Chapter 16 - Strong for Too Long

In this powerful chapter of Burn It Down and Begin Again, Erica gives language to something so many women feel but rarely name: the invisible emotional weight we carry.

This episode explores the quiet exhaustion that doesn’t come from doing too much in a single day — but from doing everything for everyone over a lifetime. The mental load. The emotional labor. The identity erosion. The constant vigilance. The unspoken belief that strength means carrying it all without complaint.

Erica unpacks how women are conditioned to become the emotional anchors, organizers, caretakers, and peacekeepers — often at the cost of their own needs, joy, and sense of self. Drawing from personal experience, psychology, and lived truth, she explains why this weight isn’t imagined, why sleep doesn’t fix it, and why midlife is often when it finally demands to be acknowledged.

This chapter is not about blame. It’s about recognition. Because what we can finally name, we can begin to release.

Inside this episode, Erica explores:

• The hidden emotional, mental, and spiritual labor women carry
• Why high-functioning anxiety and burnout are often survival responses
• How identity becomes shaped by roles instead of inner truth
• The cost of strength without self-support
• Why naming your emotions is the first step toward healing
• How to begin setting boundaries, practicing self-forgiveness, and coming home to yourself

If you’ve ever felt exhausted in a way rest doesn’t touch…
If you’ve been praised for being “strong” while quietly falling apart…
If you’ve survived by carrying more than was ever yours…

This episode is for you.

Burn It Down and Begin Again is part of the Chickology™ podcast collective — real women telling real stories to break cycles, release what no longer belongs to them, and reclaim the life that was never meant to be sacrificed.

You are allowed to put the weight down. You are allowed to rest. And you are not alone.

🌸 About Chickology™
Chickology™ is more than a podcast brand — it’s a collective of strong, real women telling real stories. Together, we’re reclaiming our narratives, breaking cycles, and lifting one another up through truth, laughter, and raw conversations. Every show under the Chickology™ umbrella is created by women, for women, with love.

✨ Join the Movement
We’re always looking for bold voices and powerful stories. If you’re a woman ready to share your truth or host your own podcast with us, reach out! One honest truth at a time, we’re helping one isolated woman at a time feel less alone.

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• Explore all Chickology™ podcasts at [Buzzsprout Podcast Directory link or Chickology website]
• Email us at: ChickologyPodcasts@gmail.com
  
  

💫 Because when women rise together, we change the world.