Unmute with Priya: Finding Your Voice at Midlife

Latest Episodes:

YOU TAKE CARE OF EVERYONE ELSE, BUT WHAT ABOUT YOU? | JAMES KELLEHER | #peoplepleasing #podcast Oct 05, 2026

Show notes

When was the last time you stopped in the middle of everything you do for everyone else and asked yourself: What do I need?

That question sits at the heart of my conversation with James P. Kelleher, licensed mental health counselor, life coach, and founder of JPK3 Counseling and Coaching. James challenges the idea that mental health is something we only address when we're in crisis or during an hour-long therapy session. It's showing up every day: in our relationships, our stress, the roles we play, the things we carry quietly, and those moments when we realize we've lost our spark.

We also talk about why awareness has to come before change, the importance of having a space where you can show up without judgment, and why getting support doesn't mean something is wrong with you.

In this episode:

• Why mental health is an everyday conversation

• The surprisingly powerful question: “What do I need?”

• Recognizing when you've lost your spark

• Why self-awareness comes before action

• Finding support before you reach a breaking point

Sometimes the first sign that something needs to change isn't a crisis. It's simply that quiet feeling that something doesn't fit anymore.

Connect with James P. Kelleher

Website: jamespkellard.com

When Your Life Is Built Around Everyone Else’s Expectations with John Chambers Oct 02, 2026

Show notes

What happens when you realize the life you've built isn't actually aligned with who you are?

In this episode of Unmute with Priya, I sit down with John Chambers, founder of JC Coaching and Consulting and an ICF-certified professional coach, to talk about burnout, people pleasing, fear, shame, and the exhausting pressure to prove yourself.

John shares how growing up as a pastor's son shaped his pursuit of perfection and external validation, and how therapy, loss, and his own experience with burnout eventually forced him to question the story he'd been living. We explore what it takes to separate who you truly are from who you learned you needed to be and why changing your life isn't about getting it perfect.

In this episode, we discuss:

• The connection between people pleasing, perfectionism, and burnout

• How fear and shame can quietly shape your choices

• Separating your own values from other people's expectations

• Why the stories you tell about yourself matter

• Creating a life and career you don't have to recover from

If you've spent years becoming who everyone expected you to be, this conversation is an invitation to start asking what you actually want.

Connect with John Chambers

Website: coachingwithjc.com

Social media: @CoachingWithJC

Your Life Isn’t a Final Draft with Candice Suarez | A story of Cancer Survival and Resilience Sep 28, 2026

Show notes

What happens when life completely rewrites the story you thought you were living?
In this episode of Unmute with Priya, I sit down with Candice Suarez, life drafting and transition coach and stage four tongue cancer survivor, to talk about navigating the plot twists we never saw coming and deciding what comes next.
After having more than half of her tongue removed and reconstructed, Candice had to relearn something that had always come naturally to her: using her voice. Since then, life has brought even more transitions, from becoming an empty nester to separating from her husband of nearly 30 years.
Through it all, Candice has learned to think of life as a draft, something we're allowed to edit, revise, and rewrite as we change.
In this episode, we discuss:
• Rebuilding your life when everything changes
• Why you're allowed to change your mind
• Letting go of the idea of a “final draft”
• Finding yourself in the messy middle of a transition
• The difference between optimism and toxic positivity
• Why resilience isn't about returning to who you were
• Taking the pen back when you've let others write your story
• Creating a new normal instead of fighting for the old one
Whether you're facing a major transition or simply realizing this isn't working for me anymore, Candice offers a powerful reminder: your story is still being written.
Connect with Candice: https://www.lifedrafting.com/

Religious Trauma, Sexual Shame & Coming Back to Yourself with Reanna Dillon Sep 25, 2026

Show notes

What happens when you've your life learning to be good, follow the rules, suppress your desires, and disconnect from your body?

In this episode of Unmute with Priya, I sit down with Reanna Dillon, founder of Align and Prosper and a trauma-informed somatic coach who works with high achievers navigating religious and sexual trauma.

Reanna grew up as a Jehovah's Witness and left the religion at fourteen. But leaving the environment didn't mean leaving behind everything it had taught her about herself. We talk openly about religious conditioning, sexual shame, perfectionism, people pleasing, overachieving, and the ways we can become disconnected from our bodies without even realizing it. This conversation also became deeply personal for me. As Reanna shared her experience, I began recognizing parallels with my own upbringing as the "good Indian girl", following the rules, suppressing parts of myself, and carrying shame around sexuality and self-expression.

Together, we explore what it can look like to come back to yourself.

Reanna shares how somatic work helped her move beyond intellectualizing her experiences and begin reconnecting with her body, sensuality, desires, playfulness, and sense of aliveness. And we talk about something many women may rarely say out loud: what happens when shame has made it difficult to experience pleasure or even feel fully present in your own body.

In this episode, we explore:

• How religious and cultural conditioning can shape our relationship with our bodies

• Sexual shame and the messages women receive about desire and pleasure

• The connection between perfectionism, people pleasing, and overachieving

• Why leaving a restrictive environment doesn't automatically undo its conditioning

• Sensuality beyond sex: food, movement, touch, beauty, pleasure, and presence

• Giving yourself permission to play, celebrate, move, and take up space

• Beginning to identify your own desires underneath everyone else's expectations

If you've ever felt like you had to shrink yourself to be accepted, be "good," or belong, this conversation may give you a new way to think about what it means to come home to yourself.

Connect with Reanna Dillon

website: https://www.alignandprosper.org/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alignandprospercoach?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&stkn=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==

email: reanna@alignandprosper.org

Cancer, Hope & the Power of Becoming Your Own Advocate with Dr. Lisa Matejka Sep 21, 2026

Show notes

A cancer diagnosis can suddenly make it feel like everyone has an opinion about what you should do next.

In this episode of Unmute with Priya, I sit down with Dr. Lisa Matejka, founder of New Moon Cancer Care, to talk about navigating cancer through a whole-person lens and why staying connected to your own voice matters when you're facing some of life's hardest decisions.

After losing her father to pancreatic cancer, Dr. Lisa was drawn to naturopathic medicine and ultimately made cancer care the focus of her work. Today, she combines naturopathic support, energy work, and transformational life coaching in her practice.

Our conversation goes beyond the physical side of cancer. We explore the fear and overwhelm that can follow a diagnosis, the role Dr. Lisa believes mindset and emotional well-being can play in the healing journey, and the importance of feeling empowered to ask questions, explore your options, and participate in decisions about your own care.

We also talk about what happens when well-meaning family and friends have strong opinions about treatment and why sometimes the most powerful way to support someone is simply to listen.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Dr. Lisa's personal journey from losing her father to creating New Moon Cancer Care

• What a whole-person approach to cancer support can look like

• Mindset, emotions, spirituality, and their place in her approach to healing

• Why a cancer diagnosis can leave people feeling like they've lost their voice

• Advocating for yourself while navigating difficult healthcare decisions

• How family and friends can better support someone going through cancer

• Why Dr. Lisa sees herself as a facilitator rather than “the healer”

• Holding on to hope while facing uncertainty

• How a life-changing diagnosis can shift priorities, purpose, and perspective

Connect with Dr. Lisa Matejka

New Moon Cancer Care: https://newmooncancercare.net/

Meet Dr. Lisa: https://newmooncancercare.net/meet-dr-lisa/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-matejka-nd-ms-8aa41960

Email: dr.lisa@newmooncancercare.net

#CancerSupport, #CancerJourney, #PatientAdvocacy, #CancerCare, #FindingYourVoice, #UnmuteWithPriya, #Podcast, #Trending, #Trend, #viral, #fyp

You Don’t Need to Improve Yourself, You Need to Uncover Yourself with Rebecca Palmatier Sep 18, 2026

Show notes

What if personal growth isn’t about becoming someone new, but uncovering who you were before everyone else told you who to be?

In this episode of Unmute with Priya, I sit down with Rebecca Palmatier, founder of Clarity Coaching, Consulting and Creativity. Rebecca brings a unique perspective as both a life coach and behavioral analyst, exploring how our habits, relationships, expectations, and environments shape the way we live.

Rebecca shares how COVID forced her to take a closer look at a life that checked all the boxes but no longer worked for her—and what it took to begin changing it.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Why exhaustion can be valuable information

• How people pleasing and overachieving become learned patterns

• What your nervous system may be telling you

• Why change can feel like losing a part of yourself

• How behavioral analysis influences Rebecca’s approach to coaching

• Why you may already have the answers you’re looking for

Rebecca compares the process to mining for gems: you sift through everything you’ve collected from family, society, religion, work, and experience until you find what was yours all along.

The gems were always there.

Connect with Rebecca: https://www.awakenclarity.com/

Is This What I Want or What I Was Taught to Want with Erin Barry Sep 14, 2026

Show notes

Have you ever looked at your life and thought, “I should be happy… so why does something still feel off?”

In this episode of Unmute with Priya, I sit down with Erin Barry, life coach, speaker, and founder of Live Your Truth Journey, to talk about what happens when the life you’re living no longer feels like your own.

Erin shares her experience of realizing she was unhappy, the pushback she faced when she began making different choices, and how she learned to recognize what she truly wanted versus what she had been taught to want.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Why it can be hard to admit you’re unhappy

• Knowing what you want versus what you think you should want

• The guilt that can come with choosing yourself

• The difference between self-care and “soul care”

• Erin’s WILD framework for living your truth

• How small daily practices can create meaningful change

If you’ve been questioning what you really want in this season of your life, this conversation is for you.

Connect with Erin: https://liveyourtruthjourney.com/

What Almost Dying Taught Him About Actually Living with Vincent Van den Broeck Sep 04, 2026

Show notes

What would you do differently if you truly understood that you don't get unlimited time?

Vincent Van den Broeck was given a 10% chance of surviving a devastating accident and roughly a 1% chance of surviving with the recovery he ultimately made. He spent three weeks in a coma and woke up having to rebuild abilities most of us never think twice about. But when I asked Vincent whether almost dying changed him, his answer surprised me. He says it didn't. It showed him that the person he had become before the accident was the person who would ultimately fight his way back.

In this episode of Unmute with Priya, Vincent and I have an incredibly honest conversation about happiness, regret, failure, resilience, fear, relationships and why so many of us spend our lives looking for happiness while forgetting to actually be happy. He shares the one thing he became completely non negotiable about after the accident, the three questions he asks himself about his life, and the beautiful story of the last words he said to his wife before he walked away that night and was hit by a car.

We also talk about why he rejects the idea that everything simply “happens for a reason,” why failure is part of being alive, and why the question might not be “Why me?” but “Why not me?” Vincent's upcoming book, Everything Feels Impossible Until It's Done, tells the story behind the life he built before the accident and the resilience that helped him survive it. This isn't an episode about dying. It's about whether you're actually living while you're here.

PREORDER Vincent's Book

https://www.amazon.com/Everything-Feels-Impossible-Until-Done-ebook/dp/B0H3QXHHC6/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3S0F70TVOHJYH&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.kR793_eFOlEuMFMUIoW5sQ.KDUwGje05o0MByahq7XbxPPVt7gdlWfoFT1ao5I4sqs&dib_tag=se&keywords=Vincent+Van+den+Broeck&qid=1781612359&sprefix=%2Caps%2C248&sr=8-1

Connect with Vincent

https://linktr.ee/vincentinthekitchen?utm_source=linktree_profile_share&ltsid=a021ff2b-11de-4e02-a1aa-882d42e4f852

Everything Women Have Been Told About UTIs Might Be Wrong w/ Dr. Leah Postma & Aubree Ng-UTI Clinic Aug 31, 2026

Show notes

You peed after sex. You wiped the “right” way. You drank the cranberry juice. You took the antibiotics. So why does the UTI keep coming back?
In this episode of Unmute with Priya, I sit down with Dr. Leah Postma and Aubree Ng, founders of The UTI Clinic, for a conversation I honestly wish every woman could hear. We get into some of the biggest myths women have been told about urinary tract infections, including the shame and blame around hygiene and sex, why a negative urine culture doesn't always mean nothing is wrong, and why repeatedly treating symptoms with antibiotics may not answer the bigger question of why the infections keep happening. We also talk about something I had never had properly explained to me before: the connection between perimenopause, declining estrogen, the vagina, the bladder, and recurrent UTIs.
Leah and Aubree explain why symptoms can begin while you're still having periods, what your microbiome has to do with bladder health, and why UTIs may sometimes be a clue that something else is happening in the body. Most importantly, this conversation is a reminder that you know your body. If you've been told your tests are normal while you know something doesn't feel right, or you've been stuck in a cycle of UTIs and antibiotics wondering what you're doing wrong, you need to hear this episode.
Connect with the UTI Clinic
https://theuticlinic.org/

When Success No Longer Feels Like You with Ryan Watts Aug 27, 2026

Show notes

What happens when you do everything you thought you were supposed to do, build the career, become successful, check all the boxes, and still find yourself wondering, “Is this it?”
In this episode of Unmute with Priya, I sit down with leadership coach and podcast host Ryan Watts for a deeply honest conversation about success, identity, self trust, and what happens when the life that once worked for you no longer fits. Ryan opens up about reaching his late 30s and realizing how much of his identity and worth had become tied to his career, including the painful impact that had on his marriage and his sense of who he was without his work. We talk about the exhaustion that comes from forcing yourself to keep living according to an old version of success, the internal negotiation so many leaders quietly experience, why we outsource our purpose, and what can happen when we stop trying to fit ourselves into a mold and start trusting what we actually know about ourselves. Ryan also shares why the most successful people he has interviewed have something deeper than achievement in common: an incredibly strong sense of self trust.
If your life looks successful from the outside but something inside keeps whispering that it no longer feels like you, this conversation is for you.
Connect with Ryan
https://www.ryanwattscoaching.com/
Check out the Personal Success Podcast
https://www.ryanwattscoaching.com/thepersonalsuccesspodcast

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Unmute with Priya: Finding Your Voice at Midlife

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected