I ended 2025 alone on the couch in tears.

After 2.5 years of building a life together in Shanghai, my partner had to return to Italy suddenly to care for his family. The details aren't mine to share — but what is mine to share is what happened to me.

In this episode I talk about what it actually looks like to navigate deep uncertainty without bypassing your grief. The nervous system piece nobody talks about. The slow rebuild. Flying to Italy three times in four months. Embroidery. Thrifting. And what I've learned about holding grief and joy — not in separate boxes, but at the same time, in the same body, on the same day.

I'm a licensed therapist. I teach resilience for a living. And I had to live every bit of this in real time.

This one's personal. I hope it gives you permission to be in the messy middle without having to fix it yet.

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What we cover:

• Why you can't make decisions until you feel what is
• What your nervous system actually needs when someone you love is suddenly gone
• The difference between a story your brain creates and reality
• Why distance clarifies character — not just love
• What Italian culture taught me about slowing down
• How to hold grief and beauty simultaneously — what I call Holding the Duality

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Resources mentioned:

• Free guide — Finally at Peace: https://janice-holland.kit.com/finally-at-peace
• Courageous Living Digital Studio: https://janiceholland.thrivecart.com/
• 60 Day Reset Experience: https://janiceholland.thrivecart.com/
• The Becoming Intensive: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1E
• Work with me 1:1: https://janiceholland.thrivecart.com/
• Not sure which is right for you? Take the quiz: https://form.typeform.com/to/YFxykSjU
• My Substack: https://substack.com/@thetraumateacher

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Connect: Instagram: @the.trauma.teacher YouTube: Janice Holland, MA, LPC

Janice Holland, LPC-S, is a Certified Trauma Model Therapist and founder of the Courageous Living Framework. She helps women break survival patterns, heal trauma, and rebuild lives rooted in truth, peace, and power.

Ready to go Deeper?
*Join the Courageous Living Digital Studio: https://janiceholland.thrivecart.com/the-courageous-living-no-bs-membership/
*Join the 60 Day Reset Experience: https://janiceholland.thrivecart.com/cl-group-transformation/
*Apply for The Becoming Intensive: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1EUa69NL3f4jodIg6J_javkNdW9qEYoRl/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=100729952587821838385&rtpof=true&sd=true
*Work with me 1:1: https://janiceholland.thrivecart.com/thecourageouslivingjourney/

Not sure which one to pick?
Take the quiz: https://form.typeform.com/to/YFxykSjU
Connect with me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the.trauma.teacher

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Janice Holland, LPC-S, Certified Trauma Model Therapist, and founder of The Courageous Living Framework, teaches women and healers worldwide how to break survival patterns, heal trauma, and rebuild lives rooted in truth, peace, and power. Known online as The Trauma Teacher, Janice helps women stop people-pleasing, heal the patterns that kept them small, and build unshakable confidence after trauma. It’s time to live a life that finally feels like yours.