The Overwhelmed Brain
Self Development
Get to the root of emotional issues and learn the best way to relate to yourself and others by honoring your personal boundaries and making decisions that are in alignment with what's most important to you. This is not a "common-sense" personal growth and development show. You won't be told to think positively or create affirmations. The Overwhelmed Brain is about accessing that deeper mental and emotional strength inside you so that you can decrease or even eliminate old fears and evolve into the person you want to be. Learn what your parents or caretakers never taught you about emotional wellness and creating strong, non-toxic bonds with others. If you want the exact instructions that will help improve your life, you're in the right place.
Location:
Portland, OR
Description:
Get to the root of emotional issues and learn the best way to relate to yourself and others by honoring your personal boundaries and making decisions that are in alignment with what's most important to you. This is not a "common-sense" personal growth and development show. You won't be told to think positively or create affirmations. The Overwhelmed Brain is about accessing that deeper mental and emotional strength inside you so that you can decrease or even eliminate old fears and evolve into the person you want to be. Learn what your parents or caretakers never taught you about emotional wellness and creating strong, non-toxic bonds with others. If you want the exact instructions that will help improve your life, you're in the right place.
Twitter:
@paulcolabrain
Language:
English
Contact:
(617) 858-6463
Website:
http://theoverwhelmedbrain.com/
Episodes
Should payback for bad behavior be a relationship norm?
2/23/2025
What are your rights in a relationship with someone who is mistreating you or acting badly? Is it okay to get back at them and reciprocate with similar or worse behavior? What's fair in relationship warfare? Good question!
Duration:00:48:33
Decluttering the overwhelmed brain
2/16/2025
If you find your mind feels like an overstuffed closet, and your actual closet is also overstuffed, I'll try to help you balance the mental and physical clutter in this episode. It's a special episode that strays away from the norm, but hey, out of eleven years of doing this show, one off the beaten path isn't going to hurt.
Duration:00:40:50
When empathy is used against you
2/9/2025
Some people can be draining, especially if they play the victim after they've done bad behavior and expect you to empathize with them. Some people are very, very good at doing that. I talk about those people today.
Duration:00:37:36
What can keep you stuck with the same results over and over again
2/2/2025
Our childhood coping mechanisms shape our adult relationships. Sometimes the old fears keep us from moving into new, better territory, keeping us stuck where we are.
Duration:00:47:26
Washing your hands of a problem that won't go away
1/26/2025
Some problems won't go away until you walk away from them. But walking away can be hard... sometimes impossible. And sometimes it involves sacrifice. And is walking away the only answer?
Duration:00:38:05
The pressure of sex and expectations in an established relationship
1/19/2025
Sometimes emotional and sexual expectations can be challenging to balance in a long-term relationship... but do they have to be? Or is intimacy just difficult with certain people who seem entitled to receive it instead of trying to build it from the ground up?
Duration:00:39:47
Feeling like you have no choice but to submit to ungrateful, uncaring people
1/12/2025
You know the type: They do nothing and you do everything. In this episode, I share the struggle of a woman who has a rocky relationship with her adult daughter who moved back in with her. I share a lot of thoughts and lessons we can learn what we can do, if anything, when the other person in your life is making things unnecessarily harder.
Duration:01:10:20
The partner who likes things as they are when you're just miserable
1/5/2025
When you live with your romantic partner... And their relatives... And your partner doesn't seem to want that to change... What are your choices? Very hard question! I thought I'd tackle that today.
Duration:00:42:51
The people who avoid you
12/29/2024
Are you trying to reconnect with someone who’s unresponsive? Maybe they want nothing more to do with you and maybe you don't know why? And maybe this episode gives you the final step to take with others who seem like all they care about is avoiding you.
Duration:00:29:21
The judgments you have about others that keep you unhappy
12/22/2024
If you’ve ever found yourself trying to change someone's habits or feeling frustrated by their behaviors, this episode might help you learn what it takes to deal with and maybe even heal with someone you just can't seem to fully accept.
Duration:00:44:31
How your coping mechanisms may be interfering with your happiness
12/15/2024
How you cope with challenges affects... well... your whole life really! It can be helpful to know what your coping mechanisms are and where you learned them so that perhaps you can examine them and choose different responses in the future. If it were only that easy.
Duration:00:57:15
The massive, impossible, overwhelming circumstances that make life feel hopeless
12/8/2024
Problems can add up, compound, and create a situation so impossible to get out of that there seems to be no hope. Is it total defeat or is there anything you can do?
Duration:00:45:02
Can you heal from the big reveal of your partner's past?
12/1/2024
So you get someone special and you're feeling pretty good abou things, but then they reveal something they did in their past that takes all those good feelings away. Now you're not sure what to do about it. Can you get over it? Will you ever look at them the same way again? I tackle that specific issue in this episode.
Duration:00:36:13
Those "Nothing" people when you ask what's wrong
11/24/2024
What do you do when someone won't share what's on their mind? They're acting very different, but they're refusing to say why. They might even tell you nothing's wrong. But you know something's up...
Duration:00:35:07
The family bonds that require boundaries
11/17/2024
What happens if you marry into a family that doesn't really honor your presence or your boundaries? Sometimes their family doesn't feel like yours, especially when you feel like a total outsider because of how you are treated.
Duration:00:27:57
Arguing your way to understanding
11/10/2024
If you find yourself caught in misunderstandings over seemingly simple matters like where you should store your house paint, you’re not alone. Can clear communication prevail during an argument? There's a challenge in expressing emotions and maintaining balanced relationships. Hopefully I can help you guide through those challenges in this episode.
Duration:00:46:20
The bonds that never seem to end
11/3/2024
If you find you can't get certain people from your past out of your mind, the deep connections we form might go a lot deeper than we think.
Duration:00:29:43
When your relationships aren't exactly high quality or authentic
10/27/2024
Some relationships can be shallow and superficial. Some can be toxic and harmful. Then there are those that are quite meaningful. Why can't they all be meaningful? There might be a way to do that... but it comes at a risk.
Duration:00:37:51
What to do when someone you care about shows more excitement about their interests than you
10/20/2024
Some people like things we don't. Some get excited over the things we find uninteresting. What happens when their interests become more exciting to them than us? Do we accept our place in their line of priorities? Or is there a win-win in here that we may not have considered?
Duration:00:35:11
When people treat you as you were, not as you are
10/13/2024
Learning and growing is a natural part of life. Some people embrace those changes in you, but what about those who don't? What if all they see is who you've always been and aren't willing to see the new you?
Duration:00:36:28