it’s nothing. I’m fine.

Amy Prieb

Stories about navigating the messiness and magic of our bonds.

  1. 5d ago

    “Grow Up, Josh!”

    "Grow up, Josh. You're being an a*****e and I won't have it." Amy actually said that — and privately, she was afraid she'd married a monster. She hadn't. But it took years, a Hold Me Tight® workshop, and couples counseling to figure out what was really going on. In this episode, we tell the whole story: Josh growing up as a missionary kid who absorbed the message that he was unimportant, unlovable, and last on the list — and how that old wound showed up in our marriage wearing a disguise. It didn't look like hurt. It looked like anger, jealousy, and ultimatums. And it landed squarely on Amy's own raw spot: the fear of being abandoned. We replay our worst pattern in slow motion — the trigger, the protest, the counterattack, the round-and-round — and share the moment we finally saw that the cycle was the enemy, not each other. If you've ever looked at your partner mid-fight and thought "who ARE you?", this one's for you. You'll learn what a raw spot is, why anger is often a question in disguise, and how to spot the cycle running your own relationship — because you can't fight an enemy you can't see. Grab Amy's free guide: The Cycle Running Your Relationship and How to See It Clearly → amypie2.gumroad.com Show Notes 💛 Free guide: The Cycle Running Your Relationship and How to See It Clearly — spot your cycle, your raw spots, and your protest moves: amypie2.gumroad.com 📓 Ready to go deeper? Stuck in the Same Fight? A Couples Cycle-Mapping Guide ($3.99) and the Tell Me More conversation card deck ($8.99) are also on Gumroad: amypie2.gumroad.com 🏕️ Hold Me Tight® couples workshops with Amy & Josh at HoneyDo Acres in Bellingham, WA — September and November dates open now. Details at amyprieb.com 🌿 Learn more about couples therapy, individual therapy, and EFT intensives with Amy: amyprieb.com 🎙️ Love the show? Follow, rate, and share it with a couple who needs to hear it. Amy Prieb, LMFT, is an Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) specialist practicing in Bellingham, Washington.

  2. Jul 7

    Speed Dating Disasters, Self-Love Detours, and Why We Should Probably Just Start Our Own Matchmaking Service

    Katie went speed dating. The men were older than advertised. One of them slipped her his number anyway — against the actual rules. And somehow, this became the perfect jumping-off point for everything. Michelle and Katie — two women in their 40s navigating the wildly weird world of midlife dating — are back for round two, and this episode goes deep. They talk about what it actually means to love yourself before you look for love from someone else (spoiler: it's not just a bumper sticker), how emotional self-regulation is the skill nobody taught us and everybody needs, and why building a secure attachment with yourself is the real foundation under every relationship you'll ever have. They also roast the apps. Extensively. With joy. And yes — by the end of this episode, they will have half-seriously proposed starting their own dating service. You'll understand why. In this episode: Katie's speed dating recap, including the men who were definitely not her age range Why rule-breaking romantic gestures aren't cute — they're just rule-breaking Learning to self-regulate before you expect a partner to do it for you Secure attachment as a personal practice, not just a relationship dynamic The app experience: what's broken, why it's broken, and what we'd do instead The business idea that might actually make sense If you're dating after divorce, re-entering the dating scene in your 40s or 50s, healing your attachment patterns, or just trying to figure out who you are before you find someone to be with — pull up a chair.

  3. Jun 30

    The Love Story Nobody Writes Songs About

    What happens when a panic attack at the happiest place on earth becomes the beginning of a beautiful friendship? Mary and Kelsey tell the story of the moment that fast-tracked their bond — a full-on meltdown in the middle of Disneyland, and a friend who didn't flinch. Kelsey's calm, steady presence in that moment said everything: you are not too much, and I am not going anywhere. In this episode, Amy sits down with two platonic best friends who have built something rare — a relationship that actually feels safe. They get honest about their attachment styles (Mary is anxiously attached and married to avoidant Chad; Kelsey is single and avoidantly attached herself), and how that unlikely pairing has become one of the most clarifying relationships in Mary's life. Because sometimes the person who helps you understand your spouse... is your avoidant best friend. They dig into what emotional regulation actually looks like in real friendship, why co-regulation isn't just a couples thing, and how the people around us can either escalate our nervous system or bring it back down. Spoiler: Kelsey is very good at bringing it back down. And because these two contain multitudes — they also happen to be adventurous, outdoorsy women who can go from hiking boots to heels without skipping a beat. This one's for anyone who has found their person in an unexpected place, who has been caught mid-panic by someone who didn't make it weird, or who just needs a reminder that the right friendships can change the way you see everything — including your marriage. Kelsey Kurtis: @kelseymkurtis Kelseykurtis.com   Mary Morris Solomon- @marygold.tales www.marygoldtales.com   amyprieb.com insta: @amypriebtherapy facebook: amy prieb lmft

  4. Jun 16

    The Forever Mother: Caregiving, Community, and Learning to Let People In

    Some people become caregivers gradually. For this week's guest, it's simply always been her life. Amy sits down with Sonia Nations-Gates who has spent decades as the unwavering center of her son's world — a son with complex medical needs, a father who shows up inconsistently, and a community that shows up intermittently. She is a "forever mother," and once you hear her story, you'll understand exactly why. This conversation goes to some tender places. They talk about what it costs to manage your child's medical crisis and his father's emotional needs at the same time. About the friendships that couldn't hold the weight of what she carries and the ones that have sustained her. About the husband who said yes to all of it, and what it's meant to finally lean on someone. And about the quiet, persistent question underneath all of it: outside of being a mother and a caregiver, who am I? This episode is for anyone who has ever loved someone in a way that reorganizes your whole life around them. In this conversation, they get into: What the "forever mother" identity really means — and what it asks of you The particular isolation of caregiving that most people can't see from the outside How marriages and stepfamilies get built around complexity, and where they find their limits What it looks like when community actually shows up — and what it feels like when it doesn't The future, and who you can talk to honestly about what it holds amyprieb.com insta: @amypriebtherapy facebook: amy prieb lmft

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10 Ratings

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Stories about navigating the messiness and magic of our bonds.

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