The Divorced Woman's Guide Podcast

Since my mom passed away, I have had a couple of really rocky months emotionally. I really needed to take some time away and focus on myself, my kids, and my father, who is adjusting to life by himself for the first time in 54 years. I realized that my mom feels like she is still with me.

For those of you who lost parents, relatives, and friends you've been so close to, have you felt their presence or perhaps seen signs that remind you of that person's love and inspiration?

Join this powerful conversation on the Divorced Woman's Guide show ▶️

How Spirit Supports Us During Grief.

✔️ We call them our protectors, spirit guides, or guardian angels — we believe that the souls of our loved ones who've passed on are still here to watch and help us.

✔️ Grief and belief. I believe that my mom is supporting me, supporting my children, supporting my dad, and from a place where she gets to do that in a way that serves us better.

✔️ When losing serves a purpose. Whether death or divorce, the experience of having somebody leave your life will make sense as you move forward. Those experiences, whether sad or happy, make you a stronger person.

✔️ I invite you to think outside the box and ask who else is supporting you spiritually? You have the opportunity to connect to that higher power. I encourage you to engage with them and articulate your desires, wishes, and dreams.

✔️Awareness is so incredibly important as you navigate wherever you are on your path. Life is happening for you and not to you. Sometimes our lessons are learned in ways that we don't like or ways that we wish would happen differently. Know that a higher power is guiding you, supporting you, and has your back.

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Connect with Wendy Sterling:

Website: https://wendysterling.net/

Instagram: @divorcerehabwithwendy

Twitter: @thedivorcerehab

Facebook: @wendytsterling

Need an opportunity to share your pain points and receive judgment-free support? Want to create a vision of a future after your divorce? Click here to schedule your Free Divorce Recovery Call: https://calendly.com/wendysterling/support-call-with-wendy?month=2021-07

One question remains unanswered for many women post-divorce: What makes you happy? Failing to find the answer and knowing what feeds the soul is essential to healing, transformation and building a purposeful life. Certified Coach, Mentor, Mastermind Facilitator and NLP Practitioner Diane Forster shares that women can be selfish in a good way. To love oneself unconditionally is to be your life.

Watch ▶️ Intentional Living The 'I HAVE TODAY' Way

with Diane Forster.

Key points covered in this episode:

✔️For Diane Forster, her calling was so big that she had no way to go but follow it. She turned her life's pain into her greater purpose. An award-winning inventor, best selling author, TEDx speaker, TV host, podcaster, and mentor — Diane lives to tell the tale that achieving life's ultimate plan is by first seeing your worth, loving yourself unconditionally, and having the strength to change.

✔️ "I Have Today" started as a poem two years after Diane's lowest point in life that became a movement. She teaches a three-step process: LOVE IT, THANK IT and BRING IT. It means love your life, no matter what has ever happened to you. Be thankful even for the pain as it teaches you strength, gives you clarity and instructs you wisdom. Learn from it, but don't hold on to it. Release and understand that it has served its purpose. Being grateful, the highest emotional vibration, allows you to bring abundance into your life.

✔️Living intentionally means that you do not leave your life up to the outside circumstances, events or people. It means that you are the one in control of your life. You get to decide how you want to live and how you want to feel in every moment, every situation.

✔️ Be a magnet to so much love in your life when you fall in love with yourself. A relationship ending can be a gift for you to discover who you are and what you're worth. Healing and transformation start from seeing one's worth first because the love you seek comes from within, not outside you. Find the confidence to speak from your heart and get clear on what makes you happy, and you will live your truth.

✔️Asking yourself the right questions. Discover enough of the things that are true for you to help you build your way into the future you desire and deserve. Every moment will allow you to make choices that serve you and the world.

Diane Forster is an Award-Winning Inventor, 2X Best Selling Author, TEDx Speaker, TV Host, Podcaster, Intentional Living Expert and Re-Invention Specialist. She works with clients privately and helps you clear away mindset blocks and limiting beliefs that can block you from reaching your full potential in business, life, and relationships.

She is a Certified Coach, Mentor, Mastermind Facilitator and NLP Practitioner, Certified Practitioner in Human Interaction Technology. She is the international best selling author of "I HAVE TODAY: Find Your Passion, Purpose and Smile...Finally!" and "A BETTER TODAY."

Her LIVE TV Show along her Podcast, "I HAVE TODAY with Diane Forster" and all her other products/programs help people live enriched, empowered, inspiring lives through their transitions, to reinvent themselves.

Diane has been featured on ABC, NBC, CBS, QVC, The LIST, 2nd Act TV, The Chicago Tribune, San Diego Voyager, Business News Daily and many other TV, Radio and Podcast shows. Diane is a regular guest and co-host on "The Edge'' Radio Show on KHTS Radio in Los Angeles. She has written articles for Inventor's Digest Magazine and writes an inspiring weekly blog. Diane is a mother of twins and lives in San Diego. Her mission is to see that 1 BILLION people who don't know their self-worth discover their true divinity, power, and purpose.

Diane's Free Gift for Listeners:

Launch and STAR in Your Own TV Show Masterclass

https://www.dianewebinar.com/optin16111733186451648050654331

Website: www.dianeforster.com

Email: [email protected]

Facebook and Instagram & TikTok: @DianeForsterOfficial

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Connect with Wendy Sterling:

Website: https://wendysterling.net/

Instagram: @divorcerehabwithwendy

Twitter: @thedivorcerehab

Facebook: @wendytsterling

Need an opportunity to share your pain points and receive judgment-free support? Want to create a vision of a future after your divorce? Click here to schedule your Free Divorce Recovery Call: https://calendly.com/wendysterling/support-call-with-wendy?month=2021-07

Fear and intuition are often confused.

And it has to do with the fact that they are both felt in the gut.

Unfortunately, going through a divorce means you've been out of touch with your gut for so long that you forget what it actually feels like.

What happens is we get so preoccupied with our thoughts, making it difficult to understand what our gut is trying to tell us.

So I'd like to teach you different ways to distinguish your gut feelings based on intuition and fear.

Tune in to this episode on The Difference Between Fear and Intuition.

Key points covered in this episode:

✔️Fear vs intuition. Intuition is an odd, illogical hit that comes to you after the fact. Fear kicks in your anxiety. Your intuition is far more reliable than your fear. Train it. Listen to it. Know when it comes.

✔️Check your self-trust. Our self-trust gets worn down over time by our parents, teachers, and our ex-partners. So when you can't trust your inner self, you're disconnected from your intuition.

✔️Sit with your feelings. Get curious about it. Give your feelings a voice. Look at it dead in the eye so you can really hear what it's telling you.

✔️Your intuition is a powerful tool. Fear is saying "no" in your head. Intuition is saying "yes" in your body. The more you practice it, the more you lean into your self-trust; the more you'll learn to step back and become self-aware when something feels off.

✔️Feelings are data; don't ignore them! They are your friends – even the uncomfortable ones! Trusting them allows you to access a wealth of information to help you in your journey to healing.

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Connect with Wendy Sterling:

Website: https://wendysterling.net/

Instagram: @divorcerehabwithwendy

Twitter: @thedivorcerehab

Facebook: @wendytsterling

Need an opportunity to share your pain points and receive judgment-free support? Want to create a vision of a future after your divorce? Click here to schedule your Free Divorce Recovery Call: https://calendly.com/wendysterling/support-call-with-wendy?month=2021-07

Her mission is to make research-based hands-on information accessible to everyone, regardless of what stage in the relationship they're on.

Most couples would think communication is the #1 reason why relationships fail.

But Abby Medcalf thinks it goes deeper than that.

Tune in to this episode on The Reason Relationships Fail with Abby Medcalf

Key points covered in this episode:

✔️Competition is the root issue. Couples work best when they're on the same team. However, when they're constantly keeping score, that's where the connection takes a dive.

✔️Acknowledge the simple things. How do we pay more attention to our partner's good deeds? Sense neutral actions as positive ones. They may start your car for you or make coffee. Make sure you acknowledge them every day in your head.

✔️Connect to correct. There's nothing wrong with correcting our loved ones. But doing it from a place of "I'm right, and you're wrong" is unfair. Make sure both sides are in a good headspace to receive information.

✔️Respected boundaries start with yourself. It's not your partner's job to enforce them. Take full responsibility for what you truly want and be clear with them. Remember, they're not mind readers!

✔️Happy long-term couples have positive illusions about their partners. Remember when you first got married? The time it drove you crazy when you discovered their quirks and habits? Constantly remind yourself how lucky you are to have someone so unique, interesting, and loving — just for you!

✔️It's better to be effective than to be correct. Does it frustrate you when your partner just doesn't do the dishes? Or when they do, they still miss a spot or two? For your own mental peace, choose the smartest solution, not the one that feeds your ego. Pick your battles wisely.

Abby Medcalf is a Relationship Maven, psychologist, author, podcast host, and TEDX speaker who has helped thousands of people think differently so they can create connection, ease, and joy in their relationships (especially the one with yourself)!

With her unique background in both business and counseling, she brings a fresh, effective perspective to life's struggles using humor and her direct, no-nonsense style.

With over 30 years of experience, Abby is a recognized authority and sought-after speaker at organizations such as Google, Apple, AT&T, Kaiser, PG&E, American Airlines, and Chevron.

She's been a featured expert on CBS and ABC News and has been a contributor to the New York Times, Huff Post, Women's Health, and Bustle.

She's the author of the #1 Amazon best-selling book, "Be Happily Married, Even if Your Partner Won't Do a Thing," and the host of the top-rated "Relationships Made Easy" Podcast now in over 150 countries.

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Connect with Wendy Sterling:

Website: https://wendysterling.net/

Instagram: @divorcerehabwithwendy

Twitter: @thedivorcerehab

Facebook: @wendytsterling

Need an opportunity to share your pain points and receive judgment-free support? Want to create a vision of a future after your divorce? Click here to schedule your Free Divorce Recovery Call: https://calendly.com/wendysterling/support-call-with-wendy?month=2021-07

It wasn't until my divorce that I allowed myself to feel the spirituality that was in me.

How did it surface? On the night I found out about my husband's affair, something punched my gut – telling me, "Wake up, Wendy!"

And that's how I knew that I had it in me the whole time – the awareness, the instinctual voice, and the more I acknowledged it, the stronger it became.

It isn't as simple as a snap of a finger. But rather a whole process that took a lot of learning and self-reflection.

Tune in to this episode on How I Grew Spiritually After Divorce.

Key points covered in this episode:

✔️Learn more to connect. Even with my Jewish roots, I sought spirituality from different places. Surrounding yourself with a community with faith in a higher power helps you keep in touch with your spiritual side.

✔️Identify your North Star. How? Recognize your values and how you can implement them as you move into your new life.

✔️Practice forgiveness. It doesn't mean forgetting and condoning. It's accepting what happened and letting it go to allow yourself to see the light, so you can bring back joy and love into your life again.

✔️Throw a divorce party. Spiritual healing doesn't happen overnight. Sometimes, you need unique methods to help you move forward. It can be an event to mark your bright future of endless possibilities!

✔️Destroy the dress. It symbolized closure and releasing that old identity and married life I had. Doing a ritual like this that you can actually see can be enough for us to process our feelings.

✔️Spirituality doesn't look the same for everyone. Whether it's a retreat, a burning of your ex-spouse's gifts, or singing – the end goal is to release all the pent-up negative energy and manifest what we desire to create in this new life.

What's your way of practicing spirituality in your healing process?

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Connect with Wendy Sterling:

Website: https://wendysterling.net/

Instagram: @divorcerehabwithwendy

Twitter: @thedivorcerehab

Facebook: @wendytsterling

Need an opportunity to share your pain points and receive judgment-free support? Want to create a vision of a future after your divorce? Click here to schedule your Free Divorce Recovery Call: https://calendly.com/wendysterling/support-call-with-wendy?month=2021-07

Divorce sucks no matter how you cut it.

But there's a light at the end of the tunnel.

Take it from best friends Jessica Klingbaum and T.H. Irwin.

Marrying and getting divorced around the same time, they supported each other through the process and vowed to help other women going through the same journey.

Tune in to this episode on The EXexperts: How To Deal with Divorce as a Woman with Jessica & T.H.

Key points covered in this episode:

✔️Don't buy into social media. Pretty vacation snaps and huge smiles online can be a mask. T.H. Irwin shares that her "Facebook facade" was there to hide the crumbling state of her then-marriage.

✔️Foster a peaceful atmosphere. The impact of divorce on children all depends on how you respond to the situation. Kick the victim mentality and the pity parties. Carry yourself with grace and self-control.

✔️Kids can sense everything. They are receptive to our body language, our energies, and even the divorce. If you're about to have an emotional outburst or engage in an intense conversation with your ex, make sure your kids aren't around.

✔️Different divorces have a common thread. What ties them all is fear. We're afraid of the unknown, of the future that lies after the separation. But no matter what, continue to empower yourself. You can still be a beacon of self-respect and integrity.

✔️Be resilient. You can control your own destiny. Will you continue to beat yourself up for what happened? Or will you push forward stronger and better than ever? You decide.

✔️Never sacrifice anything to save the relationship. You can't fix people.

But you can definitely decide what you're going to do next after knowing them more. Stop sacrificing your non-negotiables and counting on potential. Say no to half measures.

Jessica Klingbaum and T.H. Irwin are two best friends who got divorced at the same time. Although they had completely different experiences, they were lucky enough to have each other through it all. Rising from the lack of resources, support, and information during their separate journeys, along with the desire to help others maneuver through the process, they created The exExperts online community, and ultimately, they are your reality check. They are an honest, encouraging, and positive space for everybody at any stage of divorce. While there isn't a "right way" to divorce, the exExperts can help you find your way.

T.H. Irwin is a mom of three, happily divorced, and living her best life at 50. She has a special "girl gang," a wonderful family, and an amazing boyfriend. She surrounds herself with people who encourage, productively challenge, support, love unconditionally, and teach her something new.

Jessica Klingbaum is a recovering Emmy-nominated TV producer, always moving faster than the speed of light, and always with a smile on her face. She's pushing 50, raising two teenagers, and fully embracing her happily divorced status.

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Connect with Wendy Sterling:

Website: https://wendysterling.net/

Instagram: @divorcerehabwithwendy

Twitter: @thedivorcerehab

Facebook: @wendytsterling

Need an opportunity to share your pain points and receive judgment-free support? Want to create a vision of a future after your divorce? Click here to schedule your Free Divorce Recovery Call: https://calendly.com/wendysterling/support-call-with-wendy?month=2021-07

Contrary to popular belief, divorce doesn't necessarily have a negative impact on our lives.

I teach my clients to understand how stepping out of a relationship that no longer serves us helps us regain control of what we truly want.

I'm here to share with you four positive effects of divorce that I've experienced that I'm sure you will too.

Tune in to this episode on How Divorce Helps Spark Self Discovery and Growth Among Women.

Key points covered in this episode:

✔️ You'll become more self-aware. During my marriage, my world revolved around my ex-husband and my kids. I've never even thought about my desires – but now, it has never been clearer. I'm starting to learn what makes me happy, my needs, and what I wanted to create.

✔️ You'll regain your confidence and power. Rebuilding your relationship with yourself and choosing to start a new chapter takes so much courage. Trust the process. Be excited about the thought that one day, you'll get to see your true strength.

✔️ You'll get to spend time how you want to. My weekends are freer than ever. I've gotten more breaks than I could imagine. I never had to coordinate with others when making plans. I sacrificed so much of it to my ex-spouse. And I won't make the same mistake again.

✔️ You'll have a stronger relationship with your kids. Take your mind off of yourself and bring all those energies to your little ones. Connect and have one-on-one time with them. Nothing is stopping you now.

_______________________________________

Connect with Wendy Sterling:

Website: https://wendysterling.net/

Instagram: @divorcerehabwithwendy

Twitter: @thedivorcerehab

Facebook: @wendytsterling

Need an opportunity to share your pain points and receive judgment-free support? Want to create a vision of a future after your divorce? Click here to schedule your Free Divorce Recovery Call: https://calendly.com/wendysterling/support-call-with-wendy?month=2021-07

Genuine girl power enthusiast, speaker, and author Michelle Dempsey knows how difficult divorce is for mothers with young kids.

Her struggle in finding resources motivated her to write and launch a podcast, aiming to guide other women in defeating the challenges of divorce and moving forward into becoming their best selves.

What's her main piece of advice? Seek support, and focus on yourself.

Tune in to this episode on Moms Moving On: Conquering Divorce and Conflicted Coparenting with Michelle Dempsey.

Key points covered in this episode:

✔️Keep your ego in check. You may not have full control over other people's opinions. But you have the power over your response. Michelle Dempsey touches on women's paralyzing worry over their ex-spouses, badmouthing them to their children.

✔️ Co-parenting expert Bill Eddy says, "One reasonable parent is enough for the kids to be okay, even in unreasonable situations." Cut out all the fighting and talking badly about your ex, then your kids would come out more resilient than ever.

✔️Everybody's journey post-divorce looks different. And that's okay. Don't rush the process. Hastily securing your financials, parenting plan, or even living conditions can have long-term consequences. You want to be set up for success after this life-changing experience.

✔️The person who should change after marriage is you. No, it isn't your fault, nor did you do anything wrong. But because you have to pick yourself up and learn how to co-parent with someone you once loved.

✔️Personal validation is your responsibility. You're in this situation to be a parent, not as a former lover. If you've been so used to receiving approval from this person, it's time to set boundaries.

✔️Take it slow in finding a healthy relationship post-divorce. It can be exhausting for the children to be introduced to someone new every two weeks. Enjoy your singlehood as you search for the right person that brings comfort and safety into your home and your heart.

Michelle Dempsey is a writer, mom, coach, Certified Divorce Specialist, speaker, and genuine girl power enthusiast. She fully believes in the power of having someone by your side to help you through the uncomfortable process of divorce as a way to empower and educate, making clients stronger. Her work has been featured in publications including Forbes, Scary Mommy, Parents, Daily Business Review, HuffPost, Elite Daily, and more. She works with women at all stages of divorce; from just deciding to end their marriage to looking for their stride in co-parenting and everything in between.

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Connect with Wendy Sterling:

Website: https://wendysterling.net/

Instagram: @divorcerehabwithwendy

Twitter: @thedivorcerehab

Facebook: @wendytsterling

Need an opportunity to share your pain points and receive judgment-free support? Want to create a vision of a future after your divorce? Click here to schedule your Free Divorce Recovery Call: https://calendly.com/wendysterling/support-call-with-wendy?month=2021-07

What if I told you there's a world out there where pain doesn't paralyze, and instead, awakens?

Catching your spouse cheating, struggling to decide on getting a divorce, and finally doing it… it's all excruciatingly painful.

But have you ever paused to think, "Is this trying to tell me something?"

I hope that my story will be a source of inspiration in navigating through the tumultuous waves of your own divorce.

So when's the pain going to stop?

It stops now. Make that choice.

Tune in to this episode on When Will The Pain After Divorce End.

Key points covered in this episode:

✔️ Cut yourself some slack. Nobody's perfect. Don't beat yourself up over what's happening. You have the power to find a new perspective. Steer into a mindset of opportunity, not a challenge. What awesome things might be waiting for you at the end of the tunnel?

✔️ Treat your thoughts with kindness, compassion, and grace. Your thoughts and emotions are going to come in waves. Or it may feel like a rollercoaster. So when's the ride slowing down? When you surrender to them without judgment.

✔️ Look for the silver lining in your pain. Everything is happening for you, not to you. It's possible to take that pain and make it meaningful. You WILL experience catharsis if you allow yourself to. Life without pain makes it difficult to know what true happiness feels like. So go out there. Convert your pain into purpose. And make good things happen.

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Connect with Wendy Sterling:

Website: https://wendysterling.net/

Instagram: @divorcerehabwithwendy

Twitter: @thedivorcerehab

Facebook: @wendytsterling

Need an opportunity to share your pain points and receive judgment-free support? Want to create a vision of a future after your divorce? Click here to schedule your Free Divorce Recovery Call: https://calendly.com/wendysterling/support-call-with-wendy?month=2021-07

A relationship with a narcissist can feel like a never-ending cycle.

At one moment, you always feel like you're in the wrong. Anger ignites inside of you. But in the next moment, you're showered with gifts and affection. You shut down your initial feelings, but then the same things happen again.

If you find yourself in a relationship with a narcissist, it's never your fault.

Narcissism exists on a continuum of varying degrees, making it difficult to pinpoint the red flags. However, Dr. Jaime Zuckerman is here to dissect the warning signs and the most effective ways to break free from the abuse.

Tune in to this episode on Narcissistic Relationship Abuse with Dr. Jaime Zuckerman.

Key points covered in this episode:

✔️Spot the fairytale tactic. Dr. Jaime Zuckerman explains that even people of high stature aren't immune to falling into the trap. One of the methods of a narcissist is labeling you as a soulmate on day one. It's innately human to feel enamored, but be warned: It's unusual and toxic.

✔️ Set an exit strategy. The destruction of a complex, layered relationship puts you at risk of physical and psychological harm that narcissists are capable of. Make sure you have somewhere safe to flee and reach out to as many people as you can.

✔️Rebuild your self-esteem. Getting therapy is crucial. Victims of narcissistic abuse start to feel like a shell of their former selves. Being deprived of choice for so long, choosing a song to listen to or a dress to wear becomes extremely difficult.

✔️A relationship with a narcissist is a tightly spun web. Their behavioral patterns tend to be like spoiled food wrapped in a pretty package. Most of the time, victims don't even know they're abused.

✔️Narcissism is a cycle built on intermittent reinforcement. Every move a narcissist makes is calculated. Find the right moment to step back and evaluate the situation. You don't have to endure this for longer. You have the power to escape.

✔️You can't fix a narcissist. Period. End of story. Ready to start dating again? Surround yourself with supportive individuals a.k.a. "relationship checkers". Stop chasing potential. Be educated to avoid falling into the same trap.

Dr. Jaime Zuckerman respects how difficult it can be for people to seek treatment. In her practice, she creates a safe, supportive, and non-judgmental therapeutic environment to help you feel better, do better and ultimately, live better. Dr. Zuckerman specializes in the treatment of adults presenting with anxiety, depression, relationship difficulties, adjustment to chronic medical conditions as well as everyday life stressors. These difficulties can greatly impact your ability and willingness to enjoy life, connect with loved ones, and effectively function in your daily life.

As a trained Cognitive Behavior therapist, Dr. Zuckerman uses only interventions that have been proven effective by empirical research. She will assist you in the development of emotional coping skills, help you identify unproductive patterns of behavior that are keeping you "stuck" and replace them with more adaptive styles of interacting. Using various mindfulness-based techniques, she helps patients become more objective to their own worrisome thoughts and internal negative self-talk. You will incorporate your personal strengths into your therapy and work together to improve self-esteem and overall personal growth.

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Connect with Wendy Sterling:

Website: https://wendysterling.net/

Instagram: @divorcerehabwithwendy

Twitter: @thedivorcerehab

Facebook: @wendytsterling

Need an opportunity to share your pain points and receive judgment-free support? Want to create a vision of a future after your divorce? Click here to schedule your Free Divorce Recovery Call: https://calendly.com/wendysterling/support-call-with-wendy?month=2021-07