She joins us on this episode to share advice with you, on how you can navigate grief moments (or anniversaries related to events in your life that may trigger grief) in the healthiest way you can.

On this episode you will hear:

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• How you can start creating space for grief without being overwhelmed by the process.
  
• Why we avoid grief.
  
• How you can overcome cultural stigmas, such as: shame, misunderstanding of emotions, aversion to “hard” feelings.
  
• Why we fear we will become overwhelmed by grief and never “recover.”
  
• The process of catastrophizing black and white thinking.
  
• How we can engage with grief in healthy ways.
  
• Why you should talk with others when you want to.
  
• How to say "no" to others’ expectations when you need or want to.
  
• How to connect with others who have experienced something similar, with healthy boundaries.
  
• What are grief styles?
  
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  • Grief Style: The characteristics of the way in which one person experiences and/or expresses their grief.
    
  • We go over each of the following grief styles:
    
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    • Intuitive Adaptive Grieving Style
      
    • Instrumental Style
      
    • Blended Grieving Style
      
    
    
    
  
  
  
• Most importantly we discuss the different strategies people use during their grief process.
  
• We discuss the role of emotional expression, versus discharge.
  
• How you can choose a time/place to experience painful feelings.
  
• We discuss how you can use logical analysis, to break down loss into parts so as to evaluate & manage it.
  
• Where you can find information to help you understand your grief responses.
  
• How problem solving or using a directed activity can help you to deal with problems, accomplish tasks, and pursue alternative rewards.
  
• Why you should be careful to avoid acting-out behaviors, such as: substance abuse, fighting, overeating, compulsive spending, etc.
  
• How to use prayer or meditation to express emotion, and aid you in processing your thoughts.
  
• How you can plan ahead to honor grief, by honoring milestones as well as losses.
  
• (For parents of premature babies) Our milestones look different and it can be difficult when friends’ babies who are technically the same age are "achieving more." We discuss how you can navigate through that.
  
• We discuss strategies for celebrating the accomplishments rather than playing the comparison game.
  
• The rituals or celebrations that can help you and your families honor your losses.
  
• Why you should take 5 minutes to talk meaningfully to or about your family member.
  
• How you can honor a memory by doing something “small.”
  
• We also discuss how to develop a consistent self care routine.
  
• How to offer yourself management times for self care (regardless of whether it is 5 min, 20 min, 1 hr, half a day, a whole day, a weekend, etc.).
  
• Why you need to create accessible self care options (nap, iced water, a quick shower, etc.) instead of setting elaborate expectations.
  

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