Podcast

In this episode, I examine how to support someone grieving or dealing with a great illness. This episode is for everyone who is trying their best to support a friend or family member through grief but feels the need to do it better. Offering support to others is the most selfless thing you can do for someone… often by simply being there for them. You may wonder what support is "supposed to look like" and if you are doing it "right." You may also be wondering how best to support someone after a loss. We will dive in and discuss many options and identify how you can effectively "show up" for someone dealing with grief. 

For episode #53 I’m taking you on a walk for a more authentic discussion of the grief process from my point of view. Today's content will be pulled from questions I’ve received in face-to-face discussions or via email and voicemail through the website. A casual walk allows me to discuss common questions or issues as if you were walking right beside me. I invite you to come along with me as I walk and talk about the grief process, what to expect, and a few unknown details that could help you with your journey through grief.

Join me for an unconventional episode as I discuss facing honesty, the blank page, and being uncomfortable. Pulling back the curtain and revealing how grief can be similar to common everyday issues you may never consider in life. Perhaps something didn't go as planned, you are now faced with deciding how to handle it going forward. Do you push it aside and move on, never confronting it any further, or do you face it head-on and deal with the messy, uncomfortable feelings before you? How is everyday life for others similar to grief and the decisions you face daily? Maybe the similarities are closer than you think.

In this episode, I'd like to talk about inspiration and how it helps me pick myself up when I'm down. It's an important part of how I move forward in this life experience with death and loss. It's there when I am in need of redirecting my thoughts and I discover it in a variety of ways. It can be from comments or discussions with friends and family, from a song, or from an article I stumble across online. One thing I've discovered about inspiration, it's always there if you are willing to find it.

In today’s episode, I’ve created a list of what I believe are the Top Ten Common Grief Myths. There are far more than ten, but I've chosen the most common, many with a higher impact on the grief community than others I've encountered or heard about from others. No matter the myths, this episode exists to help you navigate what you may encounter in the future or help you navigate what you've already experienced firsthand.

At the end of the episode, I provide you a Bonus: Five Things Never to Say to Someone Who's Grieving. These typically exist in society from the need for people to say something comforting, yet they come off insensitive. Somehow these phrases continue to cycle through the support community even though I'd suggest each one of them is obviously inappropriate. I'm hopeful together we can make strides to help educate others and stop these phrases from ever being said again.

While on your journey with grief there will come a time when a friend or professional may ask you what steps you are taking to move forward. Although they tend to have your best interest in mind, the idea of taking a step forward in your life without your passed loved one can be daunting and not something you might want to hear at the time. But there will be a need for you to consider this fact. How will you take your first step forward? I examine the necessary need to begin your first step forward and share with you the details of why I can face moving forward more easily than most. In this episode, I will challenge you to consider how you will move forward when the time comes and how your loved one may view the need to do so.

A milestone in life is often considered a large event; a wedding, the birth of a child, or the purchase of a house, but are you aware of the mini-milestones that can occur in your grief journey? The milestones most no one notices, but are felt just as deep. These are usually common, almost everyday experiences that can affect you as much as the first anniversary of your loss. Join me as I dive into going through this new life alone and identify unexpected milestones without your spouse. 

Through grief, we must come to a point where we begin to take one step forward. No matter how small or seemingly insignificant, that step doesn't happen on its own. The power of inspiration and motivation can be instrumental in helping us transition from the grief that is overwhelming to grief that is enlightening. To find the gratitude in your memories and the strength in your heart to take a step forward is to grow in your grief. How will you take your next step forward?

While we travel through our days — our lives — we have many things inside us at any given moment. Some things are delicate or fragile; others are joyful or satisfying. However, there are moments what's inside comes spilling out because life has shaken our cup around. In today's episode, we will examine what's in your cup and what we need to do to make certain what spills out tomorrow is something better than today.