Empowerment Solutions With Dr. Friedemann

Have you ever felt overwhelmed and that no matter how hard you try, you just can’t shake the feeling of being stressed out? It’s possible that you are stuck in a vicious cycle where your body has become accustomed to functioning in a high state of stress. This is because when we experience chronic stress, our bodies produce excess amounts of cortisol, also known as the “stress hormone”...

At the core of each of us everyone has a unique authentic self - but how do we uncover and live from that true identity? It can be a challenge, especially when emotions and egos take over the driver's seat. If this is an area of struggle for you join me for this week’s episode where I look at ways to uncover our genuine selves and use it as an opportunity for bigger, healthier growth.

Burnout is an incredibly serious issue that has become increasingly prominent in today's fast-paced and often demanding work environments. Millions of people struggle with burnout, which is why World Health Organization recently deemed it a classifiable workplace phenomenon. Burnout was coined in the 1970s to describe the consequences of severe stress on doctors, nurses, and other helping professionals. Yet over the years, it became clear that burnout can affect us in any career...

Let me ask you, how often do you feel that all you can do is just to get through the day — overwhelmed by your daily obligations, stuck in situations that feel impossible to change, or victimized by people you can’t control or even by your own anxiety? Welcome to the club; considering that anxiety and stress have been called ‘the epidemic of the 21st century,’ you are certainly not alone...

Did you know that our anxiety often stems from our early life experiences? When we were rejected, scolded, or neglected as children, our subconscious was startled and created a new set of beliefs to protect us. This can lead us down one of two paths - the avoidance track where we stay away from potential harm, or the pleasing track where we seek approval from those who are supposed to protect and nourish us...

Our inner critic can be a real Debbie Downer, who can make us feel deflated and trapped. But we don't have to let negative self-talk rule our thoughts and spoil our day. By recognizing the common negative thinking patterns, we can challenge them and replace them with more realistic and positive perspectives...

As you begin the journey to self-improvement and emotional healing, it's important not just to identify what has been making life difficult but also think about how far we want our growth and healing process to take us. Anxiety is something many of us have personally experienced or seen close up; and for those struggling with this intense emotion, it can be a daunting challenge to address...

In this episode of Empowerment Solutions, I discuss the downsides of people-pleasing and how it can affect our mental health and sense of self-worth. I explore the reasons why we might become people-pleasers, from family dynamics to a need for validation and attention. As someone who has personally struggled with people-pleasing, I share my own experiences and insights on how to overcome it and live a more authentic and fulfilling life...

If you are a self-declared people pleaser, you probably feel more often than not tired of constantly putting others' needs before your own.

But even if you find that you have no energy or time to give to others, you most likely find it difficult to say ‘no’ (or at least ‘not now’). Disappointing others is much harder for you than letting yourself down...

We all project our beliefs and opinions on one another. Suppose you have always been overly concerned about your body weight or struggled with self-esteem. As a result, you may harshly judge strangers for being overweight or dismiss people’s confidence as arrogant and condescending. Of course, the reverse is also true. The behaviors and judgments of those who shamed you are based on the fabric of their subconscious

Beliefs, and therefore, say much more about them than you...