BW 186: Stuck in Fear About Your Future After Loss? 3 Steps To Take Control

Take the free 4 Seasons of Grief Quiz here: https://bravewidow.com/quiz     If you’ve ever laid awake at night terrified you won’t have enough money to keep your home or lifestyle, this episode is for you. Emily shares a listener’s question about fear, explains what fear really is (and isn’t), and walks you through three practical steps to work with fear instead of letting it run your life – all through a gentle, faith-based lens.   In this episode, you’ll learn: Why intense fear after losing your spouse is a normal response, not a moral failure The difference between helpful fear (“I need a plan”) and unhelpful fear (“I’m doomed”) How to pull fear “out of the dark” and name exactly what you’re afraid of How to gather facts about your finances and future so you can make informed decisions How to create a simple “fear plan” so your brain has a job to do A real story of a widow who went from frozen in fear about her home to selling it in one week once she had clarity and support How faith, prayer, and small actions work together as you face the unknown     Next steps: 🎯 Find your season of grief (free quiz): https://bravewidow.com/quiz 📅 Join the live “4 Seasons of Grief” webinar (Feb 17): https://bravewidow.com/live 🤍 Explore Brave Widow Academy and coaching: https://bravewidow.com/academy If you feel like “a shell of yourself,” lonely, or stuck walking in place, you’re not broken and you’re not alone. There is a gentle, faith-based path forward, one small step at a time.   Chapters / Timestamps: 0:00 – When fear keeps you up at night: the listener’s question 1:00 – Life “before and after” loss and why your nervous system feels unsafe 3:00 – What fear actually is: a signal, not a sentence 5:30 – The car analogy: letting fear ride in the backseat, not drive your life 7:30 – Helpful fear vs unhelpful fear with money and lifestyle worries 9:00 – Step 1: Bringing fear out of the dark and naming what you’re afraid of 11:00 – Step 2: Gathering facts and checking your financial reality 15:30 – Applying the same process to big decisions like moving or selling a house 18:00 – Step 3: Creating a “fear plan” and giving your brain a job 22:00 – Client story: from months of fear about housing to selling in one week 26:30 – Fear can ride in the car, but it doesn’t get the steering wheel 28:00 – Invitation to Brave Widow Academy: you don’t have to do this alone     🌱 READY FOR DEEPER SUPPORT? If you’re tired of feeling lost, lonely, and second‑guessing every decision, Brave Widow Academy is a 6‑month, faith‑based coaching program to help you rebuild a life you can love again.   Learn more: https://bravewidow.com/academy Book a free no‑pressure consult: https://bravewidow.com/call   💬 If this episode helped you, please:  Hit Subscribe  Leave a quick rating & review – it helps more widows find this support Share this with a friend who’s facing grief or the holidays without their person     If you’re new here, my name is Emily Tanner. I’m the founder of Brave Widow and Brave Widow Academy.   I help widows move from barely surviving their loss… to rebuilding a life they can actually love again without feeling like they’re betraying their person.   By day (and for 20+ years), I’ve led large teams and complex operations in the corporate world.    After my husband Nathan died in 2021, just shy of our 20-year anniversary, I took everything I knew about leadership, systems, and change — and started applying it to grief.   Since then, I’ve: Shared my story publicly to make widows feel less alone. Launched the Brave Widow podcast, now with 180+ episodes and listeners around the world. Coached hundreds of widows 1:1 and in groups, and talked with thousands more through the podcast, communities, and events. Built Brave Widow Academy, a 6-month coaching program with a clear framework for moving from deep grief to rebuilding a life you can love again.   I don’t teach “just think positive” grief tips.   I teach widows how to: Heal their heart. Stop waiting on “time” to fix everything. Take small, brave steps toward a life that feels meaningful again.   How I Got Here…   2021: My husband Nathan dies unexpectedly. I’m 4 kids in, overwhelmed, and drowning in paperwork, decisions, and pain. Therapy helps, but I still feel stuck with no roadmap.   2021–2022: I start devouring books, interviewing widows, trying grief groups, and studying coaching — desperate to find something that actually helps me feel different.   2022: I start the Brave Widow podcast, recording episodes while terrified and crying between takes — but determined that no widow should feel as alone as I did.   Year 1: I begin coaching widows 1:1. Word spreads quietly. The same patterns and problems keep showing up, so I start building frameworks instead of one-off advice.   Year 2: I launch Brave Widow Academy — a structured, 6-month coaching program with a step-by-step path: from deep grief, to stability, to rebuilding.   Year 3: Brave Widow has listeners around the world. I’ve personally coached hundreds of widows and spoken with thousands more through consults, lives, emails, and DMs.    Today: My work is simple:   Help widows stop white-knuckling their way through each day… and start rebuilding a life that makes them genuinely glad to be alive again.