What happens when someone listens to every single episode of your podcast for over a decade?

In this special conversation, JJ celebrates a major milestone by sitting down with longtime listener Vicki, who discovered the show years ago while walking through life's biggest transitions — caring for an aging parent, navigating a demanding career, and eventually stepping into retirement.

What unfolds is a heartfelt, real-life story about how small daily shifts, emotional healing, and consistent self-care can quietly transform your life.

Together, they explore what it really means to:

• Find purpose after retirement

• Create more joy without "doing more"

• Set boundaries as a helper or caregiver

• Stay healthy and strong as we age

• Use accountability and community to break old patterns

• Choose growth, even in life's next chapter

You'll also hear JJ reflect on the journey from the early days of Fit to Love to now — how podcasting became a living, evolving conversation, and why connection with listeners matters more than download numbers.

This episode is a reminder that healing doesn't have to be dramatic. Sometimes it's one new habit, one brave boundary, or one small mindset shift at a time.

If you've ever wondered:

• What's my purpose now?

• How do I take care of myself without guilt?

• Is it too late to change?

This conversation will feel like sitting down with a wise friend who's walking the path right alongside you.

✨ The next 14-Day Manifestation Challenge starts soon — join at jjflizanes.com/14day

JJ welcomes back Michelle Reittinger, author and host of The Upside of Bipolar, for a bold, hope-filled conversation that challenges common cultural narratives around bipolar disorder. Together, they unpack "myths" that can keep people stuck in fear and identity-based labels—and invite listeners into curiosity, root-cause investigation, and a more empowering view of symptoms, healing, and personal responsibility.

In This Episode, We Cover

· Michelle's story: diagnosed in 1998, years of intensive psychiatric treatment, polypharmacy, and a breaking point that became a turning point

· Why a diagnosis can feel like an "answer," but often doesn't explain why symptoms started

· The difference between a "cluster of symptoms" and an identified disease mechanism

· Why curiosity (vs. shame) changes everything—especially with intense symptoms like rage, anxiety, and dissociation

· The "detective" approach: identifying triggers, patterns, and underlying contributors

· The role of foundational health (nutrients, sleep, nervous system regulation) in emotional resilience and symptom reduction

· Why suppressed emotions can show up as anxiety, depression, physical pain, or crisis states

· How identity, victimhood, and relationship dynamics can unconsciously reinforce staying stuck

· A grounded reminder: do not abruptly stop medications—tapering/changes should be done slowly and safely with qualified support

Notable Takeaways

· Labels can reduce curiosity—and curiosity is often the doorway to change.

· "Symptoms" are information; the goal is to explore what they're pointing to.

· The most empowering question isn't "What's wrong with me?" but "What happened—and what is my system asking for now?"

· Healing can have a social cost: if your "sick role" has been rewarded with attention, protection, or lowered expectations, getting better can feel threatening (even subconsciously).

Resources Mentioned

· Anatomy of an Epidemic by Robert Whitaker

· The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk

· Healing Back Pain by Dr. John Sarno

Connect with Michelle

· Website: theupsideofbipolar.com

· Free resource: Mood Cycle Survival Guide (available on her site)

· Podcast + book links are also on her website.

What if the deepest wound you carry isn't about what happened to you—but about whether you ever felt truly held by life itself?

In this powerful and intimate conversation, JJ is joined by a longtime soul sister, healer, and registered nurse who shares a deeply transformative experience that healed a lifelong sense of abandonment—not just from people, but from God, Source, and existence itself.

After more than 25 years of personal growth, spiritual practice, and emotional work, she realized there was still an existential fracture beneath it all: a quiet belief that life was not fully safe, that love could be given endlessly but not fully received, and that stepping into her full calling might come at a devastating cost.

What unfolded during a sacred, carefully held journey became a profound reclamation of safety, trust, and belonging—at the nervous-system and soul level.

This episode is not about escapism or quick fixes. It's about:

· How early experiences can fracture our sense of safety with life itself

· Why control often masks a fear of annihilation or abandonment

· What true surrender actually feels like in the body

· Healing the relationship with Source beyond religion or belief systems

· Learning to receive love after a lifetime of giving

· Releasing the fear that being fully seen could destroy you

· Embodiment, integration, and lasting nervous-system change

JJ also speaks to the importance of integrity, preparation, emotional readiness, and sacred containment—emphasizing that this kind of work is not for everyone, not always, and never casual.

At its core, this is a conversation about remembering who you are, restoring trust in life, and discovering that you were never alone—not for a single breath.

If you've ever felt:

· Like you don't fully belong here

· Afraid to take up space or be fully visible

· Deeply loving but unable to receive

· Spiritually devoted yet quietly disconnected

· Called to something more but scared of the cost

This episode may speak directly to your heart.

This is not an escape from life.
It's an invitation into the truth of who you really are.

http://Karinrose.love