non-preneur woman, too. My background in counseling gives me a unique perspective on what it means to show up, serve, & create connection for those who feel like they've never belonged before.

LINKS:

• Become the Regulated Woman
• Get emails that feel like your best friend (if your best friend was a therapist and actually told you the truth).
• Use code BB20 to get The Burnout Breakthrough for only $7
• Follow me on IG (dropping in once a quarter for updates & gossip)
• Website: ashmcdonaldmentoring.com

Work with me 1:1

• Therapeutic Mentorship
• Business Therapy (therapy + strategic mentorship)
• ...

Sometimes the plan for the episode… totally sucks. In this conversation, I scrap my original idea mid-recording and bring you into what’s actually alive in my world right now: parenting an 11-year-old, navigating big emotions, asking scary questions, and coming back (over and over) to my values as a mom.

We talk about what it means to hold space for your kids’ real struggles, why “because I said so” isn’t a value, and how to stay in the room when your child is wrestling with belonging, insecurity, and the very human fear of not being liked. It’s an honest peek into how I’m fumbling, regulating, repairing, and choosing relationship on purpose.

TOPICS & TANGENTS:

• Life updates: Colorado snow, moving (again), and starting 2026 in a new home
• Parenting an 11-year-old: hormones, friendship dynamics, and fitting in
• The conversation no parent wants to have: asking your child directly about self-harm
• Why kids need us to ask the hard questions out loud
• Creating safety: therapy for boys, emotional literacy, and modeling vulnerability
• Why “because I said so” is not a parenting value
• Mutual respect, consequences, and holding boundaries after a big emotional moment
• Curiosity as a parenting tool: better questions than “How was your day?”
• When your child’s biggest fear mirrors your own (and what to do with that)
• Remembering: you can’t be the parent you want to be from a dysregulated state

POINT OF THE STORY:
You will never feel “ready” or fully qualified for the version of parenting you’re in, it’s all first-time territory. But when the plan falls apart, coming back to your core values, staying curious, and being brave enough to ask the hard questions builds the kind of relationship where your kids actually bring you their real life.

MENTIONED:

• Surrender Retreat: the place where women recalibrate safety, capacity, and self-trust so they can show up to life (and parenting) from a regulated, grounded nervous system rather than reactivity. If you want to experience what it feels like to soften, trust yourself, and expand your capacity to hold more… Surrender is where that work begins.

Are you loving it? Send Ash a text!

MORE ABOUT ASH
I am the definition of duality — I swear like a sailor and break rules like it’s my job, but I also hold incredible space for my clients and work my ass off to help them achieve the success they’re after. But I'm also here for the non-preneur woman, too. My background in counseling gives me a unique perspective on what it means to show up, serve, & create connection for those who feel like they've never belonged before.

LINKS:

• Become the Regulated Woman
• Get emails that feel like your best friend (if your best friend was a therapist and actually told you the truth).
• Use code BB20 to get The Burnout Breakthrough for only $7
• Follow me on IG (dropping in once a quarter for updates & gossip)
• Website: ashmcdonaldmentoring.com

Work with me 1:1

• Therapeutic Mentorship
• Business Therapy (therapy + strategic mentorship)
• ...