Shows / The Unwine Club
The Unwine Club
Friend, it’s time to unwind. Hand me your glass and let me fill it up. Here, take your glass, and let’s talk. The Unwine Podcast, hosted by Dr. Shena Dixon Mason, Esq.—attorney, adjunct professor of Interpersonal Communication, speaker, and business communication strategist—helps the “strong friend” get honest in Self, Health, Income, Family, and Time, plus business relationship conversations. With humor and emotional clarity, Shena shares real stories and scripts. Learn more at…
Episodes
- The Unwine Club
You Can Take The Mask Off
Everyone else puts a costume on this week. You've been wearing one all year. In this episode, Dr. Shena closes October by naming the face you put on for work…
- The Unwine Club
Holiday Boundaries Start Now
By the time the holidays arrive, it's too late to decide how you want to be treated. In this episode, Dr. Shena walks you through setting your holiday…
- The Unwine Club
They Still See The Old You
You've been changing, and some people are still responding to the version of you they met years ago. In this episode, Dr. Shena talks about the strange grief…
- The Unwine Club
Stop Apologizing For Existing
Sorry to bother you. Sorry, quick question. Sorry, I know you're busy. In this episode, Dr. Shena looks at the apology you attach to ordinary requests — and…
- The Unwine Club
Nice Isn't The Same As Honest
You can be the kindest person in the room and still not be telling the truth. In this episode, Dr. Shena opens October by separating niceness — a performance…
- The Unwine Club
You need a communication reset.
You’ve been doing a lot—thinking differently, talking differently, trying new scripts—and now your brain and heart need a minute. This break‑week episode helps…
- The Unwine Club
You carry relationships on your back
You’re the glue—the one who checks in, smooths things over, remembers everything, and does the emotional labor that keeps friendships, family ties, and work…
- The Unwine Club
You’re everyone’s translator, never heard.
You’re always in the middle—translating between friends who don’t get each other, coworkers who are fighting, or family members who only speak through you…
- The Unwine Club
Your face says what you won’t.
You say “I’m fine,” but your face, your posture, and your tone tell a different story. This episode focuses on nonverbal communication: how your body speaks…
- The Unwine Club
Seen as capable, not understood.
People praise you for being “put together,” but you walk away from conversations thinking, “Nobody actually gets me.” This episode looks at person perception…
- The Unwine Club
You regulate others, ignore yourself.
You know how to calm everyone else down—but when it comes to your own emotions, you either power through, joke it off, or shut it down. This episode focuses on…
- The Unwine Club
You’re exhausted from being “strong.”
You’re the strong one, the dependable one, the emotional first responder for everyone else’s crises—while you’re silently running on empty. This episode dives…
- The Unwine Club
Alone Together but Overwhelmed
Technology keeps you “connected,” but you’re lonelier and more drained than ever. This episode walks through Sherry Turkle’s Alone Together ideas in real…
- The Unwine Club
Strength without softness becomes isolation
When You’re Tired of Being “The Strong Friend” By mid‑year, many women feel the cumulative weight of always being “the strong one”—the person who gives advice…
- The Unwine Club
Saying “sorry” to stay safe
Apologizing for Things You Didn’t Do “Sorry” is one of the earliest survival skills many women learn. They apologize to keep the peace, to avoid conflict, to…
- The Unwine Club
Happy for them, hurting inside
When Their Success Triggers You It is possible to genuinely love someone and still feel something twist in your stomach when they get the thing you’ve been…
- The Unwine Club
Losing friends, grieving in silence
Friendship Breakups Hurt Like Romance Friendship loss is one of the most under‑acknowledged forms of grief. Many women experience deep heartbreak when a close…
- The Unwine Club
Busyness as emotional hiding place
When “I’m Just Busy” Is Hiding Something Many women use busyness as both a badge of honor and a shield. A full calendar makes it easy to avoid hard…
- The Unwine Club
Your body hears the truth
When Your Body Says “No” First Before your mind finds the perfect explanation, your body often reacts first. A tight jaw during a “joke,” a pit in your stomach…
- The Unwine Club
The Group Chat and the Truth
Texting instead of talking honestly Group chats can feel like a lifeline—constant connection, quick validation, and a place to drop your thoughts the moment…
- The Unwine Club
Loud inside, quiet on purpose
When You Feel Like Too Much Many women learn early that their emotions, needs, or opinions are “a lot” for other people. They start editing their reactions…
- The Unwine Club
Unspoken rules, very real pressure
The Rules No One Wrote Down Every family and friend group operates by unspoken rules—what can be said, who can be challenged, and which topics are off‑limits…
- The Unwine Club
Loving People Who Don’t Get You
Loved deeply, understood halfway at best Many women live in relationships where love is present but understanding is partial. Friends and family may care…
- The Unwine Club
You Don’t Have to Be Okay Yet
Healing isn’t on your timeline After a loss, betrayal, or major life change, women are often given a brief window to fall apart before they start hearing…
- The Unwine Club
The Performance Relationship
Checking boxes, feeling nothing inside Many women know how to “do” relationship—say the right things, show up for events, and meet expectations—while feeling…
- The Unwine Club
When Resentment Is Trying to Help You
Your resentment is protective information Resentment is often misunderstood as proof that someone is ungrateful or bitter. In reality, it is frequently a…
- The Unwine Club
Unspoken rules, very real pressure
The Rules No One Wrote Down. Every family and friend group operates by unspoken rules—what can be said, who can be challenged, and which topics are off‑limits…
- The Unwine Club
Loving People Who Don’t Get You
Loved deeply, understood halfway at best It is possible to be genuinely loved and still feel profoundly misunderstood. As women grow, shift values, or pursue…
- The Unwine Club
When You’re the Strong One at Home
Family leans, you quietly break. In many families, one person becomes the anchor—the problem‑solver, planner, and emotional stabilizer everyone depends on…
- The Unwine Club
I’m Fine, But I’m Not Fine
“Fine” is emotional camouflage “I’m fine” is one of the most socially acceptable lies we tell. Many women use it as emotional armor when they feel unsafe…
- The Unwine Club
Always listening, never being heard
The Therapist Friend Who’s Exhausted Many women become the “therapist friend” without ever signing up for the job. They absorb stories, soothe crises, and hold…
- The Unwine Club
Stop regulating grown adults.
Many women unconsciously assume responsibility for maintaining emotional stability in relationships. They anticipate reactions, soften truths, smooth tension…
- The Unwine Club
Over-explaining weakens presence.
Many high-performing women over-explain their decisions in an effort to be perceived as fair, kind, or reasonable. But excessive explanation often signals…
- The Unwine Club
Growth shifts relational balance.
Success alters dynamics. Increased income, expanded confidence, public visibility, or evolving ambition can disrupt relational equilibrium. What once felt…
- The Unwine Club
Authority begins with steadiness.
Respect rarely disappears overnight. It erodes slowly through inconsistency, over-explaining, and emotional accommodation. Many women believe respect is…
- The Unwine Club
You grew. They stayed comfortable
Friend… it’s time to unwine. There’s a special kind of loneliness that shows up when you start healing, growing, or wanting more—and the people who used to…
- The Unwine Club
The Big Why: Finding Purpose After Loss
Friend… it’s time to unwine. There was a season when you knew exactly why you got up in the morning—family, career, calling, hustle—and then loss hit and…
- The Unwine Club
Pour One Out: Why We Keep It Together
Friend… it’s time to unwine. You’ve been “the strong one” for so long that holding it together feels automatic—even when you are breaking inside. In this…
- The Unwine Club
With them, but losing you
Friend… it’s time to unwine. Sometimes you do have the partner, the posts, and the “love of your life”—and still feel lonely, unseen, or quietly disappearing…
- The Unwine Club
No Valentine, Still Worthy
Friend… it’s time to unwine. Valentine’s Day can feel like a spotlight on everything you don’t have—no partner, no flowers, no big romantic story to post—and…
- The Unwine Club
Divorce, Rebirth, and Dating Again
Friend… it’s time to unwine. Nobody hands you a guidebook for what happens after the papers are signed and you’re staring at your phone wondering who you are…
- The Unwine Club
Strong on paper, cracking inside
Before you can change anything, you have to be willing to tell the truth about how heavy your life has really become. This episode returns to the core theme of…
- The Unwine Club
You broke it. Now what happens?
There comes a point where keeping the unspoken rules—staying quiet, staying small, staying agreeable—costs more than it protects. This episode is for the…
- The Unwine Club
Old lessons. New kind of love.
Most of us were never directly taught how to do healthy relationships—we just absorbed whatever we saw growing up and carried it into adulthood, whether it…
- The Unwine Club
The rules you never agreed to.
Every system you’re part of—family, friendships, work, even your romantic relationship—runs on unspoken rules: the topics that are off-limits, the feelings…
- The Unwine Club
Different rooms. Fragmented versions of you.
You’ve learned how to shape‑shift—to be a slightly different version of yourself at work, at home, with friends, with family—sometimes so well that you’re not…
- The Unwine Club
"Selfish” or finally choosing you!
For most of your life, “being a good person” has meant putting yourself last—and the moment you start choosing differently, the word “selfish” shows up like a…
- The Unwine Club
You grew. They won’t update.
You’ve done the work—you’ve healed, grown, or simply changed—and yet some people still talk to you like you’re the old version of yourself. They relate to the…
- The Unwine Club
Inherited you vs. becoming you
From childhood, many of us are trained into an identity long before we ever get to ask, “Is this actually me?” You might have inherited the role of the strong…
- The Unwine Club
Tired of playing your part
You’ve become the person everyone expects you to be—the strong one, the reliable one, the overachiever, the peacemaker—and on the surface, it looks like you’re…
- The Unwine Club
Offstage you. The real you.
You’ve spent years being who you’re supposed to be—the dependable one, the high achiever, the strong friend, the steady partner—and somewhere along the way…
- The Unwine Club
Partners acting like your parents
Somewhere along the way, your relationship stopped feeling like two adults choosing each other and started feeling like a parent–child arrangement—one of you…
- The Unwine Club
The words stuck in you
There’s a conversation you’ve been avoiding—the one about how unhappy you really are, what you actually need, or what can’t keep going the way it’s been…
- The Unwine Club
Your love. Their limited capacity
You love them—but you feel like they just don’t get you, no matter how many ways you try to explain. This episode unpacks why feeling misunderstood in a…
- The Unwine Club
You’re speaking truth in code
You’ve been saying “I’m fine,” “It’s whatever,” and “I don’t care” for so long that people actually believe you—while inside, you feel unseen, unheard, and…
- The Unwine Club
Everyone’s weight. Your breaking point.
You’ve become the default crisis manager, emotional anchor, and fixer for everyone around you—and on the outside, it looks like you’re built for it. Inside…
- The Unwine Club
Daily Details That Destroy Relationships
It's not the big fights killing your relationship—it's how you say "good morning." Shocking new research reveals that daily micro-moments predict your future…
- The Unwine Club
Unwind Without Guilt: Redefining Self-Care
Feeling guilty about taking breaks? That mindset is keeping you burned out and blocking your breakthrough moments. It's time to reframe rest as a strategic…
- The Unwine Club
Boundary Setting: Protect Your Energy and Time
Boundaries aren't walls to keep people out—they're guidelines that teach others how to treat you with respect. Without clear boundaries, you become everyone's…
- The Unwine Club
Forgiveness Freedom: Release What's Holding You Back
Holding onto resentment is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die. Unforgiveness doesn't punish anyone except you, creating emotional…