Gritty, faith-filled, hilarious conversations for women rebuilding after divorce and other hard life transitions.
Author and host Jessica Kastner gets unapologetically real about the stuff we rarely admit, let alone say out loud. Covering everything from the impending doom of perimenopause, the thrills of coparenting, emotional healing after divorce, (anxiously attached but still sexy A+) and the fresh flaming hell that is online dating, Jess soaks up wisdom and advice from amazing female experts, who live to tell.
Are You Avoiding the One Thing That Could Actually Heal You? with Alicia Michelle
Feeling stuck? It might not be your situation—it might be what you’ve buried.
Jess sits down with neuro coach and Christian mindset expert Alicia Michelle to reveal how years of emotional suppression kept her stuck—and the turning point that changed everything.
Allicia unpacks how unhealed childhood wounds shape our thoughts, relationships, and faith—and why avoiding your emotions may be the very thing holding you back.
They dig into:
Why avoiding emotions keeps you stuck
How childhood wounds shape your thinking
A simple 3-step method to process what you feel
How to rebuild trust in God in the middle of healing
Alicia also shares her powerful ADD method—Acknowledge, Discern, Decide—giving you practical tools to move forward with clarity, emotional confidence, and deeper trust in God.
Because you can’t heal what you won’t feel.
#emotionalconfidence, #neuroscience, #Christianmindset, #healing, #corewounds, #divorce
Please like and subscribe if you're diggin' this podcast...it really helps! xo
Alicia Michelle is an ICF-certified Christian life coach and NeuroCoach, author of Emotional Confidence, popular conference speaker, and host of the multi award-winningThe Christian Mindset Coach Podcast. (https://vibrantchristianliving.com/podcast) Learn more at AliciaMichelle.com (http://aliciamichelle.com/)
Grab her book here! Emotional Confidence: 3 Simple Steps to Manage Emotions with Science and Scripture (https://amzn.to/40FS9h2)
Visit her on socials:
Facebook: @theAliciaMichelleCoach (https://www.facebook.com/theAliciaMichelleCoach)
IG: @AliciaMichelleCoach (https://www.instagram.com/aliciamichellecoach/)
YouTube: @AliciaMichelleCoach (https://www.youtube.com/@aliciamichellecoach)
Takeaways:
The importance of acknowledging and processing emotions
How childhood wounds shape adult thought patterns
The ADD method: Acknowledge, Discern, Decide
The role of scripture and neuroscience in healing
Practical steps for emotional healing and trust in God
From Suppression to Confidence: Alicia Michelle’s Journey
Healing Core Wounds with Science and Scripture
"Invite Jesus into your pain and disappointment"
"God uses our hard circumstances to grow us"
"God makes beauty from ashes, even in divorce"
11 Apr 2026
From Burnout to Body Wisdom: Regulating Your Nervous System After Divorce with Dr. Julie Merriman
What if your exhaustion isn’t just hormones… but a completely dysregulated nervous system?
Jess sits down with Dr. Julie Merriman—licensed counselor, trauma specialist, and host of Compassion Fatigue Cure—to unpack why so many high-achieving women hit a wall in midlife, especially after divorce.
Dr. Julie shares her own story of divorce, burnout and “crashing hard” in her 40s, and how that experience led her to help women break free from what she calls the “virtuous trap of self-sacrifice.” Together, they dive into the real reason you feel numb, disconnected, and constantly in survival mode—and why bubble baths and surface-level self-care just aren’t cutting it.
Let's explore:
What’s actually happening in your nervous system when you feel overwhelmed or shut down
The difference between burnout, “identity burnout,” and hormonal changes
Why resilience can become toxic—and how to recognize when it is
Simple, practical tools to regulate your nervous system (even in the middle of a panic spiral)
How to reconnect with your body and trust your intuition again—especially in dating and relationships
Why boundaries feel so hard to set (and how your body can help you set them naturally)
We’re not broken—we’re dysregulated. And your our already knows the way back.
#nervoussystem #burnoutrecovery #womenover40 #midlifetransition #boundaries #sexafter50 #divorcehealing #divorcedmomDr. Julie Merriman is an author, speaker, and licensed professional counselor with over 25 years of experience rescuing women from what she calls the "virtuous" trap of self-sacrifice. She’s a Ph.D. -certified Sex Counselor and Trauma Specialist and host of the Top 100 Motivational Podcast Compassion Fatigue Cure and the host of the Sexy After 50 podcast. Visit her at:Dr. Julie Merriman Wellness | Nervous System Regulation (https://www.juliemerrimanphd.com/)
Grab her book, "In Pursuit of Soul Joy" here! (https://www.amazon.com/Pursuit-Soul-Joy-Overcoming-Compassion/dp/B0DH3ZYVWJ/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1ROF5E74X7IGV&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.ri3VGP69P9BiXc7UFVOds_mkYwX1QwTrTsmclrovYt79_2SR-z9zcz6guXManWfgCYsjUFRJFdOYcNaudNqxlp89ZNjgrYichpYeX4mnaWX3XYYmrAHVpslShVDwkxibhab8kSBr-YdUbtqmiUqnS_Yy892LTig2Du8j0Qxx2wCx5QU6r8YwvxYQ7ZQPm87M.oi30zFRVLN5Ygrzi6o34QBxOzzBzXAFiBY4jgsSIyz0&dib_tag=se&keywords=julie+merriman&qid=1775936481&sprefix=julie+merriman%2Caps%2C250&sr=8-1)
Please like and subscribe if you're a regular listener...it really helps! xo
24 Mar 2026
Will We Ever Feel Ourselves Again, After Divorce?
Divorce isn’t just paperwork and custody schedules—it’s identity-shaking, gut-punching, “am I going to be okay?” energy.
Jess sits down with therapist, speaker, and Unhitched author Oona Metz, who’s spent 30+ years helping women survive (and rebuild after) divorce… because she’s lived it too.
As always, we talk about stuff people don’t say out loud—why divorce can feel so isolating, what women actually need in the middle of it, and how finding the right support can be the difference between spiraling and slowly coming back to life.
And of course, we get into the flavorful nuances of dating, after divorce.
If you’ve ever wondered “am I going to be okay?”—this one’s for you.
#divorcehealing #divorcedwomen #datingafterdivorce #selfdiscovery
Learn more about Oona:
Website: Oona Metz, LICSW, CGP | Empowering Women+ Through Divorce Support & Therapy (https://www.oonametz.com/)
IG:https://www.instagram.com/oonametz (https://www.instagram.com/oonametz)
Grab your copy of Unhitched!Unhitched: The Essential Divorce Guide for Women (https://www.oonametz.com/book-unhitched)
Please like and subscribe if you're a listening friend. It really helps! xo
Takeaways:
The five stages of divorce: heartbreak, roller coaster, mending, letting go, and new beginnings
The emotional challenges women face during divorce and healing
Practical tips for self-care, healing, and rebuilding a thriving life after divorce
Learning how to date well, after divorce
Inside a recent episode
How To Become Secure In Relationships After Divorce, With Jessica Baum
Published 14 Mar 2026 · Transcript excerpt
[…] And so we don't live in a world where, and I say I think it got changed like you can't go to the supermarket, but my original line was like you can't go down a target and pick up an anchor like we and a lot of people don't have this capacity and we grew up in homes where parents loved just so much but they didn't have the emotional capacity. So learning how to identify like what an anchor is to my nervous system, someone who can be that present with me is very scary for anyone who's never experienced that before and so the safety that comes from that also brings vulnerability. And so in neuroscience and this was a big message that I wanted to get out with safe because I've read every single self -help book under the sun if you could see my bookcase behind me, you can't heal these wounds, you can't heal attachment wounds without being in a healthy relationship. […]
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