Smile Sessions With Cristina Perri

Welcome to Episode 3 of the Smile Sessions Perimenopause Series! Ever feel like you’re exhausted before you’ve even done anything? You wake up tired, make it through the day running on fumes, and suddenly things that used to be easy feel like a full-blown Olympic event. And you’re thinking… “Why am I SO tired?” In this episode, we’re talking about perimenopause fatigue, energy crashes, brain fog,...

Your partner is chewing too loudly. Your kids have asked you the same question 14 times. Your coworker just sent another “Just circling back…” email. And suddenly you're thinking… “Why can’t I tolerate anyone anymore?” In Episode 2 of the Smile Sessions Perimenopause Series, Cristina Perri dives into the unexpected emotional side of perimenopause—and why your patience may suddenly feel like it has...

Is it perimenopause… or are you finally done? Have you suddenly started questioning your relationship, your career, your friendships—or even who you are? You’re not alone. In this episode of Smile Sessions, Cristina Perri explores one of the most confusing parts of perimenopause: the feeling that your entire life is suddenly up for review. Hormonal changes can affect mood, sleep, stress tolerance...

Have you ever looked in the mirror and thought, “I don’t even recognize myself anymore?” For so many women, turning 40 can bring changes that go far beyond hormones. Brain fog, fatigue, anxiety, digestive issues, inflammation, overwhelm, and a feeling of being disconnected from who you once were can leave you wondering: What is happening to me? In this special episode of Smile Sessions, I’m joined...

What if becoming a mother doesn't just change the way you see your child… but changes the way you see yourself? In this episode of Smile Sessions, I’m sharing something deeply personal: how motherhood brought me face-to-face with parts of myself I thought I had already healed. The short fuse. The hyper-vigilance. The need to keep everything under control. The feeling that if I wasn't paying attent...

Do you find yourself explaining your decisions, feelings, boundaries, or choices long after you’ve already made yourself clear? You might not be “too much.” You might be over-explaining. In this episode of Smile Sessions, Cristina Perri explores why we explain ourselves so much, what can be behind the need to justify every decision, and how over-explaining can be connected to people-pleasing, fear...

How often do you say “sorry” when you haven’t actually done anything wrong? Sorry for asking. Sorry for speaking up. Sorry for needing something. Sorry for being emotional. Sorry for taking up space. At some point, apologizing can become more than good manners—it can become a habit of making ourselves smaller so everyone else feels comfortable. In this episode of Smile Sessions, we’re talking abou...

Have you ever walked away from a conversation wondering... "Did that really happen the way I remember it?" Maybe you replayed it over and over in your mind. Maybe you questioned whether you were being too sensitive. Maybe you even apologized—not because you knew you were wrong, but because you weren't sure anymore. If that sounds familiar, this episode is for you. In this episode of Smile Sessions...

Have you ever looked back on a relationship and wondered... "How did I miss all the red flags?" What if you didn't? In this episode of Smile Sessions, we're continuing the Stop Disappearing series by exploring a concept I call Pink Flags—those moments when attraction, hope, and chemistry soften the warning signs your intuition has been trying to show you all along. Sometimes we don't ignore red fl...

If peace makes you anxious. If you find yourself picking fights when things are going well. If calm literally feels wrong — your nervous system might be wired for chaos. And it is not your fault. In this episode of the Rewire Series, we're talking about one of the most underrated nervous system patterns there is: the chaos pull. Why stillness feels threatening, where it comes from, and how to star...

In today’s Smile Sessions, we’re talking about what emotional regulation actually looks like in real life. Not in therapy language. Not in a textbook. In relationships, conflict, overthinking, people pleasing, decision-making, and the stories we create in our heads when our nervous system feels unsafe. This episode explores 5 things regulated people don’t do — not from a place of judgment, but fro...

What does healing actually look like day to day? Not the aesthetic version. Not the perfectly curated “I’m healed” version. The real version. In this episode, I’m talking about the messy, honest, human side of healing — the emotional triggers, the setbacks, the exhaustion, the growth you don’t always notice right away, and the tiny moments that prove you’re changing even when it doesn’t feel like...

This is the series finale of the Rewire Series — and it's the conversation Cristina Perri has been building toward all along. Not just how to regulate in the moment, but how to actually design a life where your nervous system can rest. Your relationships, your environment, your work, your rhythms — all of it either supports regulation or depletes it. This episode shows you how to see the differenc...

Have you ever reached the end of the day and wondered why you're so exhausted when nothing major even happened? In this episode of Smile Sessions, we're exploring the hidden causes of overwhelm, decision fatigue, nervous system exhaustion, and why even simple tasks can sometimes feel impossible. If you've been feeling mentally cluttered, emotionally drained, or stuck in a cycle of trying harder an...

Have you ever felt like you're doing all the things—working, parenting, caring for loved ones, managing a household—and still feeling like you're falling behind? In this episode of Smile Sessions, I'm sharing the simple system I created during one of the most overwhelming seasons of my life. What started as a way to keep my home and responsibilities from consuming my mental energy became a tool th...

What if the reason you're overwhelmed isn't because you're lazy, disorganized, or failing? What if you're simply carrying too much cognitive load? In this final episode of the Smile Sessions Home Flow Bonus Series, I'm sharing something I haven't talked about publicly before: the personal story behind Home Flow and why I built it. This isn't a story about productivity. It's a story about survival....

✨ My Book Is Finally Here! | The Story Behind Stop Disappearing After months of writing, editing, doubting myself, and starting over, I'm so excited to finally share that my book, Stop Disappearing: How to Start Choosing Yourself Without Guilt or Fear, is officially here. In this special episode of Smile Sessions, I'm taking you behind the scenes of why I wrote this book, what inspired it, and th...

Why We Learn to People Please & How to Come Back to Yourself Have you ever stopped and asked yourself... When was the first time I disappeared? Not physically—but emotionally. The first time you learned it was safer to keep the peace than to speak your truth. The first time someone else's happiness became more important than your own. The first time you stopped asking yourself what you wanted. In...

How do so many kind, compassionate, intelligent women end up carrying the emotional weight of their relationships? In this episode of Smile Sessions, we're continuing the Stop Disappearing series with one of the book's most talked-about chapters: The Rehab Center Girlfriend. This conversation isn't really about men—it's about the patterns so many of us develop that convince us it's our responsibil...

You've been told to "just breathe." But when your body is running on no sleep and crashing blood sugar — breath work alone isn't enough. Your nervous system is a biological system. It needs fuel. It needs rest. And most of us are running on empty. In this episode of the Rewire Series, we're talking about the connection nobody made for you: how food and sleep are either quietly supporting your regu...

If you’ve ever felt anxious, restless, or constantly “on edge” even when nothing is actually wrong… this episode is for you. Because this isn’t just in your head. It’s in your body. In this episode of Smile Sessions, we explore the deeper reason so many of us struggle to relax—even in moments that should feel calm. This isn’t about mindset. It’s about safety. When your nervous system doesn’t feel...

Have you ever opened your phone feeling perfectly fine… and five minutes later felt like you're falling behind in life? Nothing in your life actually changed. But your perspective did. In this episode of Smile Sessions, Cristina explores why comparison is one of the fastest ways to drain happiness from an otherwise good day—and why your brain is wired to do it. If you've ever scrolled social media...

We’ve been taught to fix unhappiness with mindset. Think positive. Practice gratitude. Shift your perspective. Try harder. But what if happiness isn’t cognitive at all? What if it’s biological? In this episode of Smile Sessions, we explore why play regulates the nervous system in ways positivity cannot — and how productivity culture quietly disconnects adults from joy. If you’ve ever felt like: Yo...

If you’ve ever looked at the life you worked so hard to build and thought, “Why does this feel so heavy lately?” — this episode is for you. So many high-functioning women don’t lose passion because they’re lazy or ungrateful. They lose joy because their nervous system no longer feels safe inside the pressure. In this episode of Smile Sessions, we talk about: • Why hobbies start feeling like perfor...

No one really talks about what happens after burnout, overwhelm, or survival mode. You expect to bounce back. To feel strong again. To finally have energy. But instead… you feel calmer — and somehow more exhausted. More sensitive. More emotional. Less patient. If that’s you, nothing is wrong. In this episode of Smile Sessions, we’re talking about what survival mode actually does to your nervous sy...