Gas Pedal, Brake, Balance: Michael and Lindsay's Story

EP:170 In this episode of Thrive Like a Parent, I sit down with my client and friend Dr. Michael Braunstein to pull back the curtain on what it really looks like for a high-achieving husband, dad, and provider to work on his emotional regulation, marriage, and parenting.

Michael and I talk about the invisible pressure so many men carry—being the provider, holding it all together, never showing they’re at capacity—and how that almost broke him, his marriage to Lindsay, and their blended family.

We walk through:

• How their relationship slipped into loving but exhausting codependency—both over-giving, both resentful, and neither getting their needs met.
• The “fire hose” fights that built up over weeks of unspoken frustration and ended in late-night blowups.
• The way real-time support and regulation tools (like voice messaging instead of waiting for once-a-week counseling) helped them calm their nervous systems in the moment, not weeks later.
• How shifting from “fixing” to supporting with phrases like “I hear you,” “Thank you for sharing,” and “What do you need?” completely changed their communication

We also go deep into:

• Their different parenting styles: Michael as the more boundaried, stern parent and Lindsay as the more emotional, nurturing parent—and why both are essential for healthy kids.
• Allowing kids to struggle, fail, and problem-solve, instead of lawnmower parenting everything away
• Navigating Lindsay’s Graves’ disease diagnosis, her near-bedridden season, Michael’s knee surgery, and how their new tools held their family together through it
• One of my favorite parts of this conversation is hearing Michael describe, in his own words, how regulation has given him more enjoyment—not just “better performance”:
  more enjoyment in his marriage, more enjoyment with his kids, and more peace inside his own brain.

If you’ve ever wished your partner “got it,” or you’re a dad who’s exhausted from holding it all together but doesn’t want “traditional therapy,” this episode is for you.

🎧 Listen now and save this episode to come back to the tools Michael shares.
💌 Share this with a dad, partner, or husband who needs to hear another man talk honestly about mental health, marriage, and regulation.
🔁 Tag this episode in your stories and tell me your biggest takeaway—I do read them.

⬇️ Ready to work on your own regulation and family dynamic? Learn more about Thrive Like a Parent and my coaching offers in the show notes.

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