Women Under Pressure

Kristen Plake
  • 4.8 (23)
  • Mental Health
  • Weekly

Are you a high-performing woman working in healthcare, emergency services or another demanding leadership role? Maybe you can handle the crisis, make the difficult decision and be the person everyone relies on, but when the workday ends, you have a much harder time leaving it behind. Women Under Pressure is a podcast for ambitious women who want to succeed at a high level without sacrificing their mental health, physical health, relationships or the rest of their lives in the process. Hosted by Kristen Plake, a licensed trauma therapist and founder of Frontline Wellness Group, the show explores what demanding careers ask of women and how to build a life that can sustain both ambition and wellbeing. Through practical solo episodes and honest conversations with experts and women doing demanding work, Women Under Pressure goes beyond traditional conversations about stress management and self-care. You'll learn more about how your experiences affect you, why it can be so difficult to switch off even when the crisis is over, and what can help you recover without asking you to become less driven or walk away from work that matters to you. Learn more about Kristen and Frontline Wellness Group at frontlinewellnessgroup.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episodes

  1. 4d ago

    Why We Take Client Stories Home With Us, with Brenda Humphreys

    How do you learn to value yourself when your workday requires holding space for everyone else's emotional burden? Kristen Plake speaks with hospice social worker Brenda Humphreys about counter-transference and what happens when a patient's story hits too close to home. Together, they unpack how internal emotional awareness and firm boundaries help you stay present without carrying work weight into your personal life. Some takeaways: Assess emotional dynamics first to adjust your response to others.Prioritize internal emotional awareness over focusing only on external demands.Compartmentalize emotions intentionally to build strength instead of creating internal fog.Avoid betraying your own needs while trying to support everyone else.Ask yourself what unfinished weight you are still carrying after work. Still carrying work home long after your day ends? Join the priority list for Women Under Pressure Coaching, where the first five spots go to listeners. Connect with Kristen: 🌐 Frontline Wellness Group 📋 Free High Pressure Leadership Assessment 🎙️ Work with Kristen ↗️ Join Women Under Pressure Coaching 📱 Instagram Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 00:31 Meet Brenda Humphreys 03:14 Reading Emotional Cues in High Pressure Situations 05:20 When a Patient’s Story Mirrors Your Own Life 08:27 Recognizing When Personal Emotions Affect Your Work 10:25 Understanding Countertransference in Helping Professions 12:05 Processing Emotions You Cannot Address in the Moment 15:44 A Three Minute Practice for Emotional Awareness 17:47 Why Self Worth Must Come Before Self Sacrifice 20:17 Setting Boundaries Without Taking Away Others’ Independence 23:31 Learning to Decompress and Restore Your Emotional Energy 25:50 Working Through Pressure Without Losing Yourself​ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Why We Take Client Stories Home With Us, with Brenda Humphreys

  2. Oct 20

    Work Ends, But Your Second Shift Starts: Why You Can't Recover

    Too tired to relax after work, and too depleted to even know what you need? Kristen answers a listener's question with the recovery paradox: the harder the day, the more recovery you need, and the less capacity you have left to get it. She comes back to last week's hospice social worker and looks at what happens when you leave a job where people depend on you and walk straight into a home where they depend on you again. Some takeaways: The harder the day, the harder it is to decompressEven decompressing asks for energy you may not have leftMost rest advice assumes an after-work you with energy to spareJudge the whole day, not the last five minutes at homeSigns a better transition after work isn't enough on its ownDecide ahead of time how your first few minutes home go Tell Kristen on Instagram: what's the hardest part of coming home after a high-pressure day? Connect with Kristen: 🌐 Frontline Wellness Group 📋 Free High Pressure Leadership Assessment 🎙️ Work with Kristen 📱 Instagram Chapters: 00:00 Running on Empty and Can't Switch Off 01:05 The Driveway After a Long Shift 02:09 The Recovery Paradox 03:13 More Rest, Less Capacity Left 04:56 When Rest Advice Stops Being Useful 05:53 Working Mothers Study and Scrolling 07:22 10 Minutes in the Car 09:00 Three Questions to Ask Yourself 09:45 Clinical Note, Assessment, Next Episode Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  3. Oct 13

    Am I Still Feeling This, Or Still Trying To Fix It?

    This episode unpacks psychological detachment, the ability to mentally leave work once the day is over, and why getting home doesn't always mean you're off duty. Kristen uses a hospice social worker's story to show how caring about someone can look the same as still feeling responsible for them. She keeps the research on work-related rumination separate from her own clinical read, then asks a question worth sitting with: are you still feeling something about what happened, or still trying to take care of it? Some takeaways: What work-related rumination is and why work can keep running in your mind after you've physically left itWhy psychological detachment, not just being physically home, is linked to better recovery after high-pressure workHow grief and lingering responsibility can feel the same even though they are different thingsWhy your mind doesn't just flip a switch when the workday endsA reflection practice to try this week: ask yourself whether you are still feeling something about what happened or still trying to take care of something about it, and if something keeps coming back, ask what you are still trying to do here Connect with Kristen: 🌐 Frontline Wellness Group 📋 Free High Pressure Leadership Assessment 🎙️ Work with Kristen 📱 Instagram Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 00:38 The Quiet Pressure 01:18 The Switch You Make 04:21 The Unspoken Rules at Work 04:58 Surface Acting vs. Deep Acting 07:26 Suppression and the Body’s Stress Response 09:36 Gendered Expectations at Work 12:55 A Weekly Reflection Practice 13:51 A Clinical Note and Next Steps 15:06 Outro and Free Leadership Assessment Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  4. Oct 6

    Emotional Labor: What Composure Actually Costs You

    This episode is about emotional labor and the gap between what you feel and what you actually show when a job requires composure. Kristen looks at why staying steady for others has a cost, even when you look calm on the outside. She separates the research on display rules, surface acting and expressive suppression from her own clinical view, then asks a simple question: did you calm down, or did you just look calm? Some takeaways: What display rules are and how they shape which emotions feel acceptable to show at workThe difference between surface acting and deep acting, and why surface acting is more consistently linked to exhaustionWhy hiding your feelings can increase physiological strain even when you appear calmWhy generic advice to just feel your feelings misses what composure actually costsHow gendered expectations add pressure, including research on how women's anger gets judged differently depending on whether a reason is givenA reflection practice to try this week: pick one moment you had to pull yourself together, then ask what you actually felt versus what you showed, and whether you calmed down or just looked calm Connect with Kristen: 🌐 Frontline Wellness Group 📋 Free High Pressure Leadership Assessment 🎙️ Work with Kristen 📱 Instagram Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 00:38 The Quiet Pressure 01:18 The Switch You Make 04:21 The Unspoken Rules at Work 04:58 Surface Acting vs. Deep Acting 07:26 Suppression and the Body’s Stress Response 09:36 Gendered Expectations at Work 12:55 A Weekly Reflection Practice 13:51 A Clinical Note and Next Steps 15:06 Outro and Free Leadership Assessment Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  5. Sep 29

    How To Pursue Ambition with Intention, with Chelsea Ryckis

    In this episode, Kristen talks with Chelsea Ryckis, a business owner, wife, and first-time mom of a one-year-old. She shares how she learned to stay accountable as a leader by deciding where her involvement is necessary. Some takeaways: How becoming the woman who handles everything lead to a physical and mental decline The burnout moment that pushed her to a 360 life change that operationalized accountability in her team Operating in survival mode and how motherhood impacts mindsetHow to pursue ambition with more deliberate choices about your time and involvement.A practical exercise that will help you pause and reflect Connect with Kristen 🌐 Frontline Wellness Group 🌐 Free High Pressure Leadership Assessment 🎙️ Work with Kristen 📱 Instagram Conect with Chelsea 📱Instagram 🌐EthoBenefits Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    How To Pursue Ambition with Intention, with Chelsea Ryckis

  6. Sep 22

    Understanding Overfunctioning: Why Delegating Doesn’t Mean Letting Go

    This episode unpacks why even in the moments when you choose to delegate, you still can't stop yourself from taking the work back. Kristen shares the story of Danielle, an emergency management director who is over-functioning and why this pattern is damaging. Some takeaways: The difference between being accountable for an outcome and personally carrying every actionHow family systems of over-functioning and under-functioning create this patternWhy the body feels relieved when you take over and trains the brain to repeat itWhat inflated responsibility isA reflection question to ask yourself before stepping in Connect with Kristen: 🌐Frontline Wellness Group 📋Free High Pressure Leadership Assessment 🎙️Work with Kristen 📱Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Understanding Overfunctioning: Why Delegating Doesn’t Mean Letting Go

  7. Sep 15

    How Can I Switch Off Stress? The Cost of Urgency

    This episode looks at the gap between understanding your patterns and moving towards setting clear boundaries to interrupt them. Kristen introduces her "body first" approach and walks through a real case of a police sergeant to show how taking action can serve you in an emergency but work against you in a low-stakes moment. Some takeaways: Why understanding a pattern and interrupting it in are two different skillsHow urgency can take over before a deliberate decision is madeThe three parts of “body-first” work and how to apply itHow to use a simple moment of reflection to create real choiceA mindfulness exercise to buy yourself a pause this week Connect with Kristen: 🌐 Frontline Wellness Group 🎙️ Work with Kristen 📋 Free High Pressure Leadership Assessment 📱 Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    How Can I Switch Off Stress? The Cost of Urgency

  8. Sep 15

    How To Identify Functional Freeze: The Cost of Putting Yourself Second

    This episode unpacks everything you need to know about functional freeze, or what happens when women keep performing at a high level while feeling depleted, numb, or disconnected internally. Kristen looks at why this happens, why it can feel so confusing, and why “just resting” or "trying harder" doesn't fix it. Some takeaways: Why functional freeze is a pattern rather than a diagnosisHow under pressure the body prioritizes what you need to do over what you need to feelWhat happens when you postpone physical and emotional red flagsWhat the difference between functional freeze and burnout isHow the nervous system is trained to deprioritize your needsA mindfulness exercise for reconnecting with yourself Connect with Kristen: 🌐 Frontline Wellness Group 🎙️ Work with Kristen 📋 Free High Pressure Leadership Assessment 📱 Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    How To Identify Functional Freeze: The Cost of Putting Yourself Second

  9. Sep 15

    The Cost of Being the Woman Who Handles Everything: Identifying High-Performance Burnout

    This episode unpacks what you need to know about high performance burnout, a pattern in high-achieving women who are quietly running on empty. Kristen introduces the podcast’s focus: the type of burnout women experience that hides in plain sight because they still handle everything. As a licensed clinical social worker, founder of Frontline Wellness Group, and someone who grew up around frontline work as the daughter of a police officer, she is all too familiar with it. Kristen looks at why the body doesn't always get the memo that a crisis is over and why women in high-stakes roles carry a unique type of load. Some takeaways: What the clear signs of high performance burnout areHow competence can conceal distressWhat the difference between a busy schedule and repeated exposure to crisis, grief, or high-stakes decisions isHow to identify data that will help in your recoveryA two-question check-in for the transition between work and home Connect with Kristen: 🌐 Frontline Wellness Group 📋Free High Pressure Leadership Assessment 🎙️ Work with Kristen 📱 Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    The Cost of Being the Woman Who Handles Everything: Identifying High-Performance Burnout

  10. Sep 1

    Introducing... Women Under Pressure!

    Are you a high-performing woman working in healthcare, emergency services or another demanding leadership role? Maybe you can handle the crisis, make the difficult decision and be the person everyone relies on, but when the workday ends, you have a much harder time leaving it behind. Women Under Pressure is a podcast for ambitious women who want to succeed at a high level without sacrificing their mental health, physical health, relationships or the rest of their lives in the process. Hosted by Kristen Plake, a licensed trauma therapist and founder of Frontline Wellness Group, the show explores what demanding careers ask of women and how to build a life that can sustain both ambition and wellbeing. Through practical solo episodes and honest conversations with experts and women doing demanding work, Women Under Pressure goes beyond traditional conversations about stress management and self-care. You'll learn more about how your experiences affect you, why it can be so difficult to switch off even when the crisis is over, and what can help you recover without asking you to become less driven or walk away from work that matters to you. You’ll also hear answers to questions such as: 👉 Why can't I switch off after work? 👉 Why am I exhausted even when I'm still performing well? 👉 How do I stop bringing work home with me? 👉 What are the signs of burnout in high-performing women? 👉 How does trauma exposure affect me over time? 👉 How can I regulate my nervous system after a difficult shift or high-pressure day? Follow Women Under Pressure wherever you listen to podcasts and learn how to keep pursuing the work and ambitions that matter to you without sacrificing yourself in the process. Connect with Kristen: 🌐Frontline Wellness Group 📋Free High Pressure Leadership Assessment 🎙️Work with Kristen 📱Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  • 1 Trailer
    9 Episodes

Trailer

4.8
out of 5
23 Ratings

About

Are you a high-performing woman working in healthcare, emergency services or another demanding leadership role? Maybe you can handle the crisis, make the difficult decision and be the person everyone relies on, but when the workday ends, you have a much harder time leaving it behind. Women Under Pressure is a podcast for ambitious women who want to succeed at a high level without sacrificing their mental health, physical health, relationships or the rest of their lives in the process. Hosted by Kristen Plake, a licensed trauma therapist and founder of Frontline Wellness Group, the show explores what demanding careers ask of women and how to build a life that can sustain both ambition and wellbeing. Through practical solo episodes and honest conversations with experts and women doing demanding work, Women Under Pressure goes beyond traditional conversations about stress management and self-care. You'll learn more about how your experiences affect you, why it can be so difficult to switch off even when the crisis is over, and what can help you recover without asking you to become less driven or walk away from work that matters to you. Learn more about Kristen and Frontline Wellness Group at frontlinewellnessgroup.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Information

  • Creator
    Kristen Plake
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    10
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Kristen Plake
  • Show Website
    Women Under Pressure

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