On The Hard Days

Latest Episodes:

Ep. 104 Mom Kelly Winkler on How Yoga & Mindfulness Can Provide Relief For Neurodivergent Kids (and Their Moms!) With Anxiety, OCD, and Panic Disorder Sep 19, 2022

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About This Episode: Mom Kelly is an inspiration. Her neurodivergent child with anxiety, OCD, and panic disorder has REALLY struggled, especially in her teen years. And because of that, Kelly has struggled too. But besides putting out daily fires, she decided to take matters of healing into her own hands - and healed herself in ways she never thought possible. Here are just some of the topics we discussed:
-Anxiety increases with hormonal changes in teens
-Admitting your child to the hospital with intrusive thoughts
-How Moms of ND kids struggle with PTSD and daily anxiety
-Yoga, mindfulness, and meditation - how it can help
-Breathwork is for people whose anxiety lives in their chests
-Taking the healing process into your own hands
Please shower Kelly with love and support by SHARING this episode with a mom who needs to hear her story! Her podcast is called "Mindful Conversations With Kay" and you can find her on IG @mindfulmomentsforfamilies.
MORE:
-Last call for moms interested in piloting my new program, Mothers Evolve! Sign up to save your spot at ontheharddays.com/pilot
-Want to be a part of my support group community, Mothers Together? Head over to ontheharddays.com/motherstogether to sign up. New groups start 10/1!
-Subscribe to On The Hard Days via Apple, Spotify, or however you get your podcasts. *Please leave a review* to spread the word to other moms around the world!

Ep. 103 My Turn: That Time I Screamed At My Neurodivergent Kid Sep 15, 2022

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About The Episode: Welcome to my Thursday solo episode! Normally, these second episodes are short and are based around YOUR questions. This time, I wanted to share a personal story about one of the (many) times I lost it on my child, and how that affected my mental health for years to come. Also in this episode, I break down the parts of my new program Mothers Evolve!
MORE:
-I'm looking for moms to pilot my new program, Mothers Evolve. Sign up to save your spot at ontheharddays.com/pilot
-Want to be a part of my support group community, Mothers Together? Head over to ontheharddays.com/motherstogether to sign up. New groups start 10/1!
-Subscribe to On The Hard Days via Apple, Spotify, or however you get your podcasts. *Please leave a review* to spread the word to other moms around the world!

Ep. 102 Mom Krista Ehlers on Struggling With "Parental PTSD" & Extreme Trauma For the Whole Family Sep 12, 2022

Show notes

About This Episode: Krista is so brave, and I'm so thankful for her. She had no hesitation in diving into some really tough and vulnerable topics around raising neurodivergent kids, including aggression and violence, adoption, trauma, and CPS. Here are just some of the topics we discussed:
-How symptoms of trauma mirror ADHD
-What is the trauma that adopted children struggle with?
-How does ADHD look different in boys than girls?
-When specialty diets don't help (but they were supposed to be the cure-all!)
-ODD - "recreational arguer"
-When ADHD symptoms "fit" with the "typical boy" stereotype, but not with girls
-Severe behaviors and CPS
Please shower Krista with love and support by SHARING this episode with a mom who needs to hear her story! You can find Krista on IG @krista.ehlers.
MORE:
-I'm looking for moms to pilot my new program, Mothers Evolve. Sign up to save your spot at ontheharddays.com/pilot
-Want to be a part of my support group community, Mothers Together? Head over to ontheharddays.com/motherstogether to sign up. New groups start 10/1!
-Subscribe to On The Hard Days via Apple, Spotify, or however you get your podcasts. *Please leave a review* to spread the word to other moms around the world!

Ep. 101 My Turn: "Should I Bother Seeking a Diagnosis For My Child? Would This Help Our Family?" Sep 08, 2022

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About The Episode: Welcome to my new weekly series: Ask Megan! I receive wonderful questions every day from moms of neurodivergent kids, and I thought it would be helpful to compile a list of these questions and chip away at them, week after week, giving you my take on them based on my personal experiences.
Today's Question: "Should I bother seeking a diagnosis for my child? Would this help our whole family?"
MORE:
-I'm looking for moms to pilot my new program, Mothers Evolve. Sign up to save your spot at ontheharddays.com/pilot
-Want to be a part of my support group community, Mothers Together? Head over to ontheharddays.com/motherstogether to sign up. New groups start 9/1!
-Subscribe to On The Hard Days via Apple, Spotify, or however you get your podcasts. *Please leave a review* to spread the word to other moms around the world!

Ep. 100 Reflecting On The Journey of This Podcast, Plus Part 2 with Kim Heilig! Sep 05, 2022

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About This Episode: Is this real life?! I'm spending a few minutes taking a look back as we cross over the 100 episodes line. Then, I'm on to Part 2 with my friend, Kim Heilig.
Kim Heilig is BACK! She's one of my all-time favorite people and I'm so excited to share with you what she has to say in this Part 1 of 2 episodes. First of all, if you never caught her first episode WAY back in June '21 (#28!), definitely listen to it RIGHT HERE. Second of all, I'm THRILLED to share that Kim is one of the mentors in my new upcoming program, Mothers Evolve. If you like her style and can resonate with her words, you'll love getting to know her and work with her in Mothers Evolve. You can sign up for the October Pilot of Mothers Evolve RIGHT HERE. Oh, and speaking of M.E. - the beginning of this episode introduces you to all 5 mentors in my program - be sure to listen to their powerful and positive messaging. I'm SO lucky to have them in my life! Now, back to the episode.
Please shower Kim with love and support by SHARING this episode with a mom who needs to hear her story!
MORE:
-I'm looking for moms to pilot my new program, Mothers Evolve. Sign up to save your spot at ontheharddays.com/pilot
-Want to be a part of my support group community, Mothers Together? Head over to ontheharddays.com/motherstogether to sign up. New groups start 9/1!
-Subscribe to On The Hard Days via Apple, Spotify, or however you get your podcasts. *Please leave a review* to spread the word to other moms around the world!

Ep. 99 (Part 1) Mom Kimberly Heilig on "Wading Into the Hard": When There Are No Obvious, Perfect Choices For a Neurodivergent Child's Well-Being Aug 29, 2022

Show notes

About This Episode: Kim Heilig is BACK! She's one of my all-time favorite people and I'm so excited to share with you what she has to say in this Part 1 of 2 episodes. First of all, if you never caught her first episode WAY back in June '21 (#28!), definitely listen to it RIGHT HERE. Second of all, I'm THRILLED to share that Kim is one of the mentors in my new upcoming program, Mothers Evolve. If you like her style and can resonate with her words, you'll love getting to know her and work with her in Mothers Evolve. You can sign up for the October Pilot of Mothers Evolve RIGHT HERE. Oh, and speaking of M.E. - the beginning of this episode introduces you to all 5 mentors in my program - be sure to listen to their powerful and positive messaging. I'm SO lucky to have them in my life! Now, back to the episode. Here are just some of the topics we discussed:
-Becoming a homeschooling family - unwillingly
-Giving up your dream job to support your child
-Learning to trust the process
-Healing: It takes a LONG TIME!
-What education is like for gifted children with learning disabilities
-What a strengths' based approaching to schooling could look like
-How confidence leads to achievement - NOT the other way around.
-How to establish a positive homeschool environment
Please shower Kim with love and support by SHARING this episode with a mom who needs to hear her story!
MORE:
-I'm looking for moms to pilot my new program, Mothers Evolve. Sign up to save your spot at ontheharddays.com/pilot
-Want to be a part of my support group community, Mothers Together? Head over to ontheharddays.com/motherstogether to sign up. New groups start 9/1!
-Subscribe to On The Hard Days via Apple, Spotify, or however you get your podcasts. *Please leave a review* to spread the word to other moms around the world!

Ep. 98 Mom Jennifer Rhein on Thinking Outside the Box to Combat Behavior Struggles With Highly Anxious, Gifted Kids Aug 22, 2022

Show notes

About This Episode: I had the best talk with Jennifer Rhein. The amount of similarities in our children we discovered in this episode were insane! Gifted kids are often anxious kids, and that can lead to major challenges. Here are just some of the topics we discussed:
-Are we trying to work together or trying to control?
-Behavior struggles with gifted, anxious kids
-When reward systems don't work
-High anxiety means kids want control
-How to name the anxiety monster
Please shower Jennifer with love and support by SHARING this episode with a mom who needs to hear her story!
MORE:
-I'm looking for moms to pilot my new program, Mothers Evolve. Sign up to save your spot at ontheharddays.com/pilot
-Want to be a part of my support group community, Mothers Together? Head over to ontheharddays.com/motherstogether to sign up. New groups start 9/1!
-Subscribe to On The Hard Days via Apple, Spotify, or however you get your podcasts. *Please leave a review* to spread the word to other moms around the world!

Ep. 97 (Part 2) Mom Tahira Benevelli on Doing the Internal Work to Discover Our Own Missing Needs *Before* Meeting the Needs of Our Neurodivergent Kids Aug 15, 2022

Show notes

About This Episode: This episode is the *perfect" one to plug your headphones into on your next drive to work or dog walk - short but packs a PUNCH. Tahira and I start asking questions about WHY society tries to get our neurodivergent kids to conform. Plus, we take a deep dive into the concept of putting our oxygen masks on first. Here are just some of the topics we discussed:
-The things you want for your kids, you have to give to yourself first
-How to let go of battles
-When you haven't checked in with yourself in YEARS
-Why do doctors and therapists try to "fix" our kids?
-Who even built society's "box", anyway?
-Self-care is INTERNAL work!
-Meeting your kids' needs at the risk of your own
Did you miss Part 1? Make sure you listen to that too, to get more on Tahira's story!
Please shower Tahira with love and support by SHARING this episode with a mom who needs to hear her story!
MORE:
-I'm looking for moms to pilot my new program, Mothers Evolve. Sign up to save your spot at ontheharddays.com/pilot
-Want to be a part of my support group community, Mothers Together? Head over to ontheharddays.com/motherstogether to sign up. New groups start 9/1!
-Subscribe to On The Hard Days via Apple, Spotify, or however you get your podcasts. *Please leave a review* to spread the word to other moms around the world!

Ep. 96 (Part 1) Mom Tahira Benevelli on Shedding Generational Patterns by Being "Emotionally Messy" With Our Neurodivergent Kids Aug 08, 2022

Show notes

About This Episode: Sometimes, a conversation is just so juicy that it needs two parts! This one, with mom Tahira, is one of them. I think you're going to absolutely LOVE this episode. Tahira is a former "authoritarian" parent, relearning who she is, what she values, and what works best for her kids' brains. I can completely relate to her story and I think you will, too. Here are just some of the topics we discussed:
-Giving tools to our kids is really about needing those tools for ourselves
-Growing with our children
-Balancing the needs of multiple ND kids
-Going back to old patterns when we're stressed
-How understanding your kid's brain changes everything
-Why are some kids compliant and others aren't?
-When the way you were raised doesn't work for ND kids
Please shower Elle with love and support by SHARING this episode with a mom who needs to hear her story!
MORE:
-I'm looking for moms to pilot my new program, Mothers Evolve. Sign up to save your spot at ontheharddays.com/pilot
-Want to be a part of my support group community, Mothers Together? Head over to ontheharddays.com/motherstogether to sign up. New groups start 8/1!
-Subscribe to On The Hard Days via Apple, Spotify, or however you get your podcasts. *Please leave a review* to spread the word to other moms around the world!

Ep. 95 Mom Elle Barrett on Helping Your Neurodivergent Child Stay True to Themselves - Which Means When To Mask (And When Not To) Aug 01, 2022

Show notes

About This Episode: What an awesome chat with mom Elle! We talked a LOT about how being autistic has made a massive impact on how she raises her autistic daughter. She shared a ton of insight as she reflected back onto her childhood and focused on what it felt like trying to fit in all the time. It's a wonderful conversation that you will definitely grab takeaways from. Here are just some of the topics we discussed:
-Seeing the same qualities in your child as you see in yourself
-Just because someone is neurodivergent doesn't mean they fully understand neurodivergence
-The negative feeling of being "other"
-Rethinking your childhood after your child's diagnosis
-Teaching your child to know how to act as a neurotypical person...but on their terms
-Importance of understanding Sensory Processing Disorder
-The integration of body systems
-Why is neurodivergence considered a disability?
-How SPD permeates everyday life
Please shower Elle with love and support by SHARING this episode with a mom who needs to hear her story!
MORE:
-I'm looking for moms to pilot my new program, Mothers Evolve. Sign up to save your spot at ontheharddays.com/pilot
-Want to be a part of my support group community, Mothers Together? Head over to ontheharddays.com/motherstogether to sign up. New groups start 8/1!
-Subscribe to On The Hard Days via Apple, Spotify, or however you get your podcasts. *Please leave a review* to spread the word to other moms around the world!

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