How to Stop Letting Fear Run Your Life

How to Stop Letting Fear Run Your Life

Author: Anne-Marie Zanzal 1ac1f670-c17c-11f0-806a-ef1502adef07 August 7, 2026 Duration: 31:57

What if fear is not a stop sign but a signal that you are growing?

In this month's first Friday conversation, Anne-Marie is joined by regular guest Anna Empey, business development consultant and LGBTQ+ coach, for an honest look at fear. Not how to get rid of it, because we cannot, but how to stop letting it make our decisions for us.

Together they explore why the brain works so hard to keep us in our comfort zones, even the miserable ones, and why so many women stay in marriages, jobs, and closets for years because familiar feels safer than free. Anna gets wonderfully nerdy about the amygdala and neuroplasticity, explaining how every small brave step literally teaches the brain that change is survivable. Anne-Marie draws on her years as a hospice chaplain, where she sat with thousands of people at the end of life and heard their real regrets. No one ever told her they wished they had stayed more comfortable.

You will also hear why "blowing up your life" is the wrong phrase, how to recognize when practicality is really fear wearing sensible shoes, why the anticipation of coming out is often scarier than the act itself, and Anne-Marie's beloved reframe of coming out as "letting in," where you hold the power to choose who enters your inner circle.

We leave you with one question to sit with this week. Where in your life is fear making your decisions for you? No need to act yet. Notice, and consider your first brave step.

Fear loses its grip in community. When we sit with other women who understand this road from the inside, the fear, the guilt, and the shame all begin to loosen their hold, because shame cannot survive being met with empathy. Both Anne-Marie and Anna are inside Authentically Us, our ongoing community for women navigating identity, coming out, and everything beyond. If you are tired of carrying this alone, we have saved you a seat. Join us at https://community.annemariezanzal.com


It can feel incredibly isolating to question your sexuality after years of living a different story. Coming Out & Beyond Support for Women Questioning Their Sexuality Later in Life is a companion for that specific journey, created for those who find themselves navigating these waters from a place of established life-perhaps within a marriage, after a divorce, or while building a family. Host Anne-Marie Zanzal brings her perspective as an ordained minister and hospice chaplain to conversations that gently unravel complex layers of identity, faith, and fear. This podcast delves into the real, often unspoken challenges: confronting compulsory heterosexuality, processing religious or spiritual conditioning, and managing the anxiety of how a personal revelation might ripple through your closest relationships. Episodes offer a blend of personal reflection, insightful interviews, and practical support, focusing on emotional and mental well-being without offering simplistic answers. It’s a space where you can hear stories that resonate with your own, fostering a sense of clarity and community. Tuning in, you’ll find a resource that honors the full spectrum of this experience-the confusion, the liberation, and everything in between-always grounded in compassion and deep understanding.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 50

Coming Out & Beyond | Support for Women Questioning Their Sexuality
Podcast Episodes
📷”I Want To See These Women’s Faces” [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:59
This week, we're revisiting an episode from Season 6 featuring GLAAD Media Award nominee, documentary photographer Morgan Lieberman. Morgan's project, "Hidden Once, Hidden Twice," published with NPR last June was recentl…
The Road That Led to Me: Becka Eppley's Story [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 49:00
Authentically Us is a support community for later-in-life LGBTQ women at all stages of the coming out and beyond process. Coming out later in life is often accompanied by suffering. Whether you're looking to deconstruct…
U-Haul University: Sapphic Dating Advice! [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 47:26
This Authentic Life is a transformative course designed specifically for late-blooming LGBTQIA+ women (and non-binary people comfortable in women's spaces) who are navigating the complexities of identity, relationships,…
Deconstructing in a Post-Coming Out Landscape [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 55:21
Join the Maybe I'm Not Straight 3-Day Clarity Experience, January 6-8, 2026. For women who need a safe, affirming opportunity to explore their sexuality.: https://annemariezanzal.com/this-authentic-life-3-day-clarity-exp…
2025 Podcast Year in Review! [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:33
Join the Maybe I'm Not Straight 3-Day Clarity Experience, January 6-8, 2026. For women who need a safe, affirming opportunity to explore their sexuality.: https://annemariezanzal.com/this-authentic-life-3-day-clarity-exp…
Beauty, Control & Living Outside the Lines! [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 40:03
Join the Maybe I'm Not Straight 3-Day Clarity Experience, January 6-8, 2026. For women who need a safe, affirming opportunity to explore their sexuality.: https://annemariezanzal.com/this-authentic-life-3-day-clarity-exp…
🤔How Do You Explore Your Sexuality? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 58:13
Join the Maybe I'm Not Straight 3-Day Clarity Experience, January 6-8, 2026: https://annemariezanzal.com/this-authentic-life-3-day-clarity-experience/Exploring sexuality – what does that even mean? And how do you do it,…
📣The Power of Telling Your Story! [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 52:11
This week on the podcast, host Anne-Marie Zanzal welcomes fellow author and later-in-lifer, Sarah Locke. Sarah shares her journey of coming out later in life and living with multiple sclerosis. Sarah's personal value of…