September 15, 2025

Real Strength Feels 

Blog

We’ve all been told to “stay strong” in hard times. But what if that strength starts to feel like numbness? What if pushing through means shutting down?

In Season 2, Episode 6 of That Sh*t Doesn’t Define You: Stories of Hope, we sit down with Barb Yeary—a powerhouse in business development and a long-time leader at Celebrate Recovery—to unpack a message we all need to hear: real strength isn’t numb… real strength feels.

The Power of Naming What You Feel

Barb shares her deeply personal story of realizing she was living in survival mode. She had mastered the art of appearing strong, but underneath, she had numbed herself to protect herself from pain. And like so many of us, she didn’t even notice it initially.

In this episode, Barb helps us rewrite the script that says emotions make us weak. She offers wisdom from her personal healing and her leadership in recovery communities—showing us how naming and feeling our emotions can build resilience rather than break us.

We talk about:

  • The moment Barb realized being “strong” had pushed her into numbness, and how she found her way out.
  • The damaging myth that shutting down emotions equals strength (especially in faith circles).
  • What it takes to step out of survival mode and into emotional health.
  • The unexpected ways of allowing yourself to feel again make you a better leader, friend, and human.

Practical Steps to Reconnect With Your Emotions

If you’ve been living numb—pushing through, smiling on the outside, but feeling nothing on the inside—this conversation is for you.

You’ll walk away with practical steps to:

  • Name the emotions you were taught not to feel.
  • Give yourself permission to feel them now.
  • Use tools like “name it to tame it” to regulate emotion safely.
  • Find the support you need to heal in community—not isolation.

Barb reminds us that feeling doesn’t mean falling apart. It means waking up. It means reclaiming joy, connection, and purpose. And it starts with one brave choice: to feel again.

🎧 Listen to Episode 6 now: “How to Be Strong Without Being Numb”—Available on all major podcast platforms.

Listen Here

👉 Like what you hear? Subscribe and share. And remember—this is not your practice life.

Start messy. Start scared. Just start.

Because healing starts with feeling—and you’re stronger than you think.

Athena Captain

Athena Captain is Director of Sales and Marketing at Turner & Son Homes, where her passion is building a referral-based company in a niche market. She has helped create a business model that allows Turner & Son Homes to become the “concierge” of building on land in Oklahoma. Athena has successfully led sales teams within retail, banking, and finally bringing her talent to bear in the construction industry. Athena has developed a prospecting system while at Turner & Son Homes that allows any sales professional to become a referral magnet. She will share her system in her upcoming book The Making of a Rainmaker, soon to be released nationwide. With the launch of AthenaCaptain.com, she hopes to help other sales professionals, business owners, and companies apply her proven systems to increase revenue through referrals. She was honored to be a finalist for Edmond Woman of the Year in 2014. She is active within her community as a Board member for Oklahoma Family Network, and she is on the Leadership team of Savannah Station Equine Therapy Program.