Life Happens with Barb & Michelle

CW: this episode mentions the Cornell Seven and includes a discussion of sexual abuse. Please take care while listening.

“We’re going to come across mean people. It’s part of life. But you have the power to decide how that’s going to impact you, and you don’t have to carry that with you.” - Michelle
Mean people are draining your mental health, and on Life Happens with Barb and Michelle, the mother-daughter duo are revisiting this popular topic. This week, they get into why people lash out and how to stop internalizing it.
Michelle opens with the everyday stuff: a honk the second the traffic light turns green, the nasty comment from a stranger, the dig at the holiday dinner table, and why we carry it around all day like it belongs to us. Barb adds a new layer this time around: a lot of today’s meanness comes down to control and power, and she wonders what living with it is doing to our mental health.
Barb shares how she pictures a shield in front of her, blocking the nasty comments that come in, and what she saw at an airport after a three-hour delay. Michelle explains why imagining the honking driver’s whole day helps her take it less personally.
Barb and Michelle also discuss:
Why meanness is rarely about you: control, insecurity, impatience, and people who are simply at the end of their rope
Protecting your energy and your mental health when you can’t control what other people say or do
How to check in with yourself in the moment, from HALT (hungry, angry, lonely, or tired) to remembering that feelings aren’t facts
What to do when you’re the mean one

As Barb said, “we are worth having our own energy back.”

Want more help putting this into practice? The Emotional Well-Being Toolkit covers self-compassion, boundaries, and ways to stop taking things so personally. It soft launches November 10. Join the interest list at https://peacefulmindpeacefullife.org/toolkit/

Episode Breakdown ⬇️
00:00 Episode Intro: Why We Carry Other People's Meanness
02:00 Connecting Meanness to Control, Power, and Lost Energy
06:00 Stop Taking It Personally: Deciding Not to Give Away Your Power
11:30 Understanding Why People Latch Out: Insecurity, Overwhelm, and End of the Rope
18:30 When Meanness Stems from Exhaustion & Living in an Unfair World
22:30 Dealing with Public Vitriol & Social Media Backlash
26:30 Visualization & Emotional Protection: Imagining a Shield
28:30 Checking In with Yourself: HALT & Feelings Aren't Facts
29:30 What to Do When You're the Mean One: Stopping Gossip & Making Amends

🎙️Life Happens with Barb and Michelle is a weekly mental health podcast, with new episodes dropping every Tuesday.

Make sure you subscribe & join us next week for another episode of Life Happens with Barb and Michelle!

Hosted by:
💕Barb Schmidt https://www.instagram.com/peaceful_barb/
💕Michelle Maros https://www.instagram.com/michellemaros/

Join our community! ⬇️

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LifeHappensThePodcast
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lifehappensthepodcast/
Substack: https://lifehappensthepodcast.substack.com/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lifehappensthepodcast
Listen to our podcast anywhere → https://michellemaros.com/podcast/
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

“It’s not about you needing to be fixed. It’s about you needing to understand that you already are worthy.” - Barb
Self-love, toxic relationships, and feeling overwhelmed: these are just a few of the topics in this week’s episode of Life Happens with Barb and Michelle, where the mother-daughter duo are back with one of their favorite formats, a Q&A from their community.
Barb shares how she gets through difficult family gatherings, from volunteering for the grocery run to taking the grandkids out for ice cream. Michelle reflects on Scott Peck’s line that life is difficult, and how once you accept that, it can take the edge off when someone rubs you the wrong way.
They then get into how to build self-love and how to keep it even when it feels like life is knocking you down.

Barb and Michelle also discuss:
Handling toxic family and workplace dynamics, loving people from afar, and building emotional resilience
Why self-love and confidence take daily practice: from talking back to untrue thoughts to morning affirmations
How to build a mother-daughter bond, and why no relationship is perfect
Coping with overwhelm: three questions to ask yourself and “be where your feet are”

If you’re struggling with your relationships, your workplace, or the relationship you have with yourself, you’re not alone in figuring out life’s challenges.

Want Barb to visit your town for a book event? Let us know in the comments and on Instagram where you’d like to see her!
🎙️Life Happens with Barb and Michelle is a weekly mental health podcast, with new episodes dropping every Tuesday.
Make sure you subscribe & join us next week for another episode of Life Happens with Barb and Michelle!

Hosted by:
💕Barb Schmidt https://www.instagram.com/peaceful_barb/
💕Michelle Maros https://www.instagram.com/michellemaros/

Join our community! ⬇️
YouTube: www.youtube.com/@LifeHappensThePodcast
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lifehappensthepodcast/
Substack: https://lifehappensthepodcast.substack.com/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lifehappensthepodcast
Listen to our podcast anywhere → https://michellemaros.com/podcast/
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

"I'm okay with people having their opinions … but I'm not okay with them saying it's the only way." – Barb

In this week's episode of Life Happens with Barb and Michelle, the mother-daughter duo get personal about mental health, asking for help, and how to make practices feel like your own.

Michelle gets vulnerable, sharing her experience with the loudest voices in the self-help world. They once convinced her she could meditate, journal, or affirm her way out of depression, and she opens up about how long she suffered before she let herself ask for support. Barb reflects on what 42 years in recovery have taught her, and why no teacher, treatment, or trend is ever the final answer.

Together, Barb and Michelle push back on the stigma around mental health medication and the pressure to follow one person's set of rules, word for word. Their advice? "Be the scientist in the laboratory of your own life." Try things on for size, and listen to and trust what your body and intuition are telling you.

Barb and Michelle also discuss:
How to spot someone selling you “the one way” in a self-help journey
Finding your practice, your teachers, and your community, and building an emotional well-being toolkit that works for you
Ways to use social media for mental health education while still seeing a licensed professional for a real diagnosis
Practicing self-compassion: forgiving yourself for what you didn't know before you learned it

Whether you're new to personal growth or decades into your practice, this episode is a reminder that there’s never any shame in needing support.

🎙️Life Happens with Barb and Michelle is a weekly mental health podcast, with new episodes dropping every Tuesday.

Make sure you subscribe & join us next week for another episode of Life Happens with Barb and Michelle!
Hosted by:
💕Barb Schmidt https://www.instagram.com/peaceful_barb/
💕Michelle Maros https://www.instagram.com/michellemaros/

Join our community! ⬇️
YouTube: www.youtube.com/@LifeHappensThePodcast
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lifehappensthepodcast/
Substack: https://lifehappensthepodcast.substack.com/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lifehappensthepodcast
Listen to our podcast anywhere → https://michellemaros.com/podcast/
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

"People are walking around asking, 'Is it okay if I'm just me?'" – Cory Allen

In this week's episode of Life Happens with Barb and Michelle, Barb and Michelle are joined by Cory Allen, author of The Quiet Age: Creating a Calm Life in a Chaotic World, for an honest, relatable conversation about mindfulness and emotional well-being.
The mother-daughter duo and Cory explore what persistent digital noise is doing to our minds, bodies, and nervous systems. They take a deeper look into why the real problem isn't burnout, but rather losing connection with ourselves.
Cory shares practical mindfulness tools for overcoming overwhelm: from writing down a racing thought and shelving it for a week, to a "wine tasting" approach for getting curious about hard feelings instead of running from them. Barb ties it back to the idea behind Peaceful Mind Peaceful Life®, and how real change happens quietly, from the inside out. Make sure you stay until the end, where the conversation closes with a short mindfulness practice for you to try the second the episode stops.
In this episode, Barb, Michelle, and Cory also discuss:
Why thoughts are suggestions, not instructions, and how to read a racing heart as a signal instead of an alarm
How to get curious about hard feelings and why facing them is less scary than staying numb
What a quiet life really looks like, and why it doesn't mean slowing down or giving up your drive
Why so many of us outsource our power, and the permission we're all waiting for to live authentically
If you've ever wondered whether it's okay to just be yourself, this episode’s for you.

More from our guest, Cory Allen:
Find Cory at @heycoryallen, and pick up The Quiet Age https://link.amazon/B06rAD2a.

🎙️Life Happens with Barb and Michelle is a weekly mental health podcast, with new episodes dropping every Tuesday.

Make sure you subscribe & join us next week for another episode of Life Happens with Barb and Michelle!
Hosted by:
💕Barb Schmidt https://www.instagram.com/peaceful_barb/
💕Michelle Maros https://www.instagram.com/michellemaros/

Join our community! ⬇️
YouTube: www.youtube.com/@LifeHappensThePodcast
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lifehappensthepodcast/
Substack: https://lifehappensthepodcast.substack.com/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lifehappensthepodcast
Listen to our podcast anywhere→ https://michellemaros.com/podcast/
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In today’s episode of Life Happens with Barb and Michelle, Barb and Michelle are joined by writer, speaker, and advocate Libby Ward, author of Honest Motherhood: On Losing My Mind and Finding Myself. In a deeply moving and vulnerable conversation, we talk about the realities of modern motherhood, including the mental load, overwhelm, the pressure to do it all, and what it takes to let go of perfection.
Together, Libby, Barb, and Michelle explore the hidden roots of rage, overstimulation, and people-pleasing, unpacking how childhood trauma and hypervigilance make setting simple boundaries feel like a matter of life or death.
Libby shares her candid "Granola Bar" story, a pivotal moment of maternal rage that forces her to confront her limits and explains why genuine repair and self-compassion are the true keys to breaking generational cycles. From validating our children's experiences to unlearning the myth of the "perfect mother," this episode offers an honest, hopeful blueprint for reconnecting with your authentic self.

In This Episode, We Discuss:
The pressures of motherhood and learning how to prioritize yourself
Letting go of the pressure to be perceived as a “good mom"
Setting boundaries, choosing to say no, and how to live with the feelings of letting people down
Giving yourself permission to be imperfect and choosing radical honesty over a conflict-free relationship
Learning to apologize to your children and sharing the importance of feelings
This is a powerful, fun, and deeply honest conversation about parenting, identity, boundaries, and creating a healthier version of motherhood for ourselves and the next generation.

More From the Guest:
Get your copy of Honest Motherhood: On Losing My Mind and Finding Myself
Learn more about Libby Ward here and follow her @libbyward.
Subscribe & Join Us Next Tuesday for another heartfelt episode of Life Happens with Barb and Michelle!

💕🎙️Hosted by:
https://www.instagram.com/peaceful_barb/https://www.instagram.com/michellemaros/Join our community
⬇️YouTube: www.youtube.com/@LifeHappensThePodcast
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lifehappensthepodcast/
Substack: https://lifehappensthepodcast.substack.com/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lifehappensthepodcast
Listen to our podcast anywhere→ https://michellemaros.com/podcast/

🎙️ New episodes of Life Happens with Barb and Michelle are released every Tuesday✨
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