Dealing With My Grief

As I think about how people plan to prioritize their time for the new year in the form of resolutions, I'm reminded by a listener that we can not do with time is heal our wounds caused by grief. Healing from physical pain involves getting scabs that protect our wounds until the healing process is complete. Unfortunately when grieving, those scabs are reopened by our grief triggers, or things that...

Congrats to Sofia, Don and Paul - the winners of my contest giveaway. I'll be requesting your contact info shortly to send your gift cards. I've been dealing with some personal issues lately that have kept me pretty preoccupied over the last couple of weeks. I've been so wrapped up and taken aback emotionally that I scrapped my original idea for this week just to get the past week off of my chest....

  Even though the holidays can be stressful enough on their own, adding the stress of grief can sometimes make it unbearable. There are a few approaches to dealing with the holidays while grieving Spend the holidays alone. Maybe dealing with the loss during the holidays is too painful. Incorporate your loved on in your holiday. Make their favorite food or do their activity. Start a new tradition i...

I've been reminded by watching a co-worker recover from a cold that we don't always look the way that we feel. While she appears to be well, you can hear the fact that she is still recovering in her voice which hasn't fully recovered. I feel the same way when it comes to grief - I look fine, but sometimes that masks the way I truly feel. Click here to subscribe via iTunes Click here to subscribe v...

I have been going through a lot during the holiday season... Major eye surgery, from which I am on the road to recovery. I had a family member who was involved in a bus accident in Chattanooga, TN. They are also on the road to recovery I had a member of my Army family lose his teenage son in a freak accident. I have rationalized why my father was taken from me as a means of making it easier to cop...

Thanksgivings to me wasn't really difficult to deal with after losing my father. Father's day was more traumatic. Father's Day is all  about dad and Thanksgiving is more about family. While I didn't have a father , I still had family. Thanksgiving, and holidays in general became more difficult when I was deployed to the Middle East and not able to be with family. This weeks call to action: find a...

  Sometimes I think we try to protect children too much from mental any psychological pain. I think loosing at thing like sports may ultimately help with dealing with the loss of a loved one. This week's call to action: Try to incorporate your loved on into you holiday season. Click here to subscribe via iTunes Click here to subscribe via RSS Click here to subscribe via Stitcher Click here to list...

This has been one of the nastiest Presidential campaign season on record. Voters like grievers have choices. This week's call to action: Choose to do something to confront your grief. Click here to subscribe via iTunes Click here to subscribe via RSS Click here to subscribe via Stitcher Click here to listen via iHeart Radio Contact me using any of following: email - darwyn@dealingwithmygrief.com t...

If you have ever used Microsoft Windows or almost any application within Windows, you'll find a few similarities: There are several ways to accomplish the same task Sometimes things go awry when we are trying to move forward and accomplish certain goals How can I determine which way is best for me to confront my grief and who do I pivot when I get stuck and can't seem to move forward. This weeks c...

After lying in bed all weekend and watching Netflix, I have realized that I've used my father's death as the reason I haven't been able to achieve certain things in life or the reason why I've had to deal with certain things alone in my life. I refuse to use his death as an excuse any longer. I can get through life's challenges in spite of the fact he is no longer here. This weeks call to action:...

This week's episode is a little shorter as I am dealing with a cold and I'm not feeling well. This week I look back a t two Disney films; Bambi and the Lion King and how I used just focus on death and not the the entire story of lifed death and the rebirth that the main characthers in the movie had to face. I also realizes that not every Disney film deals with these themes, and for non-grievers, t...

This episode is inspired by a piece of feedback I received from a listener in response to last week's call to action to tell me something positive as a result of your grief. Thanks so much for the kind words about the podcast it appreciated... The listener stated that they have had a hard time getting support from their friends during the recent loss of 2 individuals in their life. This week I tac...

This episode is dedicated to the memory of Emmett Till. I recently had the opportunity to visit the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC. It is an amazing museum that you must see if you ever visit the area. You'll need tickets to get in, but they are free. Here is the link to order timed passes: https://nmaahc.si.edu/visit/passes Emmett Till was a...

When I thing about the phrase, "That which doesn't kill you makes you stronger", I can apply this to my life... literally! After seeing my father's lifeless body in the store owned by my parents after his death, and wondering if things might be different if my mother and I would have stayed at the store for an additional 30-45 minutes, I use this as a source of strength in my life. Nothing will ev...

Once my father died I lived in fear believing the men responsible for his death eventually would come for me. I let this fear permeate other aspects of my life until I learned to confront it and find ways to embrace it and move on. This week's call to action: Link logically, sometimes emotions can cloud our judgement. Think things through before making decisions. Click here to subscribe via iTunes...

As we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the television show Star Trek, I am reminded that sometimes thinking like a half Vulcan, half Human is not necessarily a bad thing. This week's call to action: Link logically, sometimes emotions can cloud our judgement. Think things through before making decisions. Click here to subscribe via iTunes Click here to subscribe via RSS Click here to subscribe via...

I wouldn't be who I am today without going through the pain that was losing my father. Starting this podcast only make me wish I had started capturing how I felt a lot earlier in life. This week's call to action: Start chronicling your grief journey. Start a diary, blog or even your own podcast. Make a point to rered it later and discover if and how different you may be know. Click here to subscri...

I wasn't able to get to my Aunt Wanda's funeral... I simply spent too much money getting back and forth to St. Louis spending time with family before/after my uncle passed away, I'm just financially drained. The focus of this week's show in dealing with the death of celebrities, more specifically the lives of 3 individuals - (Click their name for information about them): Darwyn Cooke Prince Muhamm...

After spending some time away and getting emotionally recharged, I received news that my aunt passed away. While her health had been back and forth for some time, I really didn't think that she would be gone so soon as she passed one day shy of her 74th birthday. This episode is dedicated to my Aunt Wanda. I love you dearly! This week's call to action: spend more time with the elderly. Click here...

Sometimes making it through the day is difficult. There's only one thing that gets me through. Some days when I think about my father and most recently my uncle who passed away I think about and the many memories we shared and it's hard to imagine life without them. Sometimes I wonder how I'm going to make it through the day, who is going to be there to give me guidance concerning whatever issues...

Recently I had the opportunity to watch the 'Peanuts Movioe' and reflect on the character of Charlie Brown - a guy who never seems to give up regardless of how many times things just don't work out.  He never seems to be able to muster up the courage to talk to the red haired girl. In the Peanuts Movie, he does in fact talk to her, but in his efforts to impress her, things just don't seem to work...

There was no episode last week as I'm just returning from being with family after losing an uncle a couple of weeks ago. Rest In Peace, Uncle Luther. In remembering the live's of my father and my uncle, I sometimes realize that I shy away from things that we used to do together, because... well we can no longer do them together! I've changed my attitude, however. I will embrace the things we did t...

This episode is dedicated to my Uncle Luther who passed away on July 17, 2016. After learning my uncle had been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer, I had the opportunity to spend a few days with him a couple of weeks ago. We took a trip down memory lane and I'll share a few memories in this episode. Even though I knew the time would come, I wasn't mentally prepared deal with his death. It's only been 3...

This episode is inspired by 3 events that have occurred in the since last week's show:  - The shooting of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, LA  - The shooting of Philandro Castile in Falcon Heights, MN  - The subsequent shooting of 11 police officers in Dallas I was reluctant to talk about my story of grief because I didn't want to listen to others talk about theirs. I would compare the two and not g...

If you suppress grief too much, it can well redouble.  - Molière The whole reason behind this podcast is the tell my story of how I deal with death, loss, grief and bereavement; specifically the loss of my father when I was still a young child. It is my way of letting go of the things that I had bottled up for so long. But why did I wait so long to get this burden of of my chest? 1.  I felt that I...