The Joyful Mom Podcast

Send a message to Megan Is there a correct way of grieving? This is the common question a grieving mother would ask. We often compare our grieving to other’s experiences. In this episode, we are going to know if there is a correct way of handling grief. Episode Pointers : Each of us have our own path .We have different experiences and  different relationships. There is a strong narrative that we a...

Send a message to Megan Both Therapy and coaching are very essential in our grieving journey. So, how do they differ and how  can they help us in dealing with child loss? In this episode, we are going to know their importance, difference , and how they affect us in healing and moving forward. Episode Pointers: Most therapists are a place for you to go and talk, to get out the stuff that's com...

Send a message to Megan In today’s episode, I have a very special guest who I hold closely to my heart, my dear husband, Justin. He is going to share with us how he dealt with grief, express it, and how he held our family together during the darkest part of our lives. Episode pointers: We grieve differently. It depends on every individual’s personality. It’s easier for a mom to go to another mom t...

Send a message to Megan “Ants may be tiny but they can definitely ruin your picnic. That’s how our negative thoughts can ruin our day”. Dr. Daniel Amen In this episode, we are going to talk about different types of ANTs ( Automatic Negative Thoughts) , and how we can relate these in grieving. Episode Pointers: Thoughts are real, and they have a direct impact on how you feel and how you behave.  “Y...

Send a message to Megan In this episode, I am going to share with you some tips on how your child will be noticed or remembered in this holiday season. If you want your child remembered, plan something or do something that will remember them, and don’t expect or wait for others to do that. So if you want something in particular, plan it, get it, create it, spread the word, whatever you need to do....

Send a message to Megan We have a special guest for this episode, Randi Proman Wolfson, who’s going to show us how grief looks into a child’s eyes She first experienced grief when she lost her dad at the age of 10.There wasn’t any kind of grief support way back then so she failed to process her grief up until she received grief support in her early adulthood. Episode pointers: Teachers should be e...

Send a message to Megan For this episode, we are going to focus on the internal work in ways moving through the holidays. Feeling anxious or dreading the holidays is just normal for a grieving mom. The first thing that you usually say is that your baby/child won’t be here. You won’t know how big the wave of grief may be on that day , but you know that you are scared and don’t want to feel that dre...

Send a message to Megan Holiday season is a time for happiness and making good memories with your loved ones. How can a grieving mom experience true happiness if she is still having intense pain and longing of her child? In these special holiday episodes,I am going to help you in going through this holiday season. Here are my practical tips for you: 1. Have a plan A, plan, B, and plan C. Because y...

Send a message to Megan In this episode, I want to share to you how God has given me strength in facing the most difficult and painful aspect in my life, the death of my baby, Aria.   I believe that she’s in Heaven and in a better place. Even if I wanted her back with me, she would not want to come back.   When you are given a trial, God also gives you the strength to be able to get through it.  ...

Send a message to Megan In this episode, we are going to know how powerful words are especially in grief.  We can connect the words in our thoughts, and use them to communicate how we are feeling. That’s the reason why we need to be careful on what we think, and what we say to ourselves and to other people. Here are some points for this episode : We label emotions as GOOD or BAD. We embrace GOOD e...

Send a message to Megan How can you tell someone if he or she is good or bad? Is it through his or her actions?  In this episode,we are going to realize that we are not ALL GOOD nor ALL BAD. We are a combination of both. Every one of us has our own battles. You can’t judge someone just because of his or her actions. You don’t know his or her story and struggles. Grieving is extremely painful. We m...

Send a message to Megan In this episode, we are going to listen to Ashley’s story of grieving, moving on, and inspiring others. Ashley had lost a  child not only once, but twice- her two lovely daughters.  Let’s know how she was able to stand up and continue healing after these tragic events.  She also shared that it is possible to feel both sorrow and joy at the same time.  Let’s listen to how it...

Send a message to Megan In this episode, we are going to debunk 3 biggest myths that are keeping you stuck and preventing you from healing. 1.      Time – Some people say that you need to wait for 10 years before you are completely done with your grieving. That after that time, you have totally moved on and that you are not hurting anymore with your child loss. That’s a TOTAL LIE. Time does not ma...

Send a message to Megan In today’s episode, I’m going to share with you a quick guide I use in coaching grieving mothers. Our emotions in grief are just like the ocean with waves that come and go. There are small waves and insanely big waves. Blocking our emotions is just like putting a dam that will explode at any time. I want you to allow it to flow freely in your body. Points to remember:     C...

Send a message to Megan Grieving affects our physical and psychological well-being. It puts a lot of stress and tension on both our mind and body. In this episode, we are going to acknowledge, reconnect, and say thank you to our body for working hard during this challenging period. Points to remember : Notice where grief is in our body Breathe in lightness, Breathe out the tension Say hello and th...

Send a message to Megan Losing her son to suicide was not something that was on Mary Anne's mind as she tried to support and help her son with his mental struggles. In this episode, We are going to learn about Mary Anne’s layers of grief and how her process has changed as her grief journey has ebbed and flowed. To cope with her grief, she sought help with a psychologist and took anti-depressa...

Send a message to Megan Grieving over someone’s death is greatly draining not only emotionally, but as well as physically.   In this episode,we are going to know the importance of how resting from grief helps you in healing. You need to set a time for grieving and time for mending.   Grieving is just like working out. You don’t workout round the clock. You need to rest to recuperate from the stres...

Send a message to Megan Samantha is the therapist our children went to after the death of their little sister Aria. I have learned so much from Samantha and I wanted to have her on my podcast to share how we can support our children when we are grieving ourselves.  She has so much wisdom, experience, and hope to share for every single one of you and your children. Samantha's website http://ww...

Send a message to Megan Have you ever felt like you don’t know enough about exactly what happened with your child’s death? Maybe it feels like you cannot find any peace because there are too many unknowns for you?  Today, I wanted to dive into how I needed to know everything, and how I began to process that when I was not able to know everything. This little shift in perspective was powerful for m...

Send a message to Megan Fear is driving our world right now, fear seems to be something that stops us from taking action and doing the things we want in our life. Fear definition from online: an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or a threat. When you lose a child, the fear, the terror, the horror, the awful horrific emotions and p...

Send a message to Megan How do we get through grief? It can feel so impossible. I wanted to share ideas that came to me of how we can learn to walk with grief and “get through” one of the most difficult experiences in our lives Listen in to hear the 17 ways I offer on how to get through grief If you are a grieving mother and looking for others who know the pain of child loss, come join my free Gri...

Send a message to Megan I’m so excited to have one of my coaching clients Pony here on the podcast. Pony has been a joy to work with. She’s so open and coachable, and willing to try anything I offer to her. Working through deep and painful things with grief is hard work, and I am so honored to be able to hold the space for Pony and help her process and work through so many of the things that have...

Send a message to Megan As a grieving person it’s exhausting to be alive. It’s exhausting every single day. And then there are people around us who don’t understand or who don’t say the right things or don’t act the right way and that adds another layer of pain. It’s easy to think that everyone around you is stupid and should be doing better. That everyone around you should do better and know exac...

Send a message to Megan Pregnancy after loss can be a terrifying experience. The worries and fears that come up after you know the possibility of losing another child is a real thing are very real. So I wanted to talk with Amy about this experience, and how we can support ourselves through this experience. Having a baby after loss is a beautiful thing, but it can also be hard. -Who is Amy and how...

Send a message to Megan The way we tell our story is a powerful thing. We can tell our story with shame, resentment, guilt, and where we keep beating ourselves up. Or we can tell our story with love, compassion, and kindness for ourselves. In this episode, I’m telling my story of Aria’s death from 3 different perspectives- Judgement, facts, compassion for myself. If you are a grieving mother and l...