The Fear of Change Podcast

Jennifer Froemel
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Fear of Change Podcast: Helping you to challenge your perspective, see fear as only one option, and that finding yourself is a lot of work, but totally worth it. Join therapist Jennifer Froemel in discovering a new you that handles change a little bit better.

  1. 3D AGO

    Listening Deeply with Nicole Lohtse: Is it Fear or Growth?

    How do you know whether what's holding you back is fear, or an invitation to grow? What survival patterns are running your life without you realizing it? Who might you become if you could tell the difference between your patterns and your true self? In this episode, I sat down with Nicole Lohse to explore a question so many of us wrestle with: Is this fear holding me back, or is this an invitation to grow? One of the biggest themes we discussed is that getting to know ourselves is a slow process. We aren't born with self-awareness. It unfolds over time, through living, through relationships, and through paying attention. Nicole talks about how much of her work centers on helping people recognize their survival patterns — the ways we learned to stay safe, manage control, avoid pain, or keep ourselves distracted. These patterns often developed for very good reasons, but over time they can begin to limit us. Ultimately, this conversation is about listening deeply to ourselves. It's about asking: Is this fear, or is this growth? Is this my history driving the bus, or is this the genuine expression of who I am? And it's about having the grace and patience to let that understanding unfold over time. Thanks for listening, I'd love to connect with you over on Facebook. SHOW NOTES AND RESOURCES: Click here

    38 min

  2. FEB 11

    Reinventing Your Career After 40: Starting Over Without Starting From Scratch

    How can you reinvent yourself without starting from zero? Is the work that you are currently doing in sync with your energy and your new goals? Why in our 40s, 50s, and 60s do we often look at our careers and ask, "Is this still aligned?"   In this podcast episode, I talk about career reinvention in midlife not as a crisis, but as a developmental shift. In our 40s, 50s, and 60s, many women begin to feel a deep misalignment between who they are becoming and the work they're doing. After decades of caregiving, providing, multitasking, and overfunctioning for others, something changes. Our values shift. Our energy shifts. And we start asking whether our careers still reflect who we are now. Midlife isn't about starting over from zero — it's about recalibration. One of the biggest myths holding women back is the belief that they're too old to begin again, that they'd have to start at the bottom, or that leaving would waste their experience. None of that is true. Nothing you've done is wasted. Your experience comes with you. Reinvention isn't about erasing the past — it's about repurposing it. Thanks for listening, I'd love to connect with you over on Facebook. SHOW NOTES AND RESOURCES: Click here

    26 min

  3. FEB 4

    Meeting of the Minds about Fear with Chris McDonald

    What happens when something you once loved no longer fits your life? How often does fear keep you holding on instead of moving forward? Why does uniting your body and mind holistically help you to move through fear with more ease?  In this episode, I sit down with Chris McDonald to talk about fear, transition, and what it really means to keep moving forward when something you once loved no longer fits your life. Chris shares her decision to step away from producing new episodes of her long-running podcast, Yoga in the Therapy Room. We talk honestly about the mix of grief, relief, and fear that can come with closing a chapter—especially when that project once felt central to your identity.  We also explore how fear often shows up when something starts holding us back rather than helping us grow, and how trusting that something new exists on the other side of letting go can make transitions feel less overwhelming.  Thanks for listening, I'd love to connect with you over on Facebook. SHOW NOTES AND RESOURCES: Click here

    32 min

  4. JAN 28

    The Cost of Staying the Same: What Women Realize at 45+

    What sits at the core of women's burnout, exhaustion, and emotional depletion? Are you stuck between the fear of changing and the fear of staying the same? What truly constitutes emotional labor - and how can women release themselves from suffering the cost?  In this episode, I talk about what sits at the core of women's burnout, exhaustion, and emotional depletion. I explore why so many women feel trapped between the fear of changing and the fear of staying the same, and what it truly costs to keep carrying everything. This is a conversation about emotional labor, why it becomes a woman's responsibility, and what many women begin to recognize more clearly around midlife. I explain emotional labor as the invisible, unspoken work of managing the emotional climate of relationships, homes, families, and workplaces. It shows up in remembering important dates, maintaining traditions, initiating hard conversations, noticing emotional shifts, de-escalating conflict, keeping things running smoothly, and anticipating the needs of others. While anyone can carry emotional labor, the issue is that it often falls disproportionately on one person and goes unpaid, unacknowledged, and simply expected. Thanks for listening, I'd love to connect with you over on Facebook. SHOW NOTES AND RESOURCES: Click here

    30 min

  5. JAN 21

    Letting Yourself Change: Permission Slips for Midlife Women

    Do you know what you want to do, but you don't feel like you're allowed to do it? Have you been waiting for something or someone to give you permission? Well, here it is! Take that step, and for the first time in years, choose you. In this episode, I talk about something I see again and again with midlife women: it's not that we don't know what we want — it's that we don't feel allowed to want it. We're waiting for permission to rest, to change, to say no, or to choose ourselves. So I'm offering it to you directly: this is your permission. From a young age, many of us were taught to be agreeable, helpful, self-sacrificing, and responsible for everyone else's comfort. Over time, that conditioning creates a belief that our needs are negotiable. Even when we're exhausted or deeply unhappy, we wait for someone else to validate that it's "bad enough" to stop or shift direction. Midlife often cracks that pattern wide open — and while that can feel uncomfortable, it's also incredibly freeing. Thanks for listening, I'd love to connect with you over on Facebook. SHOW NOTES AND RESOURCES: Click here

    16 min

  6. JAN 14

    The Midlife Identity Breakup: Who You Were vs. Who You're Becoming

    Are you a woman in your 40s, 50s, or 60s? Have you ever experienced - or are you perhaps experiencing - a midlife identity breakup? What is the first step that you can take to journey through this transition and fully step into yourself? In this episode, I talk about the midlife identity breakup—a transition many women experience in midlife as they move from who they've been into who they're becoming. This isn't a crisis, but a natural shift that happens when old roles, expectations, and ways of being no longer fit. I explore why this often emerges in midlife, the signs that an identity shift is underway, and why the urge for authenticity can feel stronger than the need for approval. This process isn't about losing yourself—it's about releasing roles that were never sustainable and returning to who you truly are. Thanks for listening, I'd love to connect with you over on Facebook. SHOW NOTES AND RESOURCES: Click here

    26 min

  7. JAN 7

    The Midlife Identity Breakup: Who You Were vs. Who You're Becoming

    What happens when the roles and identities that once defined you no longer fit? How do you navigate the unsettling space between who you were and who you are becoming? What if midlife isn't a crisis at all, but an invitation to evolve into your truest self? In this podcast I talk about the midlife identity breakup—the moment you realize the roles and patterns that once defined you no longer fit who you're becoming. It's not a crisis but a transition, and like any breakup it can bring grief, confusion, clarity, and a powerful sense of renewal. I describe the signs of this shift: letting go of old versions of yourself, releasing roles you no longer want, questioning long-held beliefs, outgrowing relationships or habits, and feeling disconnected from things that once mattered. These discomforts aren't failures—they're signs of evolution. Thanks for listening, I'd love to connect with you over on Facebook. SHOW NOTES AND RESOURCES: Click here

    18 min

  8. 12/31/2025

    "Why Burnout Isn't a Time Problem — It's a Nervous System Problem"

    Why does burnout even happen? How can you heal from burnout in ways that actually work and drop the quick-fixes? What would your life look like if you started listening to your body's early warning signs instead of pushing past them? In this podcast I explain why burnout isn't a time-management issue—it's a nervous system issue. You can have a full calendar and feel energized when your system is regulated, or a quiet schedule and still feel depleted. Burnout happens when you're emotionally overextended for too long without recovery. I outline the sequence of burnout: your system shifts from flight, to fight, to freeze, and eventually into functional shutdown. This isn't weakness—it's your body trying to protect you after carrying too much emotional and physical weight. Thanks for listening, I'd love to connect with you over on Facebook. SHOW NOTES AND RESOURCES: Click here

    19 min
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Fear of Change Podcast: Helping you to challenge your perspective, see fear as only one option, and that finding yourself is a lot of work, but totally worth it. Join therapist Jennifer Froemel in discovering a new you that handles change a little bit better.

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