Women Under Pressure

Work Ends, But Your Second Shift Starts: Why You Can't Recover

Women Under Pressure

Show Notes

Too tired to relax after work, and too depleted to even know what you need? Kristen answers a listener's question with the recovery paradox: the harder the day, the more recovery you need, and the less capacity you have left to get it. She comes back to last week's hospice social worker and looks at what happens when you leave a job where people depend on you and walk straight into a home where they depend on you again. Some takeaways: The harder the day, the harder it is to decompress Even decompressing asks for energy you may not have left Most rest advice assumes an after-work you with energy to spare Judge the whole day, not the last five minutes at home Signs a better transition after work isn't enough on its own Decide ahead of time how your first few minutes home go

Tell Kristen on Instagram: what's the hardest part of coming home after a high-pressure day?

Connect with Kristen: 🌐 Frontline Wellness Group 📋 Free High Pressure Leadership Assessment 🎙️ Work with Kristen 📱 Instagram

Chapters: 00:00 Running on Empty and Can't Switch Off 01:05 The Driveway After a Long Shift 02:09 The Recovery Paradox 03:13 More Rest, Less Capacity Left 04:56 When Rest Advice Stops Being Useful 05:53 Working Mothers Study and Scrolling 07:22 10 Minutes in the Car 09:00 Three Questions to Ask Yourself 09:45 Clinical Note, Assessment, Next Episode Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

More from Women Under Pressure

Oct 13, 2026

This episode unpacks psychological detachment, the ability to mentally leave work once the day is over, and why getting home doesn't always mean you're off duty. Kristen uses a hospice social worker's story to show how caring about someone can look the same as still feeling responsible for them. She keeps the research on work-related rumination separate from her own clinical read, then asks a question worth sitting with: are you still feeling something about what happened, or still trying to take care of it?

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This episode is about emotional labor and the gap between what you feel and what you actually show when a job requires composure. Kristen looks at why staying steady for others has a cost, even when you look calm on the outside. She separates the research on display rules, surface acting and expressive suppression from her own clinical view, then asks a simple question: did you calm down, or did you just look calm?

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