It’s Both — Living in the Messy Middle

Honest Conversations on Grief, Identity & Life’s In-Between Moments

It’s Both — Living in the Messy Middle is a health podcast hosted by Nikki P, with 65 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Nikki P hosts It’s Both — Living in the Messy Middle, a health show with 65 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

• 

  Episode #64

  Living In It: A Solo Update on Starting Over

  Aug 18, 202621 min

  This is transition anxiety, recorded live instead of explained after the fact. In this solo episode, Nikki checks in from a friend's basement mid cross-country move, mid job loss, and mid everything else, letting you into the version of starting over that usually only gets told once it's resolved. In this episode — the real timeline of moving from Nashville to Denver with three kids in tow — the liminal space of no lease, no house, and no plan yet — what it actually feels like to start over with nothing certain — and how she's holding gratitude for the choice and grief over how hard it is, at the same time, without picking one. Get Connected & Support the Show: - If you're in the messy middle right now, the workbook was made for this. Or you can grab your free resource. - 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

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Episode #63

  The Messy Middle of Self-Worth, Core Wounds & Becoming

  Aug 4, 202656 min

  In the messy middle of chronic illness, self-worth, and giving up good for great, Amy Lenius joins me to talk about the three core wounds that quietly run our lives — unlovable, unwanted, and defective — and how healing starts long before we feel ready. In this episode, Amy shares her decade-long fight for an endometriosis diagnosis, the moment she chose to trust her own body over a system that kept dismissing her — the one question she now asks before every hard choice to protect her self-respect — why giving up something good for something great always feels like chaos in the middle, not clarity — and how something as small as painting her nails a new color became actual identity work. Amy Lenius is the director of group coaching at Next Level University and a holistic self-improvement coach specializing in the three core wounds framework. If this episode resonates, grab the Messy Middle Workbook — five sections of prompts and meditations to help you actually sit with your own messy middle instead of rushing past it. Link in the show notes. Get Connected & Support the Show: - If you're in the messy middle right now, the workbook was made for this. Or you can grab your free resource. - Follow Amy on Instagram or visit her website - 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

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Episode #62

  Betrayal Is a Different Kind of Grief

  Jul 21, 202655 min

  The messy middle of betrayal isn't just heartbreak. It sits in your body. It changes how you trust yourself. And it hits differently than any other kind of pain — and Dr. Debi Silber has the research to prove it. She went back to school at 50, in the middle of her own betrayal, to figure out why. What she found became groundbreaking research and a whole movement. In this conversation we talk about what post-betrayal syndrome actually looks like in your everyday life, why most people get stuck and never fully heal, and the five stages of betrayal recovery that change everything. There's also something she said that I haven't been able to stop thinking about — the people who heal the fastest aren't the ones who hurt the least. They're the ones who were the most willing. In this episode: — Why betrayal feels different from every other trauma — What post-betrayal syndrome actually is — and the symptoms you don't expect — How betrayal shatters your ability to trust yourself, not just the other person — The five stages of betrayal recovery — and where most people get stuck — Why willingness matters more than time — The three groups of people who don't heal — How to rebuild after your foundation is gone — What forgiveness actually means — and who it's really for If you've ever been betrayed by someone you loved and trusted — a partner, a parent, anyone — this one was made for you. Get Connected & Support the Show: - If you're in the messy middle right now, the workbook was made for this. Or you can grab your free resource. - Take the Post Betrayal Syndrome Quiz - Follow Dr. Debi Silber on Instagram or visit her website - 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

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Episode #61

  The Messy Middle of Becoming a Mother

  Jul 14, 202658 min

  The messy middle of becoming a mother doesn't end when you leave the hospital. It lives in the identity shift, the mom rage you don't talk about, the grief for who you were before, and the joy that exists right alongside all of it. Dr. Nicole Pensak is a licensed clinical psychologist who specializes in perinatal mental health — and she went through severe postpartum OCD herself, right in the middle of COVID, while her husband worked on the front lines. In this conversation, we talk about what actually happens to your brain when you become a mother, why postpartum is a developmental stage nobody told you about, and what it means to hold the grief and the love at the same time. In this episode: — What postpartum OCD actually looks like from the inside — Why becoming a mother is a neurodevelopmental phase just like adolescence — The truth about mom brain — and the cognitive superpowers nobody talks about — Mom guilt, mom rage, and what to actually do in the moment — Why the one-year postpartum cutoff is completely arbitrary — How to protect your brain in the earliest days — What post-traumatic growth looks like after birth trauma — The most important word for mothers: AND For anyone who has ever loved their child fiercely and also felt completely lost inside that love — this one is for you. Get Connected & Support the Show: - If you're in the messy middle right now, the workbook was made for this. Or you can grab your free resource. - Buy her book Rattled - Follow Dr. Nicole Pensak on Instagram or visit her website - 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

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Episode #60

  Breathwork, Grief & Starting Over

  Jul 7, 20261h 3m

  The messy middle isn't always something you can think your way through. Sometimes it lives in your body — in the shallow breath, the held-back cry, the emotions you've been managing instead of feeling. Jon Paul Crimi is a breathwork teacher who has spent 15 years helping people release what their minds can't process alone. He found this work through his dear friend Matthew Perry — and the grief of losing him is woven into every class he teaches. In this conversation, we talk about what circular breathwork actually is and why it works, what it means to let go of the life you planned to step into the one you're actually meant for, and why you can't shut yourself off from the hard emotions without also losing access to the joy. In this episode: — What breathwork actually is — and why it's not what you think — The science behind circular breathing and transient hypofrontality — How Jon Paul found this work through Matthew Perry — and the grief that followed — How to know when to let go of a dream vs. push through the hard part — Why you can't feel joy without also feeling the grief — How breathwork changes relationships — and sometimes ends them — The difference between happiness and purpose — What self-love actually looks like in practice For anyone who lives in their head, knows exactly what they're feeling, and still can't seem to feel it — this one is for you. Get Connected & Support the Show: - If you're in the messy middle right now, the workbook was made for this. Or you can grab your free resource. - Follow Jon Paul Crimi on Instagram or visit his website - 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

  ListenShow Notes

Based on semantic analysis of episode topics and host coverage, this show is a strong guest fit for executives in:

Industry fit is computed by PitchCentric using vector embeddings of the show's episode catalog.