Tag: holidays and grief

EOLPodcast

Ep. 378 Surviving Grief with Humor with Laurie Burrows Grad

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Learn how this television chef and blogger used humor to help her navigate life as a widow.

My guest Laurie Burrows Grad is a cookbook author and television chef who began blogging about grief, widowhood, and survival after the death of her husband Peter. She shares how she used humor to help her navigate life as a widow and offers some practical tips for others facing widowhood. Laurie is the author of the book The Joke’s Over, You Can Come Back Now: How this Widow Plowed Through Grief and Survived. Learn more about her work at her website:

www.lauriegrad.com

Get the book here

Watch on YouTube

Listen here:

This episode includes:

  • How Laurie felt demoted socially after the death of her husband
  • How writing blogs helped Laurie get through her grief
  • Why you have to get through the pain of grief in order to come out on the other side
  • Laurie’s experiences with grief counselors and with Our House Grief Support Center
  • How finding meaning within loss can help you feel better
  • How Laurie has used humor in her writing and throughout her grief process
  • The challenges of trying to date as a widow in later life
  • The trauma of experiencing a loved one’s death while traveling in an unfamiliar place and how the Neptune Society helped
  • Top ten things not to say to someone grieving and what to say instead
  • How cooking for others was also helpful for Laurie in her grief
  • How to get through the holidays and anniversaries by preparing in advance
  • The most important things Laurie has learned on her grief journey

Links mentioned in this episode:

If you enjoy this content please share it with others and consider leaving a review on iTunes. Thanks again to all supporters on my page at Patreon.com/eolu and to those who have made a donation through Paypal or bought me a coffee! Your contributions make all the difference.

EOLPodcast

Ep. 326 The Sweetest Therapy: How Baking Heals Grief with Chase Cassine LCSW

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Learn how a grief therapist coped with his own grief by turning to baking and creating a cookbook/grief book.

My guest Chase Cassine is a licensed clinic social worker who proves individual therapy at a local community health clinic in New Orleans where he assists clients through grief, loss, depression, anxiety, adjustment issues, and communication issues. When he himself experienced a devastating loss he turned to baking as a form of solace and ended up creating The Sweetest Therapy, a combination cookbook and grief book. He shares his story, favorite recipes, and tips for baking and for dealing with grief, just in time for the holiday season! Follow Chase on social media:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chasecassine

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chasecassinelcsw

Get The Sweetest Therapy

Listen here:

This episode includes:

  • Chase’s work at a community health center helping clients with grief
  • Why Chase started baking as a coping mechanism when faced with his own grief
  • Why baking (and other forms of creativity) can be good therapeutic tools during times of loss and grief
  • How Chase ended up ultimately compiling his recipes into a cookbook and including writings about grief and New Orleans culture
  • His favorite recipes and the deeper meaning they have for him
  • How to use cooking and baking as a tool for grief during the holiday season
  • Coping with negative self-talk
  • Tips for being a better baker
  • New Orleans culture and history around funerals and grief: “second lines”

Links mentioned in this episode:

  • Blog – 12 Ways to Cope with Grief After Losing a Loved One by Erin Ward
  • Book – Bread Therapy: The Mindful Art of Baking Bread by Pauline Beaumont
  • Article – The emotional benefits of cooking and baking

If you enjoy this content please share it with others and consider leaving a review on iTunes. Thanks again to all supporters on my page at Patreon.com/eolu! Your contributions make all the difference.

EOLPodcast

Ep. 274 Self-Care for the Holidays During COVID-19

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Learn some practical ideas for self-care and creative ways to find meaning in the holidays during this stressful time of COVID-19.

In this solo episode I share some thoughts about we need to care for ourselves to prevent burnout during this holiday season and some ideas for reimagining our celebrations as we cope with COVID-19. Find some inspiration for your holidays and tips for staying energized and positive during the coming months. Get the handout mentioned in the podcast at the link below:

Quick-Tips-for-SelfCareDownload

Listen here:

This episode includes:

  • Why self-care is important now and during the holidays
  • What aspects of the holidays people find most meaningful (in surveys)
  • Sources of stress during holiday times
  • How holiday joys can become stresses if there is no balance
  • How COVID-19 is changing what is possible this year for celebrations and why this could be an opportunity to rethink the holidays
  • Finding new ways to be “together” during the holidays
  • New creative ideas for gift-giving when finances are limited
  • Tips for self-care and for re-energizing during stressful times

Links mentioned in this episode:

  • Subscribe to this podcast on Apple, Google, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Stitcher Radio
  • Check out the Series I’ve recorded in the past here
  • Join the team at Patreon.com/eolu and get access to the EOLU mug: “Mind if we talk about death?” (only Patrons can purchase it). PLUS get our new bonuses: the monthly EOL News Update, movie reviews from 2 Doctors and a Movie, and automatic access to A Year of Reading Dangerously!

If you enjoy this content please share it with others and consider leaving a review on iTunes! Thanks again to all supporters on my page at Patreon.com/eolu! Your contributions make all the difference!

EOLPodcast, Grief

Ep. 174 Finding JOY in Times of Darkness – Christmas Eve 2018

kwyattmd

 Learn some ways to navigate the holidays if you find yourself short of joy and overwhelmed with darkness this year.

PodcastJoyDarkness

The holidays are not always joyful, particularly when we are dealing with grief or loss. Watching others celebrate can be painful if we are feeling lost and alone in our suffering. Here are some suggestions for coping with dark times and finding the way to joy. 

 

 

This episode includes:

  • Why times of darkness are essential for life and growth
  • How major holidays near the winter solstice include light as part of the celebration
  • Why we need to embrace the darkness rather than resist it
  • How to bring in the light 
  • How to redefine joy as joie de vivre (the joy of being alive)
  • Discovering that joy is already within you
  • Why stillness is essential to cultivate joy
  • Overcoming the obstacles to joy
  • The importance of giving to others even when you are going through difficult times

Dark times provide an incubator for the soul to grow in creativity, love and joy.

Links mentioned in this episode:

Tune in every Monday for a new episode! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone!

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EOLPodcast, Grief

Ep. 121 Holidays & Grief: The Dinner Party with Carla Fernandez and Lennon Flowers

kwyattmd

Learn how The Dinner Party movement helps millennials cope with grief and some tips for managing grief during the holidays.

PodcastDinnerPartyBanner

carlalennoncollageIn this episode I share an interview with Carla Fernandez and Lennon Flowers, co-founders of The Dinner Party, a movement that is helping grieving millennials find community. I also talk about some of their tips for grief over the holidays.

Learn more about The Dinner Party here.

Download the Holiday Grief Guide from The Dinner Party here.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

griefluggagelg2ED-1149289_1280Check out my new blog series on Grief Travel and learn some tips for planning travel to help with grief. Go to eoluniversityblog.com to find the series and start planning your own grief travel experience.

 

Patreonbecome2xThank you so much to all of my Patrons who have made donations on Patreon.com/eolu this year! I am forever grateful for your support and encouragement. If you would like to help keep End-of-Life University on the air you can go to Patreon.com/eolu and pledge just $1 a month to receive bonuses like the monthly Q&A recording I call “Hospice Happy Hour.” You’ll also be able to listen to all of the replays from the recent Death Expo 2017.

FEATURE PRESENTATION:

My guests Carla Fernandez and Lennon Flowers are the co-founders of The Dinner Party, a movement to create community and meaningful conversation around the isolating experience of grief for those in their 20’s and 30’s. Younger adults often feel out of place in traditional grief support groups and Carla and Lennon will share how their own personal losses led them to start The Dinner Party, which has now grown across the U.S. and beyond.

In this interview you will learn:

  • The inspiration behind The Dinner Party
  • Why The Dinner Party reaches out to millennials
  • How participants benefit from attending
  • How to become a host for a Dinner Party
  • How Carla and Lennon are working to create supportive workplaces for the bereaved
  • What resources are available on The Dinner Party website for grief in the workplace and grief at holiday times

Wishing you and your loved ones much love, joy and light during this holiday season, no matter how you choose to celebrate. I’ll be enjoying Christmas with my family next week but there will still be a podcast episode so be sure to tune in.

If you enjoy this podcast please consider leaving a review on iTunes to help more people discover this information.

Until next time….

Face Your Fear              BE Ready             Love Your Life

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End of Life, EOLPodcast, Grief, Hospice

Ep. 69 How To Brighten Your Holidays by Making a Difference for Someone Else

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In this episode Dr. Wyatt shares some ideas for helping others during this holiday season. The best antidote to despair is to care for someone else!

If you’d like to support this podcast and the End-of-Life University Interview Series you can visit our donation page at Patreon.com/eolu.

Here are some suggestions for reaching out to others in need during the holidays:

  • Visit a patient in a nursing home or long-term care facility
  • Bring music to a nursing facility with a choir or band
  • Visit an elderly neighbor in their home
  • Take a meal to a shut-in
  • Help elderly patients address holiday cards
  • Put up holiday decorations for a frail or ill person
  • Care for a pet for a hospice patient
  • Shovel snow for an elderly neighbor
  • Prepare a meal for a grieving family
  • Read holiday stories to patients at a nursing home
  • Help a hospice patient find gifts to give to loved ones
  • Provide childcare for a family dealing with grief or illness

No matter how you spend the upcoming holidays (Winter Solstice, Christmas, Hannukah, Kwanza), or with whom you celebrate, may you have an abundance of light and joy and love in your life. Many blessings to you and those you love!