Don’t F*kn Shrink: Sustainable Performance for High-Achieving Women
Success shouldn't cost you your health. For years, women have been taught to push through stress. But what if that's exactly what's holding you back? Don't F*kn Shrink is the podcast for high-achieving women who want to perform at their best without sacrificing their health, relationships, or identity. Hosted by performance physiologist Daffney Allwein, each episode explores the science behind sustainable performance; from nervous system regulation and stress recovery to strength, longevity, leadership, and the psychology of ambition. Whether you're leading a company, raising a family, building a career, or navigating midlife, you'll learn how to work with your body instead of against it so you can show up with more energy, confidence, and clarity Because success isn't about shrinking yourself to fit your life. It's about building a life where you never have to. Subscribe and join thousands of women who are redefining what success looks like - one grounded, sustainable step at a time. If an episode resonates with you, share it with a friend and leave a review. Your support helps more women discover the tools they need to lead, perform, and thrive. liftprowellness.com/podcast
Episodes
Daffney shares how people-pleasing, pushing through, and constantly operating at her edge kept her nervous system stuck on high alert, even when there was no obvious reason to feel stressed. She breaks down how old patterns can quietly hijack the way you respond to pressure and shares ways to recognize your triggers, interrupt automatic reactions, and use simple tools to move through stress so you can perform at a h...
Daffney challenges the myth that “practice makes perfect,” arguing instead that practice makes you prepared, especially when life doesn’t go according to plan. She explains how burnout and reactivity can leave you living at your “razor’s edge” and why learning to respond instead of react can change how you lead, work, and show up at home. Plus, she shares practical ways to protect...
It is that time of year again. The one where the calendar says "vacation" but your nervous system says otherwise. New schedules, new routines, and a hundred tiny things pulling at your attention all at once. In this episode, Daffney breaks down the exact four step system she uses with clients to get out of survival mode and back into their bodies. Awareness, identification, skill building, and freedom. No fluff, and...
Words are the brand. That's the whole premise Daffney and Denise Tallcott build on in this episode. Denise spent her early career in radio developing a "look at me" persona, until an entire Facebook group formed around hating her at just 22 years old. She walks through what that season taught her about authenticity, why she now calls herself a recovering people-pleaser, and how she rebuilt her voice from the ground ...
Why does it suddenly feel impossible to lose weight after 40? Daffney talks with women's health specialist Adrian Thompson, PA-C, to unpack what happens during perimenopause, why weight gain isn't simply a matter of willpower, and how changing hormones affect everything from metabolism and muscle mass to insulin resistance and food cravings. They also separate fact from fiction around hormone replacement therapy (HR...
What happens when you've done everything you thought you were supposed to do (built the career, started the family, checked all the boxes) but still feel like you've somehow lost yourself along the way? In this bonus episode, Daffney talks with Angela Lee about the quiet burnout, people-pleasing, and constant self-criticism that so many women experience but rarely talk about. Angela shares the moment she realized th...
Have you ever gotten to the end of the day and wondered where all your time went? You worked all day, answered the emails, got dinner on the table, kept everyone else moving…and somehow the one thing you wanted to do for yourself never happened. According to systems strategist Courtney Cecil, the problem isn't your motivation or discipline. It's your systems.
In this episode, Courtney shares how simple, ...
Feeling overwhelmed, exhausted, or like you're constantly running on empty? In this episode, Daffney reveals the three mindset patterns that keep high-achieving women trapped in survival mode: the need to control everything, comparing yourself to everyone else, and putting your own needs last. She explains why these habits lead to burnout, how they quietly sabotage your health and performance, and what it takes to b...
Why can't you “just calm down"? Functional medicine expert Dr. Stacy Baker explains why fear isn't a character flaw, it's biology. She breaks down how chronic stress, cortisol, generational trauma, and information overload keep us stuck in survival mode, why fear and excitement create similar chemical responses in the body, and why mindset work alone often isn't enough to overcome anxiety. You'll learn strateg...
Daffney shares the real story of Stacy, a mid-level professional in her late 30s who came to her burned out, sleep-deprived, and quietly giving her best energy to everyone but herself. What happened over the next eight weeks changed everything: her body, her boundaries, and ultimately her career. You'll hear how Stacy went from saying yes to everything to showing up to meetings with sharper focus, sleeping through t...
→ High performance starts with understanding what your body truly needs. Take the Free 2-Minute Quiz to identify the missing pieces affecting your energy, focus, and overall performance.
Have you ever felt anxious, exhausted, inflamed, or like something just isn't right in your body - even when no one can explain why? Licensed massage therapist and Reiki master, Deanna Scaldaferri, joins this episode to unpack a trut...
Daffney challenges the relentless pressure to optimize every aspect of your life and asks a question many high-achieving women avoid: What if slowing down is exactly what you need right now? She explains why pushing through stress, exhaustion, and overwhelm often creates more problems than it solves, how your body may be sending signals you've been ignoring, and why true leadership starts with presence, not producti...
→ You’ve optimized your business. Now it’s time to optimize your body. Take the Free 2-Minute Quiz to discover what’s keeping you from performing at your highest level.
What happens when you're successful and leading at the highest level but it's not your dream? Daffney talks with Sarah Elder, a former CEO who spent 17 years building a thriving art consulting company before making the bold decision ...
What happens when the vacation you desperately needed becomes the moment your body finally breaks down? Daffney shares the moment a panic attack forced her to confront a hard truth: high functioning does not mean healthy. Beneath the constant productivity, people-pleasing, and pressure of “holding it all together” was a nervous system running on fumes. In this episode, Daffney identifies the three daily ...
You wake up exhausted before your feet even hit the floor. The coffee isn’t working anymore. The pressure never shuts off. And somewhere along the way, being “high-achieving” started feeling more like survival than success. In this episode, Daffney exposes the invisible weight so many women are carrying, and explains why reclaiming even the first hour of your day can completely shift your energy, h...
What do you do when the life you planned completely falls apart? After losing her husband following years of caregiving, Kym Coco rebuilt her life one moment, one golf course, and one intentional choice at a time; trading numbness for presence and fear for forward motion. In this episode, she talks about grief, reinvention, and the surprising way movement can pull you out of survival mode and back into yourself. Fro...
What if the reason you feel exhausted, inconsistent, and like nothing is working isn't a lack of discipline, but that no one ever taught you how your body actually works? Adrienne Irizarry, host of The Reproductive Rebel podcast, joins this episode for a conversation that will fundamentally change the way you think about your body, your training, and your cycle. Whether you're in your prime cycling years or deep in ...
You’re not overwhelmed because you’re doing too little…you’re overwhelmed because you think everything has to be perfect. In this episode, Daffney explains how perfectionism is quietly stealing your joy and keeping you stuck in pressure, control, and never feeling like you’ve done enough. She walks through three powerful shifts to help you get out of that cycle, from rethinking delegat...
Kate Powell (Kate for the People) exposes how social media is quietly overstimulating your brain, increasing your stress, and keeping you in a constant state of overwhelm. She shares how she built her platform by cutting through the noise and taking calm, direct action - proving that you don’t need to react louder, you need to think clearer. She also opens up about the experiences that shaped her voice and why...
What if some of the symptoms you’ve been labeling as ADHD, anxiety, or just “how you are” are actually being misdiagnosed? In this episode, Dr. Hira Khan unpacks something most people have never even heard of - primitive reflexes. These early movement patterns are meant to develop in childhood, but when they don’t fully integrate, they can show up later as coordination issues, sensory overloa...
Popular Podcasts
In this intensely divided moment, one of the few things everyone still seems to agree on is Dolly Parton—but why? That simple question leads to a deeply personal, historical, and musical rethinking of one of America’s great icons. Join us for a 9-episode journey into the Dollyverse. Hosted by Jad Abumrad. Produced and reported by Shima Oliaee. Dolly Parton’s America is a production from OSM Audio and WNYC Studios.
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Betrayal Weekly is back for a new season. Every Thursday, Betrayal Weekly shares first-hand accounts of broken trust, shocking deceptions, and the trail of destruction they leave behind. Hosted by Andrea Gunning, this weekly ongoing series digs into real-life stories of betrayal and the aftermath. From stories of double lives to dark discoveries, these are cautionary tales and accounts of resilience against all odds. From the producers of the critically acclaimed Betrayal series, Betrayal Weekly drops new episodes every Thursday. If you would like to share your story, you can reach out to the Betrayal Team by emailing them at betrayalpod@gmail.com and follow us on Instagram at @betrayalpod and @glasspodcasts. Please join our Substack for additional exclusive content, curated book recommendations, and community discussions. Sign up FREE by clicking this link Beyond Betrayal Substack. Join our community dedicated to truth, resilience, and healing. Your voice matters! Be a part of our Betrayal journey on Substack.
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.