In the official Season Four Kickoff, Jo Dodd and KJ share stories of their own experiences about how difficult and overwhelming it can be as a woman, let alone a mother, thriving in a working environment that’s rigid, fast-paced, and insensitive.

A mum of four, an author, speaker, and coach, Jo has published three children's books as well as a one-of-a-kind picture book for mums called 'Dear Mama Bear with the F*cked Up Hair.' This book, which tells an authentic, poignant, dark, sometimes humorous story of motherhood, is based on Jo's journey of silently battling depression for over a decade.

Within the past few months, Jo has pivoted her business to focus on perimenopause and menopause awareness. Jo has launched her own podcast Dear Peri and Meno Pause and is building a community called MenoShine, where she encourages women to learn, laugh and lead their way through midlife while changing the stigma associated with mental health and menopause.

Compassionate Considerations:

• Do you experience physical symptoms indicating emotional distress?
• Two things you can do to manage overwhelm immediately:
  • Physical space disruption
  • Releasing feelings through tears
• Speaking to ourselves in the present tense signifies embodiment (vs. future or past tense which implies detachment or denial from the current situation)
• People pleasing and martyrdom are actually the cause of physical and emotional sickness
• Are you able to communicate and ask for what you need from your support network?

Connect With Jo

• Website: https://livinginjotopia.com/
• IG: @livinginjotopia
• Book: Dear Mama Bear With The F*cked Up Hair
• Podcast: Dear Peri & Meno Pause

Please Rate and Review This Podcast if the stories shared here have astonished you as well. https://ratethispodcast.com/astonishingstories

Connect With KJ & Bliss Begins Within

• Join KJ & Norman in Bali and Lombok, Indonesia to recover your creative blueprint. Next Session: May 30 - June 5, 2023
• IG: @MusingsOnOther
• Web: https://blissbeginswithin.com
• Book A Hello Call with KJ: https://blissbeginswithin.as.me/HelloCall
• Receive alerts for upcoming Creativity & Healing Gatherings - Newsletter
• Intro & Outro music: Canada Lo Res by Pictures Of The Floating World

Support the show

Follow KJ in her worldly adventures, and receive notifications for when her next events (Creative Recovery Workshops, Bali Wellness Retreats, and Storyteller Evenings) take place.
- Join The Story Squad and receive Love Notes Here
- Visit her website here: Bliss Begins Within.com