Enough, the Podcast

Have you ever thought, If I just fixed that one thing, I'd finally feel OK?
In this episode of Enough, the Podcast, we're talking about body image, shame, and the quiet fix-it logic so many women live inside — especially in midlife.
My guest, Kate Gies, was born without an ear and underwent 14 reconstructive surgeries as a child, each one promising to finally make her whole. What she learned — far earlier than most of us — is that fixing the body rarely delivers the relief it promises.
This conversation isn't about giving up on your appearance. It's about questioning what you're asking your appearance to do for you.
We explore:
Why the beauty industry relies on low-grade shame to keep us fixing

How body image becomes a stand-in for deeper questions about worth

The myth that one more improvement will finally make you feel enough

What wholeness looks like when it isn't tied to perfection

How to tell the difference between choice and conditioning

If you've ever negotiated with your reflection…
If you care about how you look and resent how much it matters…
If you're curious about what changes when appearance stops being proof of your worth…
This episode will land. Press play and consider what might be driving your appearance-related decisions – zero judgment; no fixing (or solutions;) just pure curiosity. 
 
LINKS
Kate Gies's website (and her book, It Must Beautiful To Be Finished).
Kate Gies on Instagram.
Mandy Lehto on Instagram.

Be honest. You secretly love how much you can endure. Like it's a badge of honour that you can take on more, stay longer, push harder, and still (kinda) look put together?
But here's the kicker: What if that "unstoppable drive" isn't grit at all?
What if it's your nervous system running on a decades-old operating system — one that learned, way back when, that proving yourself was the only way to stay safe, loved, or valuable?
That would explain some things, wouldn't it?
Like why you:
Secretly check emails on holiday… in the bathroom… while everyone else is having fun.

Stay in jobs, relationships, and projects way past their expiry date because nobody's gonna underestimate you.

Celebrate big wins by immediately asking, "Cool, what's next?" instead of, you know, celebrating.

If you're nodding (and maybe wincing), this episode is your mirror.
I'm joined by Anna Runkle (aka The Crappy Childhood Fairy, YouTube queen, and new author of Re-Regulated) and Dr Sarah Madigan, psychologist extraordinaire, to ask one big question: What's really driving your drive?
We'll poke at the shiny, high-achiever veneer and ask whether your ambition is actually joy-fuelled — or just a trauma pattern in designer shoes.
You'll learn:
How over-achievement can be a sneaky trauma response (and why that doesn't make you "broken").

The surprising body tells that your drive has tipped from energising to dysregulating.

Why noticing your patterns is the most subversive act of self-preservation you can do.

How to make your ambition sustainable instead of soul-scorching.

This is not about "fixing" your drive. It's about untangling it, so it stops running you into the ground and starts fuelling the life you actually want.
If you've ever asked yourself, "Why am I like this?" — press play.
 
LINKS
Anna Runkle's website, book(s), and free resource she mentions
Dr Sarah Madigan's website
Dr Sarah Madigan was a guest on episode 63 of Enough, the Podcast Listen HERE
The Three Circles Model by Paul Gilbert
What's Driving Your Drive QUIZ

Ever said, "No worries, all good" while your insides screamed otherwise? That's not weakness. That was your nervous system doing its genius, trauma-sourced thing: fawning. In this episode, author and clinical psychologist Dr. Ingrid Clayton shows us that fawning isn't a personality flaw—it's a self-abandonment pattern we can gently unlearn, because it's costing you. Big time. We get into why fawning isn't actually "being nice." You'll learn how it shows up day to day, and how you can start building safety from the inside out, so saying "No", or being in conflict doesn't feel so terrifying. If you're regularly "fine with whatever," or feel unable to express preferences, objections and big emotions, you're going to want to listen to this. 
 
LINKS
Dr. Ingrid Clayton's Website and book
Ingrid on Substack
Ingrid on Instagram

You're used to pushing hard – in fact, your identity is built on it. What happens when your body forces you to stop? Who are you then? That's what happened to psychologist Jo Rodriguez, a behind-the-scenes TV expert, marathon runner, and mum who loved being called a machine. One day, what seemed like a simple illness forced her to slow down. She continued her relentless routine, and the mystery illness kept reappearing until the pain became unbearable, and Jo's heart nearly doubled in size. After a diagnosis of pericarditis, she lay in hospital wondering if she'd ever feel worthy again. Could she find a new way of being without her super-achiever identity? In this raw, moving conversation, Jo shares what it was like to go through the stages of grief, the self-doubt, the false surrenders, and the small shift that finally started opening a new way of being. 
 
LINKS
Jo Rodriguez on Instagram
Mandy Lehto on Instagram

When Love is a Hustle: Healing the Fixer Identity, with Dr Natalie Cawley #93
 
If you've ever over-functioned in a romantic relationship hoping to feel enough, this episode is for you. My guest is Dr Natalie Cawley, psychotherapist, counselling psychologist and author of Just About Coping: A real-life drama from the psychotherapist's chair. Natalie shares openly about her own challenges with over-giving in her personal relationships, showing that we're ALL prone to struggles – even therapists! We get into the *real* reason you keep over-giving, and how to finally stop it. Listen out for my own cringey/I-have-so-much-compassion-for-my-younger-self moment with an emotionally unavailable partner. This conversation feels like a warm, honest hug, with a gentle kick in the ash. 
 
Links:
 
Natalie Cawley's website & book
 
Natalie on Instagram
 
Mandy on Instagram