Share

cover art for 223: Life After Divorce: How to Navigate Letting Go, Healing, and Dating Again with Karen McMahon

Project Loving Myself

223: Life After Divorce: How to Navigate Letting Go, Healing, and Dating Again with Karen McMahon

•

🎙️ What if the hardest decision in love… isn’t about holding on, but knowing when to walk away?


This week on Project Loving Myself, Sanaiyah gets real with high-conflict divorce strategist Karen McMahon about the question that keeps so many of us stuck: Should I stay or should I go?


If you’re stuck in “maybe it'll get better” mode, replaying the highlight reel while ignoring the red flags, or afraid to be the “bad guy” for wanting more—this episode is your sign.


Because let’s be honest: love shouldn’t feel like a full-time job with zero benefits. And staying “just in case” is costing you more than you think.


💡 In This Episode, You’ll Learn:

✨ Why doubting yourself might actually be your intuition screaming in disguise

✨ The real emotional cost of staying too long (spoiler: your self-worth gets the bill)

✨ Why YOU are the one you’ve been waiting for—clarity, peace, permission included

✨ What it looks like to stop trying to fix them and start healing you


✔️ Check out Karen’s work for powerful tools, resources, and coaching:

FB: Journey Beyond Divorce

YT: Journey Beyond Divorce YouTube

🎧 Podcast: Journey Beyond Divorce Podcast

🌐 Website: jbddivorcesupport.com


🎙️ Subscribe, Share, and Spill the Truth

If this episode hit where it hurts (but also healed), send it to a friend who needs a reminder: you don’t have to keep choosing pain just because you’re used to it.

Tag @projectlovingmyselfpodcast and @sanaiyahgurnamal with your biggest “aha” moment.


You’re not selfish for choosing yourself.

You’re wise. You’re worthy. You’re allowed to walk away.

More episodes

View all episodes

  • 266. 266: Why Did I React Like That? What Your Emotions Are Really Telling You with Edit B Kiss

    47:54||Season 1, Ep. 266
    Ever feel like you’re carrying emotions that don’t fully make sense… like the reaction is bigger than the moment, or the weight feels heavier than it should? One minute you feel grounded and in control, and the next you’re overwhelmed, triggered, or stuck in patterns you don’t fully understand.In this episode, I’m joined by Edit B Kiss — holistic mentor, success habit coach, best-selling author, and international speaker. Her work blends neuroscience with ancient healing practices to guide people from emotional overwhelm to inner peace by addressing not just the mind… but deeper layers like the ancestral and karmic.We unpack why some emotions don’t seem to fit the situation, how inherited and unconscious patterns shape your experience, and what might really be behind the feelings you can’t fully explain.Episode Resources✨ Free access to Edit’s Release with Ease Skool Community✨ Download Chaos to Calm — a simple reset to help you regulate emotional overwhelm, clear what you’re carrying, and feel grounded, steady, and back in control again.In this episode, we explore:✨ Why some emotions feel overwhelming without a clear reason✨ How unconscious patterns influence your daily reactions✨ What ancestral healing means and how it shows up in your life✨ The deeper layers behind recurring emotional patterns✨ Why mindset alone isn’t enough for lasting changeIf you’ve ever asked yourself, “Why did I react that way?” this episode will help you start seeing what’s really going on beneath the surface.Connect with Me🌐 www.sanaiyahgurnamal.com▶️ @sanaiyahgurnamalIG @sanaiyahgurnamal@projectlovingmyselfpodcastConnect with Edit📸 Instagram: @editbkiss🌐 Website: editbkiss.com
  • 265. 265: Why You Keep Making the Wrong Choices in Your Relationship with Sammar Shabir

    49:45||Season 1, Ep. 265
    Ever notice how you know better… but still find yourself choosing the same kind of relationship over and over again? One minute you’re clear on your standards, and the next you’re drawn to something that feels familiar but leaves you questioning yourself.In this episode, I’m joined by Sammar Shabir — author of The Barred Window, Senior Certified Professional Life Coach, and founder of Rewrite with Sammar. Her work explores identity, self-concept, and how our early attachments shape the relationships we step into as adults.Together, we unpack how childhood attachment influences adult love, why certain situations keep repeating even when you’re aware of them, and what might really be driving the behaviors you don’t fully understand yet.Episode Resources✨ Take the Love Blocks Quiz — uncover the hidden pattern shaping who you choose, what you tolerate, and why love can keep repeating the same cycle.In this episode, we explore:✨ How childhood attachment shapes who you’re drawn to✨ Why familiar patterns can feel hard to break✨ The deeper reason you may tolerate less than you deserve✨ How identity and self-concept influence your relationshipsIf you’ve ever asked yourself, “Why do I keep ending up in the same kind of relationship?” this episode will help you start seeing what’s really going on beneath the surface.Get Started Here✨ Book a Relationship Clarity Call with Sanaiyah to uncover the patterns keeping you in confusion and step into love that feels secure instead of stressful.Connect with Me🌐 www.sanaiyahgurnamal.com▶️ @sanaiyahgurnamalIG @sanaiyahgurnamal@projectlovingmyselfpodcastConnect with Sammar📸 Instagram: @sammarshabir📖 Get her book: The Barred Window
  • 264. 264: How Do You Trust Again When People Keep Letting You Down?

    15:41||Season 1, Ep. 264
    Ever feel like you want to relax and let go… but a part of you just won’t let you? One minute you’re open, hopeful, and trying… and the next you’re overthinking, pulling back, or expecting things to go wrong before they even do.In this episode, we unpack what really happens when your trust gets broken. Not because you’re too guarded or too much, but because your mind and body learned how to protect you. And how that protection, while it once kept you safe, may now be the very thing keeping you stuck, disconnected, and unable to fully let people in.This isn’t about forcing yourself to trust people again. It’s about learning where to put your trust, so you can stop protecting yourself from love and start letting it in again.Episode Resources✨Take the Heartbreak Quiz — uncover the hidden pattern that’s keeping you guarded, overthinking, or stuck after being hurt, so you can let it go and start to believe in love again.In this episode, we explore:✨ Why broken trust changes how you think, feel, and respond✨ How protecting yourself can quietly turn into isolation✨ The real cost of not trusting anyone anymore✨ Why trusting others isn’t the goal… and what is✨ Simple self-trust shifts to help you feel more grounded and in controlIf you’ve been hurt before and now find it hard to open up, trust, or fully relax in relationships, this episode will help you understand why and what to do next.Get Started Here✨ Book a Relationship Clarity Call with Sanaiyah to uncover the patterns keeping you in confusion and step into love that feels secure instead of stressful.Connect with Me🌐 www.sanaiyahgurnamal.com▶️ @sanaiyahgurnamalIG @sanaiyahgurnamal@projectlovingmyselfpodcast
  • 263. 263: How Childhood Experiences Shape Our Relationships with Monika Wyss

    53:10||Season 1, Ep. 263
    Notice how you can want a healthy, loving relationship… but the moment things start feeling calm and steady, something inside you pulls away? One minute you’re craving consistency, and the next you’re overthinking, shutting down, or questioning everything for no clear reason.In this episode, I’m joined by Monika Wyss, a Family Constellation Facilitator and clinical Hypnotherapist, to explore why this happens. Because love doesn’t just live in your mind… it lives in your body. And your early experiences may still be shaping what feels normal, familiar, or uncomfortable in your relationships today.We unpack how your inner child holds onto past experiences of love, why you may unconsciously choose what feels familiar even when it hurts, and how healing those patterns allows you to feel good in your relationship instead of confused or overwhelmed.Episode Resources✨Ready to feel more at ease in your relationships? Monika is hosting a 4-week Healing the Inner Child online workshop, starting April 13th. Email manila@thirdeyeonline.com to register and reserve your spot.In this episode, we explore:✨ Why healthy relationships can feel unfamiliar or uncomfortable✨ How your inner child shapes your reactions, triggers, and patterns✨ Why you overthink or shut down even when nothing is wrong✨ Why awareness and acknowledgment are the first steps to change✨ How to stop expecting your partner to fill what you didn’t receive growing upIf you’ve ever found yourself pulling away from something that actually feels right, this episode will help you understand why and how to respond differently.Get Started Here✨ Book a Relationship Clarity Call with Sanaiyah to uncover the patterns keeping you in confusion and step into love that feels secure instead of stressful.Connect with Me🌐 www.sanaiyahgurnamal.com▶️ @sanaiyahgurnamalIG @sanaiyahgurnamal@projectlovingmyselfpodcastConnect with Monika🌐 www.monikawyss.com📸 Instagram: @monikawyss
  • 262. 262: When Your Body Is Speaking—and You’re Not Listening (TCM with Jiaming Ju)

    44:12||Season 1, Ep. 262
    Feel like your body is trying to tell you something… but you can’t quite understand it?In this episode, I’m joined by Jiaming Ju, founder of Kun Health and a second-generation licensed Chinese Medicine (TCM) practitioner, for a grounded conversation on the mind–body disconnect behind so many of the symptoms women quietly normalize.Because sometimes what looks like “just hormones” on the surface—fatigue, painful periods, PMS, perimenopause shifts, burnout, brain fog, emotional heaviness—is actually your body responding to the way you’ve been living, coping, pushing, and holding things in.We talk about how Chinese Medicine views the body as a messenger, what it means to treat the root (not just the symptom), and how self-love becomes a health practice—not a mindset.Episode Resources✨ Discover what your body may be trying to tell you through this special offer for Jiaming Ju’s TCM Personal Tongue Reading.In this episode, we explore:✨ What the mind–body gap looks like in real life✨ Why your symptoms may be signals, not failures✨ The emotional patterns that show up as physical imbalance✨ How to start reconnecting with your body (without obsessing or overthinking)✨ Gentle shifts that support hormones, energy, and long-term wellbeingIf you’ve been feeling tired, disconnected, or like your body is working against you, this episode will help you understand what’s really going on beneath the surface.Connect with Jiaming📸 Instagram: @byjiamingju🌐 Website: Kun HealthGet Started Here✨ Book a Relationship Clarity Call with Sanaiyah to uncover what’s keeping you disconnected from yourself and reconnect with who you are.Connect with Me🌐 www.sanaiyahgurnamal.com▶️ @sanaiyahgurnamalIG @sanaiyahgurnamal @projectlovingmyselfpodcast
  • 261. 261: Your Mind Has Too Many Tabs Open (And It’s Stealing Your Focus)

    16:44||Season 1, Ep. 261
    Ever feel like your brain is running in the background even when you’re trying to rest… like you’re doing things all day but still feel behind? One minute you’re starting a task, the next you’re distracted, overwhelmed, and wondering why everything feels heavier than it should.In this episode, we unpack what’s really going on when your mind feels scattered and foggy. Not because you’re lazy or unfocused, but because you’re carrying too many open loops. Emotional, physical, and energy loops that quietly drain your focus, clarity, and peace, and how to start closing them so you can finally feel like yourself again.This isn’t about doing more. It’s about finishing what’s already open so your mind can finally breathe.Episode Resources✨ Download Chaos to Calm — a simple reset to help you clear mental clutter, close open loops, and feel grounded, focused, and back in control again.In this episode, we explore:✨ The 3 types of open loops draining your energy and focus✨ How emotional loops keep you stuck in stress and overthinking✨ Why unfinished tasks make your mind feel scattered✨ The impact of low energy on your clarity and productivity✨ A simple “close your loops” reset to feel clear and in control againIf you’ve been feeling overwhelmed, foggy, or like you can’t fully focus, this episode will help you understand why and what to do about it.Get Started Here✨ Book a Relationship Clarity Call with Sanaiyah to uncover the patterns keeping you in confusion and step into love that feels secure instead of stressful.Connect with Me🌐 www.sanaiyahgurnamal.com▶️ @sanaiyahgurnamalIG @sanaiyahgurnamal@projectlovingmyselfpodcast
  • 260. 260: Is It Intuition… or Just Anxiety? (with Amy Wilkinson)

    54:34||Season 1, Ep. 260
    Feel like you’ve been sensing things others don’t notice… a gut feeling about someone, a quiet nudge about a decision, or an inner knowing you can’t fully explain? One minute you think you’re just being “too sensitive,” and the next you start wondering… what if that sensitivity is actually your intuition waking up?In this episode, intuitive mentor Amy Wilkinson joins us to unpack what spiritual awakening really looks like in everyday life. Not the dramatic, mystical version you see online but the quiet, confusing, sometimes subtle moments when your inner voice gets louder than the noise around you.This isn’t about becoming someone mystical or “woo.” It’s about learning to trust the part of you that has always known the way.Episode Resources✨ Download the Self-Love Cheat Sheet — 7 simple rules to help you stop overthinking, stay grounded in your choices, and build a stronger, more trusting relationship with yourself.In this episode, we explore:✨ What a spiritual awakening actually feels like in real life✨ The intuitive senses we all have and how to strengthen them✨ How to tell the difference between intuition and overthinking✨ Why so many women hide their spiritual gifts or sensitivity✨ How reconnecting with your body strengthens your inner knowingIf you’ve ever wondered whether your intuition is real or just your imagination, this episode will help you start trusting the voice within.Get Started Here✨ Book a Relationship Clarity Call with Sanaiyah to uncover the patterns keeping you in confusion and step into love that feels secure instead of stressful.Connect with Me🌐 www.sanaiyahgurnamal.com▶️ @sanaiyahgurnamalIG @sanaiyahgurnamal@projectlovingmyselfpodcastConnect with Amy🎙️ Podcast: The Abundance Club📸 Instagram: @amy.wilkinson_
  • 259. 259: Soft Love Era: The New Standard for Love (And Why It Feels Different)

    15:18||Season 1, Ep. 259
    Ever feel like love got an upgrade… but you’re still using outdated software to navigate it? One minute you thought chaos meant chemistry, and the next you’re realizing your nervous system just wants peace. Clarity. Consistency. Safety.In this episode, we unpack the new language of modern love and what Gen Z’s romantic vocabulary is really revealing about our evolving standards. Because this isn’t just cute slang. It’s a cultural shift from love as performance to love as emotional safety, from mixed signals to consistency, from “but the spark!” to “but do I feel calm in my body?”This isn’t about overanalyzing your relationships. It’s about raising your standards without losing your softness, and finally choosing love that feels like home instead of a rollercoaster.Episode Resources✨ Download The Soft Love Era Cheat Sheet so you can name your standards, spot red flags faster, and communicate your needs with confidence.In this episode, we explore:✨ Why emotional safety is becoming the new baseline for healthy love✨ How consistency is more romantic than intensity✨ What “heart-safe” and “trust-fluent” really mean in real life✨ The truth about love limbo and why clarity is not optional✨ How to use your emotional compass to make better relationship decisionsIf you’re tired of confusing chaos with chemistry and you’re ready for love that feels steady, mutual, and aligned, this episode will give you the words and the standards to match.Get Started Here✨ Book a Relationship Clarity Call to uncover the patterns keeping you in confusion and step into love that feels secure instead of stressful.Connect with Me🌐 www.sanaiyahgurnamal.com▶️ @sanaiyahgurnamalIG @sanaiyahgurnamal@projectlovingmyselfpodcast
  • 258. 258: Everything’s Fine… So Why Do You Feel Off?

    14:46||Season 1, Ep. 258
    Ever look at your life and think… everything is technically fine, so why does it not feel like mine? No major disaster. No dramatic ending. Just a quiet “off” that makes you feel like you’re performing your life instead of actually living it.In this episode, we unpack why high-achieving women can build lives that look successful on paper but feel disconnected in their bodies. Because sometimes that restlessness is not burnout or failure. It is feedback. A sign you have been living by invisible rules instead of your own truth. We talk about redefining self-love, not as a vibe, but as a decision-making system that helps you come back to yourself.This is not about blowing up your life. It is about finally making it feel like yours.Episode Resources✨ Watch my TEDxSurat Talk: “Your Life Isn’t Yours Until You Love Yourself” and learn the Self-Love G.P.S. framework.In this episode, we explore:✨ Why your life can look “fine” but feel disconnected✨ How invisible rules quietly shape your biggest decisions✨ The difference between functioning and truly feeling alive✨ Why self-love is a direction, not a mood✨ How to start choosing your truth instead of your conditioningIf you have been feeling grateful but uninspired, productive but unfulfilled, this episode will help you understand what that “off” feeling is really trying to tell you.Get Started Here✨ Book a Relationship Clarity Call to uncover the invisible patterns shaping your love life and decisions, and learn how to move from performance and confusion into clarity, alignment, and emotional security.Connect with Me🌐 www.sanaiyahgurnamal.com▶️ @sanaiyahgurnamalIG @sanaiyahgurnamal@projectlovingmyselfpodcast