Coping strategies for shutdown

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Letting go isn’t a single decision. It’s a slow, sacred process.

In this episode of Beyond Words, Najwa explores what it really means to release someone, something, or a dream that once felt like home. You’ll learn why your struggle to let go is not a sign of weakness, but proof of how deeply you love, care, and stay loyal to what matters.

Through stories, analogies, and soulful reflection, Najwa guides you through the gentle art of loosening your grip without abandoning yourself in the process.

"Your struggle to let go is not failure. It’s evidence of your depth.”

🕒 Timestamps

00:00 — The truth about why letting go feels impossible
 01:26 — How do you actually make peace with what’s gone?
 03:45 — The beauty in your ability to hold on
 06:17 — Why holding on isn’t weakness
 07:21 — When people make you feel foolish for still caring
 08:23 — Listening to what your pain is trying to say
 09:26 — The power of going slowly
 10:38 — How to ground yourself when you shut down
 12:52 — Numbing and distraction as survival
 14:59 — “God doesn’t burden a soul more than it can bear”
 17:22 — Relapse is not failure
 19:36 — Practical steps for letting go
 20:41 — Journal prompts to understand your attachment
 22:38 — Why time alone doesn’t heal you
 25:20 — The rope analogy: how healing happens in layers
 28:54 — Climbing your emotional mountain
 30:16 — Grieving what you thought would last
 31:55 — The parts of you that still hold on
 33:03 — Words That Found Me: Epictetus on acceptance
35:07 — The nature of impermanence
36:16 — Final reflection and gratitude

🧭 Show Notes

In this episode, Najwa shares:

• The real reason it’s so hard to let go
• How holding on can be an expression of loyalty, not weakness
• The difference between forcing closure and finding peace
• What grief actually looks like when love still lingers
• How to stop judging yourself for still caring
• Why letting go takes safety, patience, and time

Key quotes:

• “If it took you years to hold on, you can’t let go in a day.”
• “Your ability to hold on shows not your weakness, but your power.”
• “You don’t let go by deciding to forget; you let go by deciding to feel.”
• “Maybe you were never meant to drop the mountain — only to climb it.”

Mentioned in this episode:
📖 The Only Constant – “I will go as fast as the slowest part of me feels safe.”
🎵 Gentle With Myself by Karen Drucker
📜 Epictetus — “Seek not that the things which happen should happen as you wish...”

Reflection prompts:

1. What am I still holding on to that no longer holds me?
2. What part of me is afraid of what life will look like when I finally let go?
3. What small step could I take today to release one thread of that rope?

Listen and remember:
You don’t let go by being stronger.
You let go by being gentler with the parts of you that still care.