What does it really take to be present as a dad while juggling work, pressure, and your own mental health?

Kristian Leavell, a licensed clinical social worker, therapist, and dad, brings both clinical insight and lived experience to this honest conversation about the weight many fathers carry and how to navigate it with clarity and compassion.

Kristian shares how to:

• Be truthful about what you feel and what you need

• Understand the voice behind internal pressure and self doubt

• Redefine what it means to provide for your family

• Manage guilt around work, parenting, and expectations

• Let go of perfectionism and the anxiety under it

• Reset when you feel disconnected from yourself or your family

• Build routines that protect your mental health

• Model emotional honesty for your kids while keeping boundaries

• Build real community even when adult friendships feel difficult

• Cross the swamp of discomfort to become the parent you want to be

If you feel stretched thin, quietly anxious, or simply trying to show up better for yourself and your family, this episode offers grounded guidance and a way forward.

Dig Deeper

Kristian’s video about being a girl dad Instagram | TikTok

Don't Go Chasing Waterfalls by TLC

Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes

The Man Who Sold the World by Nirvana

Texas State

Follow Kristian

TherapyTokWithKris on TikTok

TherapyTalkWithKris on Instagram

DistinctApproachCounseling.com

Email Kris

Follow Gap to Gig

On Instagram: instagram.com/gaptogig

On TikTok: tiktok.com/@gaptogig

On X: x.com/gaptogig

On YouTube: youtube.com/@gaptogig-gtg

On your podcast player of choice: https://rss.com/podcasts/gaptogig/

Sign up for the Gap to Gig newsletter: gaptogig.com

Follow Michael

On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/themichaeljacobs/