When You Thought You Were Doing Better… and Then Life Happened: Episode 38

Episode 45: Move Your Body, Heal Your Mind Exercise, Nature & Mental Wellbeing

In this episode of Life By Design, Angela talks about the powerful connection between movement, nature, and mental wellbeing. This conversation is not about exercising as punishment, chasing a smaller body, or forcing yourself into an unrealistic routine. It is about learning to see movement as care — a way to support your mood, regulate your nervous system, reconnect with your body, and gently move forward in your healing. * How exercise can support depression and anxiety * Why movement helps regulate the nervous system * How sunlight and vitamin D may impact mood and energy * Why walking absolutely counts * How to stop using exercise as punishment * The emotional benefits of being outside * Nature as medicine for the mind, body, and spirit * Starting small when motivation is low * Building a movement routine rooted in compassion instead of shame Movement is not punishment. Movement is care. Your body is not something to fight against. It is something to listen to, support, strengthen, and care for. Choose one small movement practice and repeat it this week. That might be: * A 10-minute walk * Stretching before bed * Morning sunlight with coffee * A prayer walk * Walking after dinner * Moving your body for one song * Spending time outside without your phone Small movement still counts. Gentle movement still counts. Walking counts. You do not have to move perfectly. You do not have to do it all at once. You do not have to punish yourself into change. You can begin with one step, one walk, one stretch, one breath, one moment outside. Healing can be gentle. Growth can be slow. And movement can become one way you tell yourself: I am still here. I am still healing. I am still moving forward. This episode is for educational and encouragement purposes only and is not a substitute for medical care, therapy, or an individualized treatment plan. If you are in crisis or having thoughts of harming yourself, call 911 or text 988 in the U.S. or seek emergency help. In this episode, we talk about:Key reminder:Gentle challenge for the week:Encouragement from this episode:Disclaimer:

The Letter: Emma’s Life, Her Death, and the Healing She Still Leads Me Through - Episode 44

In this deeply personal episode, Angela shares about her daughter Emma — her beautiful life, her death, and the way Emma continues to shape who Angela is today. This episode is not only about grief. It is about love, memory, healing, motherhood, faith, and the sacred process of learning how to keep living after loss. Angela also talks about her book, The Letter, which began as a healing exercise in her own grief journey. The book is written as an imagined letter from Emma, followed by Angela’s response as a mother learning how to carry love, loss, and hope forward. The Letter is available on Amazon. In this episode: * Emma’s life and the beauty of who she was * The pain of losing a child * How grief changed Angela’s life * How Emma continues to shape Angela’s healing, purpose, and faith * Why Angela wrote The Letter * How writing became part of the healing process * Carrying love forward after loss * Honoring a child’s life beyond the day they died Closing Thought Emma’s story did not end with her death. Her life, her love, and her legacy continue to move through the people who remember her, the lives she touched, and the healing work that came from loving her. Find Angela’s book, The Letter, on Amazon.

Episode 43: The Fathers We Had, The Fathers We Needed, and Our Heavenly Father

Father’s Day can be beautiful, but it can also be complicated. For some, it is a day filled with celebration, gratitude, family, and sweet memories. For others, it brings grief, disappointment, absence, longing, or wounds that still feel tender. In this episode of Life By Design, Angela reflects on the fathers we had, the fathers we needed, and the healing love of our Heavenly Father. This conversation makes space for gratitude and grief, honor and honesty, love and loss. Angela speaks to those celebrating their dads, those grieving their fathers, those healing from complicated relationships, and the fathers who are quietly carrying the heartbreak of losing a child. This episode is a reminder that no earthly parent is perfect, healing does not require pretending, and God is a faithful Father who meets us in the places where we feel most broken, abandoned, or unseen. Angela talks about: * Why Father’s Day can bring up so many different emotions * Honoring our fathers without pretending everything was perfect * The grief of what we needed but did not receive * How our earthly father relationships can shape the way we see God * Why God is not simply a bigger version of our earthly fathers * The difference between forgiveness, healing, and denial * The quiet grief fathers may carry after losing a child * God’s nearness to the brokenhearted * Learning to hold both gratitude and grief * Moving toward healing instead of bitterness * Exodus 20:12 * Psalm 68:5 * Romans 8:38-39 * Psalm 34:18 * Lamentations 3:22-23 * What emotions does Father’s Day bring up for you? * What parts of your relationship with your father are you grateful for? * Are there places where you are still grieving what you needed but did not receive? * How has your relationship with your earthly father shaped the way you view God? * What would it look like to move toward healing without pretending the hard parts did not happen? * Where do you need to receive God’s love as your Heavenly Father today? If you hear a little stomach noise in this episode, apparently my belly wanted to join the Father’s Day conversation too. I had just drank a lot of water before recording. I’m leaving it in because the message still matters, and imperfect obedience still counts. Thank you for being here today. I’ve been away for a couple of weeks on a cross-country trip, but I am back in full swing, and I hope you’ll join me again on Tuesday. Until then, take what you need, leave what you don’t, and keep living your Life By Design. In This EpisodeScripture ReferencesReflection QuestionsReal-Life NoteClosing

The Sunday We Didn't Know Was Our Last : Episode 42

As June 16 approaches, Angela reflects on a simple Sunday spent at the river with her daughter Emma just three days before Emma's death. At the time, it seemed like an ordinary day. Five years later, it has become one of the most treasured memories of her life. In this deeply personal episode, Angela shares how grief has taught her to value the ordinary moments we often take for granted—the phone calls, conversations, dinners, visits, and quiet afternoons with the people we love. This episode is not about living in fear of loss. It's about living with gratitude for the gift of today. Because most of the moments that ultimately matter the most don't look extraordinary while we're living them. They simply look ordinary. Until one day we realize they were everything. In This Episode: • The last Sunday Angela spent with Emma • Five years of grief, healing, and perspective • Why ordinary moments become our most treasured memories • The danger of assuming there will always be more time • Learning to be present with the people we love • Finding gratitude even in the midst of loss • Biblical wisdom about valuing our days Scriptures Referenced: • Psalm 90:12 • James 4:14 • Psalm 34:18 Challenge for the Week: Call someone. Visit someone. Take the picture. Watch the sunset. Have the coffee. Tell someone you love them. Not because you're afraid of losing them. But because they're worth your time today. Connect with Angela Weiss: Instagram: @AngelaWeissAuthor Facebook: Life By Design Press LinkedIn: Angela Weiss Available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and everywhere you listen to podcasts. If this episode touched your heart, please follow, share, and leave a review. Your support helps more people find hope, healing, and encouragement. Take what you need. Leave what you don't. And keep living your life by design.

Sleep Isn’t Optional: What Poor Sleep Is Doing to Your Mental Health: Episode 41

Sleep is not a luxury. It is healthcare. In this episode, Angela Weiss, MSN, APRN, FNP-C, PMHNP-BC, explores the powerful connection between sleep and mental health. From anxiety and depression to trauma, brain fog, irritability, and burnout, poor sleep can affect nearly every aspect of emotional and physical wellbeing. If you've ever found yourself exhausted but unable to sleep, waking up feeling unrested, struggling with racing thoughts at night, or wondering why your mental health feels worse after a stretch of poor sleep, this episode is for you. Angela discusses how sleep deprivation impacts the nervous system, why anxiety and insomnia often create a frustrating cycle, how depression can affect sleep differently, and why chronic stress can make it difficult for the brain and body to power down. She also covers: * The anxiety and insomnia cycle * Depression, oversleeping, and fatigue * Cortisol, chronic stress, and nervous system activation * Trauma, hypervigilance, nightmares, and disrupted sleep * When nightmares may benefit from therapy, medication, or both * Brain fog, irritability, cravings, and emotional reactivity * Sleep apnea, snoring, and when to ask about a sleep study * Practical sleep foundations and nighttime routines * When severe sleep deprivation may require medical or psychiatric evaluation Angela also shares insights from her upcoming book, Am I Going Crazy?, which explores how stress, overwhelm, insomnia, and nervous system overload can make people fear they are losing their minds when they are often experiencing an overwhelmed nervous system. You are not weak for needing sleep. You are not lazy for needing rest. And if your sleep has fallen apart during a season of stress, trauma, grief, burnout, or overwhelm, you are not alone. Sometimes the most compassionate thing we can do for our mental health is protect our sleep. Tertulia: tertulia.authors.com/angelaweiss-drafterher4xo Facebook: Life by Design Press Instagram: @AngelaWeissAuthor This podcast is intended for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute medical, psychiatric, or therapeutic advice. Listening to this podcast does not establish a provider-patient relationship. If you are experiencing a medical emergency, call 911 or seek immediate emergency care. If you are experiencing a mental health crisis or thoughts of self-harm, call or text 988, the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, or seek immediate local emergency support.