The Liberated Middle
The Liberated Middle is about awakening, releasing, and returning home to your truest and most authentic self. It’s for women in midlife who want real conversations, embodied wisdom, and tools to live a vibrant and authentic life.
If you’re a woman who’s done chasing perfection and ready to come home to yourself…
If you’re waking up to the truth that midlife isn’t a crisis—it’s a powerful turning point…
You’re in the right place.
Hosted by Lisa Hamilton—embodiment coach, IFS practitioner, and integrative physical therapist, this podcast explores the real terrain of midlife: shifting hormones, changing bodies, evolving identities, and the inner work of releasing old narratives so you can live with greater vitality and freedom.
Lisa weaves science, soul, and story together with curiosity, compassion, and a touch of edge—offering grounded insights and practical tools you can carry into everyday life.
Get curious. Get clear. Get going.
The Liberated Middle
True Belonging vs. Fitting In
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This is Part 2 of The Belonging Series.
Fitting in asks, Who do you need me to be?
Belonging asks, Can I be who I am and still stay?
In this episode, Lisa explores the wilderness between those two questions—where authenticity and approval often collide.
Drawing on Brené Brown’s research, Polyvagal Theory, and an IFS lens, she unpacks the loneliness that comes from performing for acceptance and the courage it takes to show up as your unedited self.
You’ll explore:
- The key difference between true belonging and fitting in
- How early attachment and nervous system safety shape your need for approval
- The emotional cost of performing for connection
- Simple ways to practice belonging to yourself in daily life
Because when you belong to yourself, you give everyone around you permission to do the same.
About The Belonging Series:
Belonging is one of our most essential human needs. In this special series of The Liberated Middle, Lisa explores belonging from the inside out—from coming home to yourself, to the difference between true belonging and fitting in, to the loneliness epidemic, the art of gathering, the neuroscience of connection, and how belonging shifts across the lifespan.
Music by RA, upbeat.io