The Podcast
The Stone in My Shoe is a podcast for women in midlife who are ready for their next chapter to feel more true.
Hosted by Debbie Thompson, each episode shares honest conversations that uncover the invisible beliefs and emotional patterns shaping our lives. If you’ve ever wondered what else might be possible, these stories will help you recognise your own Stone and walk through life with greater freedom, authenticity and joy.
New here? Start with one of these
All episodes
AllSelf-worthPeople pleasingSelf-abandonmentIdentityRelationshipsTrauma and healingChildhood and familyIntuition and trusting yourselfBurnoutPurpose and finding yourself
6 November 2026 · 00:38:20Self-Worth: Why Your Worth Isn't Tied to What You Do | Jen BrownWhat happens to your self-worth when it gets tangled up with what you do? If you're the capable one everyone relies on, and you've never stopped to ask whether that is costing you, this conversatio...
30 October 2026 · 00:41:45Emotional healing from childhood trauma and shame | Anne PeshkaWhy do some of us carry shame for what happened to us, and how can it begin to loosen? Emotional healing can begin when we start to see that what happened to us isn't who we are.
23 October 2026 · 00:39:37Self-worth: why you feel like you don't matter | Teresa McLellanWhy do you feel like you don't matter, even when you give so much? Self-worth can be shaped very early, and it can follow us into the way we love, give and make ourselves smaller.
19 October 2026 · 00:41:44People Pleasing: When Love Feels Like Something You Have to Earn | Joni WoodsHave you spent years trying to earn love by being good, agreeable and easy to be around? People pleasing can begin so early that we mistake it for who we are.
12 October 2026 · 00:44:19Self-Abandonment: Why You Don't Trust What You Already Know | Becca FrancisHave you ever known the answer and gone looking for it anyway? Self-abandonment doesn't always look like giving yourself up. Sometimes it looks like fifteen years of searching for something you wer...
2 October 2026 · 00:52:21Identity After Trauma: You Are Not What Happened to You | Candice OlivierHow much of who you are was actually chosen? Identity is hard to separate from history, because a story you've carried since childhood doesn't announce itself as a story. It simply feels like you.
28 September 2026 · 00:40:51Self-Abandonment: When Your Perfect Life Stops Feeling Like Yours | Kim CostaHave you ever looked at a life you worked hard for and quietly wondered when it stopped being yours? Self-abandonment rarely arrives as a crisis. It usually arrives as being reasonable, for years.
21 September 2026 · 00:49:44How to Change Limiting Beliefs and Stop Feeling Stuck | Giorgia BettiliHave you ever felt stuck without knowing why? Limiting beliefs and subconscious patterns can quietly shape what we think is possible, even when life looks fine from the outside.
11 September 2026 · 00:43:08She Left the Job But Kept Grading Her Own Worth | Connie Kwan on Self-Worth & Identity ChangeWhy does your sense of self-worth disappear the moment there's nothing left to point to? Have you ever finished a day with nothing "produced" and felt strangely uneasy about it, like the day didn't...
4 September 2026 · 00:50:18Why We Say Yes When We Really Mean No | Kirsty Tait on People Pleasing & BoundariesWhy do we keep saying yes to things we don't want to do, even when it leaves us feeling resentful and exhausted? People pleasing often begins in places so small we barely notice them.
27 August 2026 · 00:45:34Choosing Herself Over Staying Fine | Amala on Self-Abandonment, People Pleasing & Finding Her VoiceSelf-abandonment rarely feels dramatic. It looks like calling something fine, long after part of you already knows it isn't.
21 August 2026 · 00:43:36Why We Repeat the Same Relationship Patterns | Dr Judith Swack on Unconscious Beliefs & Self-WorthWhy do we keep repeating the same painful relationship patterns, even when we desperately want things to change?
17 August 2026 · 00:53:04I Had to Stop Abandoning Myself | Claira J on Mother Wounds, Self-Worth & Finding Your VoiceSome of our deepest wounds don't come from dramatic moments—they come from the quiet absence of feeling truly seen.
6 August 2026 · 00:36:47Choosing Yourself Over Belonging | Ramona Kossowan on Identity, People Pleasing & Finding YourselfHave you ever realised you've been working so hard to belong that you've slowly lost connection with yourself?
31 July 2026 · 00:50:21When the Life You Built No Longer Feels Like You | Audra Phelps on Identity, Intuition & Letting GoHave you ever looked at your life and quietly wondered… "How did I get so far away from myself?" 
23 July 2026 · 00:51:59When Your Body Holds an Unspoken Truth | Lina Lambertini on Healing, Identity & EmbodimentWhat if the symptoms you've been trying to fix are actually carrying a message you've never been able to hear?
16 July 2026 · 00:39:39When Success Becomes Your Identity | Faith Paki on Self-Belief, Letting Go & Finding Yourself AgainWhat happens to your identity when it becomes attached to what you do, and the life you've worked so hard to build no longer feels like yours?
9 July 2026 · 00:57:04Living Your Dream but Still Seeking Approval | Nyasha Ngwena on Identity, Self-Worth & Trusting YourselfWhat happens when you've built the life you always dreamed of… and still don't feel free?
1 July 2026 · 00:49:41I Thought I Was the Problem | Amanda Gorman on ADHD, Self-Blame & Learning to See Yourself DifferentlyWhat happens when you've spent your entire life believing you're the problem?
29 June 2026 · 00:33:24There Will Be Time Later | Adriana Carballo on Dreams, Intuition & the Cost of WaitingHow many of the things that matter most have quietly been placed in the "someday" category?
19 June 2026 · 00:34:44People Pleasing & Burnout: The Journey Back to Yourself | Karen BlairWhat happens when you've spent so many years helping everyone else that you can no longer hear yourself?
12 June 2026 · 00:37:50I Couldn't Ignore It Anymore: Victoria Solomon on Self-Worth & RelationshipsSometimes the moment that changes everything isn't a crisis.
5 June 2026 · 00:36:36Self-Abandonment: I Adapted Until I Slowly Stopped Being Me | Valerie RitchieHave you ever looked around your life and quietly wondered:
26 May 2026 · 00:47:52Performing Strength vs. Living Truthfully | Riham El Hawary on Burnout & MidlifeWhat happens when the role you’ve spent your whole life performing suddenly disappears?
15 May 2026 · 00:46:34I Ignored Every Red Flag in a Toxic Relationship | Andrea GonzalesAt 19, Andrea Gonzales ignored the feeling that something wasn’t right.
10 May 2026 · 00:36:51Why I started this Podcast. Midlife Crisis or Midlife Awakening?In this episode, I’m in conversation with Rory Callaghan, where I share the story behind why I created The Stone in My Shoe.
29 April 2026 · 00:33:05The Pressure to Do Everything as a WomanThere’s a version of success many women quietly try to live up to. Being present at home. Building something meaningful. Holding everything together without anything slipping.
23 April 2026 · 00:51:38When You Can’t Feel Anything Anymore with Sanna AthertonHave you ever had a moment where you should feel something… but you don’t?
15 April 2026 · 00:37:39Letting Go of Control: I Stopped Forcing My Life and Everything Changed | Dr Alla DemutskaThis conversation explores what happens when the way you’ve always coped with life quietly stops working.
8 April 2026 · 00:24:51Toxic Relationships: Why We Stay When We Know Something Isn't Right | Lisa WalkerHow do you know when something isn’t right… but you keep going anyway.
Episode 8 · 1 April 2026 · 00:40:25Redefining Success: When a “Good Life” No Longer Feels RightHave you ever looked at your life and thought… everything is fine, but something doesn’t feel right?
Episode 7 · 27 March 2026 · 00:30:14Why You Can’t See It When You’re In It - Midlife Awareness & Self-TrustIn this episode of The Stone in My Shoe, Giancarla shares a deeply reflective and layered journey of self-discovery, intuition, and identity.
18 March 2026 · 00:42:23When Success Isn’t Enough: Maria Marali on Burnout, Tantra & Reclaiming Your BodyOutwardly, Marali had built the perfect life. A successful corporate career across Europe. Financial independence. Achievement. Discipline.
Episode 5 · 26 February 2026 · 00:44:25Reclaiming Your Body in Midlife - Terry Tateossian on Trauma, Weight Gain & Self-SabotageWhy is it that you can show up for everyone else… build a career, raise a family, carry responsibility… but when it comes to yourself, something unravels?
5 February 2026 · 00:59:01Jane Slack-Smith on Trusting Your Inner Knowing, One Small Decision at a TimeThis episode is for the woman who has built a full, successful life and enjoys learning, refining, and growing, not because something is wrong, but because curiosity keeps pulling her forward.
27 January 2026 · 00:50:06When the Life That Worked No Longer Fits: Doro Fisher on Trusting Your Inner VoiceIn today’s episode, you’re going to hear a deeply grounding and expansive conversation about intuition, courage, and what it means to trust yourself when the old path no longer fits.
12 January 2026 · 00:47:23Burnout and Survival Mode: Listening to Your Intuition and Moving From “I Must” to “I Want To” | Erika NavarroWhat happens when being the strong one starts to take a toll? Erika Navarro talks about burnout, over-responsibility and survival mode, and the whisper in her body she finally chose to listen to.
9 January 2026 · 00:57:48Grief and Loss: Ignoring the Warning Signs, Losing It All and Finding the Compass Within | Dr JaynHow do you start again after losing everything you built? Dr Jayn talks about grief and loss, and about the warning signs she ignored for years because work was her whole life.
The questions behind every episode
Women don’t wake up thinking, “I have an unconscious pattern.” They wake up thinking…
- Why do I keep ending up here?
- Why do I always put everyone else first?
- Why do I struggle to say no?
- Why am I always trying to prove myself?
- Why have I achieved so much but still don’t feel at peace?
- Why can’t I seem to change, even though I know what I should do?
Every guest has a different story. But underneath every story is a Stone.
Listen now
Have a story that changed how you see yourself? Apply to be a guest
Who it’s for
This is for the woman whose life is good, and who senses there’s more. There’s no crisis to point at. Just a quiet pull toward a life that feels more like hers.
She has read the books. She has listened to the podcasts. She has talked it over with friends who love her. Everything stays somewhere near the surface.
Underneath all of it there’s usually a sentence she doesn’t say out loud. I’ve been everything for everyone, and I don’t know what’s mine anymore.
What might you discover, if you let yourself finish that sentence?
Inside a conversation
- 01Your story
- 02The stone
- 03The meaning you made
- 04What changed
- 05How you live differently today
- 06Your message for another woman carrying a similar stone
Ready to look at your own stone?
Work with me