Got Your SiX with Dr. Traci Eisenberg-Rayburn
Who's Holding You Together When You're Holding Everything Else? Real Talk on Motherhood, Mental Load & Resilience
Episode Summary
What does resilience actually look like when life does not slow down for you? In this special Mother's Day episode of Got Your Six, Dr. Traci brings two real women into the conversation for the first time in the show's history. AshLeigh, an IT leader and single mom raising an 11-year-old, and Kristina, an entrepreneur and mother navigating balancing, work, motherhood with her kindergartener and baby son was still in the hospital, sit down together to talk about what it actually means to keep showing up when everything is heavy.
Episode Notes
What does resilience actually look like when life does not slow down for you?
In this special Mother's Day episode of Got Your Six, Dr. Traci brings two real women into the conversation for the first time in the show's history. AshLeigh, an IT leader and single mom raising an 11-year-old, and Kristina, an entrepreneur and mother navigating balancing, work, motherhood with her kindergartener and baby son was still in the hospital, sit down together to talk about what it actually means to keep showing up when everything is heavy.
This is not a polished conversation about work-life balance. It is an honest one about what women carry quietly, what it costs to be the strong one in every room, and what it feels like to finally stop performing strength and start practicing it.
They talk about depression, ADHD, medication, advocating for yourself in a healthcare system that does not always listen, the identity shift of becoming a mother, the pressure of single parenting, what real friendship looks like under pressure, and why finding joy in ordinary moments is not a small thing. It is everything.
Because resilience is not built in one big dramatic moment. It is built in the repetition of waking up exhausted and choosing to care anyway.
In this episode, you’ll discover:
- Why women feel they have to appear strong even when they are completely overwhelmed
- What the mental and emotional load of single motherhood actually looks like from the inside
- How to advocate for yourself in a healthcare system that does not always hear you
- Why being vulnerable with your kids builds trust instead of undermining your authority
- The identity shift that happens the moment you become a mother and realize you are now the one who is supposed to know everything
- How Kristina's mindset of controlling only what you can control keeps her grounded through uncertainty
- Why AshLeigh's journey to finding the right medication for depression and ADHD is a story more women need to hear
- What reciprocal energy in friendship actually means and why it does not have to be perfectly equal
- How to raise financially responsible kids even when money is genuinely tight
- Why the things that cost nothing often create the most meaningful memories for your children
- What it looks like to redefine "rich" outside of money and material things
- The one takeaway both guests want every listener to walk away with
We talk about:
- 00:00 Introducing AshLeigh and Kristina and why this conversation matters
- 02:00 The pressure women feel to always appear strong and where it comes from
- 04:00 The identity shift of becoming a mother and suddenly being the one with all the answers
- 07:00 Being honest at work about what you are carrying and why it creates more freedom not less
- 09:00 Traci on being a soldier and a mom and never being allowed to show weakness
- 12:00 What vulnerability with your kids actually builds in them
- 15:00 Single parenting, real conversations with kids, and why shielding them does not serve them
- 18:00 Teaching financial responsibility when resources are limited
- 20:00 Redefining rich: why happiness and love are the real measure
- 22:00 AshLeigh on depression, ADHD, and the long road to finding the right support
- 25:00 Why you are allowed to interview your doctor and say no
- 27:00 Kristina's mindset: control what you can control and wake up like it is a gift
- 28:00 What real best friendship looks like when life gets hard
- 30:00 Reciprocal energy and why it does not have to be perfectly even
- 32:00 What Traci wants every listener to walk away carrying
Resources:
- Traci is offering one free month inside one of her three membership communities for listeners of this episode. To claim it, schedule a free 20-minute call using the link in the show notes and include one takeaway from this conversation when you book. This is not a sales call. It is simply to make sure you land in the right group for where you are right now: https://drtraci.erbusinessconsulting.com/book-a-discovery-call
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