You smiled through it. Nobody knew how bad it really was.
Real Human Moments is where people finally say the quiet part out loud.
Stories of loss, diagnosis, breakups, job loss, and decisions still being carried. Sometimes support was there, and it wasn't the right kind. Sometimes only a couple of people ever knew the real story.
Hosted by Ilona Poka, mental health educator, this is a space for the moments nobody prepared you for.
If this sounds familiar, you're not alone.
#RealHumanMoments #YouAreNotAlone
I Watched the Funeral from My Car with Alyssa Cline Spencer
Where does your grief go when the world says you weren't family?
Alyssa Cline Spencer was a young foster care caseworker, still in grad school, when an 11-year-old boy with terminal brain cancer landed on her caseload. For three years she held his hand through MRIs, ER runs, and every hard conversation, until he started calling her mom. When he died, a pandemic and a system left her standing outside a loss that was hers too, and the grief that followed took her somewhere she never expected to go.
If you have ever loved someone in a role that came with paperwork, boundaries, and a title that said you didn't belong in the room, this conversation will feel like someone finallysaying it out loud. Your grief counts.
Today Alyssa is a licensed clinical social worker and clinical supervisor at a behavioral health agency.
She runs ACS Therapy Space, a part-time private practice offering therapy and licensure supervision, and she fosters and volunteers with Speak Rescue and Sanctuary, often with her own deaf dogs by her side.
If you felt seen here, follow the show so the next story finds you too.
New episodes drop daily through launch week, then settle into a regular Tuesday and Friday rhythm.
If you're struggling right now, please reach out to someone you trust, or call or text 988 for free, confidential support any time. If this makes you think of someone, send it to them.
TruthBeTold.World
Hello@TruthBeTold.World
#RealHumanMomentsJourney#FirstAidForRealHumanMoments #YouAreNotAlone
13 Oct 2026
This Is My Life Not Yours | Ashley Griffin
What if being called “so strong” is why you never got to fall apart?
Ashley Griffin lost Dallas, her 17-year-old dog, and three months later lost everything she owned in an apartment fire. She kept going, kept working four jobs, and kept smiling foreveryone who told her how brave she was, without ever stopping long enough to grieve. In this conversation, she shares the moment she knew something had to change, and why she stopped explaining her choices to anyone else.
If this story feels familiar, follow the Real Human Moments Project so the next one finds you too.
New episodes drop daily through launch week, then settle into a regular Tuesday and Friday rhythm.
If you're struggling right now, please reach out to someone you trust, or call or text 988 for free, confidential support any time. If this makes you think of someone, send it to them.
TruthBeTold.World
Hello@TruthBeTold.World
#RealHumanMomentsJourney#FirstAidForRealHumanMoments #YouAreNotAlone
9 Oct 2026
Cutting Wasn't About Dying with Janet Coburn
Have you ever been in so much pain that you felt nothing atall?
For years, Janet Coburn did. She hid little white scars under a wristband, kept her feelings from the people closest to her, and was sure it could not be her brain because her brain worked great. In this honest conversation with Ilona Poka, Janet talks about the numbness behind self-harm, the shame she carried long after she stopped, and what her family said when she told them she was going to therapy. Then she shares the moment something finally felt different.
If you have ever hidden your pain, or loved someone whodid, press play, and follow the Real Human Moments Project for more conversations like this one.
Content note: this episode includes open conversation aboutself-harm and suicide. If you or someone you love needs support, call or text 988 any time.
New episodes drop daily through launch week, then settleinto a regular Tuesday and Friday rhythm.
If you're struggling right now, please reach out to someoneyou trust, or call or text 988 for free, confidential support any time. If this makes you think of someone, send it to them.
TruthBeTold.World
Hello@TruthBeTold.World
#RealHumanMomentsJourney #FirstAidForRealHumanMoments#YouAreNotAlone
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