It’s Both — Living in the Messy Middle

Nikki P

If you feel a shift happening but can't name what it is — this podcast is for you. A podcast about anxiety, life transitions, and living in the messy middle. Maybe nothing major happened, but you don't recognize yourself anymore. Or maybe you're navigating divorce, a diagnosis, faith transition, or identity shift. Either way, every hard human experience has something in common: you lose who you were before you know who you're becoming. That gap? That's the messy middle. The messy middle is a transition. The feeling that lives inside it? That's anxiety. I'm Nikki P., a former therapist who built this show because I needed it myself — and realized other people did too. Every week, I have honest conversations with people living in the gap — holding joy and grief, gratefulness and struggle, certainty and uncertainty — all at the same time, without pretending any of it isn't real. No toxic positivity. No fix-it mentalities. Just real language for the feelings you couldn't name, and permission to be exactly where you are. This is for people in the messy middle who need real talk, not empty platitudes. Life isn't either/or. It's both. And you're allowed to hold all of it. New episodes weekly. Find me @itsbothpodcast.

  1. Three Years in the Maybe: Foster Adoption Anxiety

    1D AGO

    Three Years in the Maybe: Foster Adoption Anxiety

    Living in the messy middle for three years. Lane Igoudin and his husband Jonathan raised two babies — a newborn and a one-year-old — while not knowing if the court would let them keep them. They were shut out of the court cases determining their daughters' futures. As an interracial, same-sex couple during the pre-marriage equality era, their relationship wasn't legally recognized. And the birth mother? She was a teenager in the state's custody herself. This is a conversation about life transitions, foster adoption, and navigating major life changes when the system isn't designed for families like yours. It's about the both/and of building a family on uncertainty — the anxiety of desperately wanting to be fathers while knowing it could all be taken away. For anyone holding joy and grief, hope and fear, love and loss — all at the same time. Lane is the author of A Family, Maybe, a memoir about his family's three-year battle through the Los Angeles County foster care system. He's a professor of English at Los Angeles City College and has shared this story on NBC, NPR, and dozens of podcasts because it's a story that rarely gets told: what makes a parent? Is it biology, or is it care and commitment? In this episode: -What it's like to live in the "maybe" for three years while raising babies you might lose - The both/and of foster adoption: attach fully AND be ready to let go - How Lane and Jonathan were treated as "non-related caretakers" despite being the only parents their daughters knew - Why the foster care system prioritizes birth parents' rights over children's wellbeing - What happened when the judge at their adoption hearing didn't even know their children's names - The spiritual takeaway that sustained them: love your partner more when everything feels impossible - Why Lane reads tarot cards (only for himself) and what they told him during the process - The question his book explores: What really makes a parent? No toxic positivity. No fix-it mentalities. Just real language for the feelings you couldn't name, and permission to hold all of it at once. Get Connected & Support the Show: - Listen to the companion podcast: It's Both- Guided Meditations for Anxiety, Emotional Regulation, & Real Life Transitions - Follow Lane on Instagram, buy his book, or visit his website  - Subscribe, rate, & review It's Both on Apple Podcasts

    43 min
  2. The Faith-Based Parenting Advice That Delivered Trauma

    MAR 24

    The Faith-Based Parenting Advice That Delivered Trauma

    What happens when the parenting advice that promised godly outcomes delivered trauma instead? When you did everything "right" and your family still fell apart? Marissa Franks Burt is the author of The Myth of Good Christian Parenting and a mother of six with a master's in theology. She spent years researching the evangelical parenting movement — the books, the influencers, the spiritual authority that told parents: Just follow this blueprint, and your kids will follow God. Spoiler: That's not biblical. And the fallout is a major life change affecting entire generations. In this conversation, we're talking about the messy middle of faith and harm. About transition anxiety in families deconstructing what they were taught. About parents who intended well but were misled by prosperity gospel promises. About adult children carrying wounds from coercion disguised as discipline. And about what repair looks like when the damage runs deep. We explore how authority silenced intuition, how obedience training stunted emotional regulation, and how entire families are now grieving relationships built on formulas instead of connection. Marissa doesn't offer another prescriptive parenting method — she offers permission to question, to grieve, and to rebuild with truth and compassion. In this episode: - Why evangelical parenting advice became a prosperity gospel for families navigating life transitions - The spiritual authority that kept parents from trusting their instincts during major life changes - How instant obedience training grooms children for future abuse - What it looks like to hold both good intentions and real harm in the messy middle - The pathway to repair when adult children experience their own faith transition - Permission to parent without a formula — and still hold your faith through the anxiety This isn't about villainizing parents. It's about naming what happened so healing can begin. Because you can love God, question the system, and choose connection over compliance — all at the same time. Listen to the episode with Brian Recker HERE Get Connected & Support the Show: - Listen to the companion podcast: It's Both- Guided Meditations for Anxiety, Emotional Regulation, & Real Life Transitions - Follow Marissa on Instagram, get connected, or visit her website  - Subscribe, rate, & review It's Both on Apple Podcasts

    49 min
  3. I Yelled at My Daughter and Watched Her Break

    MAR 17

    I Yelled at My Daughter and Watched Her Break

    What happens when the version of strength you've been taught stops working — and being a "strong man" makes you a terrible father? Olaolu Ogunyemi is a leadership speaker, author, and U.S. Marine Officer who became a dad at 19. He thought leadership meant being the hammer. Then he yelled at his three-year-old daughter and watched her break. That moment changed everything — and put him face-to-face with the gap between who he'd been taught to be and who he actually wanted to become. This is a conversation about navigating major life changes in how you think about masculinity, emotions, and what it means to lead. About the messy middle between military toughness and emotional presence. For anyone trying to break cycles they didn't even know they were in — whether you're a parent, a leader, or just someone realizing the person you've created isn't who you actually are. Olaolu shares the moment he knew he had to change, how The Lion King vs. Frozen explains generational shifts in leadership, why vulnerability isn't weakness (it's protecting the injured offensive lineman), and the mood meter tool he uses with his kids to name 50 emotions when he was only taught to name four. In this episode: -Why yelling at his daughter broke Olaolu's idea of masculinity - The Marine Corps mentor who said empathy isn't weakness - How to stop overthinking your emotions and start naming them - The both/and of leading and following, controlling and letting go - Why being uncomfortable isn't the problem — avoiding it is - How to set boundaries between who you were raised to be and who you want to become - What "Lead Last" actually means (it starts with leading yourself) Get Connected & Support the Show: - Listen to the companion podcast: It's Both- Guided Meditations for Anxiety, Emotional Regulation, & Real Life Transitions - Follow Olaolu on Instagram & visit his website or his LinkedIn - Subscribe, rate, & review It's Both on Apple Podcasts

    51 min
  4. The Mental Load: Co-Founder or Just a Passenger?

    MAR 10

    The Mental Load: Co-Founder or Just a Passenger?

    Zach Watson thought he was a good partner. Then he asked if the blueberry muffins were too hot — 90 seconds after watching his wife pull them from the oven. That's when he realized: he wasn't just missing the point. He was adding to her mental load. His marriage almost ended in 2018, not because he was a bad guy, but because he didn't see what his wife was carrying alone. This is a conversation about navigating major life changes in partnership when one person is the co-founder and the other is a passenger. About the transition anxiety that comes when you realize your relationship isn't equal — and the messy middle of trying to fix invisible labor you can't even see yet. For anyone holding resentment, overthinking every ask, or wondering if setting boundaries around mental load makes you selfish. Zach is the Mental Load Coach. His blueberry muffin video went viral with 20 million views. Now he helps men stop adding mental load and start showing up. He shares how to tell if you're reacting from emotions or responding to the situation, the BUILD meeting framework for navigating life transitions in your partnership, why "how can I help" actually creates more work, and the emotion wheel that stops defensive spirals before they start. In this episode: - Why mental load creates crushing loneliness (not just overwhelm) - How anxiety multiplies when your partner becomes a passenger - The BUILD meeting framework (and why it's not boring) - Why setting boundaries around invisible labor isn't selfish — it's survival - How men can stop starting over every week and actually own routines - The emotion wheel for communicating without defensiveness - Why society devalues $247,000 of annual labor — and refuses to pay it - The Brené Brown shame rap (yes, really) Get Connected & Support the Show: - Listen to the companion podcast: It's Both- Guided Meditations for Anxiety, Emotional Regulation, & Real Life Transitions - Follow Zach on Instagram & join his free mental load basics community here - Subscribe, rate, & review It's Both on Apple Podcasts - Join the Courageous Living Group Transformation

    56 min
  5. What If the 'Difficult' Kid Isn't the Problem?

    MAR 3

    What If the 'Difficult' Kid Isn't the Problem?

    What if the "difficult" kid isn't the problem — it's that we're responding to their energy instead of the actual situation? Dr. Bethany Bildeau (Dr. B) went from hiding in school bathrooms with panic attacks to becoming the sensory and behavioral specialist who helps the kids everyone else has given up on. She knows what it's like to be labeled "the problem." Now she works with students with trauma histories and teaches parents and educators how to support high-energy kids without breaking their spirit. This is a conversation about navigating the messy middle of parenting when you're overthinking every decision and wondering if you're doing more harm than good. About the transition anxiety when your kid doesn't fit the mold and you're trying to figure out who you are as a parent. For anyone trying to validate big energy without losing your mind, set boundaries that protect everyone, and stop carrying the shame of "difficult." Dr. B shares the 30-second stair trick that helps kids focus and regulate, why "suffering is a badge of honor" is killing our kids, the frozen water bottle hack for dysregulation, and how to tell if you're parenting from anxiety or responding to what's actually happening. In this episode: - How to support high-energy kids without breaking their spirit - The 30-second stair trick (it oxygenates the prefrontal cortex) - Frozen water bottle trick for immediate regulation - Why parental anxiety shows up as behavioral responses in kids - Boundaries for parents: validating energy without losing your mind - How to make kids feel seen when behavior management fails - Emotional regulation strategies that work for any age - Starting over after being "the difficult kid" Whether you're a parent trying not to break your kid's spirit, an educator dealing with the student nobody else will work with, or just someone navigating major life changes in how you understand behavior, this conversation is for you. Get Connected & Support the Show: - Listen to the companion podcast: It's Both- Guided Meditations for Anxiety, Emotional Regulation, & Real Life Transitions - Follow Dr. B on Instagram & visit her website - Subscribe, rate, & review It's Both on Apple Podcasts - Join the Courageous Living Group Transformation

    56 min
  6. When Starting Over Isn't a Choice — It's What's Left

    FEB 24

    When Starting Over Isn't a Choice — It's What's Left

    What does it feel like when starting over isn't a choice — it's just what's left? The anxiety of rebuilding your identity after years of making yourself smaller is real. And the overthinking that follows — Am I doing this right? Was it my fault? Who am I without this? — can be relentless. This conversation is for anyone navigating the messy middle of major life changes after losing themselves completely. Heather Sweeney is a military spouse and author whose work has appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, and Reader's Digest. She shares her story of transition anxiety through a 13-year marriage that ended, seven-month in-house separation, and rediscovering her writing career under her maiden name. From holding grief and relief at the same time to rebuilding self-trust after years of selflessness, this is a raw conversation about boundaries, voice, and learning you can initiate a divorce AND still grieve what you lost. Heather shares the both/and of military divorce ("my condolences and congratulations"), how to rebuild voice after making yourself invisible, why boundaries erode when you're always saying yes to someone else's needs, and the cycle that kept them stuck: no time to talk before deployment, during deployment, or after. In this episode: - The both/and of military divorce: grief and gratitude simultaneously - How to rebuild self-trust and voice after years of selflessness - Why boundaries erode when you're always saying yes to someone else's needs - The deployment cycle that prevented real conversations - Navigating major life changes when holding grief and gratitude at once - Why anxiety and overthinking intensify during identity loss - Practical tools for starting over and rebuilding during life transitions - How military life can extend a bad marriage (the cycle of "we'll talk when...") Get Connected & Support the Show: - Listen to the companion podcast: It's Both- Guided Meditations for Anxiety, Emotional Regulation, & Real Life Transitions - Follow Heather Sweeney on Instagram, visit her website, follow her on Substack, & order her book - Subscribe, rate, & review It's Both on Apple Podcasts - Join the Courageous Living Group Transformation

    50 min
  7. Navigating Anxiety: Safe AND Uncomfortable at Once

    FEB 17

    Navigating Anxiety: Safe AND Uncomfortable at Once

    Feeling hijacked by anxiety and overthinking every decision — like you're constantly "neck up" in your head, unable to just be? Joanna Hardis is a therapist and author who went from white-knuckling through life to learning how to be "neck down" — staying in her body instead of spiraling in her thoughts. She navigated the messy middle of major life changes through divorce, single parenting three kids, and being ghosted right before her birthday (yes, really) by practicing the paradox at the heart of her book Just Do Nothing: you can be safe and uncomfortable at the same time. This is a conversation about life transitions when your default is to armor up or white-knuckle through. For anyone overthinking their way through parenting, anxiety, or major life changes — wondering if taking care of yourself makes you selfish. Joanna shares emotional regulation tools for when anxiety hijacks you, practical distress tolerance practices (starting with your phone), and honest language for parenting without being controlled by fear or guilt. You'll hear why most of us armor up through people-pleasing, perfectionism, or overthinking — and how microdosing discomfort helps you respond to situations instead of reacting from emotions. In this episode: - Overthinking vs. neck-down awareness (and why therapy helped Joanna get out of her head) - How to tell if you're parenting from anxiety or responding to the actual situation - Distress tolerance 101: what it is and why it matters for emotional regulation - The phone as a five-pound weight: microdosing discomfort in real life - Boundaries for parents (and why asking for two minutes isn't selfish) - How to hold the paradox: safe and uncomfortable, grief and gratitude, love and anger - Why acknowledging feelings is essential — but fixating on them keeps you stuck - Self-compassion when you screw it up (because we all do) Get Connected & Support the Show: - Listen to the companion podcast: It's Both- Guided Meditations for Anxiety, Emotional Regulation, & Real Life Transitions - Follow Joanna Hardis on Instagram, visit her website, & buy her book Just Do Nothing or Just Do Nothing For Parents - Subscribe, rate, & review It's Both on Apple Podcasts - Join the Courageous Living Group Transformation

    56 min
  8. Overthinking the Question I Was Afraid to Ask

    FEB 10

    Overthinking the Question I Was Afraid to Ask

    What if the moment that saved you started as a question you were afraid to ask? Ten years ago, I wrote in a question about love, boundaries, and faith to a podcast called Ask Science Mike... and Rob Bell answered it. I didn't know it then, but his response helped move me from people-pleasing to self-respect, from either/or thinking to both/and thinking — and it became one of the turning points that changed the direction of my life. This is a solo episode about navigating the messy middle of major life changes when you're paralyzed by overthinking. About the transition anxiety that comes when you're trying to be "loving" and have boundaries at the same time. For anyone who's ever felt torn between taking care of yourself and being what others need. I'm sharing the full context of what was happening behind the scenes at the time, reading the transcript of my original question and parts of Rob's response, and reflecting on the ripple effects that followed — on my relationships, my faith transition, my healing, and the full-circle moment of having Rob Bell on It's Both. In this episode: - How overthinking kept me people-pleasing — and the question that broke the cycle - Why anxiety spikes when you're trying to be "loving" and have boundaries at the same time - The both/and shift that moved me from either/or thinking to trusting myself - What happens when you finally ask the question you've been afraid to ask - How this moment connects to every transition, identity shift, and messy middle I've navigated since - The full transcript of my question and Rob Bell's response (oxygen masks, non-dual tension, and why real love has boundaries) If you're overthinking your way through a life transition, you've ever felt torn between being "loving" and having boundaries... or wondered if taking care of yourself makes you selfish... this one is for you. Get Connected & Support the Show: - Listen to the companion podcast: It's Both- Guided Meditations for Anxiety, Emotional Regulation, & Real Life Transitions - Subscribe, rate, & review It's Both on Apple Podcasts - Join the Courageous Living Group Transformation

    39 min
5
out of 5
32 Ratings

About

If you feel a shift happening but can't name what it is — this podcast is for you. A podcast about anxiety, life transitions, and living in the messy middle. Maybe nothing major happened, but you don't recognize yourself anymore. Or maybe you're navigating divorce, a diagnosis, faith transition, or identity shift. Either way, every hard human experience has something in common: you lose who you were before you know who you're becoming. That gap? That's the messy middle. The messy middle is a transition. The feeling that lives inside it? That's anxiety. I'm Nikki P., a former therapist who built this show because I needed it myself — and realized other people did too. Every week, I have honest conversations with people living in the gap — holding joy and grief, gratefulness and struggle, certainty and uncertainty — all at the same time, without pretending any of it isn't real. No toxic positivity. No fix-it mentalities. Just real language for the feelings you couldn't name, and permission to be exactly where you are. This is for people in the messy middle who need real talk, not empty platitudes. Life isn't either/or. It's both. And you're allowed to hold all of it. New episodes weekly. Find me @itsbothpodcast.

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