S2, Ep 4: Motivation Hangover – The Drop After the Push

Segment: Functioning-ish

Seasonal Arc: Summer – Expansion

Theme: Post-Push Recovery & System Resets

• 💬 Join The Balanced Life Lab – Jen’s private community for women living with ADHD, perimenopause, and lives that don’t sit still.👉 Learn more here
• 🎧 Share the love: If this episode helped you name the crash or release the shame, send it to someone who’s been stuck in the same spiral.

You finally finish the thing—the project, the launch, the deep-clean dopamine sprint—and then… you crash. Hard. Motivation? Gone. Energy? Nonexistent. Everything? Feels flat.

That’s a motivation hangover, and in this episode, Jen breaks down exactly what’s happening in your brain and body when the post-push crash hits—and why it’s not laziness, failure, or lack of discipline. It’s biology. And it needs a different kind of recovery plan.

Jen walks you through the science (ADHD, dopamine, perimenopause, and self-determination theory), shares her own recent crash (spoiler: nine days of meh), and gives you real tools to recover, regulate, and rebuild without shame.

• What a motivation hangover actually is (and why it feels so weird)
• Why perimenopause + ADHD = dopamine crash cycle
• How to stop blaming yourself when your spark disappears
• What regulation really looks like (hint: it’s not productivity)
• How to build your own post-push survival kit
• What to do and not do when your energy flatlines

🔧 Tools & Frameworks Mentioned

• Self-Determination Theory – Why motivation needs autonomy, competence, and connection
• Self-Efficacy Theory – Small wins rebuild trust in yourself
• Polyvagal Theory – Regulation first, strategy second
• 5-Minute Reset Loops – Quick sensory and vagus nerve resets to bring you back online
• Soft Landing Kits – Real-life rest kits for recovery without pressure
• MVP Menus – Flexible task menus for low/medium/high energy days

🔁 Jen’s Favorite 5-Minute Resets

• Humming or singing (vagus nerve stimulation)
• Full-body shaking (looks weird, works great)
• Cold water on hands/face (nervous system jolt)
• Breathwork or tapping (slow exhales = calm brain)
• Scent cue rituals (e.g., lighting a candle for work mode)

These aren’t about powering through. They’re about coming back to baseline—so you can rebuild with intention, not guilt.

Season 2 is a 5-week bridge: Summer – Expansion. It’s about scaling back in order to expand. Less pressure. More support. Smarter systems that actually hold when life (or your brain) doesn’t.

New episodes every Monday and Thursday:

• Monday = Hormone Headlines
• Thursday = Functioning-ish

Because sustainable systems > motivation hacks.

And you don’t need to earn your rest—you just need the right support.