The Inner Shift Podcast
Welcome to The Inner Shift Podcast—where we get real about women’s mental health. If you’re juggling caregiving, work, family, burnout, and that voice in your head screaming, “WTF is happening?!”—you’re in the right place. This isn’t fluffy self-care. We talk anxiety, burnout, and meltdowns in grocery store aisles while doing too much. Expect raw conversations, expert insights, and zero BS. It’s time to stop pretending we have it all together. Grab coffee (or wine), take a deep breath, and let’s figure this out together.
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Episodes
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Knocked Down, but She Got Up Again…Learn How!
Tuesday, July 29, 2025
You’ve likely tasted her work …if you’ve ever been to Equator Coffee….This entrepreneur, who bet the entire family on her vision, together with her husband – is an entrepreneur, cancer survivor and adventurer…and is living her life to the absolute fullest, despite some tough set-backs. Amber Hall is simply an inspiration, and just finished designing/building a house in Costa Rica, a long way from her first home in Canada.Amber is the model of the power of positivity and faith.She is wicked smart, but has, also,mastered developing a centred-life, sticking always to her core values, while pr...
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Horrific Story of Survival, Suffering and Suicidal Ideation
Tuesday, July 22, 2025
At the heart of every storm, there can still be strength, and Elaine Lindsay is living proof.Elaine is a survivor, to be sure, but she is also an entrepreneur, and while she has tried to stay alive… at one time she didn’t want to do so.Elaine has suffered unimaginable grief, loss and medical complications after a horrific car crash. Her story will rock you….and if this triggers you we strongly encourage you to reach out for help, immediately. As Elaine will talk about, there is hope.The podcaster and social media expert talks about some really difficult stuff. Amy and Kimothy didn’t have mu...
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Let’s Talk about Sex and Mental Health….What Could Go Wrong?
Tuesday, July 15, 2025
Sue McGarvie is a sex educator…and while we’re having flashbacks to Grade 9 sex education class, it isn’t that!Sue has been a radio show host, entrepreneur, sex travel organizer and general champion for, well, sex.In the early 1990s, Kimothy met Sue – who was already on radio doing a series called “Sex in the 90s”...ya, Kim’s THAT old.The highlight of the tour of the “underground” was when Kimothy asked, “What is a ball gag? And, why would anyone want to be in a latex suit?” (she lived in suburbia….this was new to her). They also talked about how women don’t tell partners (mostly men) what ...
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Let’s Talk about Mental Health and Death/Loss: Fun Right?!
Tuesday, July 8, 2025
Dina Bell-Laroche is a death doula, educator, author and educator. So, on this episode, we talk about mental health as it pertains to losing a loved one…or about how to start saying goodbye to your person.Dina has spoken around North America on the topic, as it pertains to everything from workplace culture to intimate family dynamics. As a trained thanatologist (ya, we had to look up the word, too!), she has helped people transition to a place of peace around loss….whether it has already happened or is about to….She was motivated by the loss of her younger sister to cancer…who was the mom o...
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Mental Health Crisis in Farming Communities
Tuesday, July 1, 2025
On this episode, we go to Tennessee!Kesley Rogers is a counsellor with Denney Counselling who discovered, through the near loss of a friend, the difficulties facing farmers – and particularly multi-generational farming families.It was something Amy and Kimothy had literally, had never heard about, despite having farmers in their original families. This episode speaks to many things, including being the CEO of an expensive farm, family expectations, isolation, struggling economies, and living in unpredictable environments.Imagine watching for rain, something you cannot control, to predict yo...
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Parenting Children with Unique Learning Abilities
Tuesday, June 24, 2025
On this week’s episode, we talk to Heather Desjardins, who talks about the whopping number of children who learn differently, and what that means to the family dynamic. This one hits pretty close to home for our hosts.“Work harder” isn’t going to cut it. Parents need to learn to work creatively. Your own mental health and that of your child DEPENDS on it!Learn tips and tricks to help you get there and help nurture a creative learner while keeping the family peace.Say goodbye to frustration and friction. And, welcome peace and growth after hearing from Heather.Also, it was shocking to hear t...
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It’s Often Called the Biggest Taboo Subject Left. Our Guest is a Survivor of Sibling Sexual Assault and a World Leader on the Topic.
Tuesday, June 17, 2025
Nancy Morris is truly a pioneer…a champion for one of the most difficult subjects we have yet to discuss on the podcast…sibling sexual assault.The founder of #SiblingsToo is, herself, a survivor of sibling sexual assault. You might expect her to be outraged, livid….and wanting to exact revenge. Far from it. She spoke to us about understanding that we don’t tell children about what is or is, definitely not, acceptable behavior in the home.Around the world she has opened the door on this challenging subject and found out how shockingly common it is…. and how deeply people, often parents, push...
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Mental Health Impacts More Young Women, Statistically in Canada, than Other Age Groups. We Speak with One
Tuesday, June 10, 2025
Well, if you were ever afraid for the younger generation, this show might give you faith.Meghan Strauss recently graduated from the University of Ottawa Health Sciences program and is about to enter naturopathic medicine.While she speaks openly about mental health in her age group, Amy and Kimothy found her to be one of the most enlightened people we’ve ever spoken with.That’s not to say her age group isn’t struggling. It is. But, her insight blew us away. In a time when our grandparents never spoke about such things, her age group is throwing a light into dark corners. Meghan gives TheInne...
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The Root of the Problem: Author Darpan Ahluwalia Talks about YOUR Body!
Tuesday, June 3, 2025
Darpan Ahluwalia never enters a room without heads turning. She’s vivacious and a bit of a vixen who owns her space, and she takes no sh#t. Absolutely no sh#t.The certified Live Blood Analyst and registered nutritionist is also a herbalist homeopath and author of ‘The Context Eating Method for Women”.In Ottawa, Canada…Darpan is known as the “go to” for natural treatments and understands women’s bodies and what they need at every stage of life.She’s also an entrepreneur and mom and knows the art of juggling. On this show Amy and Darpan talk about health – while Kimothy was, ironically, sick ...
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Breast Cancer Survivor and Coach
Tuesday, May 27, 2025
Jeez, Kimothy lost her sh#t while talking about sh#t on this podcast! We made her cry!! And Amy disclosed something she wasn’t sure she would do…until it happened. And Kimothy cried more….So, about our guest. Andrea Schade Douglas got “the diagnosis”. Breast cancer. What she did next was totally mind-blowing. She got better after a brutal path and dedicated her life to helping others.Andrea has coached women through the “what the phuck” stage and helped raise a ton of money for breast cancer research and treatment. She is raw, real, and resilient. Andrea raised a lot by getting back into th...
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Olympic Success and Mental Health
Tuesday, May 20, 2025
Canadian Olympian Andrea Schwartz Smith joins us to talk the sh#t out of sh#t….from being an elite athlete to a parent, entrepreneur and swim coach. As a woman, now in her “joyful years”, her perspective is vital when it comes to goals and reasonable expectations. Andrea has some very serious wisdom to share.What she learned, from the discipline of swimming, has kept her afloat in all areas of her life. We absorbed a lot from Andrea that when it comes to reasonable expectations and to just be #phucking kind to yourself.What we loved most is that she listens to her body and mind. If she need...
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Janet Gray – Advice-Only Financial Planner
Thursday, May 8, 2025
Janet Gray – Advice-Only Financial PlannerSHOW Title: Is the Economy Impacting Your Mental Health? You’re not alone!Summary:Financial uncertainty is brutal for our mental health. It’s one of those “big ones”...up there with death and divorce.This week, Amy and Kimothy talk to our resident expert on The Inner Shift Podcast, Janet Gray, about how this time in history can impact everything from our current housing situation to our retirement which, for some, could even be decades down the road. And then, there are the older kids who have so much financial stress that they are staying in the fa...
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Mourning before a death. Loss before they leave. Endings before Beginnings
Thursday, May 1, 2025
Mourning before a death. Loss before they leave. Endings before Beginnings.On this week's episode, just effing surviving before, during and after loss.Sometimes you lose someone before they die, like with dementia. Sometimes you're out of a relationship before you know, or well after you should have. The hardest, most would admit, is mourning a child you lost....and then, living to care for another.Today, we talk to a mother who lost a child and dedicated her life to helping others in anticipatory grief, real-time grief or living grief. Don't know the difference? Stay with us...grab a coff...
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From Surviving to Thriving, Burnout to Bold
Thursday, April 24, 2025
Guest:Kelly RileyAuthor, Coach and PodcasterBook: The Pivot PlaybookTitle: From Surviving to Thriving. Burnout to Bold.On this episode, Amy Friesen and Kimothy Walker talk to our guest, Kelly Riley, who has written The Pivot Playbook, and coaches people through the process one-on-one - if reading about it isn't enough. She also has a podcast of the same title.In full disclosure, Kelly is Kimothy's social media coach as Kim transitions to being a full-time digital nomad. Now, not everyone has to blow up their lives to pivot we learned...or travel across North America in an SUV. Ahem! There ...
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Learning Your Limits: Balancing 3 Generations While Thriving as a Public Figure
Thursday, April 17, 2025
Sam Laprade hears a LOT, "How do you do it?" The week of her recent book launch, Ottawa Made, she helped other organizations raise money and hosted other high profile events. The woman with many titles, author, entrepreneur, innovator, fundraiser, broadcaster and public speaker has two others, mom and daughter. And, she is an only child. Having already lost her Dad and raised a successful teenaged daughter, Sam is now the lead on her mom's long term care. For the first time since Kimothy has known her (a very long time) she's learning to say a polite, "no" when her to-do list is already ver...
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Bad News, Burnout and reBound: Self-Care to Survival
Thursday, April 10, 2025
Guest: Laurel GillespieCEO, Canadian Hospice Palliative Care AssociationOn this week's episode of The Inner Shift Podcast, Amy Friesen and Kimothy Walker talk to the CEO of the Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association. It's a really heavy job for a woman who beat breast cancer, went back to university for her Masters degree in business administration (MBA) and left a very difficult marriage.Now, after all of that, Laurel Gillespie, is talking openly about burnout in women and how we need to embrace it, rather than feel shame for not keeping up. The mother of three jumped off the treadmi...
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Financial Freak Outs. Control in Chaos
Thursday, April 3, 2025
If you believe almost everything you hear, the economies of many nations are in real trouble. You know who else is? Us… the women who live in those nations.For those of us invested in “stuff” (that’s Kimothy’s technical term for it), the stress is real and impacts women more than men, simply based on a number of factors. It can range from the disparity related to single parenting or the enormous differences in leadership roles, so the decisions are out of your hands. Just look at the number of men on Fortune 500 boards versus women. Right?So what the phuck to do? First, Amy and Kimothy like...
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When You Get a Call That Changes Everything in Your Life. What Then?
Thursday, March 27, 2025
Communications leader and athlete Susan Marsh-Marconi had it all…or so it seemed. A series of traumas impacted her life in a profound way but she’s still standing. She shares her story to help others because vulnerability, she says, is the key to her ability to cope. Reaching, teaching and preaching…she knows that we cannot pretend we’re okay!!This advocate and change maker was a sexual assault survivor in a case that made national headlines a long time ago. And, as if that wasn’t enough trauma for one lifetime, she got a call one day that her oldest child had been in a very serious car cra...
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Perimenopause Preps and Menopause Mayhem
Thursday, March 20, 2025
Feeling alone when your hormones hit the skids can be overwhelming and there is a LOT to learn. Why doesn’t someone get us all together to share what you’re thinking! Gee, you think, I wish Amy and Kimothy would do that show for us. Presto!! You’ve come to the right place. Our first guest does that on her own podcast based in the United Arab Emirates. Experienced Canadian journalist Ann Marie McQueen is a podcast expert with her multimedia platform Hotflash Inc., which focuses exclusively on information women need to get through the rollercoaster of life’s changes. Ann Marie and Kimothy do...
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It’s NOT Black and White!! Grey Matters for Women who are Just Struggling with Sh#t
Thursday, March 13, 2025
Canadians Kimothy Walker and Amy Friesen bonded over a shared “piss off”…one of those life-changing kind. We are not experts…but we know a lot of experts as we are professional communicators with a combined 50 years experience.If we don’t know, we seek them out because we have some really tough questions about why so many women rank their mental health as pretty damn poor. Ya know what helps? Finding your people!! Asking experts about every single subject we can think of…from menopause to grief and loss…to why we love our pets so much. The list is long.And we want your ideas! So….who the He...