In this episode, I explore how approval-seeking (often calledpeople-pleasing) gets wired into our internal system—and how we unknowingly pass it on to our children.
From subtle threats and rewards to holiday pressure around Santa, Christmas, and “being good,” let’s unpack how approval becomes a stand-in for safety and connection.
Rather than focusing on how to get children to behave, this conversation invites curiosity.
In This Episode, You’ll Hear About:
*How approval-seeking gets wired into the nervous system as a survival strategy
*Why “being good” becomes tied to safety, love, and belonging
*adults unknowingly repeat approval-based patterns with their children
*Why rewards and threats (even subtle ones) function as indirect control
*How Christmas and Santa are often used as leverage for approval
*How self-awareness builds connection and breaks cycles
*Why we often don’t see the impact of approval pressure until years later
This episode offers a compassionate reframe for parents and cycle-breakers ready to move from pressure to presence—and from performance to genuine connection.
Connect with Diane:
Instagram: @dianesorensen.bb
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/diane.sorensen.589
Join the conversation — share your takeaways or questionsfrom today’s episode by sending me a message on Instagram or Facebook. I love hearing from you!
Work with Diane:
Diane Sorensen’s Coaching Models are where boundarywork becomes the bridge from chaos to connection.
You’ll learn to transform your triggers,lead with compassion, and create emotionally safe relationships built on authenticity, not approval.
Reclaim your CALM, speak your TRUTH,and live FREE.
→ Submit an inquiry or learn more: www.dianesorensen.net/contact
→ Explore free guides and resources to support your growth: www.dianesorensen.net/
→ Join the weekly newsletter for insights, tools, and support deliveredstraight to your inbox: www.dianesorensen.net/email-list
What if the discomfort you feel isn’t a sign that something is wrong with you…
but a sign that you’ve outgrown the life you were told you should want?
In today’s episode I’m joined by Claudia Herasme, an Alignment Guide and Certified Life Coach, for a deeply grounding conversation about belonging—not fitting in, performing, or proving—but coming home to yourself.
Claudia works with high-achieving women who have done everything “right.” They’ve checked the boxes, built the career, earned the recognition—yet still feel a quiet (or not-so-quiet) sense that something is missing.
Through her own journey—from a 20-year career in urban planning in New York City and Chicago to reclaiming her vitality, authenticity, and inner truth—Claudia discovered a powerful truth:
You don’t have to choose between success and authenticity.
In this conversation, we explore what it means to stop living according to expectations and start creating a life that actually feels like yours.
In this episode, we talk about:
*The difference between fitting in and belonging
*Why so many accomplished women feel disconnected despite external success
*How “doing everything right” can still lead to inner depletion
*What it really means to feel safe being yourself
*Why authenticity isn’t about burning your life down—it’s about coming back home
*How to create the life you want, not the one you think you should have
This episode is an invitation to soften, listen inward, and question the stories you’ve inherited about success, worth, and who you’re allowed to be.
If you’ve ever wondered, “Is this it?”
If you’ve felt the quiet ache of disconnection beneath a polished life…
This conversation is for you.
About Claudia
Claudia is an Alignment Guide and Certified Life Coach who helps high-achieving women safely express their authentic, untamed selves—without sacrificing the success they’ve worked so hard to build.
After a thriving 20-year career in urban planning, Claudia’s own turning point led her to coaching and alignment work. Today, she runs Peak Bloom Coaching and Guidance, maintains a boutique international consulting practice, and creates spaces where women can stop performing and start belonging—to themselves and their lives.
Her mission is simple and powerful:
To help you feel safe being exactly who you are, so you can create the life you actually want—not just the one you think you should have
Connect with Claudia:
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/peakbloom_coaching/
Connect with Diane:
Instagram: @dianesorensen.bb
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/diane.sorensen.589
Join the conversation — share your takeaways or questions from today’s episode by sending me a message on Instagram or Facebook. I love hearing from you!
Work with Diane:
Diane Sorensen’s Coaching Programs are where boundary work becomes the bridge from
chaos to connection.
You’ll learn to transform your triggers, lead with compassion, and create emotionally safe relationships built on authenticity, not approval.
Reclaim your CALM, speak your TRUTH, and live FREE.
→ Submit an inquiry or learn more: www.dianesorensen.net/contact
→ Explore free guides and resources to support your growth: www.dianesorensen.net/
→ Join the weekly newsletter for insights, tools, and support delivered straight to your inbox: www.dianesorensen.net/email-list
We all crave connection — but many of us were never taught what connection actually is.
In this episode, I invite you into a deeper, clearer, more embodied understanding of connection… one that goes far beyond simply being together, spending time, or keeping everyone happy.
Here’s the truth:
⭐️ Connection is less about proximity or time
Connection is more about presence.
Presence emotionally.
Presence mentally.
Presence in your body.
And for many of us — especially those of us who grew up people-pleasing, performing, or walking on eggshells — presence can feel unfamiliar or even unsafe.
Why?
Because true connection requires emotional intimacy — thewillingness and capacity to feel your feelings without collapsing into: blame, judgement,fixing, people-pleasing or self-abandonment.
In this episode, we explore:
💛 What connection actually is — and what it is not
Why you can be together and not connected, and connected even when you'reapart.
💛 How our culture confuses “beingtogether” with connection
And how this leads to resentment, pressure, and emotional distance.
💛 Emotional intimacy as the foundationof true connection
Not the kind associated with romance — but the emotional intimacy of being with yourself in real time.
💛 Why people-pleasers struggle withconnection
When you learn to scan the room, manage emotions, or keep the peace, presence becomes impossible.
💛 Invisible patterns that block connection
The unconscious wiring in our nervous system that makes us believe connection comes from – making others happy, avoiding upset, saying yes, agreeing, and staying quiet.
These patterns are invisible — until we make them visible.
💛 The inner shift required to create true connection
How to begin moving from performing connection to experiencing it.
⭐️ Key Quotes From the Episode
* “Connection is not time together — it’s presence together.”
* “Emotional intimacy is the capacity to feel your feelings without collapsing into blame, judgment, or pleasing.”
*“Connection requires presence — not performance.”
If you're noticing the gap between the connection you crave and the connection you’re actually experiencing — you’re not alone.
This is the work of cycle breakers.
Connect with Diane:
Instagram: @dianesorensen.bb
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/diane.sorensen.589
Join the conversation — share your takeaways or questionsfrom today’s episode by sending me a message on Instagram or Facebook. I love hearing from you!
BREAKTHROUGH SESSION: https://www.dianesorensen.net/offers/2AnzahKj?coupon_code=HOLIDAY
special pricing good only through Dec. 31, 2025.
Work with Diane:
Diane Sorensen’s Coaching Programs are where boundarywork becomes the bridge from chaos to connection.
You’ll learn to transform your triggers, lead with compassion, and create emotionally safe relationships built on authenticity, not approval.
Reclaim your CALM, speak your TRUTH, and live FREE.
→ Submit an inquiry or learn more: www.dianesorensen.net/contact
→ Explore free guides and resources to support your growth: www.dianesorensen.net/
→ Join the weekly newsletter for insights, tools, and support deliveredstraight to your inbox: www.dianesorensen.net/email-list
This episode is personal — and powerful.
A recent situation with a close family member brought up a wave of unexpected hurt and confusion right as the holidays approached.
What I didn’t know at the time was that this moment would become a living, breathing example of healthy conflict, emotional empowerment, and generational pattern-breaking.
Most of us grew up believing that conflict is something to avoid, smooth over, fix, or fear.
But healthy conflict isn’t chaos — it’s clarity.
And this experience revealed how quickly we can slip into the Drama Triangle (Victim, Rescuer, Persecutor)…
and how consciously we can shift into the Empowerment Dynamic (Creator, Coach, Challenger).
In this episode, I walk you through:
*The moment of rupture with a close family member
*What victim, rescuing, and persecutor thoughts sounded like in real time
*How I recognized the pull into old patterns
*Why conflict is a necessary ingredient in healthy relationships
*What it looks like to process hurt without assigning blame
*How I shifted into Creator, Coach, and Challenger energy
*The surprising gift I found inside the discomfort
*Why the holidays don’t cause our stress — they reveal it
*How this conflict became an unexpected mirror of my own growth
This isn’t about perfection or staying “zen.”
It’s about staying honest, grounded, and self-responsible when the old patterns tug at you hardest.
If you’re navigating family dynamics, emotional triggers, or unexpected tension during the holidays, this episode will give you a new lens — one rooted in empowerment instead of reactivity.
Key Insight:
Healthy conflict isn’t about winning or fixing.
It’s about allowing the relationship to hold the truth of both people — without abandoning yourself in the process.
Reflection Question
What uncomfortable moment in your life might be revealing something deeper beneath the surface?
Resources & Support:
HOLIDAY BREAKTHROUGH SESSION: https://www.dianesorensen.net/call- Special pricing is good only through Dec. 31, 2025. Give yourself and your family the gift of PEACE this season.
Drama & Empowerment Resource mentionedin this episode:
https://www.dianesorensen.net/drama-to-empowerment
Connect with Diane:
Instagram: @dianesorensen.bb
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/diane.sorensen.589
Join the conversation — share your takeaways or questionsfrom today’s episode by sending me a message on Instagram or Facebook. I love hearing from you!
Work with Diane:
Diane Sorensen’s Coaching Programs are where boundarywork becomes the bridge from chaos to connection.
You’ll learn to transform your triggers, lead with compassion, and create emotionally safe relationships built on authenticity, not approval.
Reclaim your CALM, speak your TRUTH, and live FREE.
→ Submit an inquiry or learn more: www.dianesorensen.net/contact
→ Explore free guides and resources to support your growth: www.dianesorensen.net/
→ Join the weekly newsletter for insights, tools, and support deliveredstraight to your inbox: www.dianesorensen.net/email-list
The holidays bring out the best in us…and the deepest patterns in us.
If you’ve ever found yourself walking on eggshells, trying to keep everyone comfortable, or worrying about “triggering” someone at a family gathering, this episode will speak directly to your heart.
Today we’re exploring what this pattern really reveals—not about others, but about ourselves.
Because the pressure you feel during the holidays isn’t new.
It’s a lifetime of emotional patterningrising to the surface:
the fear of disappointing someone,
the instinct to keep the peace,
and the belief that your worth comes from how well you manage everyone’s experience.
In this episode, we’ll talk about:
*Why “trying not to trigger others” is actually a form of emotional over-responsibility
*How the holidays reveal old family roles and approval patterns
*The difference between connection and approval(and why only one nourishes you)
*Why your nervous system goes on high alert around certain people
*A simple shift that helps you stay connected to yourself—even in emotionally charged rooms
If the holidays feel heavy, or if you’re tired of contorting yourself to keep everyone else comfortable, this conversation will give you clarity, compassion, and relief.
Connection doesn’t come from performing.
It comes from presence.
And it begins with you.
Reflection Question:
Where do you notice yourself performing comfort for others instead of staying connected to yourself?
Connect with Diane:
Instagram: @dianesorensen.bb
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/diane.sorensen.589
Join the conversation — share your takeaways or questionsfrom today’s episode by sending me a message on Instagram or Facebook. I love hearing from you!
HOLIDAY BREAKTHROUGH SESSION: https://www.dianesorensen.net/call- Use promocode - HOLIDAY for special pricing. Good only through Dec. 31, 2025.
Work with Diane:
Diane Sorensen’s Coaching Programs are where boundarywork becomes the bridge from chaos to connection.
You’ll learn to transform your triggers,lead with compassion, and create emotionally safe relationships built on authenticity, not approval.
Reclaim your CALM, speak your TRUTH, and live FREE.
→ Submit an inquiry or learn more: www.dianesorensen.net/contact
→ Explore free guides and resources to support your growth: www.dianesorensen.net/
→ Join the weekly newsletter for insights, tools, and support deliveredstraight to your inbox: www.dianesorensen.net/email-list
In this powerful conversation, I’m joined by Brooke Jean— therapist turned truth-teller, speaker, and founder of Unperfected®, a methodology devoted to helping high-achieving, anxious women drop the pressure and rise in their power.
Brooke brings a rare blend of psychological depth, somatic wisdom, and real-world leadership. Her work guides women to heal perfectionism, reconnect with their bodies, and live unapologetically from their truth.
Brooke shares her incredible journey from single mom climbing the corporate ladder… to therapist… to the creator behind The Unperfected Pod.Her story takes a profound turn in 2012 when the Aurora theater shooting happened just doors down from her corporate office — a moment that cracked openher life, stripped away illusion, and awakened her to what truly matters.
Together we explore how trauma, success culture, and perfectionism shape us into who the world tells us to be — and what it looks like to come home to ourselves again.
Connect with Brooke Jean:
Instagram - @brookejeanunperfected
Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-un-perfected-pod/id1668818982
FREE LIBERATION: From Pressure toPOWER Masterclass: www.brookejeanllc.com/liberation
Website: www.liveunperfected.com
Connect with Diane:
Instagram: @dianesorensen.bb
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/diane.sorensen.589
Join the conversation — share your takeaways or questionsfrom today’s episode by sending me a message on Instagram or Facebook. I love hearing from you!
Free Holiday Workshop 11/20/25 11am-12pm Eastern time– “Releasing Perfection This Holiday Season” – Message me HOLIDAY on Instagram or Facebook and I willsend you the link.
Work with Diane:
Diane Sorensen’s Coaching Programs are where boundarywork becomes the bridge from chaos to connection.
You’ll learn to transform your triggers, lead with compassion, and create emotionally safe relationships built on authenticity, not approval.
Reclaim your CALM, speak your TRUTH, and live FREE.
→ Submit an inquiry or learn more: www.dianesorensen.net/contact
→ Explore free guides and resources to support your growth: www.dianesorensen.net/
→ Join the weekly newsletter for insights, tools, and support delivered straight to your inbox: www.dianesorensen.net/email-list
If you’ve ever found yourself lying awake wondering, “Am I messing up my kids?” — you’re not alone.
In this episode, I unpack the deeper truth beneath this universal fear. You’ll learn how the worry about “messing up” isn’t really about your kids at all — it’s about your own relationship with fear, judgment, and self-worth.
Worry can feel like control. It can even masquerade as care. But beneath it, there’s often a hidden belief that your worth as a parent depends on your child’s outcomes — how they behave, perform, or turn out.
When we parent from that place, we lead from fear and shame, not love and trust. And our children feel that energy — they begin to internalize ourworry as their own pressure to be “enough.”
This is an invitation to see worry differently — not as proof of love, but as an invitation to return to self-connection, compassion, and truth.
In this episode, we explore:
*Why worry gives us a false sense of control
*How fear of judgment fuels “good parent” perfectionism
*The difference between worrying about your kids and caring for them
How to shift from control to connection — for both you and your child
Connect with Diane:
Instagram: @dianesorensen.bb
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/diane.sorensen.589
Join the conversation — share your takeaways or questionsfrom today’s episode by sending me a message on Instagram or Facebook. I lovehearing from you!
Work with Diane:
→ Submit an inquiry or learn more: www.dianesorensen.net/contact
→ Explore free guides and resources to support your growth: www.dianesorensen.net/
→ Join the weekly newsletter for insights, tools, and support delivered straight to your inbox: www.dianesorensen.net/email-list
Diane Sorensen’s Coaching Programs are where boundarywork becomes the bridge from chaos to connection.
You’ll learn to transform your triggers,lead with compassion, and create emotionally safe relationships built on authenticity, not approval.
Reclaim your CALM, speak your TRUTH,and live FREE.
Welcome to a brand-new chapter — and the very first episode under the new name:
Chaos to Connection: Boundaries & Breakthroughs for Cycle-Breaking Women.
In this episode, I share the story behind how this name found me — not as a marketing move, but as a reflection of my own becoming.
The journey began years ago with Beauty in Behavior, back when I was still teaching. It was there that I discovered that the most challenging behaviors — whether from my students or my own children — were actually invitations to grow. These moments became my greatest teachers, shaping how I saw children, and eventually, how I saw myself.
When the podcast evolved into Beautiful Behavior, it mirroredanother layer of my growth — the one where I began noticing my own people-pleasing patterns, the ways I silenced myself to keep the peace, and how often I deferred to others instead of trusting my own wisdom.
And now, Chaos to Connection feels like the name that truly chose me — the story of my life, really. A journey that began in chaos and continues to unfold toward deeper connection, authenticity, and truth.
From the outside, not much has changed — but the energy underneath it all has. And that changes everything.
This episode is an invitation to grow together — to walk the path from chaos to connection, one courageous step at a time.
Reflection question:
Where in your life are you being invited to move from chaos to connection?
Connectwith Diane:
Instagram: @dianesorensen.bb
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/diane.sorensen.589
Join the conversation — share your takeaways or questions from today’s episode by sending me a message onInstagram or Facebook. I love hearing from you!
Work with Diane:
Diane Sorensen’s Coaching Programs are where boundarywork becomes the bridge from chaos to connection.
You’ll learn to transform your triggers, lead with compassion, and create emotionally safe relationships built on authenticity, not approval.
Reclaim your CALM, speak your TRUTH, and live FREE.
→ Submit an inquiry or learn more:www.dianesorensen.net/contact
→ Explore free guides and resources to support your growth: www.dianesorensen.net/
→ Join the weekly newsletter for insights, tools, and support delivered straight to your inbox: www.dianesorensen.net/email-list
Something new is coming to the podcast. I'm taking a few weeks off while you enjoy some throw back episodes and I'll be back on Monday, November 3 with the new reveal.
STAY TUNED.
On this throwback episode I talk about how sibling conflicts and fighting are a normal part of development. They are also triggering for parents.
The building blocks of all relationships are trust and safety. The more secure children feel in their relationship with their parents the less threatening they feel with their siblings.
In this episode I discuss:
* How we can support our children during conflicts
* Becoming emotionally attuned
* The power of problem solving
Continue the conversation:
https://www.instagram.com/dianesorensen.bb/
Website - https://www.dianesorensen.net/
Free resources:
https://www.dianesorensen.net/reinvent-dl
https://www.dianesorensen.net/drama-to-empowerment
The Beautiful Behavior Programs will support you in setting firm boundaries that promote self-regulation, compassion and respect in all your relationships and parenting journey. Reclaim your CALM, discover your TRUTH, and liveFREE.
Something new is coming to the podcast. I'm taking a few weeks off while you enjoy some throw back episodes and I'll be back on Monday, November 3 with the new reveal.
STAY TUNED.
On this throwback episode I talk about how the seeds of “not enough” get planted.
Have you ever had the thought, “I’m not good enough?” Most of us have. The “I’m not good enough” belief is woven into the fabric of our culture. It is a lack mindset.If you think you are not enough you will never have enough – not enough time, money, sleep, energy. Not thin enough, smart enough, the list goes on and on.How do we shift a culture of not enough?
Awareness is the first key to creating a shift from “not enough” to “wholeness.”
In this episode I sat down with certified life coach and founder of Live Joy Your Way, Kamini Wood, for a powerful conversation about breaking free from the patterns of people pleasing and perfectionism.
Kamini works with high-achievers—doctors, lawyers, and professionals who appear successful on the outside but feel disconnected on the inside. Together, we explore how these old patterns of over-doing, over-giving, and over-performing often begin as coping strategies for belonging and safety… but eventually become cages that keep us from our authentic selves.
We talk about:
*Why high-achievers often fall into people-pleasing and perfectionism
*The deeper emotional roots behind “performing” for approval
*What it really means to heal your relationship with yourself
*The role of self-compassion and self-trust in breaking free
*How to redefine success and live from authenticity instead of achievement
Kamini’s grounded wisdom reminds us that true confidence and freedom aren’t found in doing more—they’re found in remembering who we are beneath the performance.
Connect with Kamini Wood:
🌐 livejoyyourway.com
📱 Instagram: @itskaminiood
📘 Book: Live Joy Your Way
Connect with Diane:
🌐 dianesorensen.net
📱 Instagram: @dianesorensen.bb
Book a Breakthrough Session with Diane: https://www.dianesorensen.net/call
The Beautiful Behavior CoachingPrograms will support you in setting firmboundaries that promote self-regulation, compassion and mutual respect in all your relationships and parenting journey. Reclaim your CALM, discover your TRUTH, and live FREE.
This week, I welcome October—one of my favorite months—and reflect on why this season always feels like a fresh start. But I also share how the holidays, family gatherings, and “good behavior” in my childhood masked a much deeperstory: my mother’s resentment, silence, and martyrdom.
Like so many women, she took care of everyone else’s needs while ignoring her own. That resentment spilled out in anger—and I passed on those same patterns to my own children.
In this episode, I explore:
*Why expecting others to know or meet our needs is a form of enmeshment.
*How boundary work is really about knowing and meeting our own needs.
*Why saying what you mean (even if it creates conflict) builds deeper connection.
*How approval-seeking from our children keeps us stuck in old patterns.
*The truth that cooperation comes through connection, notcontrol.
*How boundaries and emotional regulation go hand in hand.
This is about more than parenting—it’s about breaking generational patterns of silence, resentment, and martyrdom so we can create relationships rooted in truth, connection, and freedom.
Key takeaway: What you don’t own, owns you. Boundaries are not walls—they’re the path to deeper connection.
✨ Resources & Next Steps:
Book a Boundary Breakthrough Session with Diane: https://www.dianesorensen.net/call
Connect with Diane on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dianesorensen.bb/
The Beautiful Behavior CoachingPrograms will support you in setting firm boundaries that promote self-regulation, compassion and mutual respect in all your relationships and parenting journey. Reclaim your CALM, discover your TRUTH, and live FREE.
What happens when the version of success you’ve been chasing no longer fits the life you're living?
In this episode, I sit down with Lindsey Wagnon—entrepreneur, pastor’s wife, girl mom, and host of the Savvy Startup Marketer podcast—to talk aboutwhat it means to rewrite the rules of motherhood, career, and identity.
Lindsey shares the pivotal moment when becoming a mother made her realize the corporate ladder she’d been climbing no longer aligned with the life she wanted to build. So she stepped off, walked away from a corporate career, and began creating a business—one intentional piece at atime—that allowed her to stay home with her baby and continue growing professionally.
Together, we explore:
*The myth of the “good mom” and how to rewriteyour own definition of motherhood
*What it takes to trust yourself in the face ofchange
*How visibility and vulnerability are necessaryparts of both business and life
*Why self-trust is a muscle every mother—and woman—can build
This is a conversation about alignment, agency, and asking a powerful question: What kind of mom (and woman) do I want to be?
Whether you’re an entrepreneur or not, this episode will leave you feeling seen, inspired, and reminded that life is our business—and we get to build it our way.
Connect with Lindsey:
https://www.instagram.com/lindseywagnonmarketing/
The Savvy Startup Marketer podcast - https://lindseywagnon.com/podcast
Connect with Diane:
Book a Breakthrough Session with Diane: https://www.dianesorensen.net/call
Connect on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dianesorensen.bb/
The Beautiful Behavior Coaching Programs will support you in setting firm boundaries that promote self-regulation, compassion and mutual respect in all your relationships and parenting journey. Reclaim your CALM, discoveryour TRUTH, and live FREE.
We often see the eye roll as defiance, attitude, or disrespect—especially from teens.
But what if we can see it from another angle, something deeper?
🙄 In today’s episode, you’ll hear:
*What an eye roll might actually be expressing beneath the surface
*How adults leak resentment the same way
*A personal story about what my tone was really saying when I kept saying yes out of obligation
*Why resentment shows up when we abandon ourselves
*How curiosity (not correction) is key to deeper connection
This episode is an invitation to slow down, get curious, and respond to your relationships with more presence and truth.
🔗 Resources & Links:
🌀 Want to work through this in your own life? Book your 90-minute Breakthrough Session here: https://www.dianesorensen.net/call📣 Know someone who needs to hear this? Send them the episode or share on social—tag me so I can thank you!
🎧 Subscribe to Beautiful Behavior for more conversations like this.
Follow me on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/dianesorensen.bb/
Free Resources - https://www.dianesorensen.net/
The Beautiful Behavior Programs will support you in setting firm boundaries that promote self regulation, compassionand mutual respect in all your relationships and parenting journey. Reclaim your CALM, discover your TRUTH, and live FREE.
What if mealtime wasn’t just aboutfood—but about connection, confidence, and caring for your mental health?
In this heartfelt and empowering episode, I sit down with Whitney Cardosi, founder of Bloom Kitchen + Retreats, to explore how families can build healthier relationships with food—and themselves. From hands-on kids’ cooking classes to mother-daughter retreats and a nourishing newkitchen tool in the works, Whitney is on a mission to make dinnertime doable and meaningful.
We dive into:
*How food and emotional well-being are deeply connected
*Shifting from meal stress to simple, soulful connection
*Helping kids (and moms!) build confidence and ease around eating
*Why mealtime isn’t about doing it all—it’s about being together
*The power of modeling a healthy relationship with food, even while healing your own
Whether you're a busy mom juggling meals and emotions, or someone wanting to reimagine how your family connects at the table, this episode will leave you feeling inspired and grounded.
🔗 Connect with Whitney:
Instagram: @bloomnorthshore
Whitney’s Cookbook: https://a.co/d/9emXD9u
🌟 Want to create more connection in your own home?
Book a Breakthrough Session—90 minutes of personalized support to help you move from reactivity to relationship this season. https://www.dianesorensen.net/call
Connect with Diane:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dianesorensen.bb/
Website - https://www.dianesorensen.net/
The Beautiful Behavior Coaching Programswill support you in setting firm boundaries that promoteself-regulation, compassion and respect in all your relationships and parenting journey. Reclaim your CALM, discover your TRUTH, and live FREE.
Back-to-school season can feel overwhelming for moms—new routines, busy schedules, homework, and emotions running high. But here’s the truth: the stress isn’t just about logistics. It’s about forgetting ourselves while managing everyone else.
In this episode, I share how to bring more calm and connection to this transition with three key shifts:
Connection over perfection – Why your kids need your presence, not your performance.
Stress is contagious—so is calm – How to model regulation when you’re stressed.
Boundaries create safety – Why loving limits help your family feel secure.
✨ Resources & Next Steps:
Book a Boundary Breakthrough Session with Diane: https://www.dianesorensen.net/call
Download the free The S.T.O.P. Method: https://www.diansorensen.net/stop
Connect with Diane on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dianesorensen.bb/
The Beautiful Behavior CoachingPrograms will support you in setting firm boundaries that promote self-regulation, compassion and respect in all yourrelationships and parenting journey.
Reclaim your CALM, discover yourTRUTH, and live FREE.
What if boundaries weren’t walls that push people away—but bridges that bring us closer to ourselves and each other?
In this episode of Beautiful Behavior, I dive deep into the truth about boundaries—what they really are, what they are not, and why they are essential for healthy, connected, and meaningful relationships.
For so long, many of us have confused boundaries with control, rejection, or selfishness. But here’s what I’ve discovered: boundaries are unconditional love in action. They are the daily practice of remembering who you are and choosing that over who others want you to be.
Whether you’ve struggled with people-pleasing, perfectionism, or the pressure to perform as a “good” mom, this conversation will help you see boundaries in a whole new way—one that empowers you, models self-respect foryour children, and interrupts generational patterns.
Key Takeaways from This Episode:
· Boundary work is the daily practice ofremembering who you are and choosing that over who others want you to be.
· Boundaries are unconditional love in action, notwalls or control tactics.
· Real boundaries are about what youwill do, not what others should do.
· Choosing alignment over approval is thegenerational pattern interrupt our kids need.
· You cannot give what you do nothave—self-respect must start with you.
Quotes from This Episode:
· "Boundary work is the daily practice ofremembering who you are and choosing THAT over who others want you to be."
· "Boundaries are unconditional love."
· "You cannot control other people, but youcan choose yourself."
· "Inward is the new way forward."
· "Choosing alignment over approval."
Listen in, and let’s walk this journey together.
Connect with Diane – Resources & Links:
Book your Breakthrough Session here: https://www.dianesorensen.net/call
Learn more about my work - https://www.dianesorensen.net/
Follow me on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/dianesorensen.bb/
Join the Beautiful Behavior Facebookcommunity for more insights and perspectives in parenting and relationship building - https://www.facebook.com/groups/1234281357530027
The Beautiful Behavior Programs willsupport you in setting firm boundaries that promote self-regulation, compassion and respect in all your relationships and parenting journey. Reclaim your CALM, discover your TRUTH, and live FREE.
What if your child’s behavior isn’t defiance… but a response to how they feel in their body?
In this powerful conversation, I’m joined by two occupational therapists turned parent coaches who are helping families understand the real reason kids (and parents!) melt down, shut down, or get overwhelmed. It’s all about sensory processing—and no, it’s not just the five senses we weretaught in school.
We explore:
*What sensory processing is (in a nutshell)
*Why there are actually 8 senses, not 5—and how they shape ourbehavior
*The concept of becoming a “Sensory Smart Family”
*How understanding sensory profiles can transform reactivity into regulationand connection
*Why these OTs made the shift from traditional therapy to parent coaching
*The power of seeing behavior as communication—and how sensory understanding offers a new lens for deepened empathy
If you’ve ever felt confused, frustrated, or unsure how to respond to your child’s behavior, this episode offers a compassionate, science-backed perspective to help you shift from correction to connection.
🎁 Bonus for listeners: Our guests are generously offering a free sensory profile gift to help you better understand your own unique sensory needs. Grab it in link below.
Leave a Review:
If this episode gave you a new way to think about parenting, please take a moment to rate, review, and share it with a friend. It means the world and helps us reach more parents just like you.
Links & Resources:
Free Sensory Profile Gift – https://carrie-c-jen-p-ot-parentcoaching.kit.com/a86865c948Guest Bios & Socials – Jen and Carrie met as pediatric Occupational Therapists (OTs) years ago, working in thesame school district in Massachusetts. They were always aligned in their therapeutic approaches and passions for professional development. When the COVID pandemic began and school-based services were provided remotely, they spent more time directly with students’ parents than ever before. They found that families were really looking for help with understanding and supporting their child’s needs at home. Additionally, with a new-found appreciation forself-care during this time of change, parents were becoming increasingly aware that they needed direct support for themselves as they worked to help theirchildren. In response, they began putting more emphasis on coaching the parents of children they were working with and noticed the large positive impact thistype of support had on their families’ everyday lives. They wanted to help even more families, so they started offering services to family and friends…and thus began The OT Parent Coaches! Jen and her husband are parents to 2 young adultsin their 20's, and Carrie and her husband are parents to 2 high school teens. They continue to learn and grow in their parenting, right along with their clients!
Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/otparentcoaches/?fbclid=IwAR0UuvFh6OJn-Kj1Vbz9m0Bsg4XTbVddKuvmL6ZB-GuP_4GgfrTF4_N-GnA
Book a 1:1 Breakthrough Session with Diane – https://www.dianesorensen.net/call
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dianesorensen.bb/
Learn more about my work - https://www.dianesorensen.net/
Join the Beautiful Behavior Facebook community for more insights and perspectives in parenting and relationshipbuilding - https://www.facebook.com/groups/1234281357530027
The Beautiful Behavior Coaching Programs will support you in setting firm boundaries that promote self-regulation, compassion and respect in all your relationships and parenting journey. Reclaim your CALM, discover yourTRUTH, and live FREE.
When our child struggles—whether it’s mental health, self-harm, eating disorders, or anything else we wish they’d never have to face—it can stir up a storm of emotions inside us as parents. Shame, fear, self-blame, and the haunting question: Did I cause this?
In this heartfelt follow-up to my recent mother–daughter conversations, I share what it was like to hear my daughterspeak openly about her experiences with cutting and an eating disorder—and the lessons I’ve learned about parenting, shame, and love.
We’ll explore:
*How to navigate the shame spiral that can comewhen your child struggles
*Why your child’s pain is not proof you’ve failed as a parent
*The truth that parenting is here to grow us, notdefine us
*How my daughter’s self-hatred mirrored my owninner critic—and how I’m deepening my own self-acceptance
*Why behavior is a language, and what we misswhen we only try to fix it
*How to move from trying to “stop” behavior tohelping your child connect with their inner world and self-regulate
If you’ve ever felt the weight of your child’s struggles and wondered how to meet that moment without drowning in shame, this episode will remind you: you are not alone, you are not failing, and you can return to love—again and again.
Connect with Diane – Resources & Links:
Book your Breakthrough Session here: https://www.dianesorensen.net/call
Learn more about my work - https://www.dianesorensen.net/
Follow me on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/dianesorensen.bb/
Join the Beautiful Behavior Facebookcommunity for more insights and perspectives in parenting and relationshipbuilding - https://www.facebook.com/groups/1234281357530027
The Beautiful Behavior Programs willsupport you in setting firm boundaries that promote self-regulation, compassion and respect in all your relationships and parenting journey. Reclaim your CALM, discover your TRUTH, and live FREE.
This week, we return with part two of our mother-daughterconversation—one that feels even more tender, more unfiltered, and more vulnerable than the first.
We didn’t plan this one. We just hit record and talked.
What unfolded was an open and honest reflection on our personal relationships with food, our bodies, and ultimately, with ourselves.
We talk about disordered eating—not from a clinical lens, but from the inside. From the lived experience of using food to cope, to numb, to distract from emotions we never learned how to feel.
We talk about shame. About how messy and complex this healing can be. And how the silence around these struggles only adds to the pain.
There’s no perfect arc in this episode. Just a real, vulnerableconversation between a mother and daughter reckoning with inherited patterns—and choosing a different path.
In this episode, we explore:
*How our relationships with food became entangled with control, worth, and emotion
*The unspoken shame around eating disorders and body image
*Why emotional suppression often shows up in how we eat or don’t eat
*The healing power of naming what was never talked about
Why this matters:
Because so many women are silently struggling.
Because shame thrives in secrecy.
And because healing—like this episode—is rarely tidy or linear. But it is possible
Resources & Links:
Eating Disorder Support:
National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA):nationaleatingdisorders.org
NEDA Helpline: 1-800-931-2237
Crisis Text Line: Text "NEDA" to 741741
NEDA Screening Tool (online)
F.E.A.S.T. (Families Empowered and SupportingTreatment of Eating Disorders)
Reminder: If you or someone you know is struggling, please reach out. You are not alone, and help is available.
Connect with Diane:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dianesorensen.bb/
Learn more about The New Relationship Blueprint: DM me on Instagram with -NRB-and I will send you details
Learn more about my work -https://www.dianesorensen.net/
Join the Beautiful Behavior Facebook community for more insights and perspectives in parenting and relationshipbuilding - https://www.facebook.com/groups/1234281357530027
The Beautiful Behavior Coaching Programswill support you in setting firm boundaries that promoteself-regulation, compassion and respect in all your relationships and parenting journey. Reclaim your CALM, discover your TRUTH, and live FREE.