What if sadness, anger, doubt, and anxiety weren’t problems to fix—but teachers inviting us into deeper truth?

In this honest and timely conversation, Pam Rader and Erin Payne explore why our culture’s obsession with “being happy” often disconnects us from our humanity—and how so-called undesirable emotions can actually become portals for healing, clarity, and personal power.

As the holidays approach—a time that can amplify grief, stress, and emotional complexity—this episode offers grounded wisdom, nervous-system-based insights, and practical tools for working with your emotions instead of against them.

In this episode, we explore:

• Why “positive vibes only” can create shame around normal human emotions

• How unprocessed emotions get stored in the nervous system

• The emotional arc: why feelings must be allowed to complete

• Sadness, anger, doubt, jealousy, and fear as messengers—not mistakes

• Anger as a protector and boundary-setter (when integrated consciously)

• How focus, posture, and self-talk shape our emotional state

  • When emotions are asking to be felt—and when they’ve become habits

  • Why holding space (for ourselves and others) is sacred work

  Pam also shares a powerful yogic story that reminds us: darkness has always had a place in wisdom traditions—and it has something to teach us.

  This episode is an invitation to slow down, get curious, and ask a different question:
  What is this emotion here to show me?

  ✨ If you’re navigating the holidays with mixed emotions—or simply want a more compassionate relationship with yourself—this conversation will meet you right where you are.

  🔗 Learn more about upcoming Grit & Grace retreats and offerings at pamrader.com