The Modern Moms Roadmap to Balance Podcast

Episode 58: The Power of Support Systems: Why Moms Can’t Do It All Alone with Special Guest Priscilla Rodriguez, M.S., LMFT

• Kayla Nettleton • Episode 58

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Are you a mom feeling overwhelmed by the constant demands of parenting, friendships, and managing a household? In this heartfelt episode, Kayla sits down with Priscilla Rodriguez, licensed marriage and family therapist, to talk about the power of boundaries, leaning on support systems, and redefining balance after becoming a parent. 

In this episode, we cover: 

  • Why it’s okay to ask for help—and how to do it without guilt. 
  • The importance of assessing friendships and protecting your energy. 
  • Practical strategies for setting boundaries with loved ones during busy seasons like the holidays.

 If you’ve ever felt like you’re carrying the weight of the world, this episode will remind you that you don’t have to do it alone. 

🎧 Tune in and discover how to lighten your load, foster healthier relationships, and find more balance in your life.

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Website: https://modernwellnesscounseling.com

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About the Podcast Host
Kayla Nettleton is a licensed therapist based in TX, business owner, mom of 3 kids and coach for therapists who want support and guidance in their journey in creating an aligned business model so that they can live the freedom based life they've always dreamed of without sacrificing their own needs.

In her private practice as a therapist Kayla specialize in helping women overcome anxiety, perfectionism and people pleasing tendencies so that they can lead a more fulfilled and authentically aligned life


Find Kayla on IG
@kaylanettleton_lcsw
@themodernmomsroadmaptobalance

Email: kayla@kaylanettleton.com

TX Residents can Schedule a Free 20 minute therapy consultation here.

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Kayla Nettleton:

Hello, hello. Welcome back everyone to the Modern Moms Roadmap to Balance podcast. I'm your host, Kayla Nettleton, and today our guest is Priscilla Rodriguez. Priscilla is a licensed marriage and family therapist and owner of modern wellness counseling and online group practice who services couples and individuals in Texas. Priscilla also creates online courses that focus on improving communication and intimacy. And she also has one that focuses on improving self esteem. Welcome Priscilla.

Priscilla Rodriguez:

Hi, Kayla. Thank you so much for having me. I'm excited to be here.

Kayla Nettleton:

Thanks so much for being here. And sorry, I like totally butchered your last name because in my mind, I was like, I want to say it in Spanish. I want to say Rodriguez, but then I'm like, my English side just took over, that's not how I wanted to say it, so I apologize for that. but again, thank you so much for being here. And the question I asked everyone to get us started is what is your definition of a balanced life?

Priscilla Rodriguez:

Yeah. So for me I would say that it's definitely shifted since becoming a mom becoming a working mom. Right. So I think a big thing for me when it comes to like a balanced life is being able to set those hard boundaries with myself. I don't work. Every day, just because of lack of childcare. Right. So the days that I do work, I have to kind of just tell myself like I have to be on. Right. So like, it's this piece of like, okay, I put everything else off the other days, right. Or I kind of have saved it for now. So, okay. My way to balance work is to, here's my chunk of time. I can get that done. Okay. It's 4 30. I'm going to close my laptop and I'll get to it the next time I'm working. Right. So that means that. I had to kind of shift gears of what are my other tasks when it comes to making dinner and getting that done. Because for My family, it's really important that we have home cooked meals. I don't cook every single day, but we, you know, bash cooks. I'm like, I don't want to be able to think like, Oh, wow. Okay. Yeah. So whether that's like warming up, you know, what we've already made or making dinner another important piece is family time. Right. So in my head had like this like block. Schedule like my calendar where it's like, okay, this is when I'm working. This is when I'm, you know, thinking of health, right? This is family time. And after the kids go to bed and it's time with my partner I get me time in the mornings or whenever they're at my in laws. So it's kind of this part of like, okay, it's not maybe happening every single day, but there are some doses throughout the week. And that for me is. Rejuvenating.

Kayla Nettleton:

And how was it to go through that transition of you didn't have kids and then now not only just one, you had twins.

Priscilla Rodriguez:

Yeah.

Kayla Nettleton:

and how you're like definition of balance changed from the two.

Priscilla Rodriguez:

Right. Yeah. So I would say definitely before kids, I would, Wake up in the morning at 5 a. m. I would go to the gym, do my whole morning routine and rituals and have breakfast, then get ready for work, and then it was like, time with my husband, So this was happening on a daily basis, right? I can't really do that now, even if I You know, I mentioned my kids right now have like a stomach bug or something. So even if it's in the way, right. So I would definitely say like after having twins, it's just been a matter of communication with family. We're very blessed to have family support. I don't know how we would do it otherwise. So sometimes it is just that part of like, Reaching out to my in laws or to my mom and sister and be like, Hey, like, this is what I have going on. So me being able to lean on other people really helps me to kind of get things done that I need or want to do Because I think that's a big piece is just being like, Hey, I can't do this by myself. And don't you want to spend time with your niece and nephew or

Kayla Nettleton:

was that something that came easy to you? Or you felt like that was something that took a little bit of work on your part in terms of asking for that support, asking them to help.

Priscilla Rodriguez:

I think since we had twins, it was just one of those realizations that I'm like, I can't do this all by myself. I think if I just had one. It would be more manageable. Because a couple of times in which I have only had one kid, like, you know, ones with my mom or ones with my mother in law. I'm like, oh wow, like I can't get so much done. But when there's two, I'm just like, okay, yeah. Like my attention has to be on them or I need help. And thankfully, we live close to family. So that's an option for us. I know for many people that's not, but I know I think for me, that was a big one is to, to ask. And I will say at the very beginning, they were in NICU for three weeks. So I think when they came home, it was hard for me to ask for help because I just wanted. I wanted that time with them. And thankfully my husband was able to be home from work for about a month after they came home from NICU. So once he went to work, that's when it was like, okay, I'm by myself. I need help. Yeah.

Kayla Nettleton:

Yeah. I mean, because even when you do have one, I often see moms that. Struggle to ask for the support, because like you said, if you just had one, it probably would have been more manageable, but just because it's manageable, doesn't mean you can't ask for help.

Priscilla Rodriguez:

Exactly. Exactly. Right. Yeah. Yeah. No, I mean, I think it's definitely those moments where I know like soon as I hunt down, like, okay, my mom's gonna be here in five minutes. Okay.

Kayla Nettleton:

Yeah. Like totally this kind, like

Priscilla Rodriguez:

tap out

Kayla Nettleton:

Yeah. I mean, my kids are older now. I mean, not older, but older than yours, because I know yours are still pretty young. Yeah. Like my youngest is three that I have. Uh, no, he's not three yet. He'll be three next month in January. I don't know when this is coming out, but that's our youngest. And then we have a four year old and a five year old. I mean, five, he's nine, four year old. He's our four year old is going to be five soon. so even with them being a little bit older, they can, for the most part, Do stuff for themselves. I don't have to be there and do everything for them, for them to like survive, but there are still days when I'm just kind of watching the clock for if my husband's away or something for him to get home or watching the clock for me to finally go to my mom's house or like go to a friend's house or something where the kids will have other distraction and I'm not just with them.

Priscilla Rodriguez:

Right,

Kayla Nettleton:

right, right.

Priscilla Rodriguez:

Yeah, absolutely. No, I totally get that.

Kayla Nettleton:

Yeah. So it's not, it's not something that goes away, but it's. It's something that not to be ashamed of to lean on support or that you're even feeling that way. Because I know, I mean, I've talked about this with some of my like close mom friends, how sometimes we don't feel like good moms when we're kind of watching the clock. Like how much longer do I have to be alone with my kids? Like, yes, we chose to have these kids and yes, for the most part we wanted them, but sometimes we need time or we need help and it's okay to ask for it.

Priscilla Rodriguez:

Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I think that sometimes it helps to remind myself to that. That goes with anything, right? Whether it's like, you know, owning a business, like, yeah, I wanted to own this business, but there are days where I'm just like, gosh, like, I have all these notes to do, or, oh, my gosh, like, like, well, I chose that. Right. But. It's still hard, right? Or Oh, I love my house, but like, Oh, now I have to clean my house. there's certain things I just had to like, I think, give myself that compassion. That's when it really helps too. just because I wanted it so badly or like chose, there's going to be days where, yeah, it's going to be tough and that's okay. But I think that can always be helpful too, for me to be okay, like, I'm not, a bad mom or You know, like trying to get away from my kids.

Kayla Nettleton:

Yeah, it's okay to sometimes want to get away from your kids. There's nothing wrong with that. You're not a bad mom for thinking that. There's nothing wrong with you. There's nothing you probably need to change unless you're feeling that way. constantly all of the time, then yeah, some things probably need to change, but there's nothing wrong with you for it.

Priscilla Rodriguez:

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Right. Yeah. So I think that's always a big piece too, is just that having those moments to yourself are huge.

Kayla Nettleton:

And one of the things that we were talking about, cause I had kind of brought up like friendship a second ago. And one of the things we were talking about before we started hitting Balancing friendships or keeping friendships or changing friendships after becoming a mom, especially friendships where it feel a little bit more like it's taking more from your energy.

Priscilla Rodriguez:

Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I think that's a big one when it comes to as a mom, like you're giving so much, right? It's Especially if you are also in a relationship, if you're close to family, right, there's a lot that you're giving. And I think it's important whenever you are thinking about any other relationships that are maybe like you do have an option, right? Like family and your kids, you kind of don't have an option, right? To like have that relationship, right? It's kind of your choice, whether it's going to be a good or bad one. But you choose, right? Like I'm choosing. This other person that I've met to how close I'm going to be with them, And I think if you're not benefiting from it, it's important to kind of like, how can I set those boundaries up? Especially if maybe it's hard for you to turn to that person As a source of support and maybe they're just always turning to you for support,

right?

Priscilla Rodriguez:

And I've seen that a lot too, like clients I've seen or even sometimes personally is that like, Hey, how am I able, if I'm having a bad day and I'm struggling with my kids, like, can I turn to this person? Or is this someone that I'm going to be like, yeah, now my turn to talk to them. Right. Cause they always turn to me. So I think that's always a big one too, is kind of paying attention to that energy.

Kayla Nettleton:

Yeah. What do you usually tell moms who are kind of having that battle of like, do I want to continue this friendship or do I need to cut this person off? Like, what is a good way to figure out how to make that decision, whether it's in the friendship or keep the friendship?

Priscilla Rodriguez:

I think it's first almost kind of like a little assessment. Is this. The only mom friend you have, right? Or are there other mom friends? Is your support system support circle kind of, are there other people in there or is this the only person? Right? Because I think if there's other people, it can be a little easier to kind of cut this person off. but if they're like, your neighbor or, someone really close to you, then it's, It would be helpful to have a conversation with them or to kind of ask yourself, how long have I known this person realistically? is this a season in their life that maybe they're struggling and that's why they're turning to you, right? Cause we also don't want to be just like, Oh, you're venting to me too much. Like I'm not talking to you. But I think it's like, okay, has there been moments when you have been able to turn to this person too, Is there kind of this give and take during interactions? Right. I think that can sometimes be really challenging for women, especially naturally. Sometimes people can be people pleasers, right? So they're like, Oh, I don't want to tell them how they're making me feel. Like, what did I make them feel bad? It's like, well, you already feel bad, you know, like you're feeling alone. You're feeling ignored. Right. So so sometimes it's that part of. Finding that courage to advocate for themselves within the relationship of, Hey, you know what, this is something that's really hard. I've noticed that it's important. This is what's going on. Maybe they actually do need to talk to a therapist, right. And they're using you as a therapist and that can be really draining. Maybe you just don't have the solutions for them because they're going through something that you haven't been through. So it's like, Hey, maybe you should talk to this other person or someone who actually understands, I want to be there to support you, but maybe I don't know how, or maybe it's just been really hard for me to know how to show up because I'm also dealing with all this other stuff on my end.

Kayla Nettleton:

Oh yeah. Yeah. you're right, sometimes people don't even realize that they're bringing something up over and over and over again, or coming to you about something over and over and over again, but it is scary to bring that up. But it's there. friend of yours, like a good friend where you feel like you want to have this conversation, then hopefully we would want to assume it would go for the most part. Well, with some of course, I definitely would not say like, I think we need to put a pause because you're venting to me too much. What, that person's doing there is just. Criticizing the other person, like too much basically is what they're probably gonna hear. Not what is going on for you. Like I've been feeling overwhelmed and I want to be able to talk about some stuff too. I don't know if you realize, but you've been talking about this topic. For quite a while, like the past few weeks. Yeah. And that might be a little bit softer than mm-hmm You are venting too much.

Priscilla Rodriguez:

Right? Right. Exactly. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Because I think that is that part too, right? Is that within friendships, we can't forget about all the other pieces, Of just like being a kind person, being empathetic, Being that support system. But sometimes it's. This piece where it's like, my cup is completely empty and I don't know what else to do. So I think it's important to just get ahead of the game. And no, like, okay, is there this give and take, And if they are a close friend, chances are you have had moments where you have shared good times. Right. So you'll know like, Oh yeah, this person's going through something really tough. They just lost their job. Of course. Like they're struggling with money and. They're talking to me about it. And yeah, So there can be this understanding versus I haven't heard from this person in years. And they only turn to me every time they have money struggles. Right. So that's very different.

Kayla Nettleton:

Yes. Yes. That's definitely for that specific example, it's definitely one of those things where it's like. If you know that that is the case, you don't have to answer the phone when they call, right? If you haven't spoken to them in years and you know, every time they call you, it's because they have money troubles.

You

Kayla Nettleton:

don't have to answer the phone. Yeah. Then it doesn't make you a bad person. It's just, yeah. To have a conversation like the one we were just talking about, it is not going to help They're just in the relationship for one reason, and that's to take basically.

Priscilla Rodriguez:

Yeah. Yeah. So I think that's why it's important to kind of assess what, what kind of relationship is this? What's my support system like before just completely cutting someone off. Cause there's definitely a difference It's just important to know like these type of different relationships because I think that can be very vague of like, well, I've known this person for over a decade and it's like, yeah, but throughout that decade, like, yeah, he benefited from it or what has that been like for you? so I think it's always important to kind of like know that. Yeah. Oh yeah.

Kayla Nettleton:

Yeah. Yeah. Remembering those things. And sometimes even if you have known that person for a decade, doesn't mean that things are not going to change and you can't go your separate ways. Or sometimes people are just in your life for a season. Like thinking about my like childhood best friends.

Yeah.

Kayla Nettleton:

I don't have contact with them anymore, not that they were not good friends or, you know, things like that. It's just, most of my childhood best friends don't have kids and they're doing other things. So our lives kind of like went different paths and there's nothing wrong with that.

Priscilla Rodriguez:

Yeah, exactly. Exactly.

Kayla Nettleton:

Yeah. It was definitely kind of like, I think with all of them, well, all of them that I was close to up until college, it was kind of like a slow, not slow burn. That's not the word kind of a slow, there's a word where it's like, you're slowly leaving the relationship, maybe like a few phone calls come into a few texts. There's a word I've heard this term in the dating world. Where they don't want to totally ghost someone. I was like, the

Priscilla Rodriguez:

only one that came up with gusting, but that's not good.

Kayla Nettleton:

They don't want to ghost them, but they're also don't want to just have that conversation of like, Hey, this isn't working out or you're not my type or whatever they don't want to have that conversation. So they just slowly leave a relationship with like leaving smaller breadcrumbs as they go. If that makes sense, what's coming to my mind when I'm thinking about these relationships and how they ended, it was kind of like that. Yeah.

Priscilla Rodriguez:

Yeah. Yeah, I know that. And that's a big thing to you, right? Like the seasons like what season are you in right now and what kind of support are you needing? Cause maybe. You are a new mom and some of your friends may not understand what that struggle is and are being like, what do you mean you're not coming to happy hour again? Or what do you mean you're not, you know, like, what do you mean you're tired? Right? So they may not just understand that because they don't care, but the, awareness isn't there. Oh, yeah. Whereas with someone who may have children that you don't have to explain yourself because they just already get it. So it could just feel like feeling seen a lot quicker. Not that your other friends can't do that. It's just like that other piece where it's like, again, you're having to give this explanation.

Kayla Nettleton:

Yes. Oh yeah. Yeah. Especially, I mean, even for me, like my closest. Friendship relationships are with women who have Children that are my kids his age as well. And we're both in that same season of life. Like, I also have friends who have kids that are older and it's just very different. They're in a different phase in motherhood.

Priscilla Rodriguez:

Right? Mhm. Exactly. Yeah, yeah. I think that's always like a big one to when it comes to like, what else makes you feel safe and comfortable? And I think it's just that, you know, what are other people experiencing and going through too?

Kayla Nettleton:

Yeah, yeah. I think one thing we could probably both agree on is. It's not like a cut and dry thing. it's not about choosing to cut someone off or choosing to keep them as a friend. Like, even if you choose to keep them as a friend, there might be certain boundaries that you want to set up to protect your energy. If you choose to stay in that friendship, That is feel like it's draining right now.

Priscilla Rodriguez:

Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. Maybe it's, you take the phone call after you've had some self care, right? You've gone around, you kind of feel down. Like, okay, I can actually give right now. Maybe it's not taking the phone call or, you know, around the holidays because it can be really stressful and busy. And I barely have time for myself. So it's like that understanding too, of Being able to take responsibility of where you're at and knowing how much am I able to give?

Kayla Nettleton:

Yeah. And even turning it around on yourself, like if you don't want to have a conversation, like an actual conversation, but you want to give them a heads up that you're kind of not gonna be able to answer every call. If you're usually answering every call is just send a text, like, Hey, just wanted to give you a heads up. It's been super busy and I've been feeling like really overwhelmed. So if I don't answer A call here and there. It's not you. It's me. I'm just really busy. I just wanted to let you know because your friendship does mean a lot to me.

Priscilla Rodriguez:

Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. I love that. Yeah.

Kayla Nettleton:

Turning it around and making it about us. It can sometimes be so much easier than trying to blame someone else because when it comes down to it, it's our responsibility to have those boundaries that do protect our energy and our space and our time.

Priscilla Rodriguez:

Right.

Kayla Nettleton:

easy to forget. Oh yeah. Or you haven't been taught. If you haven't been taught or what I hear a lot is. well we were talking about respect earlier, but not in that same context, but mm-hmm They're being like disrespectful or they're doing this on purpose, or Why can't they just respect my time like everyone else does? Or if I were in their shoes, I would not be doing this to them, but mm-hmm The fact is they're not you.

Priscilla Rodriguez:

Yeah, right, right. You only have control of yourself. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah.

Kayla Nettleton:

Yeah. have you seen this come up?

Priscilla Rodriguez:

I have even with some couples too that I have worked with, but also individuals that piece that like, just that mindset shift of like, This other person's doing X, Y, Z, right? I don't like when they do that. So it's like How is that impacting you? And what role do you play in this interaction? Or kind of like the suggestion you gave, right? Is that you don't have to pick up the phone call, right? You don't have to answer all the time. You can't set that boundary of, hey, you know what, right now it's really tough for me. I'm really busy for me. Like, I don't answer, like. This is a heads up. Why? So being able to take ownership of that, it can be very helpful because I think sometimes some people may not like this, right. it can fall into this like a victim mentality, right? I'm like, Oh no, they're doing this to me

versus

Priscilla Rodriguez:

being able to take ownership and take responsibility. Okay. No, I'm maintaining this boundary. This is what I'm doing to protect myself. I'm prioritizing what's important for me. And yeah. Unfortunately, right now it's not being able to take that call. And right now, I want to show up for my kids and when I show up that I'm have energy and I'm mentally present versus I'm showing them like, Oh my God, I'm here now. And it's because so and so right. So your head is still focused on the other person, even though you're physically present, your kids, just like. Can you just like color with me? Right. So I think that's also another piece too, is that how you're showing up is also your responsibility, right? In those moments of like, okay, how am I protecting that energy?

Kayla Nettleton:

Oh yeah. And I wasn't planning on this, but it, this came up into my head right now when you were talking about not taking responsibility or taking ownership. Like you just don't have the time for everything. The parent. Child relationship dynamic came up in terms of the adult child, but their parent in terms of how sometimes our parents can be demanding or moms can be demanding in laws can be demanding of our time or even traditions, right? We're in the holidays right now. Yeah. And sometimes we want to have different traditions then or What we were doing with our family, even before we had kids, or maybe that our kids are a little bit older, there's some things that we want to change and this. All that we've been talking about applies here too.

Priscilla Rodriguez:

Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, that's a such a big one. Yeah, last year when we had our twins and it was our first Christmas, we normally spend the Christmas morning with my in laws and there's always like scheduling issues, right? So we're like, okay, let's just make it easy, we're going to, Lunch instead, right? So we kind of prompted that. And thankfully, everyone was on board because there was always scheduling conflict beforehand, but I was like a big one too. Because when we're like, what are our family traditions going to be now? And it could be, you know, some families may hold on to certain things a lot. You know, harder, I guess, but yeah, especially if it's like, Oh, I'm not going to go visit. You know, I'm not going to get on the flight and take my kids now and Oh, yeah, whole situation right to just to go visit grandma. And they're like, what do you mean? Right. So that could be like, Oh, yeah. Tough. Especially if your family's kind of scattered in different states. Yeah,

Kayla Nettleton:

this brought something up. There was a family friend of ours that their grandma was aging, but they were basically like judging their family of not coming to visit the grandma, but without taking into consideration that they also had their own families. and it was kind of like, you know, how there's that. Saying that had been going around for moms. Like you only have 18 Christmases or you only have 18 summers. I think it was last year that was going around a lot. But this person was basically saying kind of the same thing. Like we don't know how many Christmases grandma has left. They should be coming to visit her, but that's hard because. There's other stuff going on. it's not that they don't probably love grandma or that they don't care about her. It's just, there's other things that have to be taken into consideration. And it's not always easy for people to travel or visit as often as maybe they would like.

Priscilla Rodriguez:

Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. That's always a tough one. Yeah. yeah, take it into account, like all these different relationships and maybe roles that. As a mommy player, and of course you want to show up, but I think there's always it's how do you communicate that, right? It's like, well, of course, I love grandma. Of course we want to go. We're gonna FaceTime her, maybe travel in a month when it's not Christmas season at the airport, right? Can be really crazy there. But I think there's also that part too, being able to, again, like the kindness and empathy and support of how you communicate that is so important versus just the avoidance of conflict, right. I'm like, Ooh, I don't want to get them upset. So I'm just not thinking at all, or I'm just gonna go and then. Be upset at everyone inside. Oh yeah. Yeah.

Kayla Nettleton:

Yes. like you just said, agreeing to everything, but having that resentment build up because you didn't say no, or you didn't set up some kind of boundary or your family to honor your own traditions or honor the things that you do want to do.

Priscilla Rodriguez:

Exactly. Mm hmm. Mm hmm. Yeah,

Kayla Nettleton:

it might be difficult to have those conversations but in these circumstances, you also have to have the support and backing of your spouse, your partner,

Priscilla Rodriguez:

right? Yeah, yeah. sometimes it's like, Maybe all of the people who are getting like, I want to go visit grandma. What do you mean? So it's that part too, right? I could always get little messy. for lack of better terms, but, you know, I think it's just that part of having that open conversation as to like, Hey, this is where I'm at. This is where they're at. And as long as you're maintaining consistent communication, not that you're only talking about grandma around Christmas time, right? It's like, you know, that you're kind of addressing that. pretty regularly.

Kayla Nettleton:

Oh yeah. Yeah. And I mean, so like you were saying, you usually spend Christmas with your in laws. We also usually spend Christmas with our in laws. And so when we had multiple kids, it wasn't just with our first, but when we had multiple kids. I wanted to be more intentional of spending Christmas morning together. And so I had to have that conversation because that was what I wanted. My wish, my husband, not that I don't want to say like he could care less, but it really wasn't on his mind. Like it was me. So I had to be the one to bring it up with him in terms of, I don't want to rush. The morning and like what we do in the morning and we have to let your mom know that we might not be there until like after lunch or afternoon, just to like help her with her own expectations. Cause sometimes they'll be texting us. Hey, like, when are you coming? When are you getting here? Are you on your way? So sometimes I would take those is like, hurry up. You need to get here.

And

Kayla Nettleton:

they're just being curious. They weren't necessarily probably meaning to rush us, but I would always take it as like, when are you getting here? We're waiting for you. Like create my own story about it. And so telling them ahead of time made it easier for me to like, okay, they're just being curious. They're just wondering where we are because we already told them when we would get there. Yeah.

Priscilla Rodriguez:

Mm hmm. Mm hmm. Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. Having those conversations can definitely help with these assumptions or like you mentioned those narratives that come up.

Kayla Nettleton:

Or I mean, you won't have to like feel bad because you did tell them you did set the expectation. So even if they are trying to be rushing you, you don't have to, you can let it roll off your back.

Priscilla Rodriguez:

Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. And. I think a big piece with the communication is that sometimes it can be really scary of like, Oh no, it's going to, cause conflict? Right. But I think another way to think about it is like, okay, I'm kind of sharing this weight with someone else. Right. Cause I can feel like really heavy sometimes of like, Ooh, I'm carrying so much, what am I going to do? So it can just be a lot on one person, but when you communicate it, so you're also sharing the weight with other people and Getting help. We're kind of sharing that. as moms, you. Do so much, carry so much, like why not share some of that with other people versus trying to figure it all out by yourself.

Kayla Nettleton:

Yeah. I mean, I really love that, that term, like sharing the weight, because it is something that I think a lot of moms struggle with is keeping a lot of stuff to themselves so that other people don't have to carry it as well, but when we can, Share that way, it's going to make it easier for everyone around us too, because they understand what is going on for us, what we are carrying, and maybe they can offer support. We just don't know that they can. We didn't ask.

Priscilla Rodriguez:

Exactly.

Kayla Nettleton:

Or we didn't make it known what maybe we were struggling with or having to carry.

Priscilla Rodriguez:

Mm hmm. Mm hmm. Right. Yeah. I like that.

Kayla Nettleton:

so we are about running out of time, but I wanted to talk a little bit about some of the courses that you have. Can you talk a little bit about the different courses that you have?

Priscilla Rodriguez:

Mm hmm. Yeah. So like you mentioned, I have different courses for couples and then also for individuals. So the ones for couples are more in line with. Couples who are wanting to improve their communication, maybe they have found themselves in the same repetitive cycle. They're kind of realizing that no matter what we talk about, whether it's family traditions around the holidays or intimacy or money, right, that they're kind of getting stuck, right? So these courses for couples can really help with addressing these underlying, Cycles just kind of feel like quicksand sometimes for them. And it's a prerecorded course. So it's kind of me walking a couple through. This is what you can be doing. These are worksheets that accompany us. You can download the worksheets. There's different activities. So it can be really self paced course and helpful for people who may not. be interested in therapy or may want to have a more affordable option than therapy. And then there's also my individual course like you talked about. So this one's more for women who are experiencing low self esteem, body image issues, or who just need a boost in confidence. And maybe they have struggled with not knowing how to see themselves in a positive light where, It can just be really frustrating. I'm like, there are days where I'm really, really good. And then I just like, I feel like I just got on the biggest slide now. I'm all the way at the bottom again. Right. So there's this part of rewiring your brain of how you view yourself. There's a lot of helpful tools and strategies that are easy to implement to be able to view yourself in a positive way so you can build your self esteem and confidence and also just be, be positive. Thankful for your body too. I think that's sometimes a big one too, is after being pregnant and going through pregnancy is that, Oh no, my body is not the same. Right. And plus then it was also being able to appreciate your body. I'm like, wow, what story does your body tell now, right? Like you were able to carry, whether it was one, two or multiple children, right? so there's part of the appreciation and gratitude piece that sometimes Isn't talked about much. So, so this course can be really helpful in just that mindset shift.

Kayla Nettleton:

Awesome. And what is the best way to get into your world? Find out more about your courses and what you have to offer.

Priscilla Rodriguez:

Yeah. So for anyone listening, there is a freebie that I am sharing. So there is one That talks a lot about a self love toolkit and that anyone can download. It's free. I'm also on social media at Modern Wellness Counseling. So I'm on TikTok and Instagram. That's where I share a lot of helpful tips. And I also have a newsletter as well where you can receive stuff straight into your inbox. If you're tired of scrolling. But do you want to still get tips, for, things that you can be doing consistently. And then for anyone who is interested in checking out some courses or our counseling services, then our website is modernwellnesscounseling. com and everything is on there. In regards to getting more information.

Kayla Nettleton:

Awesome. Well, thank you so much, Priscilla, for taking the time to join us today. And I hope you have a great rest of your week.

Priscilla Rodriguez:

Thank you so much. Yes. Thank you. You too.