Clear Path Ottawa

Batten Media House
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  • Mental Health

Most mental health podcasts speak at you - offering clinical frameworks from a distance. This show speaks from experience. Katrin Aslani is a registered psychotherapist who spent 16 years inside the corporate pressure cooker before becoming the person who helps others survive it. She doesn’t just understand burnout, ADHD, and chronic stress academically - she navigated them personally, then trained to treat them professionally. Using integrative, somatic, and mind-body approaches, this podcast bridges the gap between what therapy teaches and what real working life demands - practical nervous system tools for Ottawa residents and professionals who are tired of being told to “just breath”

Episodes

  1. 4d ago ·  Video

    S1 Ep8 Executive Overload

    Your jaw is tight, your shoulders are creeping up, and a single dish feels like Mount Everest, even though nothing bad is happening. That disconnect is one of the clearest signs of executive overload, and it’s not laziness or a moral failure. I’m Katrin, a psychotherapist and ADHD woman who knows the burnout loop firsthand, and I’m walking you through what’s actually happening when your brain hits that “blue screen” moment and you can’t start, can’t decide, and can’t breathe deeply. We unpack executive overload as a traffic jam in the prefrontal cortex where working memory, task initiation, planning, and emotional regulation all collide. For ADHD brains, that pileup can build fast, shrinking emotional capacity and colouring everyday input with threat. A neutral email suddenly reads like “you messed up,” which fuels avoidance, procrastination, and the crushing feeling that you’re alone on an island while everyone else somehow copes. Then we get practical. You’ll try a three-part somatic reset to down regulate your nervous system in real time: a deep inhale with a small extra sip plus a long vocal sigh, a horizon scan that uses gentle eye positioning to support vagus nerve regulation, and a crossbody squeeze for grounding. From there, I explain why talk therapy can sometimes exhaust you when executive functioning is already tapped out, and I share an ADHD-friendly strategy that actually helps you start: the minimum viable action bracket. Think three forks, one sentence, socks on. Tiny on purpose, effective by design. If you want more clarity, less shame, and tools you can use immediately, subscribe, share this with a friend who’s staring down their own laundry mountain, and leave a review so more overwhelmed ADHD listeners can find a clear path.

  2. Oct 1 ·  Video

    S1 Ep 7 What If The Loneliness Loop Is Self Made

    A single unanswered text can feel like a friendship funeral, and if you have ADHD you might be painfully familiar with that whiplash. We dig into rejection sensitive dysphoria (RSD) as more than “being too sensitive” and explain why it lands as physical, agonizing emotional pain. For us, the key is mechanics: an ADHD nervous system that detects possible rejection fast, predicts danger from old experiences, and flips into fight or flight before logic even shows up. We walk through what’s happening in the brain and body, including the prefrontal cortex, the amygdala alarm system, and why ambiguity is such a brutal trigger. Then we get into the relationship fallout: how overgiving can become an unspoken insurance policy, how invisible expectations turn into resentment, and how the loneliness loop forms when withdrawal and ghosting feel safer than vulnerability. If you’ve ever rewritten your whole social history because someone used a period instead of an exclamation mark, you’ll recognize these patterns. We also share practical tools you can use immediately: the evidence pause to separate fact from story, one uncomfortable question that can dismantle relationship anxiety, and a nervous system reset that brings your body down from a 10 to a 4 so your thinking brain can actually help. If any of this hits close to home, listen through, then share it with someone who needs language for what they’re feeling. Subscribe, leave a review, and tell us which RSD trigger you want help untangling next.

  3. Sep 23 ·  Video

    S1 Ep 6 Seventeen Tabs Later, Nothing’s Done

    Your brain can be brilliant and still feel impossible to manage. If you’ve ever sat down to do something important and ended up reorganizing a spice drawer, opening 17 tabs, or waiting until panic finally kicks you into action, there’s a reason and it’s not laziness. I’m Katrin, psychotherapist and recovering people pleaser, and I’m walking you through the part of the brain I call your “CEO”: the prefrontal cortex, where planning, organization, prioritizing, impulse control, task initiation, and emotional regulation live.  We dig into the biggest ADHD myth I hear all the time: it’s not just an attention issue, it’s a regulation issue. Executive functioning isn’t a measure of intelligence, it’s the management system that helps you use your intelligence effectively. You’ll hear why someone can lead at work yet forget to pay a bill, why simple tasks can feel overwhelming, and why the “just try harder” advice lands like a punch when your brain is already overloaded.  Then we talk dopamine in plain language. Dopamine isn’t the happiness chemical, it’s your motivational messenger asking, “Is this worth my effort?” When the fuel delivery is delayed, starting is the hardest part, until novelty or urgency flips the switch. I share three practical, ADHD-informed tools you can try right away: building a launch pad to reduce decisions, asking what “future me” would thank you for in the next five minutes, and a three-minute CEO reset that uses breath and grounding to bring your thinking brain back online, especially when stress hijacks the system.  If this gives you that “wait, that explains so much” feeling, subscribe, share it with someone who needs a shame-free explanation, and leave a review so more people can find support that actually fits their brain.

  4. Sep 16 ·  Video

    S1 Ep5 The Awkwardness of Pause

    Your phone isn’t stealing your attention because you’re weak. It’s doing it because your brain is doing exactly what it was designed to do: chase rewards. I’m Katrin, a registered psychotherapist, and I’m digging into the dopamine cycle that keeps so many of us stuck in scrolling, overworking, online shopping, and that restless feeling of “I never have enough time.” We start by clearing up the biggest myth: dopamine isn’t the happy chemical. It’s the wanting and anticipation system. That’s why the build-up can feel more intense than the reward itself, and why tiny unpredictable hits like notifications, likes, headlines, and “maybe they’ll text back” can pull you in like a slot machine. We also talk about how inconsistency in relationships can create powerful attachment, especially when trauma, chronic stress, or early emotional unpredictability trained your nervous system to treat uncertainty as familiar. From there, we shift into nervous system regulation using somatic therapy and polyvagal theory. If your body is constantly scanning for safety, it makes sense that stillness can feel uncomfortable at first. I share practical tools you can try right away: a sensory walk with calming audio, the five-minute pause with no phone and no inputs, and a simple 10-minute daily experiment that helps retrain your brain to experience boredom as safe. If you’ve been wondering about ADHD time blindness, fragmented attention, or why technology makes time feel chaotic, you’ll hear language that connects the dots without shame. If this lands for you, subscribe, share it with a friend who feels “too busy”, and leave a review so more people can find these conversations.

  5. Sep 9 ·  Video

    S1 Ep4 What If Your Patterns Are Protection

    Your life can look “fine” on paper and still feel like you’re stuck on the same painful loop. Different job, different city, different partner, same ending. That’s often not a willpower problem, it’s a nervous system pattern. We talk about trauma in a wider, more honest way: not only catastrophic events, but also the quiet experiences of being dismissed, walking on eggshells, feeling invisible, growing up too fast, or learning that love had to be earned. Sometimes trauma is what happened to you. Sometimes it’s what you never received: safety, comfort, validation, consistency, and connection. And even when you can’t remember every detail, your body can still remember through tight muscles, a racing heart, shutdown, or that automatic urge to fix, please, or flee. From there, we connect the dots to relationship patterns and “chemistry.” What if butterflies aren’t always a sign you’ve met the right person, but your amygdala recognizing something familiar? You’ll get practical tools you can use immediately, including questions that reveal your default role in relationships and a simple pause between trigger and story to slow down reactive spirals. We also share why insight alone doesn’t always calm a body trained for danger, and how approaches like somatic therapy, EMDR, and nervous system regulation can help your mind and body start trusting each other again. If anything here sparks recognition, share it with someone who might need words for what they’re carrying. Subscribe, leave a review, and tell us: what pattern are you ready to change?

  6. Sep 2 ·  Video

    S1 Ep3 When Your Body Won’t Calm Down

    Your shoulders are up, your jaw is tight, and your brain is saying, “Nothing is wrong.” That disconnect is one of the clearest signs that the nervous system is running the show. We unpack why anxiety is not just a thought pattern, but a full-body experience, and why many people can understand their trauma, ADHD, burnout, or chronic stress and still feel frozen in the same habits and symptoms.  We break nervous system regulation down in plain language, using a simple “security system” lens: your body keeps asking am I safe, even when the threat is an email, conflict, rejection, or uncertainty. You’ll hear how the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems work like a gas pedal and brake pedal, why vacations can feel strangely hard at first, and how an overactive amygdala can turn hypervigilance into a lifestyle. We also make polyvagal theory practical, framing the vagus nerve as the connection that helps your brain and body communicate and move through states without getting stuck.  You’ll leave with tools you can use right away: a body scan check-in, a safety inventory you can build into a personal “nervous system first aid kit,” and a 60-second reset grounding exercise to bring you back to the present. We also connect somatic therapy to ADHD and emotional regulation, including how a feeling wheel can help when you can describe what happened but cannot find the feeling words. We close with how chronic pain can be influenced by long-term activation, and why collaborative care can support real healing across mind and body.  If this resonates, share it with someone who could use a little compassion, and make sure to subscribe, leave a review, and pass the episode along to help more people learn their body’s language.

  7. Aug 26 ·  Video

    S1 Ep2 What To Do After An Adult ADHD Diagnosis

    Getting diagnosed with adult ADHD can feel like someone finally hands you the missing context for your entire life, but it can also bring a wave of grief for all the years you spent blaming yourself. We sit with that messy mix of relief and loss, and we talk honestly about the question we hear most: “Okay, so I have ADHD. Now what?” If you are newly diagnosed, considering an ADHD assessment, or supporting a partner, child, friend, or coworker, this conversation gives you a clearer next step than pure motivation or willpower. We break down what adult ADHD actually is, why it so often goes undetected in women, and how masking can lead to years of being treated for anxiety, depression, burnout, PMDD, or hormone-related symptoms before anyone connects the dots. We also talk about perimenopause and why long-standing coping systems can suddenly stop working, leaving people feeling overwhelmed and exhausted. Along the way, we clarify the differences between a psychiatrist, psychologist, and psychotherapist, so you know who can diagnose, who can prescribe, and who typically supports longer-term therapy. Then we get practical. Medication can improve focus and executive functioning, but it does not teach skills, heal trauma, regulate a nervous system that is on fire, or create healthy boundaries. That is why we lean into nervous system regulation and somatic therapy, including “dashboard warning lights” and a simple body check-in you can start right away. We also share ADHD-friendly strategies like body doubling, habit stacking, movement before focus tasks, and the five-minute rule to break the paralysis of getting started. If you take one thing from this, let it be this: ADHD is not a character flaw, and your goal is not to become neurotypical, it is to understand yourself well enough to thrive. Subscribe for more conversations like this, share the episode with someone who needs it, and leave a review so more people can find support.

  8. Aug 19 ·  Video

    S1 Ep1 Burnout Is Not A Personality Trait

    Your body doesn’t “randomly” fall apart after years of pushing. It sends signals, and when we ignore them long enough, it eventually pulls the plug. We’re telling the most personal origin story behind Clear Path Psychotherapy: how a high-performing career, chronic endometriosis pain, and years of people pleasing quietly stacked up until burnout stopped being a word and became a full shutdown. We talk about the kind of burnout that still looks functional from the outside: emails answered, dinners made, appointments remembered, all while brain fog, anxiety, irritability, and exhaustion get normalized as “just life.” When COVID hit, the cracks widened, and the cost showed up in a way we couldn’t outwork. From there, we walk through what actually helped: therapy as a real ally, the leap back to school at 38, and the unexpected clarity of discovering ADHD after burnout. We connect the dots between ADHD in women, hormones across perimenopause and menopause, chronic pain and inflammation, and why healing has to include both mind and body. You’ll hear why an integrative approach matters, including nervous system regulation, polyvagal theory and the vagus nerve, plus supportive care like nutrition, physiotherapy, osteopathy, and other collaborative health supports alongside psychotherapy and, when appropriate, medication. If you’ve been asking “What’s wrong with me?”, come listen for a different question: “What happened to me, and what do I need now?” Subscribe to Clear Path Podcast, share this episode with someone who’s white-knuckling life, and leave a review so more people can find a sustainable way forward.

    S1 Ep1 Burnout Is Not A Personality Trait
  • 8 Episodes

About

Most mental health podcasts speak at you - offering clinical frameworks from a distance. This show speaks from experience. Katrin Aslani is a registered psychotherapist who spent 16 years inside the corporate pressure cooker before becoming the person who helps others survive it. She doesn’t just understand burnout, ADHD, and chronic stress academically - she navigated them personally, then trained to treat them professionally. Using integrative, somatic, and mind-body approaches, this podcast bridges the gap between what therapy teaches and what real working life demands - practical nervous system tools for Ottawa residents and professionals who are tired of being told to “just breath”

Information

  • Creator
    Batten Media House
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    8
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Clear Path Ottawa
  • Show Website
    Clear Path Ottawa