Nurture & Be

Feeling Stuck? Understanding the Stages of Change

Have you ever known exactly what you need to do, but still found yourself not doing it?

In this episode, Brooke breaks down the Stages of Change model and explores why personal growth isn't simply about knowing better—it's about moving through a process. Whether you're trying to improve your relationships, prioritize your health, set boundaries, manage anxiety, or finally follow through on a goal, understanding where you are in the change process can help you stop judging yourself and start moving forward. 

Brooke walks through the five stages of change:

• Pre-Contemplation: "It's not a problem."
• Contemplation: "Maybe this is a problem."
• Preparation: "I know what I should do."
• Action: "I'm actively making changes."
• Maintenance: "This has become part of my life."

She also discusses why so many people get stuck in preparation mode—consuming information, making plans, and waiting for motivation—without taking meaningful action. 

• How to identify which stage of change you're currently in
• Why feedback from others can sometimes reveal blind spots
• The difference between preparation and true action
• How shame keeps us stuck and self-awareness helps us move forward
• Why motivation alone isn't enough to create lasting change
• The importance of understanding the real impact of your behaviors

• What area of your life feels stuck right now?
• What feedback have you been hearing repeatedly that you may be dismissing?
• Are you truly taking action, or are you preparing to take action?
• What would change in your life if you fully committed to the next step?

Sometimes knowing what needs to change is the easy part. Understanding why you keep getting stuck, repeating patterns, or struggling to follow through often requires deeper support. Therapy can help you uncover the beliefs, fears, and emotional roadblocks that keep you cycling through the same challenges.

At Nurture and Be Therapy Services, we help clients move beyond awareness and into lasting transformation through a holistic approach that considers your mind, body, relationships, and nervous system.

We offer free 20-minute consultations for residents of Georgia and Florida. Whether you're navigating anxiety, burnout, relationship struggles, life transitions, people-pleasing, perfectionism, or simply feeling stuck, we're here to help.

Episode Summary

This episode is a little more direct, a little more honest about how therapy actually works.

I’m walking through what I see all the time.

People start therapy, begin to feel some relief, gain insight… and then stop. Not because it didn’t work, but because they left right before the part where real change happens.

If you’ve ever felt like you understand your patterns but still find yourself repeating them… this is for you.

Because insight is only one part of the process.

What comes after is where things actually shift.

• Why so many people leave therapy too early (and don’t realize it)
• The difference between feeling better and actually changing patterns
• The phases of therapy and what’s happening in each one
  Why insight alone doesn’t create lasting change
• The part of therapy that feels uncomfortable, but is necessary
• What it looks like to move from understanding → doing something different
• How change becomes something you can actually sustain

If you’re starting to recognize yourself in this, you’re not doing it wrong. You might just be in the part that doesn’t feel as good yet.

This is the work we do every day inside therapy. Helping you understand your patterns, move through them, and build something that actually holds in your real life.

If you’re in Florida or Georgia, you can schedule a free 20-minute consultation with one of our therapists to see if it feels like a good fit.

Dr. Nari Jeter is a licensed marriage and family therapist and relationship expert known for her thoughtful approach to boundaries, emotional health, and relational dynamics. In her private practice, she helps couples navigate conflict, dissatisfaction, infidelity, and divorce. Through her writing and speaking, she explores how people can maintain connection without sacrificing their sense of self by developing healthy, sustainable boundaries. Her insights have been featured in outlets including SELF Magazine, Newsweek, and USA Today.

Episode Summary:
In this episode, Brooke sits down with Dr. Nari Jeter to unpack one of the most common, yet least talked about, dynamics in relationships: physical intimacy.

They explore the difference between sex and intimacy, why desire shifts over time (especially postpartum and during high-stress seasons), and the pattern so many couples find themselves stuck in…
“I need emotional connection first” vs. “I need physical connection first.”

If you’ve ever felt disconnected, confused, or even guilty around intimacy in your relationship, this conversation will help you understand what’s actually happening beneath the surface.

What We Talk About:

• The difference between sex vs. intimacy (and why it matters)

• Why desire changes across seasons of life

• The mental load, hormones, and exhaustion behind low desire

• The “cycle” couples get stuck in around connection

• Why physical intimacy isn’t just about sex

• How unmet needs show up differently for each partner

• Reframing guilt and pressure in relationships

• What “normal” can actually look like for intimacy frequency

Key Takeaways:

• Intimacy is more than physical. It’s emotional, psychological, and relational closeness.

• Desire isn’t just about attraction. It’s influenced by stress, hormones, mental load, and relationship health.

• Both partners have needs. And both matter.

• The goal isn’t perfection. It’s understanding and connection.

• Small shifts in communication and perspective can change everything.

A Reframe to Sit With:
Instead of “I should…”
What would it look like to shift into “I get to…” when it comes to connection in your relationship?

Continue the Conversation:
This episode continues on our paid platform, As It Happens, where we go deeper into:

• resentment during intimacy

• “checking the box” sex

• how to rebuild desire when it feels completely gone

About Our Guest:
Dr. Nari Jeter is a licensed marriage and family therapist, educator, and couples specialist based in Florida. She works extensively with couples navigating intimacy, communication, and long-term relationship dynamics.

Resources & Links:

Episode Summary

This episode is a little more real-time, a little less polished.

I’m sharing what I’ve been learning about over-functioning in relationships, the subtle ways we try to keep the peace, and how living in “neutral” can quietly keep us stuck.

If you’re someone who holds a lot emotionally, anticipates needs, over-explains, or feels responsible for how things land for others… this is for you.

Because what can look like care on the surface is often something deeper underneath.

• What over-functioning actually is and why it’s so easy to miss
• The connection between over-functioning and people-pleasing
• How this shows up in relationships, parenting, and everyday interactions
• The emotional and physical weight of carrying what isn’t yours
• Childhood patterns that shape this dynamic (even in “good” families)
• The over-functioning / under-functioning cycle in relationships
• Why over-explaining is often anxiety, not clarity
• 
  

If you’re starting to recognize yourself in this, you don’t have to untangle it alone.

This is the work we do every day inside therapy. Helping you understand your patterns, shift how you show up in relationships, and move toward something that actually feels aligned.

If you’re in Florida or Georgia, you can schedule a free 20-minute consultation with one of our therapists to see if it feels like a good fit.

Show Notes:
In this episode, Brooke is joined by Dr. Shaleigh of AlignLife Sugar Hill for a real, honest conversation about postpartum prep beyond the diapers, swaddles, and recovery supplies.

Together, they talk about the emotional, physical, relational, and hormonal shifts that come with pregnancy, birth, and the postpartum season, and what it looks like to build a true support system before baby arrives.

Brooke shares from both her professional lens as a licensed marriage and family therapist and her lived experience as a mom, while Dr. Shaleigh brings insight from the chiropractic and nervous system side of care.

They walk through what actually belongs in your “postpartum toolkit” including your care team, your community, your relationship support, and your mental health plan.

If pregnancy or postpartum has felt heavier than you expected, you are not alone.

At Nurture and Be, we support women through pregnancy, postpartum, and the in-between seasons with therapy that looks at the whole picture. Anxiety, intrusive thoughts, identity shifts, relationship strain, grief, and the mental load of motherhood are all welcome here.

We serve clients in Georgia and Florida and offer free consultation calls to help you get started.

In this episode, we talk about:
• What postpartum prep should actually include
• Why your care team matters before baby arrives
• Postpartum anxiety, depression, OCD, and intrusive thoughts
• Pregnancy after loss and how fear can show up
• Nervous system regulation during pregnancy and postpartum
• Breastfeeding support, recovery planning, and C-section prep
• Why couples support matters after baby
• The role of community in maternal mental health

Episode Description

In this solo episode, Brooke shares something a little different — lessons she’s actively learning in real time.

There’s a lot of pressure in our culture to show up with everything figured out. But the truth is that life, leadership, and motherhood are always evolving. Growth rarely happens once everything feels stable — it happens right in the middle of the messy, uncertain moments.

This episode is about normalizing the ups and downs of being human and remembering that when things feel shaky, it doesn’t always mean something is wrong. Sometimes it means something new is being built.

1. Letting Go of the Picture You Thought Something Would Be

2. Holding Other People’s Big Feelings Without Absorbing Them

3. Trusting the Season You’re In

Toward the end of the episode, Brooke shares a moment from a recent tarot reading where the death card was pulled — often misunderstood as something negative, but actually symbolizing transformation and rebirth.

Episode Summary
In this episode, Brooke sits down with Stephanie Slater, therapist and group practice owner in British Columbia, to talk about what happens when women stop competing and start collaborating. They unpack the real-life reasons community feels hard to build (especially in postpartum or in leadership), why “one person can’t be every well,” and how the right kind of connection can calm the nervous system and reduce isolation.

This conversation is grounded, practical, and honest, including how to build community when you’re tired, when you’re new somewhere, and when vulnerability feels risky.

What We Talk About

• Why collaboration can feel safer and more sustainable than competition

• The myth of scarcity (and what happens when you put it down)

• The quiet power of having “business people,” “parenting people,” and “just-for-fun people”

• Why community doesn’t need to be perfect to be healing

• Simple, doable ways to build connection when you’re already stretched thin

• The idea that community can be a nervous-system-level support (not just a social nice-to-have)

Key Takeaways

• You don’t need one person to meet every need. You need a few places to belong.

• Community is built through small risks: saying hi first, inviting someone, trying things once.

• The goal isn’t “everyone loves me.” The goal is finding your fit.

• The right community helps you feel steadier. The wrong community can amplify anxiety.

About Stephanie
Stephanie Slater, M.A. is a Registered Clinical Counsellor and Canadian Certified Counsellor in British Columbia. She leads Slater & Associates, a group practice serving perinatal mental health, adults, teens, and children, and also offers corporate talks on mental health and wellness.

Find Stephanie

Keywords: emotional resilience, failing forward, identity shifts, personal growth, motherhood, entrepreneurship, mental health, leadership, self-discovery, authenticity

In this episode of the Nurture and Be podcast, Brooke Ferreira discusses the importance of emotional resilience and the concept of failing forward. She emphasizes that emotional resilience is essential for anyone pursuing goals or dreams, as it allows individuals to navigate the messy middle of growth and change. Brooke shares personal experiences of identity shifts and the discomfort that comes with them, highlighting that growth often feels vulnerable and challenging. She encourages listeners to embrace the learning process, accept failure as part of growth, and recognize that true transformation occurs in the midst of uncertainty.

Takeaways

• Emotional resilience is essential for pursuing goals.
• Growth often feels disorienting and uncomfortable.
• The messy middle is where most people quit.
• Staying present is key to emotional resilience.
• Failure is a part of the learning process.
• Discomfort signifies that we are learning something important.
• We must keep trying even when we feel inadequate.
• Growth requires us to embrace new versions of ourselves.
• It's normal to feel vulnerable during growth.
• Emotional resilience and failing forward are crucial for transformation.

Today we’re talking about holistic living for real life moms.

If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed trying to shift from “traditional medicine only” to a more natural, whole-person approach, this episode is your starter kit. I’m joined by Dr. Joanna Chipman of Haven Health, a former medic turned functional + holistic provider (and mom of seven), and we break down where to start when you want healthier options but don’t want to drown in wellness noise.

We talk about the basics that actually move the needle (without needing 20 supplements), how to simplify food and routines, and what to keep in your medicine cabinet so you’re not scrambling when sickness hits.

In this episode:

• Where to start with holistic living when you feel overwhelmed

• Why “cutting out the noise” matters (especially social media wellness)

• The real foundations: sunshine, air, water, food, movement, and rest

• Do you have to buy all organic? (Dirty Dozen made simple)

• Picky kids, sensory eating, and what to do when they won’t touch vegetables

• How to build movement into your life when you’re exhausted and unmotivated

• What to keep stocked: vitamin C, turmeric, omegas, electrolytes, arnica, and more

• A realistic approach to fevers and sick season support

Episode Description:
In this episode of the Nurture & Be Podcast, Brooke answers real, unfiltered questions about entrepreneurship—what it looks like to build something meaningful while raising a family, navigating hard seasons, and learning as you go. Recorded early in the morning with coffee in hand, this conversation is grounded, honest, and deeply reflective.

Brooke shares what she’s learned from founding Nurture & Be Therapy Services alongside early motherhood, including her highest highs, lowest lows, and the lessons that came from both. From defining success on your own terms to knowing when to double down versus pivot, this episode is for anyone building something—whether a business, a career, or a life that feels aligned.

This is not expert advice. It’s lived experience, intuition, and perspective—take what resonates and leave the rest.

In This Episode, We Cover:

• Why entrepreneurship is often “failing forward”

• Brooke’s highest highs and lowest lows as a founder

• What she wishes she could tell her first-year self

• How success changes as you grow

• When to double down versus when it’s time to pivot

• Trusting intuition while building sustainably

• Why hard work + a dream can be enough to start

• The emotional side of scaling a business

• Why community matters in entrepreneurship and motherhood

Want to go deeper? This episode continues in the As It Happens Edit, where Brooke answers more questions, gets more vulnerable, and dives further into boundaries, balance, burnout, and what it really takes to keep going.

Today we’re talking about postpartum body image and the identity shift that happens when your body doesn’t feel familiar after pregnancy and birth.

This episode is a gentle but honest conversation about the quiet thoughts women carry during pregnancy and postpartum that don’t get said out loud. The pressure to “bounce back.” The grief that can come with breastfeeding. The confusion when your healing doesn’t match what you were told it should look like. And the deeper truth that body image is not just about how you look, but about safety, control, and learning to feel at home in your body again.

I’m joined by Harani Argoe, LPC (trauma + body image therapist, eating disorder specialist, and new mama), and we go there in a way that feels real, grounded, and deeply validating.

In this episode:

• Why pregnancy and postpartum can make your body feel unfamiliar (even when you “look fine”)

• The quiet thoughts women don’t say out loud: “I should be grateful, but this is hard”

• How bounce back culture impacts postpartum mental health

• Why postpartum body image is about more than appearance: safety, identity, and confidence

• Breastfeeding pressure, low supply, and the emotional weight no one prepares you for

• Why neutrality is sometimes more accessible than body positivity

• Small, practical ways to honor your body in the middle of change

✨ Want the deeper, more personal version?

The As It Happens Edit goes further into infertility, loss, intimacy postpartum, being touched out, sex drive shifts, and the raw behind-the-scenes of motherhood and body changes.

Today we’re talking about the mom nervous system — how motherhood, pregnancy, and postpartum impact the nervous system, and how nervous-system-based chiropractic care can support regulation, grounding, and whole-body healing. This conversation gently reframes symptoms many moms call anxiety, showing how tension, jaw pain, headaches, shallow breathing, and overwhelm often live in the body.

In this episode:

• Why motherhood is a nervous system event, especially during pregnancy and postpartum

• How stress and anxiety show up physically in the mom body

• The difference between traditional chiropractic care and nervous-system-focused chiropractic

• How chiropractic can support nervous system regulation, not just pain relief

• Why common postpartum symptoms aren’t always normal — and deserve support

• What regulation can actually feel like: steady, grounded, and safe in your body

✨ Want the deeper, more personal version?

The As It Happens Edit goes further into being dismissed by providers, medical gaslighting in motherhood, birth experiences that shape the nervous system, and learning to trust your body again.

If you’re listening while doing dishes, folding laundry, driving to pickup, or finally exhaling after bedtime… this episode is for you.

Today we’re talking about the mental load of motherhood — the invisible, nonstop weight of remembering, anticipating, planning, managing, and holding everything together. We break down what it actually feels like, why it impacts relationships so deeply, and a few realistic ways to begin making it lighter.

In this episode:

• What mental load really is (it’s not just tasks — it’s the constant thinking)

• SAHM vs working mom: same load, different shape

• The relational impact: resentment, disconnection, intimacy struggles

• Why it’s not a personal failure — it’s cultural conditioning + learned patterns

• Simple shifts that help (without adding more to your plate)

✨ Want the deeper, more personal version?

The As It Happens Edit goes further into marriage dynamics, hormones + overwhelm, the entrepreneur/working mom lens, and what redistributing the load actually looks like.

Mindset Is the Secret Hack: What I See Every Week in the Therapy Room

Mindset is often talked about like a quick fix—think differently, try harder, push through.
But in the therapy room, I see something very different.

Every week, I sit with thoughtful, capable people who know what they want to change—yet still feel stuck. Not because they’re failing, but because insight alone doesn’t create safety.

In this solo episode, I share what I see again and again in real therapeutic work: the mindset blocks that quietly keep people from moving forward—and how change actually happens when we work with the nervous system, not against it.

In this episode, we cover:

• Why insight doesn’t automatically lead to action

• How fear often protects belonging, not comfort

• The grief that comes with outgrowing old identities

• Why waiting to “feel ready” keeps so many people stuck

• How mindset shifts through safety, support, and small brave steps

If you’ve ever thought, “I know better… so why can’t I do better?”—this episode is for you.

Free Support Groups at Nurture & Be

We believe support should be relational, and community-centered. That’s why we offer free, therapist-led support groups, open to anyone who needs them.

Current groups include:

• Postpartum Support Group (monthly)

• Divorce Support Group (weekly, virtual)

• Middle School Girls Group (coming soon)

All groups are come-and-go and made possible through the sponsorship of local businesses who believe in accessible mental health care.

Nurture & Be Podcast: The Why Behind Our Rebrand

This episode is a grounding conversation about change — the kind that happens slowly, quietly, and from the inside out.

I’m sharing why we rebuilt Nurture & Be, what shifted behind the scenes, and how this new season reflects a deeper commitment to care that’s honest, human, and sustainable — for clients, clinicians, and families alike.

This episode is about evolution — not just of a brand, but of capacity, boundaries, and what it means to support women well in real life.

In this episode, we talk about:

• Why Nurture & Be went through a rebrand

• What we’ve learned about burnout, growth, and sustainability

• How motherhood and leadership reshape the way we show up

• Why community care matters just as much as individual work

• What’s staying the same at the heart of Nurture & Be

This conversation is meant to feel grounding — a place to land and understand the why behind what you’re seeing change.

And if you found yourself wanting more — more context, more honesty, more behind-the-scenes reflection — that deeper layer exists too.

✨ As It Happens lives on Patreon and is where I share extended, more personal conversations in real time — the parts that don’t always fit into a polished episode. It’s quieter, slower, and more reflective.

If this episode resonated and you’re craving that deeper connection, you’re warmly invited.

Nurture & Be Podcast — Teaser

This is a quick hello before we begin again.

Nurture & Be is coming back with a new look, a deeper mission, and more honest conversations about the things we’re carrying in real time.

Not everything has a neat ending.
Some seasons are still unfolding.

That’s why I created The As It Happens Edit — the deeper, unfiltered side of the podcast. Part voice note, part processing, part community. Motherhood, leadership, relationships, bodies, resentment, love — all of it, as it’s happening.

Nothing polished.
Nothing curated.
Just me — a therapist, a mom, a human — showing up honestly.

Relaunch is December 29th!

✨ The As It Happens Edit is live now on Patreon

Come to Patreon for early access and deeper conversations. I’ll be there. You’re welcome to join me.

This episode is so good for the soul. Kate is so wise when it comes to the ways we can simplify our lives to feel more energized. Listen to her journey of a simpler life, tangible takeaways and laughs along the way. 

Website: https://www.katefergusontherapy.com

Instagram: @katefergusontherapy

Bio:  Kate is a therapist in private practice in Atlanta, Ga.

Resources:

This episode is a part of a series where I invite people on who are brave, vulnerable and willing to show up and tell their stories of hurt, pain, triumph, joy, vulnerability and everything in between. My hope is that as we share our stories it will become evident that we are all more alike than different. We all have similar shame spirals, triggers, and wounds. I hope compassion and community is built with these stories. Here is Tonya's story. 

Resources:

·  Shady Grove Facility for IVF

·  Permission to meet your own needs

·  Couples Counseling

·  Faith Based: Waiting for Baby Bird Elisha Kearns on Facebook

Blog:

This week I interviewed Lauran Grant! She is a founder of the brand Stratosphere41. We explored the impact of self-esteem on your business and how it has the opportunity to make or break your potential. Lauran was real and raw about all the barriers she has faced and the ways this business has lead her back to her authentic self! 

Bio: Flight Attendant turned entrepreneur from Atlanta, GA who founded Stratosphere41, an indie yoga brand that makes accessories that know how to bring it.

Instagram Handle @Thelaurang

Shame lives within in all of us. It shows up in so many different ways. This episode Jessica helps us to truly understand what shame is and the impact it can have on living an authentic and wholehearted life. She provided tangible ways to start cultivating shame resiliency today as well as other Brene Brown wisdoms!

Have you ever heard of the term Joyful Movement? This week Daron leads us through what Joyful Movement is and the healing powers that it has. Listen as she shares her own story and the ways Joyful Movement can lead to your own healing. 

Instagram: @summits_edge

This week's episode will hit the hearts of so many people who are soul searching, wondering and thinking about their happiness within their relationships. Rachel dives into what a "difficult" marriage is and her own story of leaving one. She was vulnerable and honest about what it takes to heal, forgive and the impact of ending a relationship.

Resources: 

• DivorceCare.org for support groups and your local churches!
• Forgiving What You Can't Forget: Discover How to Move On, Make Peace with Painful Memories, and Create a Life That’s Beautiful by Lysa Terkeurst

This week my friend Mariana Manfredi so graciously shared her story. She dove into the complexities of being single in today's world of pressure, social media and more. She left us with how she has shifted her narrative around who she is and what she deserves. Don't miss this one!!

Resources: 

Matthew Hussey

Mariana's Instagram: mar_manfredi_