Exposing Grief with Brittany Squillace: Recent Episodes
Brittany Squillace
Welcome to the Exposing Grief podcast! This podcast is a branch of my Exposing Grief educational YouTube channel. The mission remains the same; I continue to remove the stigma of grief and expose if for what it truly is which is a natural and healthy way of living and loving. The podcast branch is different in that instead of receiving education in the way you typically would from the YouTube channel, you will be getting a different type of education (and in a different way) for your grief journey via hearing and witnessing the grief work being done from others who have (and are currently) walking through and navigating their own grief journey. In listening to this podcast, you will step into a world where grief is not only welcomed but accepted and encouraged. A world that will have you feeling surrounded by and comforted from my guests who are sharing their own grief stories with you; removing that feeling of being alone in this unbelievably tough journey. Not only will you find hope within your own grief experience but you may even be inspired to discover what honoring your grief journey looks like. Join me as we break the stigma of grief and create a world accepting of grief one episode at a time!
Recently, I had the honor of being a guest on Nancy & Dan Loeffler radio show "Morning Conversations with Nancy & Dan" on WFNU 94.1. Nancy was a previous guest on my podcast and talked about how to put yourself "back together" in grief so I was honored to be invited to her space and continue breaking the stigma of grief.
Join us in our conversation as I talk with Nancy & Dan about:
- Different forms of grief and loss
- Disenfranchised grief and ambiguous loss
- Tools to begin addressing and grieving this form of loss
If you resonated with this episode and you believe someone else would benefit from listening, please share it! I'd also love for you to connect with me on Instagram @exposing_grief so I can thank you personally for playing a big part in removing the stigma of grief and creating a world where it is accepted and welcomed.
If you're in need of guidance around your grief journey, or would like to connect further, I encourage you to take advantage of my FREE 15 minute consultation to begin exploring what walking and honoring your grief journey with me might look like.
If you're not quite ready for this step, I invite you to check out my grief blog and Best Self Therapy YouTube Channel for great free resources that will assist you along your journey.
I love connecting with my listeners any chance I can! Feel free to email me (bsquillace@bestselftherapy.net) with any questions or comments you may have.
Are you supporting a loved one who is grieving or going through a challenging time? Do you find yourself struggling with knowing how to best offer and provide said support?
Ideally, when you are supporting a loved one who is grieving, you are holding space for them to grieve. But what does that mean? Join me this week as I round out this month's series and talk about:
- What holding space for grief means,
- Provide examples as to what holding space looks like and
- Create space for you to explore how you can (or already do) hold space for those you are wanting to support
No one said providing support was going to be easy but that doesn't mean it can't be effective!
If you resonated with this episode and you believe someone else would benefit from listening, please share it! I'd also love for you to connect with me on Instagram @exposing_grief so I can thank you personally for playing a big part in removing the stigma of grief and creating a world where it is accepted and welcomed.
If you're in need of guidance around your grief journey, or would like to connect further, I encourage you to take advantage of my FREE 15 minute consultation to begin exploring what walking and honoring your grief journey with me might look like.
If you're not quite ready for this step, I invite you to check out my grief blog and Exposing Grief YouTube Channel for great free resources that will assist you along your journey.
I love connecting with my listeners any chance I can! Feel free to email me (bsquillace@bestselftherapy.net) with any questions or comments you may have.
As my guests and I have talked about in previous episodes, sometimes part of your grief work is just "sitting with" the grief or whatever big emotion is coming up. Okay, great...but what does that actually mean?
Join me this week as I continue on with my March series and address the common concept of sitting with grief that has come up time and time again on this podcast. I will address:
- What sitting with grief actually means,
- A metaphor to gain further understanding and
- The purpose behind why we sit in grief (or big emotions)
If you resonated with this episode and you believe someone else would benefit from listening, please share it! I'd also love for you to connect with me on Instagram @exposing_grief so I can thank you personally for playing a big part in removing the stigma of grief and creating a world where it is accepted and welcomed.
If you're in need of guidance around your grief journey, or would like to connect further, I encourage you to take advantage of my FREE 15 minute consultation to begin exploring what walking and honoring your grief journey with me might look like.
If you're not quite ready for this step, I invite you to check out my grief blog and Exposing Grief YouTube Channel for great free resources that will assist you along your journey.
I love connecting with my listeners any chance I can! Feel free to email me (bsquillace@bestselftherapy.net) with any questions or comments you may have.
"No one has died but I still feel as though I've lost something. Do I still get to grieve?" YES!!! You can experience grief around non-death (or ambiguous/living) losses. Experiences that may fall into this category could be going through a divorce or a sudden tragic experience not involving death such as a house fire. Even experiences that appear positive and exciting on the surface (such as becoming a parent or retirement) would also bring elements of loss.
Join me this week as I continue on with my March series and go further into depth on ambiguous/living losses. In this episode you will:
- Learn more about what ambiguous/living losses are,
- Understand the importance of grieving them and the possible dangers if we don't, and
- Engage in an exercise allowing you to start identifying any possible losses you may want to make space to grieve
If you resonated with this episode and you believe someone else would benefit from listening, please share it! I'd also love for you to connect with me on Instagram @exposing_grief so I can thank you personally for playing a big part in removing the stigma of grief and creating a world where it is accepted and welcomed.
If you're in need of guidance around your grief journey, or would like to connect further, I encourage you to take advantage of my FREE 15 minute consultation to begin exploring what walking and honoring your grief journey with me might look like.
If you're not quite ready for this step, I invite you to check out my grief blog and Exposing Grief YouTube Channel for great free resources that will assist you along your journey.
I love connecting with my listeners any chance I can! Feel free to email me (bsquillace@bestselftherapy.net) with any questions or comments you may have.
"I'm giving you the permission to grieve." may be a phrase you've heard me communicate throughout my podcast episodes. But it's also been communicated that we get to honor our grief in whatever way we need; so why would we need permission?
Join me this week as I talk about what's truly meant behind the phrase "permission to grieve". You'll gain not only an understand of the term but also:
- Engage in an exercise allowing you to further your understanding and
- Explore how this term fits within your grief journey
A great pairing with this episode is my "Show Yourself Some Love!" episode from last month. After this episode, you'll have an understanding of why grief is not a selfish process; allowing you to tap into some of the self-care concepts (watch my Exposing Grief YouTube video, "Grief & Self-Care? Yes, It's Possible!" for a self-care assessment.) discussed in last month's episode. If you resonated with this episode and you believe someone else would benefit from listening, please share it! I'd also love for you to connect with me on Instagram @exposing_grief so I can thank you personally for playing a big part in removing the stigma of grief and creating a world where it is accepted and welcomed.
If you're in need of guidance around your grief journey, or would like to connect further, I encourage you to take advantage of my FREE 15 minute consultation to begin exploring what walking and honoring your grief journey with me might look like.
If you're not quite ready for this step, I invite you to check out my grief blog and Exposing Grief YouTube Channel for great free resources that will assist you along your journey.
I love connecting with my listeners any chance I can! Feel free to email me (bsquillace@bestselftherapy.net) with any questions or comments you may have.
Discovering and shaping your life after an impactful loss can be challenging. It can bring uncertainty around what life can look like and where to go to explore the possibilities. My guest, Susan Hayes, talks about her journey with this process. She solved this mystery through asking herself one question consistently and listening to the answers given to her. Sue also discusses the importance of:
- Honoring your grief journey and
- Letting go of judgement
Tune into this weeks episode to learn the one question Sue asked herself to rediscover her life after loss.
Susan Hayes, the Spark Activator, is the CEO of Active Abundance, LLC.
She shows women who’ve experienced a significant loss and are ready to reemerge how to reignite their spark of JOY. She takes them on a loving and joyful healing journey so that they can BOLDY and BLISSFULLY embrace the next chapter in their lives.
It has been through Susan’s own significant loss of the passing of her beloved husband that has set her on her current path. This loss has served as a catalyst for tremendous growth as it has exposed the unhealed wounds from her childhood. Through her journey, she has discovered powerful and magical tools and strategies that show others how to honor and heal their grief, current and from childhood traumas, so that JOY is in the forefront once again.
Prior to losing her husband, Susan served as a SET Therapist (Structural Energetic Therapist) for children and adults. As a SET therapist, she facilitated physical and emotional wellness through rehabilitative massage, breathwork, brain detox, and remote healing. She has also been trained and certified in a multitude of energy healing modalities, such as Reiki and Polarity, which she infuses into all that she offers.
Susan also draws upon more than 20 years of experience as a teacher of young children.
Susan empowers others as a Keynote Speaker, a Transformational Mindset Coach, a Writer, and an Intuitive Healer.
Se habla español. Parla italiano.
If you'd like to connect with Sue, check out her website Susan Hayes Speaks. You might also want to check out the few books she mentioned during our conversation. Additional resources mentioned throughout the episode are below:
- Exposing Grief with Brittany Squillace podcast episode: "Understanding Anticipatory Grief"
- Grief Blog: "Honor Your Grief Journey: A Thankful Approach to Grief"
If you resonated with this episode and you believe someone else would benefit from listening, please share it! I'd also love for you to connect with me on Instagram @exposing_grief so I can thank you personally for playing a big part in removing the stigma of grief and creating a world where it is accepted and welcomed.
If you're in need of guidance around your grief journey, or would like to connect further, I encourage you to take advantage of my FREE 15 minute consultation to begin exploring what walking and honoring your grief journey with me might look like.
If you're not quite ready for this step, I invite you to check out my grief blog and Exposing Grief YouTube Channel for great free resources that will assist you along your journey.
I love connecting with my listeners any chance I can! Feel free to email me (bsquillace@bestselftherapy
"Grief is life changing but it doesn't have to be life ruining" is what my guest, Michelle, discovered as she began walking and continues to walk her grief journey. In addition to this incredible discovery she highlights a few other discoveries she's found along the way:
- A spiritual awakening that continues as she learns how to live from the inside out
- Learning how to embrace death as part of life instead of it being something to fear
Michelle Kolling is a trained end of life doula and founder of HELD where she helps people create the life they want until their last breath. Michelle provides non-medical practical and emotional support to the dying and their caregivers. In addition to helping people facing end of life, she provides advanced planning services, is a certified life, leadership and communication coach, and is a living funeral ceremony practitioner. Michelle is a member of both INELDA and NEDA and is a member of the Steering Committee for the Minnesota Death Collaborative.
Check out Michelle's interview, Give Yourself Permission to Keep Trying, on my Exposing Grief YouTube Channel to learn more about her role as a death doula. If you'd like to connect with Michelle and explore what working with her might look like, connect and schedule a time with her here.
All the other great resources mentioned through the episode are below:
- Exposing Grief with Brittany Squillace podcast episode: Grief Wishes: 5 Grief Truths Those Who Are Grieving Wish You Knew
- Podcast episode: Understanding Anticipatory Grief
- Book: A Grief Observedby C.S. Lewis
- Podcast episode: Show Yourself Some Love!
If you resonated with this episode and you believe someone else would benefit from listening, please share it! I'd also love for you to connect with me on Instagram @exposing_grief so I can thank you personally for playing a big part in removing the stigma of grief and creating a world where it is accepted and welcomed.
If you're in need of guidance around your grief journey, or would like to connect further, I encourage you to take advantage of my FREE 15 minute consultation to begin exploring what walking and honoring your grief journey with me might look like.
If you're not quite ready for this step, I invite you to check out my grief blog and Exposing Grief YouTube Channel for great free resources that will assist you along your journey.
I love connecting with my listeners any chance I can! Feel free to email me (bsquillace@bestselftherapy.net) with any questions or comments you may have.
Do you love yourself? Are you actively creating space to show yourself love? Or does the whole idea make you uncomfortable? Whether you believe it or not, it's important to make sure you show yourselves love by taking care of yourself; you can't begin to take care of others if your own well-being is neglected.
Join me this week as I talk about two of the most common ways we can show ourself love; self-care and affirmations. In this episode I cover:
- What self-care is and is not,
- The various areas of self-care we want to attend to and
- The benefits and challenges of engaging in self-care
I will also end the episode with a few affirmations for you to tell yourself on the regular; giving yourself reminders that will encourage you to keep going!
Be sure to check out the image for the areas of self-care and the self-care assessment to ensure your self-care process is well-rounded.
If you resonated with this episode and you believe someone else would benefit from listening, please share it! I'd also love for you to connect with me on Instagram @exposing_grief so I can thank you personally for playing a big part in removing the stigma of grief and creating a world where it is accepted and welcomed.
If you're in need of guidance around your grief journey, or would like to connect further, I encourage you to take advantage of my FREE 15 minute consultation to begin exploring what walking and honoring your grief journey with me might look like.
If you're not quite ready for this step, I invite you to check out my grief blog and Exposing Grief YouTube Channel for great free resources that will assist you along your journey.
I love connecting with my listeners any chance I can! Feel free to email me (bsquillace@bestselftherapy.net) with any questions or comments you may have.
Do you have clutter in front of you that you just don't know what to do with? Is that clutter causing you mental clutter as well? Or could it possibly be that you have mental clutter that you're projecting into your physical space like my guest Missi?
Whatever it might be, Missi with Clear Spaces Organizing may be able to help.
Join myself and Missi as she talks about professional organizing and how it may benefit particularly those who are walking through a tough life change/transition.
If you'd like to connect with Missi, I encourage you to schedule your free consultation.
And don't forget to check her out on Facebook and Instagram.
If you resonated with this episode and you believe someone else would benefit from listening, please share it! I'd also love for you to connect with me on Instagram @exposing_grief so I can thank you personally for playing a big part in removing the stigma of grief and creating a world where it is accepted and welcomed.
If you're in need of guidance around your grief journey, or would like to connect further, I encourage you to take advantage of my FREE 15 minute consultation to begin exploring what walking and honoring your grief journey with me might look like.
If you're not quite ready for this step, I invite you to check out my grief blog and Exposing Grief YouTube Channel for great free resources that will assist you along your journey.
I love connecting with my listeners any chance I can! Feel free to email me (bsquillace@bestselftherapy.net) with any questions or comments you may have.
What do you want to leave behind? How do you want to be remembered? What do you want your legacy to be? This week, as part of my pre-planning series, we dive into how you might start exploring these questions and getting answers to them with my guests Monique and Christy from Apex Legacy. They discuss:
- What legacy planning is,
- How it may (or may not) benefit your grief journey and
- The importance of legacy planning in advance
To learn more about Christy and Monique, I encourage you to read their bios. While you're there, you may also want to check out the various resources mentioned in today's episode:
- Funeral planning blog post
- Resource page
- Consulting packages available to you and your family
If you'd like to connect with Monique or Christy you may do so here.
If you resonated with this episode and you believe someone else would benefit from listening, please share it! I'd also love for you to connect with me on Instagram @exposing_grief so I can thank you personally for playing a big part in removing the stigma of grief and creating a world where it is accepted and welcomed.
If you're in need of guidance around your grief journey, or would like to connect further, I encourage you to take advantage of my FREE 15 minute consultation to begin exploring what walking and honoring your grief journey with me might look like.
If you're not quite ready for this step, I invite you to check out my grief blog and Exposing Grief YouTube Channel for great free resources that will assist you along your journey.
I love connecting with my listeners any chance I can! Feel free to email me (bsquillace@bestselftherapy.net) with any questions or comments you may have.
Estates, wills, probates, etc...that's for older people right? Wrong! Anyone who is living and has assets, all of these areas are for you! So with that, you may be asking "When do I need to start looking at these things?" Great question! That's what this series is all about and my guest this week, Gregory, will talk about the importance of pre-planning your estate and the steps to do so.
Throughout the episode, Gregory mentions a few resources of his that will help you throughout your process.
- Signature Law Blog
- Signature Law Estate Planning YouTube Channel
If you'd like to connect with Gregory and explore what your time working with him might look like, connect and schedule your free consultation here.
If you resonated with this episode and you believe someone else would benefit from listening, please share it! I'd also love for you to connect with me on Instagram @exposing_grief so I can thank you personally for playing a big part in removing the stigma of grief and creating a world where it is accepted and welcomed.
If you're in need of guidance around your grief journey, or would like to connect further, I encourage you to take advantage of my FREE 15 minute consultation to begin exploring what walking and honoring your grief journey with me might look like.
If you're not quite ready for this step, I invite you to check out my grief blog and Exposing Grief YouTube Channel for great free resources that will assist you along your journey.
I love connecting with my listeners any chance I can! Feel free to email me (bsquillace@bestselftherapy.net) with any questions or comments you may have.
"I don't want to have a funeral, I want to have a party" was the common theme being communicated to Kelly Roberts (owner of Roberts Family Funeral Home and SendOff), my guest this week, that launched him into creating a space for families to celebrate their deceased loved ones differently than what a traditional funeral offers.
In addition to discussing his new offering to families via SendOff, Kelly also discusses:
- How a SendOff ceremony could benefit your grief journey,
- The importance of pre-planning your loved one's SendOff ceremony and
- The best next steps to take along your journey
If you're interested in connecting with Kelly to learn more, you may contact him here to explore what your process may look like.
If you resonated with this episode and you believe someone else would benefit from listening, please share it! I'd also love for you to connect with me on Instagram @exposing_grief so I can thank you personally for playing a big part in removing the stigma of grief and creating a world where it is accepted and welcomed.
If you're in need of guidance around your grief journey, or would like to connect further, I encourage you to take advantage of my FREE 15 minute consultation to begin exploring what walking and honoring your grief journey with me might look like.
If you're not quite ready for this step, I invite you to check out my grief blog and Exposing Grief YouTube Channel for great free resources that will assist you along your journey.
I love connecting with my listeners any chance I can! Feel free to email me (bsquillace@bestselftherapy.net) with any questions or comments you may have.
Are you expecting a loss in your life (whether it's the loss of a loved one or a big life change/transition)? Did you know grief can show up in the time you're expecting a loss? It's true! It's called anticipatory grief. You may have heard this term mentioned a few times on my podcast up to this point which is why I wanted to dedicate a whole episode to it. Join me as I talk about:
- What anticipatory grief is,
- When and how it shows up,
- The symptoms of anticipatory grief, and
- Ways to begin coping with this type of grief
This episode will also catapult us into my January series where I sit down with three different professionals who will speak with us about the importance of pre-planning.
Throughout the episode, I mentioned quite a few different resources to expand on some of the topics I just briefly addressed. You will find these below:
- A deeper look into the Both/And concept in grief
- Understanding Ambiguous Loss
- Parallels between pet loss and death of a human: Pet Loss, Grief & Lessons Learned
- Grief Blog: What Even Is Anticipatory Grief?
- Resources to take care of you: Grief & Self-Care video and Love Yourself & Take A Grief Breakblog article
- Grief Wishes: Not Your Typical New Year's Resolutions
If you resonated with this episode and you believe someone else would benefit from listening, please share it! I'd also love for you to connect with me on Instagram @exposing_grief so I can thank you personally for playing a big part in removing the stigma of grief and creating a world where it is accepted and welcomed.
If you're in need of guidance around your grief journey, or would like to connect further, I encourage you to take advantage of my FREE 15 minute consultation to begin exploring what walking and honoring your grief journey with me might look like.
If you're not quite ready for this step, I invite you to check out my grief blog and Exposing Grief YouTube Channel for great free resources that will assist you along your journey.
I love connecting with my listeners any chance I can! Feel free to email me (bsquillace@bestselftherapy.net) with any questions or comments you may have.
Are you looking for an approach to grief that isn't necessarily a professional service? If so, this week's Exposing Grief podcast episode is for you! Join me as I chat with my guest, Erin, about the benefit of slowing down in life and within your grief journey. She will also touch on how having routine and being flexible comes with great benefit.
Many grief myths are highlighted in this episode. To learn more about these grief myths, join me over on my Exposing Grief YouTube channel as I Debunk The Top 5 Grief Myths.
Erin Zimmerman is the owner of EZ Visibility, where she serves as visibility strategist and mixed media producer. She helps marginalized voices create fun, sustainable action plans to grow their brands and make a name for themselves so they can be heard, be seen, with ease. Connection, content repurposing, and project management are the name of HER game! Be sure to also connect with her on Facebook.
If you resonated with this episode and you believe someone else would benefit from listening, please share it! I'd also love for you to connect with me on Instagram @exposing_grief so I can thank you personally for playing a big part in removing the stigma of grief and creating a world where it is accepted and welcomed.
If you're in need of guidance around your grief journey, or would like to connect further, I encourage you to take advantage of my FREE 15 minute consultation to begin exploring what walking and honoring your grief journey with me might look like.
If you're not quite ready for this step, I invite you to check out my grief blog and Exposing Grief YouTube Channel for great free resources that will assist you along your journey.
I love connecting with my listeners any chance I can! Feel free to email me (bsquillace@bestselftherapy.net) with any questions or comments you may have.
"I've tried talk therapy, yoga, hypnotherapy...nothing seems to be working." Does this sound like you? This week's episode is for you! It's not uncommon to have part of the battle of grief to be finding the best way to process and cope with it.
Join me as I continue my December series with Amanda Ferrat who provides EFT tapping to those walking and honoring a grief journey. In addition to sharing her own grief story, she will also talk about:
- The need for a permission to grieve,
- The wide range of emotions that come with grief and how to honor them and
- EFT tapping and its benefits
If you'd like to learn more about EFT tapping and how it may benefit your grief journey, check out Amanda's episode, EFT Tapping: Inviting All Emotions of Grief, on my Exposing Grief YouTube channel.
Amanda Ferrat, founder of Value Yourself Counseling, is a certified Advanced EFT Practitioner and emotional wellness counselor that uses her compassion, empathy, intuition, and skills to help women break barriers and limitations to build new thought patterns and beliefs that allow them to embody their inner Badass and obtain emotional freedom. She pursued her entrepreneurial path after a long and complicated journey with grief, trauma, and physical and mental health struggles. Because her healing journey has not been easy, Amanda actively works to create a world where it is safe to be your authentic self 100% of the time. When not helping others, Amanda loves to spend time adventuring along the Oregon Coast with her dog Ludo, snuggle with her cat Esme, or add to her collections of crystals and craft supplies.
If you resonated with this episode and you believe someone else would benefit from listening, please share it! I'd also love for you to connect with me on Instagram @exposing_grief so I can thank you personally for playing a big part in removing the stigma of grief and creating a world where it is accepted and welcomed.
If you're in need of guidance around your grief journey, or would like to connect further, I encourage you to take advantage of my FREE 15 minute consultation to begin exploring what walking and honoring your grief journey with me might look like.
If you're not quite ready for this step, I invite you to check out my grief blog and Exposing Grief YouTube Channel for great free resources that will assist you along your journey.
I love connecting with my listeners any chance I can! Feel free to email me (bsquillace@bestselftherapy.net) with any questions or comments you may have.
There are many ways to process and navigate grief. In last week's podcast episode (Creative Expression in Grief), I identified movement as a creative way to express grief. That movement may take the form of yoga; but not just any yoga, yoga geared towards processing grief.
Join me this week as I talk with my guest, Page Park, who is a certified yoga instructor. She speaks to the benefit of partaking in yoga while processing and honoring a grief journey. In addition to sharing her story and how yoga has helped her she will also highlight:
- The importance of regulating the nervous system,
- Finding an escape while honoring your grief journey and
- Experiencing compound grief
If you'd like to learn more about Page and what working with her might look like, visit her website Tulsi Rose Yoga. For grief yoga specifically, click here. You may also follow her on social media @tulsiroseyoga.
If you resonated with this episode and you believe someone else would benefit from listening, please share it! I'd also love for you to connect with me on Instagram @exposing_grief so I can thank you personally for playing a big part in removing the stigma of grief and creating a world where it is accepted and welcomed.
If you're in need of guidance around your grief journey, or would like to connect further, I encourage you to take advantage of my FREE 15 minute consultation to begin exploring what walking and honoring your grief journey with me might look like.
If you're not quite ready for this step, I invite you to check out my grief blog and Exposing Grief YouTube Channel for great free resources that will assist you along your journey.
I love connecting with my listeners any chance I can! Feel free to email me (bsquillace@bestselftherapy.net) with any questions or comments you may have.
One size does not fit all in grief. Everyone's grief journey looks different from the way in which it manifests to how the individual chooses to process the grief. The unique nature of grief requires access to a variety of approaches to processing and expressing grief. Before diving into this month's series (my guests will discuss different approaches to processing grief), I want to take time to talk about creative expression within grief. I'll highlight:
- What creative expression is,
- The benefit/purpose of creative expression and
- Breakdown 4 different forms of creative expression
After listening to this episode, you will have some ideas of how you may want to creatively express your grief. Below, you will find the various resources I mention in the episode to expand on the tools discussed.
- Reclaim Your Independence: There's Grief & Then There's You!
- Grief Wishes: Not Your Typical New Year's Resolutions
- Pet Loss, Grief & Lessons Learned
If you resonated with this episode and you believe someone else would benefit from listening, please share it! I'd also love for you to connect with me on Instagram @exposing_grief so I can thank you personally for playing a big part in removing the stigma of grief and creating a world where it is accepted and welcomed.
If you're in need of guidance around your grief journey, or would like to connect further, I encourage you to take advantage of my FREE 30 minute consultation to begin exploring what walking and honoring your grief journey with me might look like.
If you're not quite ready for this step, I invite you to check out my grief blog and Exposing Grief YouTube Channel for great free resources that will assist you along your journey.
I love connecting with my listeners any chance I can! Feel free to email me (bsquillace@bestselftherapy.net) with any questions or comments you may have.
Don't be afraid to address the "elephant in the room" this holiday season. My podcast guest, Kelsey, this week discusses the importance behind this act. We all hurt while grieving, especially when that grief is taking place during the holidays; we deserve to give ourselves and others the space to probably grieve; eliminating the expectation to pretend everything is okay. Kelsey will also briefly discuss:
- Finding meaning in grief during the holidays and
- Carrying on legacies within grief
Kelsey Pfleiderer is a writer from a small town in Ohio, now residing in the Florida Keys with her husband, rainbow baby boy, and
a feisty, orange neighborhood cat. After being diagnosed with a rare spinal tumor in 2017, and being met with the reality of the old
cliché of "life is short", she left her career in corporate events to pursue her deepest dream of writing. Kelsey is a contributing writer featured on Her View From Home, Pregnancy After Loss Support, The Mighty, Love What
Matters, and many more. She is currently in the process of finding a literary agent for her first book. She believes that by embracing our scars, both physical and emotional, we unfold the roadmap that leads us to the life we were created to live.
If you'd like to connect with Kelsey, you can find her on instagram @kelsey.pfleiderer.
If you resonated with this episode and you believe someone else would benefit from listening, please share it! I'd also love for you to connect with me on Instagram @exposing_grief so I can thank you personally for playing a big part in removing the stigma of grief and creating a world where it is accepted and welcomed.
If you're in need of guidance around your grief journey, or would like to connect further, I encourage you to take advantage of my FREE 30 minute consultation to begin exploring what walking and honoring your grief journey with me might look like.
If you're not quite ready for this step, I invite you to check out my grief blog and Exposing Grief YouTube Channel for great free resources that will assist you along your journey.
I love connecting with my listeners any chance I can! Feel free to email me (bsquillace@bestselftherapy.net) with any questions or comments you may have.
Pet loss carries a heavy stigma outside of the holidays but when attempting to honor a grief journey following the loss of a pet while also navigating the holidays, the stigma may be even stronger. When in reality, we find there is a lot of crossover in grieving the death of a loved one and grieving the death of a pet.
My guest this week, Jessie, talks to us about how she navigated the loss of her sweet dog (more like "fur baby"), Decoy, just days before the holidays. She speaks on her experience with:
- The power of utilizing her family as support,
- Setting boundaries around social media and
- Recognizing, "no one has the power to undermine what you're feeling"
Even if your grief isn't attached to a pet loss, there is something for everyone in this episode who is honoring a grief journey.
Jessie is a photographer and freelance urban designer who loves spending her free time enjoying the outdoors with her husband, friends and family. She loves to pet every dog she sees, enjoys lounging around in sweatpants and is always up for a road trip.
If you resonated with this episode and you believe someone else would benefit from listening, please share it! I'd also love for you to connect with me on Instagram @exposing_grief so I can thank you personally for playing a big part in removing the stigma of grief and creating a world where it is accepted and welcomed.
If you're in need of guidance around your grief journey, or would like to connect further, I encourage you to take advantage of my FREE 30 minute consultation to begin exploring what walking and honoring your grief journey with me might look like.
If you're not quite ready for this step, I invite you to check out my grief blog and Exposing Grief YouTube Channel for great free resources that will assist you along your journey.
I love connecting with my listeners any chance I can! Feel free to email me (bsquillace@bestselftherapy.net) with any questions or comments you may have.
Connecting with your deceased loved ones can be one of the most challenging pieces you encounter along your grief journey. You may even find that challenge is heightened during the holiday season. Join me and my guest this week, Victoria Longo, who is a medium and put her life's work into helping others connect to their deceased loved ones on the other side. She shares with you:
- The various ways one can connect with their deceased loved ones on the other side,
- Obstacles that may prevent you from feeling connected to the other side and
- Provides tips on how to encourage connection with your deceased loved one
If you are interested in connecting with Victoria, or would like to work with her, you may learn more via her website.
During our conversation, I did reference the book The Grieving Brain: The Surprising Science of How We Learn From Love and Loss.If you resonated with this episode and you believe someone else would benefit from listening, please share it! I'd also love for you to connect with me on Instagram @exposing_grief so I can thank you personally for playing a big part in removing the stigma of grief and creating a world where it is accepted and welcomed.
If you're in need of guidance around your grief journey, or would like to connect further, I encourage you to take advantage of my FREE 30 minute consultation to begin exploring what walking and honoring your grief journey with me might look like.
If you're not quite ready for this step, I invite you to check out my grief blog and Exposing Grief YouTube Channel for great free resources that will assist you along your journey.
I love connecting with my listeners any chance I can! Feel free to email me (bsquillace@bestselftherapy.net) with any questions or comments you may have.
It's that time of year again...the holidays! How are you feeling about them as they get closer? Are you feeling overwhelmed? Do you worry about how you want (or if it feels right) to honor your deceased loved one(s) at this time of year? Have you thought, "I don't even want to do the holidays this year!"?
You are not alone! These are very common thoughts to be had when attempting to navigate both a grief journey and the holidays. Join me this week as I kick off my holiday series and highlight a few practical tools to help you navigate the holidays this year while staying true to what feels right for your grief journey. Not only will I talk about common experiences such as:
- Overwhelming expectations,
- Experiencing shifts within family dynamics and
- Battling varying experiences of joy
I will also guide you through an exercise you can utilize to navigate the common experiences had when grieving during the holidays. After this week, I invite you to come back for the next 3 weeks as I talk with my guests about their own experiences with navigating grief during the holidays and what they found helpful.
If you resonated with this episode and you believe someone else would benefit from listening, please share it! I'd also love for you to connect with me on Instagram @exposing_grief so I can thank you personally for playing a big part in removing the stigma of grief and creating a world where it is accepted and welcomed.
If you're in need of guidance around your grief journey, or would like to connect further, I encourage you to take advantage of my FREE 30 minute consultation to begin exploring what walking and honoring your grief journey with me might look like.
If you're not quite ready for this step, I invite you to check out my grief blog and Exposing Grief YouTube Channel for great free resources that will assist you along your journey.
I love connecting with my listeners any chance I can! Feel free to email me (bsquillace@bestselftherapy.net) with any questions or comments you may have.
Today is the anniversary of Rita's (my guest this week) father and her daughter's grandfather's passing. During mine and Rita's conversation, she was honored to hear I would publishing her episode on the anniversary of her father's passing as it's a great way to honor him.
If you are attempting to navigate multiple family members' grief around the loss of the same person, mine and Rita's conversation would be a great one for you. She discusses:
- Trying to navigate her own grief while also caring for and worrying about her mother and daughter
- Attempting to understand her child's grief (who was 9 years old at the time)
- Coping skills she utilized to help her "deescalate the volcanoes) of grief
Rita Coalson has had 49 deaths in her lifetime of friends and family. She has become a grief counselor due to wanting to help others have a safe space to be themselves as they grieve their loved ones who have died. Rita loves being silly, dancing wildly, laughing a lot, trying anything once, and living life at full volume.
If you resonated with this episode and you believe someone else would benefit from listening, please share it! I'd also love for you to connect with me on Instagram @exposing_grief so I can thank you personally for playing a big part in removing the stigma of grief and creating a world where it is accepted and welcomed.
If you're in need of guidance around your grief journey, or would like to connect further, I encourage you to take advantage of my FREE 30 minute consultation to begin exploring what walking and honoring your grief journey with me might look like.
If you're not quite ready for this step, I invite you to check out my grief blog and Exposing Grief YouTube Channel for great free resources that will assist you along your journey.
I love connecting with my listeners any chance I can! Feel free to email me (bsquillace@bestselftherapy.net) with any questions or comments you may have.
It's not uncommon while honoring a grief journey (especially those with trauma attached) to desire a space to "escape it all". For some, this may be desired because their reality is too much to handle at times while others desire this because every where they turn, they are met with a trigger.
If you find yourself wanting a moment to pause and step away from it all, for whatever reason, I invite you to listen to this trauma series bonus episode as I walk you through the Safe Space exercise. This exercise allows you to create a space you feel safe in so you can reground and come back to the present moment with a clear mind and centered. I will provide you with:
- Reflective questions to help you create the safe space
- Time to sit in this space and reap the benefits
- Prompting questions to help reach maximum benefit of the exercise each time its utilized
If you resonated with this episode and you believe someone else would benefit from listening, please share it! I'd also love for you to connect with me on Instagram @exposing_grief so I can thank you personally for playing a big part in removing the stigma of grief and creating a world where it is accepted and welcomed.
If you're in need of guidance around your grief journey, or would like to connect further, I encourage you to take advantage of my FREE 30 minute consultation to begin exploring what walking and honoring your grief journey with me might look like.
If you're not quite ready for this step, I invite you to check out my grief blog and Exposing Grief YouTube Channel for great free resources that will assist you along your journey.
I love connecting with my listeners any chance I can! Feel free to email me (bsquillace@bestselftherapy.net) with any questions or comments you may have.
"I knew the grief process started because of how my body was reacting and how my emotions were flowing. I didn't start actually doing the trauma work until about 6 months to a year later because it didn't even occur to me to look there."
Trauma within grief isn't always easy to identify. Maybe there is no trauma to identify or maybe your experience is similar to my guest, Ashley's, story in which she didn't recognize trauma was present until much later. Despite delayed awareness of trauma's presence, the impact of trauma on your grief journey doesn't lessen.
Join me this week as I talk with Ashley about the traumatic encounter that sent her into a grieving journey. She normalizes experiences of:
- How trauma shows up; particularly its influence on the body
- Behavioral changes following the traumatic event
Ashley also talks about the ambiguous/living losses stemming from the traumatic encounter. She speaks to losses such as:
- Identity loss
- Loss of safety
If you're processing a traumatic event, there may also be elements of loss that deserved to be grieved. Tune into this week's episode to begin validating your experience.
There were many resources mentioned throughout today's episode. As promised, I've listed them all below for your convenience:
- The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma
- The Gift of Fear
- Blog Article: "Am I Going Crazy?"
- Exposing Grief Podcast Episode #14 "It Could've Been A Lot Better" (addressing the comparison trap briefly mentioned in today's episode)
If you'd like to learn more about Ashley or are curious about working with her, visit her website or check her out on social media. For more of her guidance on healing your trauma, be sure to listen to her Free Your Heart podcast as well!
If you resonated with this episode and you believe someone else would benefit from listening, please share it! I'd also love for you to connect with me on Instagram @exposing_grief so I can thank you personally for playing a big part in removing the stigma of grief and creating a world where it is accepted and welcomed.
If you're in need of guidance around your grief journey, or would like to connect further, I encourage you to take advantage of my FREE 30 minute consultation to begin exploring what walking and honoring your grief journey with me might look like.
If you're not quite ready for this step, I invite you to check out my grief blog and Exposing Grief YouTube Channel for great free resources that will assist you along your journey.
I love connecting with my listeners any chance I can! Feel free to email me (bsquillace@bestselftherapy.net) with any questions or comments you may have.
"My trauma; my experience of loss (my grief and my mourning) was a spring board for some transformation" says my guest, Pamela, as she talks with us about the post-traumatic growth she expereinced following the sudden loss of her husband 4 years ago. In our conversation, Pamela also highlights additional beautiful moments of:
- Learning how to allow any and all emotions (both negative and positive)
- Discovering the difference between grieving vs. mourning (to learn more, view my Exposing Grief YouTube video "So You're Grieving But Are You Mourning?")
- Welcoming "grief days" to help her honor her grief journey (read Love Yourself and Take A Grief Breakto learn the benefits of and how to incorporate grief breaks)
In addition to her personal life, Pamela also experienced the "spring board" affect in her professional life. Due to all she's learned in her grief journey, she developed her life coaching business, Strommen View Coaching. To learn more about her services and what working with her might look like, click here.
Resources:
- The Body Keeps The Score: Brain, Mind and Body In the Healing of Trauma
If you resonated with this episode and you believe someone else would benefit from listening, please share it! I'd also love for you to connect with me on Instagram @exposing_grief so I can thank you personally for playing a big part in removing the stigma of grief and creating a world where it is accepted and welcomed.
If you're in need of guidance around your grief journey, or would like to connect further, I encourage you to take advantage of my FREE 30 minute consultation to begin exploring what walking and honoring your grief journey with me might look like.
If you're not quite ready for this step, I invite you to check out my grief blog and Exposing Grief YouTube Channel for great free resources that will assist you along your journey.
I love connecting with my listeners any chance I can! Feel free to email me (bsquillace@bestselftherapy.net) with any questions or comments you may have.
When you hear someone is grieving, what do you think they've experienced? The death of a loved one right? What about grieving the loss of identity? Or grieving the loss of living your life the way you're used to due to a traumatic accident?
My guest, Jennifer, is a traumatic brain injury survivor and continues to walk/honor her grief journey around the ambiguous losses (to learn more about these types of losses, read my blog article There's More Than One Type of Loss/Grief?) experienced following her injury. Join me as she highlights the specific ambiguous losses she experienced, as well as discusses:
- The importance of feeling, not just intellectualizing, grief
- Grief being something not to fear, avoid, or run away from as it is a part of the human experience
Jennifer mentioned a blog post during our conversation when discussing comparison within grief. It turns out, she actually created a video title "It Could Have Been Worse" discussing how to navigate the comparison trap experienced all too often in grief. Other resources she mentioned are:
- Grief (personified) - A Short Story
- Grief Blog Series - TBI & Moving Through Grief (Part I)
If you'd like to learn more about Jennifer, her services, or you wish to connect with her, you may visit her website.
If you resonated with this episode and you believe someone else would benefit from listening, please share it! I'd also love for you to connect with my on Instagram @exposing_grief so I can thank you personally for playing a big part in removing the stigma of grief and creating a world where it is accepted and welcomed.
If you're in need of guidance around your grief journey, or would like to connect further, I encourage you to take advantage of my FREE 30 minute consultation to begin exploring what walking and honoring your grief journey with me might look like.
If you're not quite ready for this step, I invite you to check out my grief blog and Exposing Grief YouTube Channel for great free resources that will assist you along your journey.
I love connecting with my listeners any chance I can! Feel free to email me (bsquillace@bestselftherapy.net) with any questions or comments you may have.
"My emotions don't dictate my worth, they indicate what I need." Often times, the emotions attached to grief can leave us feeling exposed and uncertain on how to move forward. We may also encounter reactions to our natural emotional responses to grief and loss that are invalidating and have us wondering, "Am I doing it wrong?" or "Is there something wrong with me?"
I, and my guest Nicole, are here to tell you...NO! There is nothing wrong with you (and you're not grieving wrong because, as we know, there is no right or wrong way to grieve) for having a human response to losing your loved one. While Nicole discusses the idea of "cultivating the garden of compassion" (this can also entail holding hope while grieving; read my blog article Facing Loss: When Hope & Grief Co-Exist to learn more) and giving yourself grace within your grief journey, she will also address:
- The impacts of complex trauma on one's grief journey
- Breaking generational patterns as they apply to one's grieving experience
As promised, all the juicy resources mentioned in this episode are listed below. If you wish to connect with Nicole, you may visit her website or check out her Facebook Page.
Episode Resources:
- The Grieving Brain: The Surprising Science of How We Learn from Love and Loss
- The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma
- It's Okay Not to Be Okay: Moving Forward One Day At A Time
- Nicole's Podcast: Redefine & Align
If you resonated with this episode and you believe someone else would benefit from listening, please share it! I'd also love for you to connect with my on Instagram @exposing_grief so I can thank you personally for playing a big part in removing the stigma of grief and creating a world where it is accepted and welcomed.
If you're in need of guidance around your grief journey, or would like to connect further, I encourage you to take advantage of my FREE 30 minute consultation to begin exploring what walking and honoring your grief journey with me might look like.
If you're not quite ready for this step, I invite you to check out my grief blog and Exposing Grief YouTube Channel for great free resources that will assist you along your journey.
I love connecting with my listeners any chance I can! Feel free to email me (bsquillace@bestselftherapy.net) with any questions or comments you may have.
"You don't have to make decisions in the throws of grief" is something my guest, Annie, found beneficial as she was new to navigating her grief journey around the loss of her cat. Any type of loss and caregiving experience is challenging and can influence a grief journey; including those experiences that involves a pet.
Join me this week as I chat with Annie about her experience with caregiving for you senior cat. She highlights the importance of honoring the grief that follows having lost a pet through discussing:
- The power of honoring the journey and finding meaning
- The importance of being gentle with yourself through both physical and emotional aspects of grief
If you wish to connect with Annie to learn more about how acupuncture can help your grief journey, I invite you to visit her website. You may also email her at joyalchemyacupuncture@gmail.com.
If you resonated with this episode and you believe someone else would benefit from listening, please share it! I'd also love for you to connect with my on Instagram @exposing_grief so I can thank you personally for playing a big part in removing the stigma of grief and creating a world where it is accepted and welcomed.
If you're in need of guidance around your own pet loss grief journey, or would like to connect further, I encourage you to take advantage of my FREE 30 minute consultation to begin exploring what walking and honoring your grief journey with me might look like.
If you're not quite ready for this step, I invite you to listen to last week's episode Pet Loss, Grief, and Lessons Learned as it may shed more light on how to begin navigating your grief journey around your pet loss. I also encourage you to check out my grief blog and Exposing Grief YouTube Channel for great free resources that will assist you along your journey.
I love connecting with my listeners any chance I can! Feel free to email me (bsquillace@bestselftherapy.net) with any questions or comments you may have.
"It's just a pet" is one of the worst things we can hear in response to our grief after losing a pet. This comment contributes to experiencing disenfranchised grief while attempting to grieve the loss of our pet. This can complicate the grieving process and often leaves us feeling as though we don't get to grieve the loss of our pets. Or develops a belief that we're "crazy" or something's wrong with us for needing to grieve the loss of our family pet. I'm going to tell you right now, you have the right to grieve this loss just as much as you would any other loss!
Join me this week as I talk about my own experiences with pet loss, the lessons learned throughout my grief journey and how I apply those lessons to removing the stigma of not only pet loss but grief as a whole.
In listening to this episode, my hope is for you to feel empowered to start honoring your grief journey around the loss of your pet. If you resonated with this episode and you believe someone else would benefit from listening, please share it! I'd also love for you to connect with my on Instagram @exposing_grief so I can thank you personally for playing a big part in removing the stigma of grief and creating a world where it is accepted and welcomed.
If you're in need of guidance around your own pet loss grief journey, or would like to connect further, I encourage you to take advantage of my FREE 30 minute consultation to begin exploring what walking and honoring your grief journey with me might look like.
If you're not quite ready for this step, I invite you to check out my grief blog and Exposing Grief YouTube Channel for great free resources that will assist you along your journey.
I love connecting with my listeners any chance I can! Feel free to email me (bsquillace@bestselftherapy.net) with any questions or comments you may have.
"Losing Leah is too high a price to pay to not live the life that I was meant to live" was the message my guest, Nancy Loeffler, received two weeks after her daughter's sudden passing. At first, Nancy was unsure of how to digest this message let alone understanding its meaning. As she walked through her journey, she became to encounter different "gifts" that brought clarity to the message.
Join me as I chat with my guest, Nancy Loeffler (a Grief Journey Guide), who talks about her experiences with:
- Discovering the possibility to live a meaningful, purposeful, and joyful life after a devastating loss
- The grief journey being "transformational"
- The Samyama practice and how "present moment awareness" assisted her on her journey
If you're doubting the ability to find your way back (whatever that looks like) from the loss you are grieving, this episode is for you! You may even get the opportunity to engage in small exercise; encouraging you to being exploring present moment awareness.
For more information on the Samyama practice visit
If you'd like to connect with Nancy further, you can learn more about her and her practice Being With Grief, as well as contact her via email at nancy@beingwithgrief.com.
If you resonated with this episode, please share it with someone you believe would benefit from the information; so they too can begin to build hope in their grief journey. I'd also love for you to connect with me on Instagram (@exposing_grief) so I can personally thank you for listening and sharing.
If you have questions for me or would like to share your own story with my listeners, please don't hesitate to reach out. You may email me at bsquillace@bestselftherapy.net. To learn more about myself, my practice, or for free grief resources please visit my website Best Self Therapy.
"There are still mornings I wake up and think 'Is this really my life?' You have moments where you're not sure if it was a bad dream."
Kari, who suddenly lost her son, Carter, still finds herself asking this question despite stepping into and beginning to honor her grief journey 12 years ago. Grief and bereavement may change over time but it never goes away. Join me as I chat with Kari about her experience with grief as she normalizes the experiences of:
- Bereavement changing over time
- "Hanging on" to keep a legacy vs. "disappearing in the mist"
- Parenting another teenager/sibling as she also attempts to care for herself
Kari is a devoted wife to Steve and mother of two sons - Jake, almost 27, who is a newlywed living in Oregon and Carter, who would be 24 this year, but died at the sweet age of 12 back in 2010. When she's not working as a nurse, you'll find her in the garden or in the middle of one of her home improvement projects tripping over her dogs.
If you resonated with this episode, please share it with someone you believe would benefit from the information; so they too can begin to build hope in their grief journey. I'd also love for you to connect with me on Instagram (@exposing_grief) so I can personally thank you for listening and sharing.
If you'd like to connect with me, email me at bsquillace@bestselftherapy.net.
Mentioned Resource
- Grief Club of Minnesota
August 30th is National Grief Awareness Day! One of the most effective ways to raise awareness is though having conversations about the topic or matter we're wanting to increase awareness around. So that's what this episode is going to do!
Join me as I highlight 10 facts about grief (or grief therapy) that grief therapists/counselors want you to know. I'll discuss factors such as:
- Debunking a few grief myths
- Highlighting what grief therapy actually looks like
- Grief therapists' hopes for you (whether a client or not) as you walk through and honor your grief journey
The mission of this episode is to shed light on what the grieving process actually looks like, as well as debunk any myths that get in the way of one's ability to honor their grief journey.
The two resources I mentioned in the episode are listed below:
- Grief Break Blog Article
- Alan Wolfelt's "Understanding Your Grief" Book
If you resonated with this episode, please share it with someone you believe would benefit from the information; so they too can begin to build hope in their grief journey. Raising awareness is most effective when it reaches as many people as possible. I appreciate you being part of creating the platform to discuss the important topic of grief!
I'd also love for you to connect with me on Instagram (@exposing_grief) so I can personally thank you for listening and sharing.
If you'd like to connect with me further, you may email me at bsquillace@bestselftherapy.net.
"I'm realizing, the more and more people I talk to, how much there is a collective experience around grief."
Kristin unexpectedly stepped into her grief journey about 90 days ago when her father passed. As she embarks on her grief journey and is doing her best to honor that journey, she is reminded and enlightened by the collective nature of grief. I invite you to join my guest, Kristin, and me as she talks about how:
- Grief being a collective experience and
- The importance behind talking about grief with others who have experienced loss
has benefited her process up to this point. She also provides ideas around how to bring the collective grief experience "into the light" and start building a sense of community; leaving you feeling as though you are not alone in this journey.
Kristin Strunk is a highly versatile, progressive, human resources and talent professional with over 20 years of progressive experience in communication, organizational change, employee and labor relations, international HR, learning and development, culture and organizational transformations, and leadership coaching.
She grew up in the Milwaukee area and is a Marquette University alumnus. She and her husband, Charlie, enjoy traveling and gardening.
If you resonated with this episode, please share it with someone you believe would benefit from the information; so they too can begin to build hope in their grief journey. I'd also love for you to connect with me on Instagram (@exposing_grief) so I can personally thank you for listening and sharing.
If you have questions for me or would like to share your own story with my listeners, please don't hesitate to reach out.
- Email: bsquillace@bestselftherapy.net
- Website: www.bestselftherapy.net
There are so many layers to grief! Those who are grieving, experience them all, while those outside of the grief (or those supporting the individual who is grieving) only see the surface. If you, as someone who is grieving, were given the opportunity to share the truths about grief that you wish others knew would you? How might this change, influence, or impact your grief journey if those others (whomever they may be) knew what you really wanted them to know about your experience and grief process?
This episode breaks the barrier between what those who are grieving experience that others have no clue are part of the process. In doing this, a space is not only created for you to feel seen, heard, and validated in your grief journey but a space is also created for those who are supporting you to begin stepping into your reality and understanding just how much of an impact grief has made in your life; allowing them to support you in a healthier and more effective fashion.
If you were are moved by this episode and would like to add to the 5 things discussed today, I'd love to connect with you at bsquillace@bestselftherapy.net. I also invite you to share today's episode with anyone you believe may benefit from or need to hear the information to better help them along in their grief journey.
YouTube Videos discussed in today's episode:
Looking Behind the Grief Work Curtain - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0-NVrY-L3g&t=101s
Interacting With the Top 4 Common Grief Dynamics - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnNoRGliKLM
Reclaim Your Independence: There's Grief & Then There's You! - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRP4s7Uv1I8
If you resonated with this episode, please share it with someone you believe would benefit from the information; so they too can begin to build hope in their grief journey. I'd also love for you to connect with me on Instagram (@exposing_grief) so I can personally thank you for listening and sharing.
If you'd like to connect with me further, you may email me at bsquillace@bestselftherapy.net.
"I really needed to change my mindset" is what Tanya discovered as she walked through her grief journey before, during, and after her mother's passing. My guest, Tanya, talks about her experience caregiving for her ill mother and how it influenced her grief journey. Join us in our conversation as Tanya highlights:
- The importance of and how to engage in self-care
- The purpose of forgiveness within the grieving process
Tanya is a Life Coach and Mentor. She currently lives in London, United Kingdom. She has worked for the local government for the past 21 years, 13 years in social services finance and the last 9 years as procurement finance department. She is also trained at her local bereavement centre to support bereaved clients where she now volunteers to support women going through bereavement/ loss. She has 5 siblings and her father currently lives with her in London. Tanya is also currently training to become a grief educator to provide more support for those who are bereaved; particularly women.
If you resonated with this episode, please share it with someone you believe would benefit from the information; so they too can begin to build hope in their grief journey. I'd also love for you to connect with me on Instagram (@exposing_grief) so I can personally thank you for listening and sharing.
If you have questions for me or would like to share your own story with my listeners, please don't hesitate to reach out.
- Email: bsquillace@bestselftherapy.net
- Website: www.bestselftherapy.net
"There are moments I am grateful for the grief and heartache." Depending on where you are in your grief journey, this statement may seem impossible to grasp. For Topaz, my guest for this episode, would agree if she heard this 10 years ago when she experienced her first major loss. As she embarked on her grief journey, she encountered healing experiences and opportunities of growth covered that guided her towards this other perspective of grief. Some of the experiences she encountered that are covered in this episode are:
- The influences of public grief vs. private grief
- The role of emotional fitness within the grief journey
- There is no linear timeline in grief
Join me as I chat with Topaz about how the above experiences created a grief journey that allowed her to "become a better person."
Topaz is an Equity stage manager with her BFA from UMD and her MFA from UC, San Diego. Some theaters she has worked at over the years include: the Old Globe, the La Jolla Playhouse the Children's Theater Company in Minneapolis, the Utah Shakespeare Festival, the Clarence Brown Theater, Moonlight Stage Productions, and the Duluth Playhouse. Her experience in stage management range from new plays and musicals, to opera, dance, Shakespeare in the park, and devised work.
If you resonated with this episode, please share it with someone you believe would benefit from the information; so they too can begin to build hope in their grief journey. I'd also love for you to connect with me on Instagram (@exposing_grief) so I can personally thank you for listening and sharing.
If you would like to connect with me, you may email me at bsquillace@bestselftherapy.net.
Website: www.bestselftherapy.net
We are finally getting to the heart of this podcast as I sit down with my very first guest, Shaunequa James. In this episode, Shaunequa walks us through her own grief journey around the passing of her mother in 2018. In particular we hit on three important grief experiences:
- Anticipatory Grief
- "Waves of Grief"
- Loneliness in Grief (i.e. Seeking Support)
Shaunequa highlights what contributed to her recognizing and honoring her anticipatory grief, how this influenced her experience with the "waves of grief", and how she overcame the loneliness in grief that is so often present. She also provides tips on how to "find your tribe" (i.e. a safe support system) as you walk through your grief journey.
If you'd like to connect with Shaunequa or are curious about Gilda's Club Twin Cities you may contact her via email (shaunequa.james@gildasclubtwincities.org) or visit Gilda's website (https://www.gildasclubtwincities.org).
If you resonated with this episode, please share it with someone you believe would benefit from the information; so they too can begin to build hope in their grief journey. I'd also love for you to connect with me on Instagram (@exposing_grief) so I can personally thank you for listening and sharing.
If you have questions for me or would like to share your own story with my listeners, please don't hesitate to reach out.
- Email: bsquillace@bestselftherapy.net
- Website: www.bestselftherapy.net
Welcome to the very first episode of the Exposing Grief podcast! In this episode, I break down what you all can expect from listening to this podcast. I address areas such as: my hopes for you all as you listen to each episode, the types of grief and loss that will be discussed, and the format in which grief will be talked about (i.e. the content and structure of the episodes). Whether you are fresh into your grief journey or have been walking and honoring your grief journey for years, all are welcome!
The blog I reference in this episode is posted below:
- There's More Than One Type of Loss/Grief? Blog: https://www.bestselftherapy.net/post/there-s-more-than-one-type-of-loss-grief
If you'd like to connect with me, curious about engaging in your own grief work journey or are interested in sharing your own story with my listeners, you may contact me via email at bsquillace@bestselftherapy.net.
In this episode, I open the door for you all to get to know me a little better. There's nothing more powerful in feeling safe with your vulnerabilities than feeling like you know the person you're listening to/working with. Join me as I walk you through the experiences that led me to where I am today; a licensed Marriage and Family therapist and grief counselor guiding others through their grief journey. I share with you the particular experiences that I believe are building blocks of my passion for grief. In addition to this, I also talk about my educational background and who I am outside of my work (if you can even call this work!).
If you'd like to connect with me, curious about engaging in your own grief work process, or want to share your own story with my listeners you may contact me via email at bsquillace@bestselftherapy.net.