Grief is hard — and in many ways, our culture makes it harder than it needs to be.

In this episode of Full-Time Grievers, Nathan M. McTague names ten common ways grieving in America is constrained, misunderstood, or actively complicated — from unrealistic expectations of emotional coherence, or platitudes offered instead of presence, to the pressure to “move on” or return to who you were before loss.

This is not an episode about fixing grievers or finding silver linings in our sorrow.

It’s about telling the truth.

In the second half of the episode, Nathan explores what grieving could look like instead: more emotional permission, more nervous-system awareness, more communal accompaniment, and fewer timelines imposed on love.

This conversation is for people who are grieving, for those who support grievers, and for anyone who has sensed that something about how we handle grief isn’t working.

You can download your free grief journal ⁠here⁠.

Send your Grief Confessional ⁠here⁠.

And contribute to the show ⁠here⁠.