363: Why Holiday Expectations Burn You Out | Morgan Cutlip

Be Well by Kelly Leveque

Kelly Leveque

Nutrition, Education, Health & Fitness, Alternative Health, Self-improvement

4.8 • 1.4K Ratings

🗓️ 3 December 2025

⏱️ 52 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

What if the holidays felt lighter, calmer, and actually joyful this year? In this live episode, I sit down with Dr. Morgan Cutlet to talk about the invisible load so many of us carry during the season. We get into why everything suddenly feels heavier, how to spot the unrealistic standards that drain us, and simple ways to bring more ease, presence, and teamwork into your home. If you have ever felt overwhelmed by holiday magic making, this conversation will feel like a deep breath and a reset. → Leave Us A Voice Message! Topics Discussed: → How can I reduce my holiday mental load? → What causes holiday stress for moms? → How do I set realistic holiday expectations? → What is the mental load during the holidays? → How can couples share holiday responsibilities? Sponsored By: → Be Well By Kelly Protein Powder & Essentials | Get $10 off your order with PODCAST10 at https://bewellbykelly.com. → JASPR | JASPR is offering $400 off for their Black Friday Sale. Just go to https://jaspr.co/bewell and use my code BEWELL → Kosterina | Use code KELLY for 15% OFF your first order at kosterina.com/bewell Not sure where to start? Shop all my Kosterina favorites at https://kosterina.com/bewell → Fatty 15 | Fatty15 is on a mission to replenish your C15 levels and restore your long-term health. You can get an additional 15% off their 90-day subscription Starter Kit by going to https://fatty15.com/KELLY15 and using code KELLY15 at checkout. Timestamps: → 00:00:00 - Introduction → 00:01:31 - “Let’s actually enjoy the holidays” → 00:06:55 - Ditching unrealistic goals → 00:09:36 - Making memories that matter → 00:12:47 - Breaking down the mental load → 00:21:16 - When communication fails → 00:27:02 - Navigating holiday conflict → 00:29:48 - How to offload the mental load → 00:32:09 - Intention vs impact: getting it right → 00:35:24 - Sibling rivalry or teamwork? → 00:39:33 - Big picture self care for parents → 00:42:24 - Managing mom guilt → 00:45:55 - Asking for support without stress Check Out Dr. Morgan: → Instagram → Website → Books → Course Check Out Kelly: → Instagram → YouTube → Facebook

Transcript

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0:00.0	You're listening to Be Well by Kelly Leveck.
0:08.4	Well, thank you so much for coming to our second live podcast for Bewell by Kelly.
0:15.1	Dr. Morgan Cutlip has been on the podcast a couple of times, and that's because I lean on her expertise in all things
0:23.0	mental load she's the author of two books um she her latest is a better share comes all about the
0:31.0	mental load that parents have um and her previous book is love your Kids Without Losing Theirself.
0:38.3	So that navigates how to take care of yourself, how to health care without the guilt.
0:43.3	And I think both of those books really can support us throughout this holiday season.
0:50.3	So today's talk is going to be all about how we can learn to manage everything that we're carrying into the holidays and to really do it joyfully without the overwhelm.
1:02.0	So Morgan, thank you so much for being here for a third, fourth time. You're my absolute favorite guest, a dear friend. She's a mom, a baseball mom, a same Clementi mom, a local. You'd probably seen her at MOT or Mokko. This is her hard work, and I'm so grateful to have her. Thank you for being here. I'm so grateful to be here. Thank you for having me. Thank you for welcoming me into your community, so it means a lot. Oh, yeah. We need you. Thank you for having me and thank you for welcoming me into your community so it means a lot.
1:28.3	Yeah, we need you.
1:30.3	So thank you for being here.
1:32.3	So let's jump right in.
1:33.3	I really love some strategies on how to lighten the mental load, especially around the holidays.
1:39.3	I don't want to be Bahamuk.
1:41.3	I really want to find the joy and do it with ease.
1:45.0	Yeah, not a small task.
1:48.0	So part of what makes the holiday season so incredibly overwhelming is because the amount of tasks on our plate sort of
1:57.0	explodes exponentially during the season. We have a lot more factors to consider a lot more on our
2:01.9	schedules, probably a lot more school events, more communications, family dynamics. So I say all this
2:07.8	because sometimes, you know, the women understand why it feels a lot fuller, but sometimes their partners
2:14.5	are like, you need to just take it easy. So, you know, why is so stressed?
2:19.3	Just do less this year.
	...

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