The Real Reason You Feel Overwhelmed

You're senior, successful, and capable, so why is this one coworker still living rent-free in your head? In this Hannah Hotline episode, Hannah responds to a listener navigating a persistent grudge against the colleague who covered her maternity leave. Hannah breaks down the real psychology behind why grudges stick, introduces the Grey Rock Method for disengaging from toxic dynamics, and reveals the surprising reason workplace drama keeps pulling you back in.

Nine years ago, Hannah Kissel made the most important decision of her life. She was sitting in a bathtub, a few days before her 27th birthday, and she realised something: she didn't want to do this anymore. Not life — but the version of it she was living. In this deeply personal solo episode, recorded on her 36th birthday and 9-year sobriety anniversary, Hannah shares what she's never talked about publicly - the moment that changed everything, what sobriety actually gave her, and the new pattern she's currently working through: an addiction to struggle. This isn't a cautionary tale. It's a blueprint. And whether you drink or not, if you're a high performer who constantly makes things harder than they need to be, this one's going to hit home.

Your nervous system is sending you a message. Are you listening? High performers are often the last people to admit they're burning out because they're still getting great performance reviews while their body quietly falls apart. In this episode, Hannah responds to a listener who has been in back-to-back burnout cycles for two years. She's a project manager at a major financial institution - brilliant at her job, crossing time zones daily, triple-checking everything, answering Slack at 10pm and now dealing with stress-related stomach issues and anxiety more days than not. She can't quit. She needs the salary. And she's tried therapy, tried saying no, and keeps ending up right back here. Hannah uses Christina Maslach's clinical framework to diagnose exactly what's happening, and then gives a clear, no-fluff roadmap for getting out of it without torching your career.