Episode Details

For anyone who has been told to "get over it," "stay strong," or "just move on" while still carrying the weight of grief, caregiving, fertility loss, or quiet burnout — this episode sits with you. Host Sana welcomes Amanda Landes, Psy.D., licensed psychologist, forensic psychology veteran, and author of I'm Almost Okay, for a conversation about what it actually takes to live alongside hard things instead of pushing them away.

You'll walk away with permission to feel what you feel, language for the guilt of caregiving, honesty about miscarriage and fertility shame, and a softer way of understanding why humor and human connection matter in the middle of pain.

About the Guest:

Amanda Landes, Psy.D., is a licensed psychologist with a background in forensic psychology and over a decade of clinical experience. She is the author of I'm Almost Okay: Navigating the Grief of Parental Loss, Miscarriage, and Divorce, a deeply personal book drawn from her own experience of losing her father to glioblastoma alongside fertility struggles, miscarriage, and divorce.

Key Takeaways:

• Grief doesn't end, it evolves. Trying to "get back to normal" after loss is a setup for more pain. The work is integrating the loss into who you are now.
• "Get over it" is usually about the other person's discomfort, not your healing. Their inability to sit with hard feelings is not a deadline for yours.
• Caretaking becomes harmful when it consumes all the space in your life. Recognizing your own needs is not selfish, it is what makes long-term caregiving sustainable.
• Fertility struggles and miscarriage carry an invisible layer of shame because we are taught pregnancy is easy. Statistical commonness does not reduce the personal trauma.
• Diagnoses help clinicians understand patterns, but what someone is actually experiencing matters more than the label. Not every hard feeling is a disorder.
• Humor is not avoidance. It is one of the legitimate ways people process pain, connect with each other, and breathe inside something heavy.

Connect With the Guest:

• Website: https://imalmostokay.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amandaelandes
• Book: I'm Almost Okay: Navigating the Grief of Parental Loss, Miscarriage, and Divorce — available on Amazon
• Therapy practice: Ecdysis Psychology (telehealth in Florida and New York)

Episode Chapters:

  [00:00] Cold Open: When grief has no clear ending [01:35] Meet Amanda — forensic psychology meets quiet pain [03:00] Why grief