Brian Griese, former quarterback and current color commentator for Monday Night Football on ESPN, lost his mother when he was twelve. He lives with her loss every single day. 

Where is heaven? And what if a child wants to join his lost parent there?  Grief is a complex emotion. When we don’t have the tools to cope with it, we may turn the loss inward. For Griese, his mother’s loss turned to anger. And later in life, to substance abuse. That is why he founded Judi’s House, a safe place that supports those struggling after the death of a loved one. 

In this episode, Griese is joined by Dr. Steven Berkowitz, Professor of Psychiatry at CU’s School of Medicine and Director of the START Center. Traumatic events leave us feeling isolated, says Dr. Berkowitz. That is why it is important to be around others who have suffered similar losses. The pandemic is affecting all of us. With empathy and compassion, Dr. Berkowitz talks about why it is easier to say good-bye to a person than to say good-bye to the of way of life we once knew.

As a result of the pandemic, many of us do not understand how to cope with the loss, or the uncertainty. If the path ahead seems dark and uncertain, there is help. SAMHSA’s Disaster Distress Helpline,  1-800-985-5990, offers 24/7, 365-day-a-year crisis counseling and support to people experiencing emotional distress related to natural or human-caused disasters. 

Can you shake grief? These and other important questions are discussed in this timely podcast episode. 

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