How to Stop Pretending Everything's Fine: Real Talk on Friendship, Grief, and Connection

Have you ever found yourself saying "I'm fine" when you're absolutely not fine?This episode captures something rare—the first-ever live Commwell event, recorded in front of an intimate gathering in Seattle. Host Lindsey Pearsall sits down with two of her closest friends, Raanah and Joanna, for an honest conversation about the things we pretend are fine but really aren't.Why do we avoid going deep, even with people we love? Why is it so hard to talk about grief, fear, and the messy middle? And how do we actually find our people—the ones we can be fully ourselves with?This conversation doesn't offer answers. Instead, it creates space for better questions.What We Talk About:Why we stay on the surfaceThe exhaustion of holding hard things, the fear of discovering differences with people we love, the pressure to look like we have it together, and not wanting to burden othersFinding your peopleRecognizing resonance vs. dissonance in friendships, why continuity matters more than instant connection, building tolerance for rejection, and allowing friendships to shift as you growCultivating relationship with yourselfWhy buying yourself time is radical, using stillness to see your patterns, the fear of what we'll feel if we stop busying ourselves, and learning to radically accept where you areHealing in communityWhy we're not meant to hold heavy things alone, ancient practices of women gathering to grieve together, and how sharing our pain connects us to our humanityYou're InvitedThe Commwell hosts live events in Seattle once a month—a space for women to gather and have the deeper conversations we've been craving.Want to join us?Sign up for our newsletter or follow us on Instagram @thecommonwell for event updates.Have a question or topic you want us to explore?Call our voicemail: (206) 569-5353Or email: [email protected]