Breaking the Caregiver Cycle: Self-Awareness, Survival Mode & Loving Fiercely with Lynette Weldon

🎙️ The F.E.E.L Podcast – Episode: Breaking the Caregiver Cycle: Self-Awareness, Survival Mode & Loving Fiercely with Lynette Weldon

Host: Melissa Crook | Guest: Lynette Weldon | Written by: Jessica Garrison

In this powerful and deeply emotional episode of The F.E.E.L Podcast, we welcome the resilient and passionate Lynette Weldon—caregiver, mother, and advocate—who shares her journey of breaking generational patterns, surviving caregiver burnout, and reclaiming her identity.

Lynette opens up about raising a daughter with Down syndrome and a congenital heart condition while managing a full household and her own emotional needs. Living in survival mode for nearly a decade, Lynette reveals how she finally gave herself permission to grieve, to feel, and to heal—showing us that self-care isn’t selfish, it’s necessary.

Together, we explore:🌪️ What it feels like to live in fight-or-flight mode💔 The layered grief that comes with caregiving🧬 How generational patterns shape our emotional responses💛 Balancing the needs of multiple children without losing yourself🌱 Reclaiming your well-being through self-awareness and rest

Whether you’re a caregiver, a mother, or someone feeling unseen in your emotional labor, Lynette’s story reminds us that our needs matter too—and healing is possible when we choose to prioritize ourselves.

🎧 Tune in now to hear how Lynette found clarity, courage, and compassion through breaking the cycle of over-functioning—and how you can too.

📌 Keywords:Caregiver Burnout, Caregiving and Self-Care, Down Syndrome Parenting, Women’s Emotional Health, Fight or Flight Mode, Invisible Labor of Caregiving, Grief in Caregiving, Generational Caregiving Patterns, Mental Health for Mothers, Balance in Motherhood, How to Break Survival Mode, Layered Healing Journey, Emotional Wellness Podcast, Parenting with Purpose, Self-Awareness and Caregiving

📝 Blog Excerpt: Being a fierce advocate, Lynette shares how her time as a caregiver changed her life on both ends of the spectrum...We can choose to model unhealthy behaviors for ourselves and others, or we can break the cycle. 

💛 Ways to Engage:Do you feel like you’re overworked or don’t have any time in the day for yourself? Start with small increments of time, like 5 or 10 minutes to do something for you. Read a couple pages of your book, write down your thoughts, or just rest. Your time is yours, and it’s up to you to take control of it.

#CaregiverSupport#MentalHealthAwareness#SelfCareMatters#InvisibleLabor#DownSyndromeAwareness#WomenEmpoweringWomen#EmotionalWellness#HealingJourney#MomLifeUnfiltered#GenerationalHealing#BreakTheCycle#FeelToHeal#PodcastForMoms#NeurodivergentParenting#TheFEELPodcast

Timestamps:

Prioritizing Self Care - ( 3:17 )

Confidently Setting Boundaries - ( 26:19 )

Taking Care of Your Emotional Health as much as Your Physical Health - ( 31:09 )

Support self & other women unapologetically - ( 37:27 )

Coming Back to Your WHY and Your VALUES - ( 40:16 )

Living Out of Your Own Expectations - ( 46:20 )

Accepting the Layered Aspects of Yourself - ( 52:40 )

Living out FEEL, how does it affect your relationships - ( 59:44 )

5 Activities That Nourish You - ( 1:03:04 )

5 Words for How You Want to Feel in the Next Six Months - ( 1:03:34 )

Original Music by Rio & Valencia Saint-Louis

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