Dear Divorce Diary: A Fresh Approach To Healing Grief & Building A Life Of Confidence After Divorce

My Coach Dawn
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  • Mental Health
  • Updated Weekly

This isn’t a breakup pep talk. It’s a full-body recalibration for women navigating life after divorce. Dear Divorce Diary is a podcast for women dealing with grief, loneliness, anxiety, anxious or avoidant attachment, and identity loss after divorce — especially when quick fixes, positivity, and spiritual fluff no longer work. I’m Dawn Wiggins, therapist, coach, and homeopath, and this show goes where most divorce advice won’t: into your nervous system, your unspoken grief, your buried rage, and the parts of you that shut down just to survive. Through honest conversation, somatic tools, EMDR- and IFS-informed work, and nervous-system support, each episode helps you feel instead of perform healing — and rebuild safety, confidence, and self-trust from the inside out. You’ll hear raw solo episodes, real voice notes from women in the trenches, and intimate conversations with experts who don’t just talk about healing — they embody it. If you’re tired of being told to “move on” while your body is still bracing, this podcast is your place to land. Your nervous system already knows the truth — it just needs a space that can hold it.

  1. 2d ago ·  Bonus

    Ep. 380 The Emotional Skill That Could Change Your Entire Divorce Recovery & Stop the Spiraling

    What if the emotion itself isn’t what’s keeping you stuck after divorce? What if it’s the story you immediately attach to it? He did this. She said that. This ruined everything. I can’t have the life I want because they keep doing this. In this tactical VIP episode, Dawn teaches you how to separate the physical sensation of an emotion from the thoughts, interpretations and negative beliefs that keep reopening the wound. You’ll practice noticing where grief, anger, anxiety, shame or inadequacy lives in your body—without immediately defending it, explaining it or building a case around it. Dawn walks you through how to: Recognize the physical sensation beneath an emotional triggerNotice when your mind starts rehearsing the painful storyFeel and discharge an emotion without becoming consumed by itInterrupt the thought loops that keep your nervous system activatedReclaim the personal power you’ve been outsourcing to someone elseRecognize when disconnection from your body may be interfering with deeper healingThe next time you’re triggered, the goal isn’t to suppress the emotion or convince yourself that it shouldn’t hurt. Name it. Feel it. Breathe through it. Express it. Then Ctrl+Alt+Delete the story that keeps turning one painful moment into an ongoing emotional prison. Because you cannot build your new life while endlessly rehearsing the story of what broke the old one. Support the show You can't think your way into healing 🥵 You have to practice your way there 👭If you're ready for the next step, learn more about  A Different D Word and apply here ✨

  2. 4d ago

    379. Why wasn't I worth it to him? Why This Question Keeps You Stuck After Divorce

    Why wasn’t I worth it to him? Why wasn’t I worth changing for? Why wasn’t I worth getting sober for, telling the truth for, going to therapy for, fighting for? Why could I love him that much, sacrifice that much, try that hard—and still not be enough to make him choose differently? It is one of the most painful rabbit holes after divorce. And it can keep you stuck because every time you ask the question, you are still making his choices the evidence of your worth. Maybe you’re waiting for the apology. The confession. The accountability. The moment he finally admits that you were right, that he hurt you, that you mattered, that he should have done better. And yes—getting some of those things can feel validating. But they cannot repair your self-esteem for you. They cannot heal your attachment wounds. And they cannot teach your nervous system what secure love actually feels like. In this episode of Dear Divorce Diary, Dawn, Joy, and Tiffini unpack why “Why wasn’t I worth it to him?” is rarely just a question about your ex. It is often connected to the much older belief that if you can love well enough, perform well enough, fix enough, forgive enough, or make yourself valuable enough, someone will finally choose you. We talk about the painful intersection between codependency and addiction, why apologies without behavioral change can keep you hooked, and what happens when you stop asking him to be the authority on whether you were lovable enough. Because at some point, healing after divorce requires a different question. Not: Why didn’t he choose me? But: Why did I need his choices to tell me what I was worth? Inside this episode: Why “Why wasn’t I worth it?” becomes such a powerful loop after divorceWhy you may have wanted him to change for youThe difference between an apology, accountability, and actual changeWhy finally hearing “you were right” may bring relief without bringing healingHow codependency and anxious attachment can pair with addiction and avoidanceWhy being the perfect wife can still come from fear instead of secure loveHow women can use fixing, pleasing, motherhood, perfectionism, and relationships to soothe their own painWhy his unwillingness to heal is not proof that you were not worth healing forWhat it means to stop making him the authority on your valueHow learning secure love changes who—and what—you choose nextThe question “Why wasn’t I worth it to him?” keeps you looking backward for evidence. Secure love asks you to come back to yourself. Because eventually, the work is not convincing yourself that you were worthy enough for him to choose. It is becoming so rooted in your own worth that his inability to choose differently no longer gets to define you. Ready to do this work differently? Enrollment for A Different D-Word is closing in just days. If you are exhausted from understanding your patterns intellectually but still feeling them run your relationships, nervous system, confidence, and choices, this is the work we spend an entire year doing together. Not just talking about what happened. Actually changing what happens next. Scroll to the link below, fill out the application, and we’ll take it from there. We would love to work with you. Support the show You can't think your way into healing 🥵 You have to practice your way there 👭If you're ready for the next step, learn more about  A Different D Word and apply here ✨

  3. Sep 10

    378. I Want Love, Support & Good Things…But I Expect Them to Cost Me, Trap Me or Hurt Me | A Guided Meditation for Divorce Recovery

    You want love. You want support. You want good things to happen to you. So why does some part of you still tense up when they actually arrive? Because when love has historically come with conditions, disappointment, betrayal, obligation or loss, receiving something good can feel surprisingly vulnerable. You may find yourself wondering: What’s the catch? What will this cost me? What are they going to want from me? What if I let myself depend on this and it disappears? What if opening myself up just gives someone another opportunity to hurt me? After divorce, those protective instincts can follow you into far more than romantic relationships. They can shape how you receive kindness. Help. Friendship. Opportunity. Support. Even the things you deeply want. In this guided meditation, we’re not going to force your heart open or ask you to trust before you’re ready. Instead, you’ll gently explore what your heart has been protecting you from and practice allowing love, care and goodness to come toward you without immediately needing to earn it, repay it, control it or brace for what happens next. Inside this episode, you’ll: Notice how your body responds when love or support comes toward youExplore what your heart may still be protecting you from after divorcePractice receiving without performing, proving or reciprocatingSoften the instinct to search for the catchCreate a new experience of allowing kindness, care, joy and support to feel safePractice opening your heart without abandoning your boundaries or yourselfYour heart does not have to fling the door wide open. An inch is enough. Because healing doesn’t usually happen through one giant act of trust. It happens through small experiences that teach your nervous system: Maybe this doesn’t have to cost me. Maybe I don’t have to fight for everything. Maybe something good can come toward me…and I can let myself receive it. This Thursday VIP episode is unlocked for everyone. And if this episode brings up the realization that you’re exhausted from trying to heal, figure everything out and hold yourself together largely on your own, enrollment for A Different D Word is open now. A Different D Word is my 12-month divorce healing experience for women who want deep, individualized support as they process the grief, trauma, attachment patterns and nervous-system wounds that divorce can expose. You don’t have to know exactly what you need before you begin. And you don’t have to earn the right to be deeply supported. Support the show You can't think your way into healing 🥵 You have to practice your way there 👭If you're ready for the next step, learn more about  A Different D Word and apply here ✨

  4. Sep 8

    377. Why Your Nervous System Resists the Life You Want After Divorce

    You can know exactly what you need to do next—and still feel every part of you screaming, nope. Set the boundary. Ask for help. Leave the relationship. Start dating differently. Choose yourself. Let someone really see you. Take the next step in your healing. Why can the thing that might actually change your life feel so threatening? Because your nervous system doesn’t automatically choose what’s best for you. It often chooses what it already knows how to survive. In this episode, Dawn and Joy talk about why familiar pain can feel safer than unfamiliar possibility after divorce—and how the same patterns that kept you stuck inside your marriage can quietly follow you into your healing. We talk about self-prioritizing when you’ve spent decades managing everyone else, the difference between intuition and nervous-system alarm, why denial and avoidance can feel so compelling, and what happens when your protective parts start talking you out of the very life you’ve been praying for. We also get into one of the hardest parts of real healing: allowing yourself to be witnessed. Because sometimes the next breakthrough isn’t about finding another thing to do by yourself. It’s about letting someone see the pattern you can’t see from inside it. If you’ve been wondering, Why do I keep pulling away from the thing I know I want?—this conversation is for you. Inside this episode: Why prioritizing yourself can register as danger after years of codependencyHow familiar pain becomes confused with safetyWhy anxiety can masquerade as intuitionThe protector parts that show up when change starts getting realHow denial and avoidance keep us from facing uncertaintyWhy you may have to move before you actually feel readyHow community helps you recognize patterns you can’t see aloneIf you’re recognizing yourself in this episode—if you know what you want, but keep finding reasons to wait, pull back, or convince yourself you should be able to do this alone—this may be the moment to stop trying to outthink the pattern. Enrollment for A Different D Word is open now through September 20th. This is our 12-month healing program for women who are ready to stop circling the same pain and finally have the support, tools, community, and deeper healing work in one place. If you’ve been wondering whether it’s the right next step for you, book a call with Dawn. We’ll slow it down, talk about what’s actually happening in your life, and figure out together whether the program is a fit. Support the show You can't think your way into healing 🥵 You have to practice your way there 👭If you're ready for the next step, learn more about  A Different D Word and apply here ✨

  5. Sep 3 ·  Bonus

    Ep. 376 Softening What Divorce Grief Has Hardened in You: A Yoga Nidra Practice

    Divorce grief can harden you in ways you don’t always notice. You brace more. You anticipate more. You hold tighter. You get really good at pushing through. Sometimes that hardness was necessary. It helped you survive what was happening. But eventually, the armor that protected you can start making it harder to feel safe enough to soften again. This week’s Cocoon VIP is a gentle yoga practice followed by Yoga Nidra designed around that exact idea: softening what divorce and grief have hardened in you. During the Nidra, you’ll work with the image of a rock resting in a flowing river. The water doesn’t force the rock to change. It simply keeps moving around it, slowly softening the sharp edges and carrying away what is ready to go. Old stories. Old identities. The weight of past relationships. The ways you learned to protect yourself that may not fit anymore. There’s nothing here you need to figure out or fix. You’ll move your body, settle your nervous system, and then give yourself space to notice what happens when you stop gripping quite so hard. Grab your mat, a blanket, pillows, warm socks, and anything else that helps your body feel supported. Then come let the river do some of the work. Support the show You can't think your way into healing 🥵 You have to practice your way there 👭If you're ready for the next step, learn more about  A Different D Word and apply here ✨

  6. Sep 1

    375. Good News and Bad News About Why You Can’t Let Go After Divorce (Pt. 2)

    You’re doing the therapy. You’re listening to the podcasts. You understand your attachment style. You’ve journaled, processed, learned the language, set the boundaries, and tried really f*****g hard to move on. So why do you still feel stuck? In Part 1, we started asking a different question: Is your healing plan actually big enough for what you’re carrying? Today, we finish the checklist. Because sometimes the problem isn’t that you’re resistant to healing. It’s that you don’t have the right tool for the wound. Or the person helping you doesn’t have the skill set required for where you’re trying to go. Or you’ve been measuring your healing by whether you ever get triggered instead of looking at the trajectory of your life. Are you recovering from triggers faster? Ruminating less? Trusting yourself more? Needing less closure, reassurance, or validation from your ex? Are your boundaries easier to hold? Is your life gradually becoming bigger than your divorce? And then we get to the question that might be the biggest gut punch of this entire two-part series: What is it costing you to stay under-resourced? Your sleep? Your health? Your energy? Your work? Your friendships? Your relationship with your children? Years spent emotionally attached to someone who is no longer building a life with you? There is a cost to getting the right support. But there is also a cost to continuing without enough of it. By the end of this episode, we want you to be able to zoom all the way out and compare two things: How big is the wound? And how big is the support? Because if you’re carrying three gunshot wounds, the cute little Band-Aids aren’t the problem. They were just never big enough for the job. If this episode helps you realize that your burdens currently feel bigger than your solutions, scroll down and fill out the interest form for A Different D Word. Doors close September 20. Download the Healing Checklist Here! Support the show You can't think your way into healing 🥵 You have to practice your way there 👭If you're ready for the next step, learn more about  A Different D Word and apply here ✨

  7. Aug 25

    373. Good News and Bad News About Why You Can’t Let Go After Divorce (Pt. 1)

    You’re tired of healing. You’ve listened to the podcasts. You understand your attachment style. You know about boundaries and nervous system regulation. Maybe you’ve done therapy, read the books, journaled, meditated—and you’re still wondering why you can’t just let go and move on. Here’s the good news: letting go may not actually be the problem. The bad news? You may be carrying a hell of a lot more than you realized—and the support you have may not be big enough for all of it. In Part 1 of this two-part series, we’re helping you take an honest inventory of what you’re actually trying to heal after divorce: grief, betrayal, attachment wounds, identity loss, old trauma, parenting stress, loneliness, nervous system overwhelm—and all the other pieces that get lumped into “Why am I not over this yet?” We’ll help you figure out whether you need more information or help integrating what you already know, whether you’re stable enough for deeper healing work, and whether the dose of support you have actually matches the weight of what you’re carrying. Because maybe you don’t suck at letting go. Maybe you’ve been trying to treat three gunshot wounds with a really cute Welly Band-Aid. And next week in Part 2, we’ll show you how to tell whether the help you’re getting actually matches what you need. Download the Healing Checklist Here! Support the show You can't think your way into healing 🥵 You have to practice your way there 👭If you're ready for the next step, learn more about  A Different D Word and apply here ✨

  8. Aug 20

    372. The Divorce Money Blocks You Don’t Know You Have: How Loss Changes Your Relationship With Money

    Divorce changes your relationship with a lot of things. Love. Trust. Safety. The future. And sometimes… money. Because money isn’t just money. It can represent security, freedom, worthiness, belonging—and whether or not you believe there will actually be enough. In this VIP re-release, we’re digging into the subconscious money beliefs you may not even realize you’re carrying: scarcity, feeling ineligible for more, inherited beliefs about wealth, and the complicated feelings that can come with allowing yourself to actually have more. We’ll talk about: How “there’s not enough” becomes a deeply ingrained beliefThe family, cultural, and spiritual messages that shape your relationship with moneyWhy part of you may not believe you're eligible for abundanceThe connection between money, identity, belonging, and lossWhy being “realistic” can sometimes keep you from imagining something differentHow to begin noticing and shifting the beliefs underneath your money patternsHuman Design as a tool for understanding how you naturally make decisions and move through the worldA guided practice to begin working with scarcity and your capacity to receiveBecause after experiencing profound loss, it’s worth getting curious about what your mind and body learned from it. Not just about love. But about having, losing, trusting—and believing there can still be more. Support the show You can't think your way into healing 🥵 You have to practice your way there 👭If you're ready for the next step, learn more about  A Different D Word and apply here ✨

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This isn’t a breakup pep talk. It’s a full-body recalibration for women navigating life after divorce. Dear Divorce Diary is a podcast for women dealing with grief, loneliness, anxiety, anxious or avoidant attachment, and identity loss after divorce — especially when quick fixes, positivity, and spiritual fluff no longer work. I’m Dawn Wiggins, therapist, coach, and homeopath, and this show goes where most divorce advice won’t: into your nervous system, your unspoken grief, your buried rage, and the parts of you that shut down just to survive. Through honest conversation, somatic tools, EMDR- and IFS-informed work, and nervous-system support, each episode helps you feel instead of perform healing — and rebuild safety, confidence, and self-trust from the inside out. You’ll hear raw solo episodes, real voice notes from women in the trenches, and intimate conversations with experts who don’t just talk about healing — they embody it. If you’re tired of being told to “move on” while your body is still bracing, this podcast is your place to land. Your nervous system already knows the truth — it just needs a space that can hold it.

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