Less Drama More Mama

There are two types of responses to the circumstances in your life: proactive and reactive. When you’re proactive, you make decisions ahead of time to solve potential problems before they occur, leaving you feeling calm and in control. When you're reactive, feelings of fear and powerlessness often bring about the very outcome you’re hoping to avoid. While reactive parenting is common and sometimes...

The late philosopher and psychiatrist Alfred Adler believed that “a misbehaving child is a discouraged child.” In so many subtle ways, and without realizing it, we discourage our kids all the time. In this episode, I talk about the ways we unknowingly discourage our kids and offer some tips for encouraging them more. www.lessdramamoremama.com/163 The post Encouraging Your Child – 163 appeared firs...

Does your child struggle to do homework? Do you get into regular battles over it and question how much to get involved? In this episode, I offer my thoughts to get you in a calm and empowered frame of mind when it comes to your child's homework, so you know exactly how to help. www.lessdramamoremama.com/162 The post Homework Help – 162 appeared first on Less Drama More Mama .

Do you wish your kids' grandparents acted differently? When you think about them, do you feel frustrated, resentful, hurt, or guilty? If you answered "yes," this episode is for you. Learn the secret to improve your relationships with your parents or in-laws, take back your power, and feel more at peace. www.lessdramamoremama.com/161 The post Grandparent Expectations – 161 appeared first on Less Dr...

You have every intention of sticking to your limits, staying calm, and helping your kids through their difficult emotions. But in the heat of the moment, you find yourself giving into their demands, yelling, punishing them, or trying to fix their feelings. While counseling families with children ages six and under, today's guest sought to get to the root of what prevents moms from being the parent...

You've got questions, I've got answers. In this Back-to-School episode, I'm answering questions submitted by moms when I asked, "What would be the most useful podcast for you right now about back-to-school issues?" Tune in to hear their concerns and questions, and how I addressed each one. If you have a question you'd like answered in a future episode, email me at pam@lessdramamoremama.com www.les...

I recently spent an unforgettable week working as a clinician at a grief camp for kids. While I'm sure I helped the campers learn and grow in many ways, they taught and inspired me a great deal, too. In this episode, I share my biggest takeaway from being at grief camp this summer and how it applies to you. www.lessdramamoremama.com/158 The post Lessons from Grief Camp – 158 appeared first on Less...

The start of the school year isn't how we imagined it would be last May when COVID cases were declining and vaccines became available to kids over 12. It's natural and normal to feel disappointed when your expectations aren’t met or your plans change, but how good are you at actually allowing yourself to feel disappointed? In this episode, I talk about why it's important to allow disappointment an...

Sometimes, families run like well-oiled machines. And other times, they don't operate as effectively. With summer schedules ending and school fast approaching, many families are all out of whack. In this episode, I share how you can do a 'reset' and get yours running smoothly again. www.lessdramamoremama.com/156 The post The Family Reset – 156 appeared first on Less Drama More Mama .

Back in episode 79, I talked about four of the main psychological defense mechanisms I see in my work with moms. In today's show, I'm diving deeper into one of those defense mechanisms: projection. Tune in to learn what parental projection is, how it impacts you and your kids, and what you can do about it. www.lessdramamoremama.com/155 The post Parental Projection – 155 appeared first on Less Dram...

When you know your child misses you and feels sad or scared, you might feel guilty or anxious about being apart. In today's episode, I share a recent personal story in which I was able to quickly turn my guilt-inducing thoughts into ones that caused me to feel calm and confident instead. Join me as I share this experience with you and offer some useful ways to think about when your kids want their...

It may sound like a bunch of self-help "fluff," but today's episode is anything but. The relationship you have with yourself is at the root of all of your successes and all of your problems. When you understand this, and take an honest look at yourself, you start to see where you can strengthen that relationship and develop a deeper connection with yourself. Tune in to hear how you can incorporate...

In last week's episode, I shared five faulty thought patterns that keep moms stuck feeling anxious, guilty, disappointed, and discouraged. This week, I'm sharing another five thought patterns that, if unchecked, can lead to feelings of shame, inadequacy, anger, and depression. Tune in to find out what these patterns are, how they impact you, and how to break them. www.lessdramamoremama.com/152 The...

Identifying our own thought patterns isn't easy. Most of the time, we don't even recognize that our thoughts are thoughts at all...we just believe they're facts! To help you figure out why you might be feeling stuck when it comes to a situation in your life, today's episode reveals five common unhelpful thought patterns, how they impact moms, and how to begin changing them. www.lessdramamoremama.c...

Physical pain is a part of life. Often, the way we think about our physical pain compounds our suffering by adding emotional pain on top of it. In this information-packed episode, I interview Marriage and Family Therapist and Master Coach Instructor, Aimée Gianni, about the mind-body connection and how life coaching not only helps with emotional pain, but can reduce symptoms of physical pain as w...

Do you and your child's father parent differently? If so, you're in the same boat as most of the moms I know. In honor of Father’s Day, I'm addressing the issue of parents "getting on the same page." www.lessdramamoremama.com/149 The post On the Same Team – 149 appeared first on Less Drama More Mama .

One of the main things the moms in the Chill Out Challenge are saying is that they don’t have enough time to devote to self-care. In today's episode, I'll share a time-saving strategy used by the most productive and successful people in the world. There's also a free download to go along with the episode to help you figure out how to make time for the things that truly matter to you. www.lessdrama...

LISTEN TO THE SHOW:   In this special bonus episode, I invite you to sign up for this year's Chill Out Challenge for Moms. Ditch your excuses for putting yourself last Conquer the chaos at home and get more organized Carve out time each day just for YOU Focus on your own self-care and emotional […] The post Bonus Episode – Chill Out Challenge for Moms appeared first on Less Drama More Mama .

Do you have a network of supportive relationships in your life? Having a strong support system in place before you actually need it can help you feel more confident about handling life's ups and downs. Tune in to this episode to learn about the different kinds of support you may need and how to start creating your own support system. www.lessdramamoremama.com/147 The post Creating Your Support Sys...

How much do you trust yourself? Trust is one of the most fundamental aspects of any relationship. You want to be able to trust your partner, kids, parents, friends, and coworkers. You want to be able to rely on them and know that they'll do what they say they'll do. Without that foundation of trust, it can be hard to have a good relationship. And so it’s even more important to have that kind of re...

Do you feel frustrated when your kids disobey your limits? Do you feel guilty because you often give in to avoid a meltdown or a power struggle? Do you feel confused and powerless about how to follow through on consequences? If you answered "yes" to any of these, this episode is for you. Tune in to learn about the importance of setting limits with your kids and how to think about them in a way tha...

Before I was a mom, I worked as a clinician at an adolescent day treatment facility near Boston. Time and time again, I witnessed teens enter the program with symptoms of major mental illness and leave thriving emotionally and socially. So, what was so special about the program?  I’ve identified seven key elements that the program provided to help kids and their families go from hopeless to optimi...

Do you sometimes find it difficult to let yourself feel good? Often when we think about the emotions we don't want to feel, we think of the negative ones. But I've noticed a number of my clients resisting their positive emotions, too. Tune in for this episode where I talk about giving yourself permission to feel good any time you want. www.lessdramamoremama.com/143 The post Permission to Feel Good...

Do you struggle to have fun now that you're a mom? Do you feel like your partner is the "fun" one and you're not? Do you feel resentful that those around you seem to be having more fun than you? Join me for this episode to learn how you can start creating more fun in your life today! www.lessdramamoremama.com/142 The post Moms Just Wanna Have Fun – 142 appeared first on Less Drama More Mama .

Calling all people pleasers! This is especially for you. The majority of my clients self-identify as people pleasers. And while they seem to recognize on some level that it's a problem, they don't seem to understand exactly why. After all, isn't pleasing people a good thing? Tune into this episode to learn what people pleasing really is, why so many moms do it, why it’s a problem, and most importa...