October 28, 2020

Coping with Grief and Loss with Jaclyn Davis

43 minutes

*Trigger Warning*
If you have lost a loved one to cancer or other means, please listen with caution, listen with a trusted friend, or skip this episode entirely. In this episode, our guest may share graphic details or stories of her experiences watching her father battle cancer, losing him, and the aftermath of grief and trauma which may be triggering or hard to hear for some.

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Jaclyn Renee is a 26 year old single mother residing in Virginia. She has kind of jumped around career-wise and finally landed her dream job in marketing, but was part of the mass lay-offs due to COVID-19. That's what led her to pursue her purpose and launch her podcast, A Parting Gift, which talks about her dealings with trauma, depression, anxiety, loss and abuse and what she's gained from those experiences.

Jaclyn skipped the majority of her senior year in high school to care for her father, who was battling cancer. When she was just eighteen years old, he passed away and she lost all motivation, leading her down a destructive path that involved partying and drinking constantly to numb out the pain. She self-isolated as she was struggling with her depression and Generalized Anxiety Disorder yet put up a strong front so everyone thought she was handling it all so well. Once she hit rock bottom -- broke, alone, failed out of college, and watching life pass her by while heavily medicated -- she decided to make a conscious effort to face her trauma head on. Through deep soul searching and inner work, she identified her triggers and unpacked her many childhood traumas while learning how to cope and show up to life in healthier ways.

Jaclyn shares more on the following points: