What does it look like to show up well for those walking through grief? When someone we know is walking through grief, we want to help by knowing what to say to ease their pain.

And yet, many of us feel awkward around grief and loss. We worry that we’ll make things worse by saying the wrong thing. Often we don’t know how to emotionally support others without trying to fix the situation or offer what can feel like empty platitudes.

Today I’ve invited my friend and fellow podcaster Sherrie Pilkington to share her grief journey after the sudden loss of her husband several years ago. As an advocate for those walking through grief, Sherrie offers practical, much-needed suggestions to best care for a loved one on a grief journey in order to show Christian compassion during this challenging time.

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN:

[00:00] Why Grief Feels Confusing and Uncomfortable for Everyone

[09:00] “Grief Doesn’t Need Answers. It Needs..”

[12:00] Why Sitting With Someone’s Grief Is Often More Healing Than Trying to Fix It

[14:00] How Consistent, Thoughtful Support Helps Restore Connection To the Grieving

[16:00] Why Does Being Remembered After the Initial Loss Matter So Deeply?

[18:00] What Does Grief Support Look Like When Words Fall Short?

[23:00] How Simple, Tangible Gifts Can Help Those Grieving Feel Seen

[25:00] Which Phrases Unintentionally Increase Pain for those in Grief?

[29:00] Monthly Grief Boxes: How to Offer Realistic, Specific Help Without Overwhelming the Grieving

Connect with Sherrie Pilkington via her podcast Finding God in Our Pain, on Instagram (@livelovedthrive), or check out her Sealed With a Hug Grief Boxes (for those wanting to support others walking through grief).

Get the FREE 7-Day Course: Notice + Name Your Feelings

Learn the simple mindset tool that helps you understand what you’re really feeling, so you can stop spiraling and experience more peace!

Start the free course here: AliciaMichelle.com/feelings

RELATED EPISODES:

Ep 119 — Find Healing Through Grief by Serving Others with Ashley from Bridget’s Cradle

Ep 177 — Coping with Grief and Shattering Loss When Tragedy Strikes (with Lisa Appelo)

Ep 297: Believing in God’s Love Again After You’ve Been Hurt with Rachael Adams

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Do you long for deep rest but feel like getting away just isn’t realistic in this season? In this episode, let’s talk about how to create your own version of a rest retreat—right where you are!

We’ll explore how to design intentional rhythms of rest that meet your physical, emotional, spiritual, and creative needs. I believe we can all find practical ways to build small, sustainable rest into life and experience real replenishment even when extended time away feels impossible!

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN:

[00:00] Why Neglecting Rest Eventually Affects Your Body, Emotions, and Relationships

[03:00] Why Forced Rest Is Not the Same as Chosen, Intentional Restoration

[07:00] What Is a “DIY Rest Retreat” and Why Does It Matter?

[08:00] What Does True Rest Look Like for You in This Season?

[10:00] The Different Types of Rest: Physical, Mental, Emotional, Spiritual, Creative, Social, and Sensory

[14:00] How Do You Discern Which Kind of Rest You Need Most Right Now?

[16:00] Why Superficial Dopamine Hits Don’t Replenish the Soul

[18:00] How Can You Design Rest That Leaves You Truly Filled Instead of Drained?

[19:00] Why Starting Small Creates Sustainable Rhythms of Restoration

[24:00] How Creativity, Solitude, and Time with God Deepen Soul Renewal

[26:00] Why Understanding Your “Why” Makes Rest a Spiritual Priority

[28:00] How Do You Begin Designing Your Own Personal Rest Retreat?

Get the FREE 7-Day Course: Notice + Name Your Feelings

Learn the simple mindset tool that helps you understand what you’re really feeling, so you can stop spiraling and experience more peace!

Start the free course here: AliciaMichelle.com/feelings

RELATED EPISODES:

Ep 335 — Need Deep Soul Rest? Join Me in 2026/2027 for Women’s Retreats That Restore Your Spirit

Ep 336 — Stories from the Italy Retreat: Blessings and Surprises from Our Time in Tuscany

Ep 330 — How to Manage Big Out-of-Control Emotions

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Are you stepping into a new year with goals, plans, and intentions but still feeling stuck, overwhelmed, or reactive? In this episode, explore how unaddressed emotional patterns can quietly block progress, clarity, and peace, even when motivation is high.

Learn 10 practical signs your emotional health may need attention, why willpower alone isn’t enough for lasting change, and how noticing and naming emotions can help you move forward with greater calm, confidence, and alignment in the year ahead.

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN:

[00:00] Why New Year Motivation Often Fades Without Emotional Awareness

[03:00] Why Does Focusing Only on Actions and Results Keep Us Stuck?

[05:00] How Emotional Patterns Influence Goals Around Health, Relationships, and Faith

[12:00] Why Unexplained Tears or Emotional Shutdown Deserve Attention, Not Shame

[18:00] What Can Physical + Relationship Symptoms Reveal About Emotional + Spiritual Health?

[24:00] Why Saying “I Don’t Have Time to Deal With This” Often Backfires

[26:00] How Learning to Notice and Name Emotions Supports Long-Term Growth and Breakthrough

Get the FREE 7-Day Course: Notice + Name Your Feelings

Learn the simple mindset tool that helps you understand what you’re really feeling, so you can stop spiraling and experience more peace!

Start the free course here: AliciaMichelle.com/feelings

RELATED EPISODES:

Ep 333 — Tired of Going from One Crisis to Another? How to Stop Reacting and Start Responding

Ep 341 — Step #1 to Calming Emotional Spirals: Notice + Name Your Feelings

Ep 342 — Help for Emotional Overreaction in Relationships

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Do you ever find yourself reacting strongly in relationships and wondering, Why did I respond like that?

In this episode, explore why emotional overreactions often make sense beneath the surface, how unrecognized fears and triggers fuel intense responses, and why this isn’t a character flaw but a skill gap that can be learned and healed. Discover how noticing and naming emotions creates clarity, compassion, and healthier responses in your relationships.

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN:

[00:00] Emotional overreactions feel illogical, but often make sense beneath the surface

[01:30] Understanding the “why” behind the reaction helps us break the embarrassment and guilt behind the cycle

[03:00] How hidden fears and “what if” thinking fuel emotional reactions

[05:00] What if emotional reactivity is not a character flaw but a skill issue?

[06:30] What role does fight or flight play in emotional overreaction?

[8:00] Emotional reactions are signals, not verdicts

[10:00] How learning to notice and name emotions prevents sideways emotional leakage

[12:00] What role do physical, hormonal or emotional factors play in reactivity?

[15:00] How noticing and naming emotions slows the nervous system and increases clarity

[18:00] How emotional awareness improves communication and trust in relationships

[21:00] How the Free Notice + Name Your Feelings Course Helps with Emotional Overreaction in Relationships

Get the FREE 7-Day Course: Notice + Name Your Feelings

Learn the simple mindset tool that helps you understand what you’re really feeling, so you can stop spiraling and experience more peace!

Start the free course here: AliciaMichelle.com/feelings

RELATED EPISODES:

Ep 330 — How to Manage Big Out-of-Control Emotions

Ep 333 — Tired of Going from One Crisis to Another? How to Stop Reacting and Start Responding

Ep 341 — Step #1 to Calming Emotional Spirals: Notice + Name Your Feelings

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There’s nothing worse than being stuck in an emotional spiral—feeling like your thoughts are a swirling vortex of noise and chaos that feels overwhelming and illogical. Today, let’s talk about the first and most important step to calming emotional spirals: noticing and naming what you’re actually feeling.

Learn how naming emotions brings clarity, reduces reactivity, and opens the door to healthier, Spirit-led responses.

PS I’d love to teach you more about this key emotional management tool in my free 7-day course “Notice + Name Your Feelings”! Get the free course here.

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN:

[00:00] Why emotional reactions often feel confusing or overwhelming

[03:00] How unrecognized emotions lead to reactivity, shutdown, or numbness

[04:00] Is emotional overwhelm a sign of spiritual immaturity?

[06:00] Why noticing and naming emotions is the first essential skill

[10:00] How noticing and naming changes communication and relationships

[12:00] Emotions are “alarm signals,” not failures

[13:00] What the free Notice + Name Your Feelings 7-day course includes

[15:00] How this skill fits into long-term emotional and spiritual growth

Get the FREE 7-Day Course: Notice + Name Your Feelings

Learn the simple mindset tool that helps you understand what you’re really feeling, so you can stop spiraling and experience more peace!

Start the free course here: AliciaMichelle.com/feelings

RELATED EPISODES:

Ep 312: What to Do When You Can’t Stop Crying, Snapping, or Shutting Down

Ep 330 — How to Manage Big Out-of-Control Emotions

Ep 333 — Tired of Going from One Crisis to Another? How to Stop Reacting and Start Responding

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Have you gotten so good at “managing” life that you’ve forgotten how to enjoy it?

In this episode, we talk about why joy fades when life becomes task-driven, how emotional numbness sneaks in, and what it looks like to reconnect with delight, presence and the simple pleasures God designed us to savor.

Let’s discover how to begin enjoying life again, with God leading the way.

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN:

[00:00] Why high-functioning, over-responsible seasons drain joy

[03:00] What role do hidden expectations play in suffocating joy?

[05:00] The difference between managing life and actually living it

[11:00] How to rediscover what genuinely brings you delight

[17:00] How delight strengthens your ability to love others well

[19:00] What to expect in the Emotional Confidence Club’s Jan/Feb Joy study

Go here to read the article Alicia mentions on the signs of depression.

JOIN ME IN JAN/FEB FOR A 6-WEEK STUDY ON JOY: If life feels flat or joy has gone missing, join us for our next 6-week journey inside the Emotional Confidence Club: “Rediscovering Joy + Finding True Happiness.” Let’s rediscover God’s design for lasting joy! Go to AliciaMichelle.com/club to join the Jan/Feb joy study.

RELATED EPISODES:

Ep 330 — How to Manage Big Out-of-Control Emotions

Ep 333 — Tired of Going from One Crisis to Another? How to Stop Reacting and Start Responding

Ep 339: Rediscovering Joy (When You’re Unsatisfied + Restless)

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What do you do when life looks “fine on the outside,” yet something still feels off? When you feel flat, restless or like you’re quietly aching for more? In this episode, uncover what Scripture says about joy, why so many women feel unsatisfied even when life appears good, and how to return to a steady, soul-anchoring joy in Christ instead of chasing temporary emotional highs.

Learn the signs that you might be pursuing happiness instead of cultivating joy, how expectations distort contentment, and the biblical foundation for experiencing joy as a fruit of the Spirit.

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN:

[00:00] Why joy can feel dim or distant even when life looks “good”

[01:30] What does Psalm 51:12 show us about losing the joy of salvation?

[03:00] How do hidden expectations quietly sabotage our joy?

[05:00] The difference between chasing emotional highs and cultivating Christ-centered joy

[08:00] Why joy anchors the soul rather than acting as a mood

[14:00] What is “destination sickness,” and why does it leave us restless?

[19:00] Why achievements and accomplishments can’t create lasting joy

[23:00] How to re-anchor your joy with Scripture, reflection, and spiritual truth

6-WEEK STUDY ON JOY: If life feels flat or joy has gone missing, come be part of our next 6-week journey inside the Emotional Confidence Club: “Rediscovering Joy + Finding True Happiness.” Let’s rediscover God’s design for lasting joy! Go to AliciaMichelle.com/club to join us.

RELATED EPISODES:

Ep 330 — How to Manage Big Out-of-Control Emotions

Ep 333 — Tired of Going from One Crisis to Another? How to Stop Reacting and Start Responding

Ep 337 — Holiday Emotional Challenges: 3 Ways to Prepare Yourself for Tricky Situations + Difficult People

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Do you ever feel pressured to “pick a side,” react instantly or otherwise “join the outrage” in today’s intense culture?

In this episode, discover practical, faith-based tools for managing emotional reactivity so you can represent Jesus with peace, clarity, and discernment. Learn how Daniel and Jesus modeled emotional stability, why outrage sabotages our witness and how to regulate your nervous system before responding.

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN:

[00:00] Why is outrage rising in today’s culture?

[03:00] How pressure to take sides affects Christians

[06:00] The line we should take a stand on as believers

[09:00] What Daniel teaches about calm conviction under pressure

[12:00] How Jesus modeled emotional regulation and healthy boundaries

[15:00] Four reasons outrage damages our witness and spiritual health

[19:00] How emotional regulation tools help us respond instead of react

[24:00] How to set boundaries with media, comments, and unhealthy conflict

[29:00] A practical invitation to grow emotional stability with Jesus

2026 SAN DIEGO BEACH RETREAT: Join Alicia in Feb 2026 in San Diego for this all-inclusive, 5-day experience for Christian women seeking deep soul rest at the beach (virtual options available).

RELATED EPISODES:

Ep 326: A People Pleaser’s Guide to Setting Boundaries (When You’re Afraid to Offend Others)

Ep 327: Is It Time to Set a Boundary? My Favorite Tool to Express Boundaries in a Loving Way

Ep 282: Emotional Responsibility: How to Stop Owning Other's Feelings + Take Charge of Your Own

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