MissPerceived

On this episode Prof Leah breaks down why Valentine’s Day can feel less like a celebration and more like a mental load marathon for moms, partners, and singles. She talks about the pressure to plan the “perfect” day, the emotional exhaustion of dating apps, and the hidden expectations women carry around romance, gifts, and feeling seen. You’ll hear practical reframes for taking the pressure down, spreading love across all 365 days, and turning February 14th into a day of self-nurturing on your own terms
Follow Leah: @prof.leahruppanner
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this episode, Leah explores how generational messages have taught women to feel shame about their changing bodies—from tight jeans and bodysuits in the 80s and 90s to today’s high-waisted shorts and leggings. She reflects on growing up hyperaware of every outline and curve, and how that discomfort still echoes when she sees her own daughter getting dressed. Through personal stories, a feminist lens on choice and self-expression, and a look at how media and beauty culture have policed women’s bodies, Leah asks what it means to stop hiding, stop apologizing, and allow girls and women to exist in their bodies without embarrassment. In the end, she celebrates a new generation that seems less interested in shrinking themselves and more interested in living fully, visibly, and unapologetically in the skin they’re in.
Follow Leah: @prof.leahruppanner
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Everyone is sick right now—and somehow, you still feel bad for needing to lie down. In this episode of Misperceived, Leah unpacks why so many women feel guilty when they get sick, even when their families are fine, fed, and happily living on Hot Pockets and Uncrustables.
Drawing on global stories from the U.S., Australia, and Sweden, she breaks down how culture, capitalism, and the lack of a safety net teach us that illness is a personal failure and rest is something we have to earn. She then connects this to the mental load of motherhood: when you’re the keeper of everyone’s schedules, prescriptions, and needs, being “out of commission” feels dangerous—like everything might fall apart.
Leah offers a different script: letting others step in is not neglect, it’s necessary. You are one essential piece of your family, not the only one. You deserve rest in your body and your mind without narrating a guilt spiral the whole time. If you’ve ever felt anxious under the covers instead of actually recovering, this episode is your permission to be sick, be cared for, and stop apologizing for being human.

Follow Leah: @prof.leahruppanner
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

January isn’t a fresh start if you’re already running on fumes from making everyone else’s holidays magical. In this episode of MissPerceived, Leah unpacks why so many women swing from December over-giving straight into “new year, new me” overachieving—launching businesses, overhauling their bodies, and rewriting their whole lives before February even hits.​
She breaks down the mental load hangover, why perfectionist resolutions backfire, and how to set goals that are actually aligned with your values, your energy, and your real life. You’ll hear why you don’t need to shrink, hustle, or “upgrade” yourself to deserve rest, and how to enter 2026 from a place of “I’m already enough” instead of “I am the project.”​​
If you’re tired of vision boards, bingo-card resolutions, and self-improvement that feels like self-punishment, this one’s your permission slip to do less, eat carbs, and build a life that expands you instead of drains you.
Follow Leah: @prof.leahruppanner
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Feeling like you have to declutter the entire house, redesign your space, and fix consumerism itself… all before the tree is even down? This episode breaks down the post-holiday “mental load hangover” and explains why the pressure to create and then undo all the holiday magic is not a personal failing, but part of the eight types of mental load described in Leah’s upcoming book, Drained. Leah dives into magic making, gendered expectations around home and mess, and why your cortisol spikes when your space is chaotic, then offers a way to audit your mental load so you can spend your energy more strategically and give yourself some grace this season.​
Follow Leah: @prof.leahruppanner
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.