In this hearftelt episode host Elizabeth Tiglao-Guss explores the identity crisis that can come with living without children not by choice, asking: who are you if not the woman who was supposed to become a mother? She shares her own journey through unsuccessful fertility treatments, opening to adoption, and grieving both the child she wouldn’t have and the experience of pregnancy she longed for. Feeling “done” brought emotional fatigue, fear about her husband Victor’s timeline, and deeper questions about purpose and worth beyond motherhood, shaped by family and cultural expectations. Through faith, prayer, and meditation, she began letting go of an old identity and sensing a calling to build community, serve, create, and live intentionally. She leaves listeners with two journaling prompts about what has always been true and who they’d become if they knew they’d be okay.

1. The Big Identity Question
2. Motherhood As A Plan
3. Treatments And Adoption Grief
4. Feeling Like Nobody
5. Emotional Fatigue And Fear
6. Faith And A New Purpose
7. Building A Different Life
8. Ask Yourself Who You Are
9. Two Journal Prompts
10. Closing And Share This

Connect with Elizabeth:

IG: @bychanceavenue

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In this heartfelt episode, host Elizabeth Tiglao-Guss returns to the basics of what it really means to “process your emotions,” especially in the context of infertility grief and being childless not by choice. She shares her personal history of growing up in the Philippines suppressing emotions, being teased for sensitivity, and later experiencing a breakdown in her early twenties that led to a diagnosis of clinical depression something she now understands as years of suppressed feelings surfacing. Drawing from decades of therapy and somatic work, she explains what processing is not (just crying, ruminating, trying to get over it, or a one-time fix) and breaks down the internal steps: awareness, validation, acknowledgement/naming, and feeling emotions without distraction by noticing how they show up in the body. She describes how unprocessed emotions can feel like heaviness, irritability, and “blah” symptoms that impact relationships, and how doing the work gradually brings relief. Elizabeth also shares a tool that works for her writing as expression and release, including stream-of-consciousness writing and emphasizes that unprocessed emotions keep people stuck and cloud the ability to imagine a future. She closes by encouraging listeners to start with small steps, and offers clarity sessions for support.

1. Why Processing Matters
2. My Emotional Backstory
3. Breakdown to Breakthrough
4. Beyond Infertility Talk
5. What Processing Is Not
6. Four Steps to Process
7. Feeling It in the Body
8. Signs You Are Stuck
9. Writing as Release
10. Clear Space for Future
11. Start Small and Keep Going
12. Closing and Support

If you’re in a season where you could use a little more support and clarity, I’m offering private Gentle Clarity Sessions. You can let me know what’s going on and request a session here:

👉 https://bychance.myflodesk.com/claritysession

Connect with Elizabeth:

IG: @bychanceavenue

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Want to share your story? Apply to be a guest!

In the second episode of this heartfelt series, host Elizabeth Tiglao-Guss explores the journey of moving forward without children. Elizabeth discusses the emotional process of letting go of old dreams, creating space for new ones, and finding hope and excitement amidst uncertainty. She shares personal anecdotes, including the symbols of her past dreams and how she reimagines her future with new goals and possibilities. Elizabeth encourages listeners to honor their past dreams while embracing the new potential their current circumstances offer. With practical advice and emotional support, this episode aims to inspire listeners to dream again and find joy in their redefined lives.

1. Introduction: Embracing Life Without Children
2. Acknowledging Old Dreams
3. Creating Space for New Dreams
4. Exploring New Possibilities
5. Reimagining Life and Setting New Goals
6. Conclusion and Support

If you’re in a season where you could use a little more support and clarity, I’m offering private Gentle Clarity Sessions. You can let me know what’s going on and request a session here:

👉 https://bychance.myflodesk.com/claritysession

Connect with Elizabeth:

IG: @bychanceavenue

Stay connected & up to date with all things By Chance

Want to share your story? Apply to be a guest!