What happens when you push grief behind a wall for years? For Christina Kantzavelos, a licensed psychotherapist and chronic illness advocate, the answer was her body. After losing her brother Peter at 19, Christina spent years stuffing her grief down, working harder, and eventually becoming so ill she couldn't care for herself — including leaving behind her work with Doctors Without Borders in Mexico.

In this episode, Christina shares why the nervous system has to come first before any grief or trauma work can really land, how EFT tapping can be a simple and immediate tool for emotional regulation, and what it looks like to finally face the grief you've been avoiding. She also talks about survivor's guilt, identity loss in chronic illness, and why finding the right therapist is a little like finding the right bathing suit — sometimes you have to try a few before one fits.

This episode connects to the G in the GRIEF Ladies framework: Grounding — eating, sleeping, moving, and stabilizing the nervous system as the foundation for everything else.

Guest Bio: Christina Kantzavelos is a licensed psychotherapist, coach, writer, advocate, speaker, and artist. She received her Bachelor's and Master's of Social Welfare (MSW) from UCLA and her Masters of Library and Information Sciences from SJSU. In her clinical practice, Begin Within Today, she treats those with chronic illness, including Lyme disease, and physical, developmental, and age-related disabilities. She is also the author of the Begin Within daily health and wellness journals.

- Website: https://www.beginwithintoday.com

- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beginwithintoday

- Journal: http://www.beginwithintoday.com/journal

-Facebook.com/beginwithintoday

www.linkedin.com/in/christinakantzavelos

GRIEF Ladies: Your Guide to What Comes Next

If you're ready to move forward without moving on—this show is for you.

🎧 Follow and connect: https://www.griefladies.com/

Kelly Daugherty: https://www.kellydaugherty.com/ Karyn Arnold: https://www.griefincommon.com/

Stay up to date with all the latest information about The GRIEF Ladies- Sign up for our newsletter at: www.griefladies.com

Join the FREE, Private Facebook GRIEF Ladies Community: https://www.facebook.com/share/g/16WuZNsNGu/

The GRIEF Ladies podcast offers education and support for people living with grief after someone they love has died. Our content is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional mental health care or crisis services. If you are in crisis or concerned about your safety, call 988 in the U.S. or contact local emergency services.

Guest perspectives shared on this platform are their own and may not reflect the views or positions of The Grief Ladies.

If you've ever felt like you were grieving "wrong" because you weren't moving through the five stages, this episode is for you. Dr. Terri Daniel, end-of-life educator, hospice chaplain, and grief counselor, breaks down exactly why the five stages were never meant to apply to grief, why acceptance comes first, not last, and why confusing grief with depression is one of the most harmful things we do to grieving people.

Dr. Terri also unpacks spiritual bypassing, what it is, where it shows up, and how to tell when it's helping versus hurting and shares the role of chaplains in end-of-life care that has nothing to do with religion. She closes with some of the most beautiful and practical grief rituals you'll ever hear, including the shoe insole ritual that will change the way you think about giving away a loved one's belongings.

All of this from a woman who has been making her son's lemon cake with chocolate frosting every year for 19 years.

Guest Bio:

Dr. Terri Daniel is an end-of-life educator, inter-spiritual hospice chaplain and grief counselor certified in death, dying and bereavement by the Association of Death Education and Counseling and in family-focused grief therapy by The Portland Institute. She conducts workshops throughout the U.S. and is an adjunct instructor in thanatology and chaplaincy at Marian University, United Theological Seminary, and the Graduate Theological Union. Terri is also the founder of The Conference on Death, Grief and Belief, and the Ask Doctor Death podcast.

Terri has a BA in Religious Studies from Marylhurst University, an MA in Pastoral Care from Fordham University, and a Doctor of Ministry in Pastoral Care and Counseling from the San Francisco Theological Seminary (CV).

Recently published papers include:

THE STUBBORN PERSISTENCE OF GRIEF STAGE THEORIES

https://journals.sagepub.com/eprint/GQCEAZBUJPBN8ZZFPWA8/full

Toxic Theology as a Contributing Factor in Complicated Mourning

https://journals.sagepub.com/eprint/GKSJEVZXUMFNI7QCNUZZ/full

Adding a New Dimension to Grief Counseling: Creative Personal Ritual as a Therapeutic Tool for Loss, Trauma and Transition

https://journals.sagepub.com/eprint/AWU3PMIA6MFRXPRVQ5FI/full

Connect with Terri:

[email protected] [email protected]

www.deathgriefandbelief.com

GRIEF Ladies: Your Guide to What Comes Next

If you're ready to move forward without moving on—this show is for you.

🎧 Follow and connect: https://www.griefladies.com/

Kelly Daugherty: https://www.kellydaugherty.com/ Karyn Arnold: https://www.griefincommon.com/

Stay up to date with all the latest information about The GRIEF Ladies- Sign up for our newsletter at: www.griefladies.com

Join the FREE, Private Facebook GRIEF Ladies Community: https://www.facebook.com/share/g/16WuZNsNGu/

The GRIEF Ladies podcast offers education and support for people living with grief after someone they love has died. Our content is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional mental health care or crisis services. If you are in crisis or concerned about your safety, call 988 in the U.S. or contact local emergency services.

Guest perspectives shared on this platform are their own and may not reflect the views or positions of The Grief Ladies.

Sometimes grief doesn't show up as sadness you can talk through — it shows up as tension in your chest, flashbacks you can't shake, or emotions so big they feel impossible to access. In this episode, certified coach and brainspotting practitioner Kim Ludeman explains why grief often gets stored in the body and what it takes to actually reach it.

Kim introduces brainspotting — a powerful brain-body therapy that works from the bottom up, accessing what talk therapy alone often can't reach. She explains how a session works, what the difference is between brainspotting and EMDR, and how expansion brainspotting can help grievers build capacity not just for pain, but for joy, peace, and connection too.

Kelly also shares her own deeply personal experience using brainspotting the day after her father's death, how it stopped the flashbacks, ended the nightmares, and changed the image she carries of him forever.

Guest Bio: Kim Ludeman is a certified coach and Brainspotting practitioner who specializes in helping people heal from trauma, grief, and loss. After losing her mother to cancer at just 19 and navigating the aftermath largely on her own, Kim spent the next two decades doing deep personal work — exploring her own experiences with grief, anxiety, ADHD, and faith — and channeling that journey into a coaching practice rooted in authenticity and real healing. Since discovering Brainspotting in 2018, she has integrated this powerful brain-body therapy into her work with clients around the world, helping them access and process what talk therapy alone often can't reach. Kim also hosts transformational personal development retreats for women and is passionate about normalizing mental health struggles so that seeking support becomes something we celebrate, not hide. She lives outside Portland, Oregon with her family.

Connect with Kim:

🔗 Kim's Website: https://kimludeman.com

🎙️ Captivatingly Confident Podcast: https://captivatinglyconfident.com

GRIEF Ladies: Your Guide to What Comes Next

If you're ready to move forward without moving on—this show is for you.

🎧 Follow and connect: https://www.griefladies.com/

Kelly Daugherty: https://www.kellydaugherty.com/ Karyn Arnold: https://www.griefincommon.com/

Stay up to date with all the latest information about The GRIEF Ladies- Sign up for our newsletter at: www.griefladies.com

Join the FREE, Private Facebook GRIEF Ladies Community: https://www.facebook.com/share/g/16WuZNsNGu/

The GRIEF Ladies podcast offers education and support for people living with grief after someone they love has died. Our content is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional mental health care or crisis services. If you are in crisis or concerned about your safety, call 988 in the U.S. or contact local emergency services.

Guest perspectives shared on this platform are their own and may not reflect the views or positions of The Grief Ladies.

When Nina Rodriguez's brother died suddenly on September 11, 2019 — the day after his 32nd birthday — she was catapulted into a grief she had no language for. His death from fentanyl poisoning added a layer of stigma that kept her silent for nearly a year, protecting his memory while quietly unraveling on her own.

In this episode, Nina shares her journey from real estate agent to grief-informed guide and award-winning podcast host, why sibling grief is one of the most overlooked and under-resourced losses there is, and how approaching grief with curiosity rather than correction changed everything for her. She also talks about navigating collective family grief, reclaiming identity after loss, and how continued bonds and signs from beyond have sustained her connection to her brother.

Whether you have lost a sibling, a parent, a partner, or a friend — this conversation about grief literacy, honesty, and hope will meet you where you are.

Guest Bio:

Nina Rodriguez is a grief-informed guide, award-winning podcast host, and creator of Grief and Light, a platform dedicated to honest conversations about loss, resilience, and what it means to live alongside grief.

After the sudden death of her only sibling in 2019, Nina's life and work were irrevocably reshaped. What began as a personal reckoning evolved into a public voice, one rooted in grief literacy, emotional intelligence, and the belief that tending our sorrow deepens our capacity to live. Through writing, speaking, and long-form conversation, she invites people to approach grief with curiosity rather than correction.

Nina has spoken at the University of Miami, collaborated with Reimagine, and is a regular contributor to Get Griefy Magazine. She is also a graduate of Megan Devine's Grief Care Professional Certification program. Across stages, pages, and microphones, her work bridges personal loss with collective healing, expanding the conversation around what it means to carry grief with honesty and hope

Connect with Nina: http://griefandlight.com/

GRIEF Ladies: Your Guide to What Comes Next

If you're ready to move forward without moving on—this show is for you.

🎧 Follow and connect: https://www.griefladies.com/

Kelly Daugherty: https://www.kellydaugherty.com/ Karyn Arnold: https://www.griefincommon.com/

Stay up to date with all the latest information about The GRIEF Ladies- Sign up for our newsletter at: www.griefladies.com

Join the FREE, Private Facebook GRIEF Ladies Community: https://www.facebook.com/share/g/16WuZNsNGu/

The GRIEF Ladies podcast offers education and support for people living with grief after someone they love has died. Our content is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional mental health care or crisis services. If you are in crisis or concerned about your safety, call 988 in the U.S. or contact local emergency services.

Guest perspectives shared on this platform are their own and may not reflect the views or positions of The Grief Ladies.

When Caroline Melkonian's husband Michael died suddenly from a heart attack, complicated by medical malpractice, she was left with two teenagers, a mortgage she didn't know where to find, and an uncertain future she never planned for. What she did next is the heart of this episode.

Caroline shares how she shifted from passive bystander to active leader of her family, why making things predictable was her first and most powerful tool, and how she applied her 20 years of professional mediation skills to rebuild her life with intention. She also opens up about navigating two years of litigation while grieving, the weight of a high-profile case, and why she felt compelled to pursue justice for Michael.

Plus: a stat that every surviving spouse needs to hear: $15.5 billion in Social Security survivor benefits goes unclaimed every single year. Caroline marched down to the Social Security office herself. You may need to too.

Guest Bio: Caroline is an experienced mediator with more than 20 years of negotiation expertise, helping individuals and families resolve conflict with compassion, confidentiality, and respect. A patient and empathetic listener, she guides people through difficult conversations and works collaboratively to create practical, lasting solutions.

Her primary focus is divorce mediation, where she helps couples avoid the expense and stress of litigation by developing customized agreements that address parenting arrangements, finances, and asset division. Caroline is particularly committed to preserving healthy parent-child and co-parenting relationships, helping families move forward with greater understanding, dignity, and cooperation.

Connect with Caroline: https://cmelmediation.com/

GRIEF Ladies: Your Guide to What Comes Next

If you're ready to move forward without moving on—this show is for you.

🎧 Follow and connect: https://www.griefladies.com/

Kelly Daugherty: https://www.kellydaugherty.com/ Karyn Arnold: https://www.griefincommon.com/

Stay up to date with all the latest information about The GRIEF Ladies- Sign up for our newsletter at: www.griefladies.com

Join the FREE, Private Facebook GRIEF Ladies Community: https://www.facebook.com/share/g/16WuZNsNGu/

The GRIEF Ladies podcast offers education and support for people living with grief after someone they love has died. Our content is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional mental health care or crisis services. If you are in crisis or concerned about your safety, call 988 in the U.S. or contact local emergency services.

Guest perspectives shared on this platform are their own and may not reflect the views or positions of The Grief Ladies.

What is a death doula — and do you actually need one? In this episode, end-of-life doula, herbalist, and death cafe facilitator Michelle Polacinski breaks it all down. Michelle became interested in death and dying after a near-deadly reaction to an antibiotic at age 23 left her unable to walk for months, facing her own mortality alone and far from home. That experience transformed her life — and eventually led her to the work she does today.

Michelle explains the role of a death doula and how they work alongside hospice, what happens at a death cafe and why talking openly about death matters, and the Swedish death cleaning movement — a practical and meaningful way to prepare your loved ones and spark important conversations before it's too late.

She also shares her personal grounding practice and her biggest takeaway for anyone navigating grief: when you need to cry, just cry. Don't hold back.

Death Cafe: https://deathcafe.com

Guest Bio: Michelle Ameliore Polacinski is an end of life doula, herbalist, facilitator, and mental health counseling student at the University at Albany. She is currently Kelly's intern! Michelle became interested in death and dying when she received paperwork for a living will at the age of 23. She was experiencing a disabling, toxic reaction from a pharmaceutical drug called Cipro, the experience of which changed her life. Since, she was trained as an end of life doula, has facilitated a monthly death cafe for four years, death book club for 2 years, and talks about death endlessly.

Connect with Michelle:

michelleameliore.substack.com

@ameliore.apothecary on instagram

GRIEF Ladies: Your Guide to What Comes Next

If you're ready to move forward without moving on—this show is for you.

🎧 Follow and connect: https://www.griefladies.com/

Kelly Daugherty: https://www.kellydaugherty.com/ Karyn Arnold: https://www.griefincommon.com/

Stay up to date with all the latest information about The GRIEF Ladies- Sign up for our newsletter at: www.griefladies.com

Join the FREE, Private Facebook GRIEF Ladies Community: https://www.facebook.com/share/g/16WuZNsNGu/

The GRIEF Ladies podcast offers education and support for people living with grief after someone they love has died. Our content is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional mental health care or crisis services. If you are in crisis or concerned about your safety, call 988 in the U.S. or contact local emergency services.

Guest perspectives shared on this platform are their own and may not reflect the views or positions of The Grief Ladies.

What do you do when you're holding your newborn for the very first time and you get the call that your mother has died? For Kera Sanchez, the answer — eventually — was to build something.

In this episode, Kera shares the origin story of Get Griefy Magazine, a free, colorful, community-driven publication created to make grief approachable and to give grievers a place to feel seen. She talks about the secondary losses that followed her mother's sudden death, how grief reshaped her identity and career, and why community built through vulnerability may be one of the most powerful tools a grieving person has.

This is a conversation about benefit finding, finding your people, and what it looks like to channel pain into purpose — in whatever form that takes.

Guest Bio: Kera Sanchez is a secondary educator, Editor-in-Chief of Get Griefy Magazine, and Certified Grief and Resilience Expert—recognized as Talk Death's 2025 People's Choice Grief Educator of the Year.

Connect with Kera:

@getgriefymagazine

@lemonstolegacies

getgriefymagazine.com

GRIEF Ladies: Your Guide to What Comes Next

If you're ready to move forward without moving on—this show is for you.

🎧 Follow and connect: https://www.griefladies.com/

Kelly Daugherty: https://www.kellydaugherty.com/ Karyn Arnold: https://www.griefincommon.com/

Stay up to date with all the latest information about The GRIEF Ladies- Sign up for our newsletter at: www.griefladies.com

Join the FREE, Private Facebook GRIEF Ladies Community: https://www.facebook.com/share/g/16WuZNsNGu/

The GRIEF Ladies podcast offers education and support for people living with grief after someone they love has died. Our content is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional mental health care or crisis services. If you are in crisis or concerned about your safety, call 988 in the U.S. or contact local emergency services.

Guest perspectives shared on this platform are their own and may not reflect the views or positions of The Grief Ladies.

Grief is rarely about just one loss. When someone dies, we may also lose routines, identity, security, future plans, and the roles we once held. These are called secondary losses — and they can make grief feel overwhelming and confusing.

In this episode, Nichole Lee join the GRIEF Ladies to explore:

• Why grief feels like more than one loss
• Emotional overwhelm and "energy in motion"
• Identity changes after death
• The idea that loyalty does not require ongoing suffering
• How growth can coexist with pain
• Grief is deeply personal — and it evolves over time.

As always, we close with practical steps you can try this week.

Guest Bio: Nichole Lee guides high-level leaders through moments of deep transition—when grief, identity, and truth collide. After 20 years leading transformation work for Fortune 500 companies, her mother's death in 2018 marked a turning point, giving rise to work that helps others let go of who they've been and step into who they're becoming.

Connect with Nichole: Life Transition Coach for Executives, Founders & Public Figures | Nichole Lee

GRIEF Ladies: Your Guide to What Comes Next

If you're ready to move forward without moving on—this show is for you.

🎧 Follow and connect: https://www.griefladies.com/

Kelly Daugherty: https://www.kellydaugherty.com/ Karyn Arnold: https://www.griefincommon.com/

Stay up to date with all the latest information about The GRIEF Ladies- Sign up for our newsletter at: www.griefladies.com

Join the FREE, Private Facebook GRIEF Ladies Community: https://www.facebook.com/share/g/16WuZNsNGu/

The GRIEF Ladies podcast offers education and support for people living with grief after someone they love has died. Our content is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional mental health care or crisis services. If you are in crisis or concerned about your safety, call 988 in the U.S. or contact local emergency services.

Guest perspectives shared on this platform are their own and may not reflect the views or positions of The Grief Ladies.

Suicide loss is one of the most isolating and misunderstood grief experiences there is — and Sara Shelton knows this firsthand. After losing her sister Heidi to suicide in 2019, Sara navigated stigma, family silence, and a profound lack of resources for suicide loss survivors. Now, as founder of The Postvention Project, she's working to change that.

In this episode, Sara talks openly about why suicide grief is different, how stigma keeps survivors isolated, and why boundaries during grief are not about pushing people away — they're an act of love and self-preservation. She also shares what she's learning through her survivor research interviews, why finding community with other suicide loss survivors is one of the most powerful steps toward healing, and what to say — and not say — when someone you love is grieving a suicide loss.

If you or someone you know has been impacted by suicide loss, this episode offers honest, compassionate insight from someone who has lived it.

If you are struggling, please reach out to the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988.

Guest Bio: Sara Shelton is a suicide loss survivor and founder of Griefly Collective, an initiative focused on helping institutions and families navigate what comes after traumatic death. Her work centers on postvention, family systems, and the role of boundaries in grief. Drawing from lived experience and professional leadership in peer support spaces, she speaks candidly about navigating minimizing comments, shifting family roles, and the tension between care and performance after loss. She is especially interested in how boundaries function as an act of love during grief.

Connect with Sara:

www.grieflycollective.com

The Postvention Project: https://www.postventionproject.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarashelton/

GRIEF Ladies: Your Guide to What Comes Next

If you're ready to move forward without moving on—this show is for you.

🎧 Follow and connect: https://www.griefladies.com/

Kelly Daugherty: https://www.kellydaugherty.com/ Karyn Arnold: https://www.griefincommon.com/

Stay up to date with all the latest information about The GRIEF Ladies- Sign up for our newsletter at: www.griefladies.com

Join the FREE, Private Facebook GRIEF Ladies Community: https://www.facebook.com/share/g/16WuZNsNGu/

The GRIEF Ladies podcast offers education and support for people living with grief after someone they love has died. Our content is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional mental health care or crisis services. If you are in crisis or concerned about your safety, call 988 in the U.S. or contact local emergency services.

Guest perspectives shared on this platform are their own and may not reflect the views or positions of The Grief Ladies.

Stillbirth grief is one of the most misunderstood and isolating experiences a family can go through — and Vallen Webb knows this firsthand. After the stillbirth of her daughter Evelyn in 2019, Vallen navigated postpartum depression, rage, isolation, a husband deployed overseas who never got to hold his daughter, and a cascade of secondary losses that took years to untangle.

In this episode, Vallen shares what she wishes society understood about stillbirth and infant loss, how disenfranchised grief shows up for bereaved families, and why routine became her survival tool when everything else felt out of control. She also offers four simple but powerful self-care anchors — sun, movement, water, and sleep — and talks honestly about how she continues to honor Evelyn seven years later.

Her mission says it all: grief doesn't need fixing. It needs witnessing.

Guest Bio: Vallen Webb is a bereaved mother, postpartum and bereavement doula, and founder of Evelyn James & Co. a grief-informed training and resource hub for loss families and the professionals who support them. After the stillbirth of her daughter Evelyn, Vallen experienced intense postpartum depression, rage, and isolation—experiences she now speaks about to bring voice to the often-hidden truths of loss and motherhood. Through education, storytelling, and advocacy, she helps families feel seen in their sorrow and trains providers to hold space with compassion. Her mission is clear: grief doesn't need fixing—it needs witnessing.

Connect with Vallen:

www.evelynjamesandco.com

www.evelynjames.shop

@evelynjamesandco

GRIEF Ladies: Your Guide to What Comes Next

If you're ready to move forward without moving on—this show is for you.

🎧 Follow and connect: https://www.griefladies.com/

Kelly Daugherty: https://www.kellydaugherty.com/ Karyn Arnold: https://www.griefincommon.com/

Stay up to date with all the latest information about The GRIEF Ladies- Sign up for our newsletter at: www.griefladies.com

Join the FREE, Private Facebook GRIEF Ladies Community: https://www.facebook.com/share/g/16WuZNsNGu/

The GRIEF Ladies podcast offers education and support for people living with grief after someone they love has died. Our content is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional mental health care or crisis services. If you are in crisis or concerned about your safety, call 988 in the U.S. or contact local emergency services.

Guest perspectives shared on this platform are their own and may not reflect the views or positions of The Grief Ladies.