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243: High Functioning Co-Dependency with Sara Fisk

Total Health in Midlife with Elizabeth Sherman

Release Date: 10/09/2025

Holiday Health Series #2: The Invisible Holiday Load show art Holiday Health Series #2: The Invisible Holiday Load

Total Health in Midlife with Elizabeth Sherman

Between shopping lists, social calendars, and endless wrapping paper, it can feel like the entire weight of the holidays rests on your shoulders. You’re not imagining it — that invisible load is real, and it’s costing you more than just sleep. In this episode of Total Health in Midlife, Elizabeth unpacks why so many women feel responsible for making the holidays “magical” for everyone else — and why that pressure leaves them exhausted, resentful, and off track with their health by January. You’ll learn how cultural conditioning, people-pleasing, and “scope creep” quietly chip...

info_outline Holiday Health Series #1: Food and Body Triggers show art Holiday Health Series #1: Food and Body Triggers

Total Health in Midlife with Elizabeth Sherman

Feeling like the holidays undo every bit of progress you’ve made with your health? You’re not alone. Between sugar-filled gatherings, endless to-do lists, and the pressure to “make it magical,” midlife women often end up exhausted, bloated, and quietly promising themselves they’ll start over in January. In this episode of Total Health in Midlife, Elizabeth Sherman breaks down what’s really happening beneath the overeating, overdrinking, and overcommitting that show up every December. Spoiler: it’s not about willpower. It’s about stress, hormones, and the invisible load that...

info_outline 248: Upleveling Your Health show art 248: Upleveling Your Health

Total Health in Midlife with Elizabeth Sherman

You’ve upgraded everything—your skincare, your wine, your wardrobe. You’re not DIYing your hair in the bathroom anymore. You’ve outgrown fast fashion, bad coffee, and relationships that take more than they give. And yet… when it comes to your health? You’re still stuck in the bargain bin. Still trying to “just do it” with free downloads, 30-day resets, or the same rules you learned from your mom’s Weight Watchers meetings. In this episode of Total Health in Midlife, I’m pulling back the curtain on the disconnect so many high-achieving women are living with—and the...

info_outline 247: What My Hair Taught Me About Midlife Health show art 247: What My Hair Taught Me About Midlife Health

Total Health in Midlife with Elizabeth Sherman

What do curly hair and your midlife health journey have in common? More than you’d think. In Episode 247 of Total Health in Midlife, Elizabeth Sherman shares a personal story about ditching the flat iron—and discovering that the path to healthier hair was eerily similar to the path so many midlife women take toward better health. The endless trial-and-error, the frustration, the belief that there must be one perfect product (or plan) out there if you could just find it. This episode is for every woman who’s ever said “Just tell me what to do” and still ended up feeling stuck,...

info_outline 246: Is it OK to Want to Lose Weight? show art 246: Is it OK to Want to Lose Weight?

Total Health in Midlife with Elizabeth Sherman

We’ve been told all our lives that thinner is better. But now, in midlife, we’re also told that wanting to lose weight makes us shallow or brainwashed by diet culture. So… is it okay to want to lose weight? In this episode of Total Health in Midlife, I’m asking the question that so many women are silently wrestling with—but don’t feel like they’re allowed to say out loud. I’ll walk you through the real reasons behind that desire, what we’re hoping weight loss will “fix,” and why the fantasy often doesn’t match the reality. If you’ve ever said things like “I just...

info_outline 245: Self-Pity, Sabotage & Self-Soothing show art 245: Self-Pity, Sabotage & Self-Soothing

Total Health in Midlife with Elizabeth Sherman

Self-pity is one of the most overlooked emotions we experience, and one of the most powerful. It doesn’t stomp in and throw a tantrum. It shows up quietly, as I have to, I deserve this, or no one ever includes me. And because it feels true, we don’t even question it. We just… sabotage ourselves. In this episode of the Total Health in Midlife podcast, I’m sharing a deeply personal moment that pulled back the curtain on my own self-pity spiral—and how it almost derailed my day (and my health habits) before I realized what was happening. We’ll explore how this hidden emotion can show...

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Total Health in Midlife with Elizabeth Sherman

Ever catch yourself thinking, “I’ll do it later” — only to realize later is even more chaotic than now? In this episode of Total Health in Midlife, we’re unpacking the subtle, sneaky ways we make life harder for ourselves without even realizing it. From moldy broccoli to missed workouts and late-night wine that wrecks your sleep, these aren’t just random moments — they’re patterns. And those patterns can be shifted. I’ll share the real story behind how one freezing night at a gas station changed the way I treat myself — and why learning to “have your own back” isn’t...

info_outline 243: High Functioning Co-Dependency with Sara Fisk show art 243: High Functioning Co-Dependency with Sara Fisk

Total Health in Midlife with Elizabeth Sherman

What happens when you're so good at keeping everything together… that you forget to take care of yourself? In this episode of The Total Health in Midlife Podcast, I’m joined by Master Certified Coach and people-pleasing expert Sara Fisk to explore a surprising culprit behind so many women’s exhaustion, resentment, and stalled health goals: high-functioning codependency. We’re not talking about the kind of codependency tied to addiction. This is the polished, over-performing version that shows up in moms, partners, daughters, and leaders—the women who hold everything and everyone...

info_outline 242: Ask Better Questions to Get Better Answers show art 242: Ask Better Questions to Get Better Answers

Total Health in Midlife with Elizabeth Sherman

Have you ever asked yourself, “Do I want to go to the gym?” or “Do I feel like making dinner?”—and then beat yourself up when the answer was no? In this episode of Total Health in Midlife, we’re exploring how the questions we ask ourselves—especially around our health—can either sabotage our best intentions or support the version of ourselves we’re trying to become. You’ll hear a story about a real-life conversation with my husband that sparked this whole idea, plus my own recent experience with a motivation slump. And most importantly, we’ll unpack the powerful shift...

info_outline 241: Making and Keeping Friendships with Nina Badzin show art 241: Making and Keeping Friendships with Nina Badzin

Total Health in Midlife with Elizabeth Sherman

Making (and keeping) friends in midlife can feel surprisingly hard. In this episode of the Total Health in Midlife podcast, I’m joined by Nina Badzin, writer and host of the Dear Nina podcast, to talk about the real stuff that comes up in adult friendships, like feeling left out, keeping score, and what to do when your once-close friends just… fade. Whether you’ve ever wondered, “Is it just me?” or you’ve found yourself ghosted or burned out from being the one who always initiates, you’re not alone—and you’re not doing it wrong. This episode is full of validation, fresh...

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More Episodes

What happens when you're so good at keeping everything together… that you forget to take care of yourself?

In this episode of The Total Health in Midlife Podcast, I’m joined by Master Certified Coach and people-pleasing expert Sara Fisk to explore a surprising culprit behind so many women’s exhaustion, resentment, and stalled health goals: high-functioning codependency.

We’re not talking about the kind of codependency tied to addiction. This is the polished, over-performing version that shows up in moms, partners, daughters, and leaders—the women who hold everything and everyone together… and quietly fall apart in the process.

Sara shares how people-pleasing, perfectionism, and control patterns drain your energy, chip away at your physical and emotional health, and keep you stuck in a cycle of doing for others while ignoring your own needs.

If you've ever found yourself running ragged fixing other people’s problems, this episode will help you come back to yourself—with honesty, compassion, and a few practical tools to help you start saying yes to you again.

About Sara Fisk

Sara Bybee Fisk is a Master Certified Coach and Instructor who teaches women how to tame the rampant people-pleasing, perfectionism, and codependency that is causing them so much frustration and resentment. 

She is an anxious optimist and born-again feminist who listens to more books than she sits down to read. She loves a good hike, good dark chocolate, and good conversations. 

Her big dreams include learning to sail and to sing and dance like JLo and helping thousands of women create the big, juicy lives they want to be living. She is a wife and mom of 5 and she enjoys those roles most of the time. 

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN

  • What high-functioning codependency looks like (and why most women don’t recognize it in themselves)

  • How trying to “help” others can actually be a way to avoid our own discomfort

  • Why over-controlling others can sabotage your health, relationships, and peace of mind—and how to shift the pattern

RESOURCES

Get full show notes and more information here: https://elizabethsherman.com/243