Ever felt like you're too tired to be the person you know you could be?
Yeah. Us too.
In this episode of Too Much Apparently, we (Carly and Alice — two therapists trying to make peace with bodies and brains that don't always match our ambitions) get real about the painful gap between who we want to be and what we actually have the capacity for.
We explore burnout, chronic illness, neurodivergence, identity, grief, and why it's so hard to stop measuring yourself against a version of you that might never have existed in the first place. We also ask whether acceptance really means giving up—or whether it might actually be the thing that frees up the energy you've been spending fighting reality.
This time we talked about:
🎙️ We've felt this thing too (and we still do): Hello ambitious plans from the sofa, endless ideas with no energy to bring them to life, wondering if you're lazy, and grieving the distance between your dreams and your capacity.
👀 What it looks like in real life: Feeling like you're wasting your potential, needing far more rest than other people, comparing yourself to impossible standards, burning out repeatedly, and constantly trying to "get back" to the version of yourself you think you should be.
🧠 Why our brains do it: Identity, perfectionism, giftedness, burnout, chronic illness, autism, ADHD, capitalism, and a culture that teaches us our worth comes from what we produce rather than who we are.
🧍🏽♀️🧍🏻 The different ways it shows up: Pushing through exhaustion, chasing the next productivity hack, believing there's a magic solution, feeling guilty for resting, struggling with acceptance, and feeling like you're constantly falling short of your "ideal self."
🧰 Coping mechanisms: Experimenting with what genuinely supports your energy, questioning whether your goals still fit your life, allowing grief, reducing self-judgement, and slowly working towards acceptance without giving up hope.
🌱 How to make peace with it: Maybe healing isn't becoming the person you imagined—it might be learning to value the person you already are, within the capacity you have today.
Thanks for listening 💛💜🩷🩵🧡
💬 New episodes every Monday.
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👩💻 Carly Radford:
→ Website: www.carlyradford.com
→ Instagram: @the_sensitivity_therapist
👩🏻💻 Alice Tew:
→ Website: www.alicetew.com
→ Instagram: @reparentingwithalice
📩 Email us: toomuchapparently@gmail.com
🗓️ New episodes every Monday
This is a podcast that says: bring your too-muchness… we're here for it.
Disclaimer: Just a quick note to say this podcast isn’t therapy, and it’s not a substitute for professional support. We’re here to share ideas and experiences, but if you’re struggling, please reach out to a mental health professional or a support service near you.
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