Grief Unfiltered: Stories from Grow Through Your Grief

By Krystle Hall & Danette SuggSociety & Culture Health & Fitness Mental Health Education Self-Improvement Relationships

Grief Unfiltered: Stories from Grow Through Your Grief episodes

April 09 Feeling Stuck in Grief: How to Move from Avoiding to Processing
Krystle and Danette of Grief Unfiltered discuss the common experience of feeling stuck in grief and how it can show up even years later. They distinguish between “being stuck” (not doing the work, avoiding feelings, staying in bed or staying overly busy to escape) and “feeling stuck” (having heavy days and recurring emotions as part of a lifelong process). They explain how avoidance, compartmentalizing, lack of tools, social pressure to move on, and trying to protect others can keep grief unresolved. Krystle shares an “aha” moment prompted by her husband that led her to therapy after three years, while Danette describes grief presenting as anxiety and fight-or-flight after their dad’s cancer and death, improved through therapy, journaling, mindfulness, and basic self-care. They encourage talking about the person who died, finding balance, seeking professional help, and offer their journal at growththroughyourgrief.net.
📌 Timestamps:
00:00 Welcome to Grief Unfiltered
00:33 Why Grief Feels Stuck
02:47 Feeling Stuck vs Being Stuck
04:24 Avoidance and Family Patterns
05:47 Take Your Power Back
07:06 Busy or Bedridden Balance
10:35 Talk It Out and Journal
12:47 Why People Get Stuck
17:05 Krystle Therapy Turning Point
20:57 Danette Anxiety and Self Care
24:30 Fight or Flight After Illness
27:40 Final Takeaways and Resources

🌿 Get Support:
🌱 Ready to grow through your grief? Get my Befriend Your Grief course for the support and tools needed to transform your pain into a meaningful journey.
🌧️ Want to see how your grief is affecting you? Download my free quiz and complete it at your own pace.
🌐 Website: https://www.growthroughyourgrief.net/
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/growthroughyourgrief/
Subscribe to Grief Unfiltered + download each episode on Apple, Spotify, or Android.
30 min
April 02 How My Dad’s Death Changed Me: Time, Perspective, and Growing Through Grief with Danette
Danette hosts a solo episode of Grief Unfiltered to share who she was before her dad died in 2016 and how grief changed her. She describes being tightly wound, reactive, and focused on control and small inconveniences, then explains how losing a steady presence forced a new perspective where she stopped sweating the small stuff and became less reactive. Grief reshaped how she views time, making her prioritize connection, take chances, and live more in the moment, lessons she connects to her dad’s outlook and his unfulfilled retirement plans. She also shares how grief has made her more present as a mom to her son Owen, cherishing ordinary moments. Danette notes grief still brings sudden waves, especially as her son grows, but she’s learned joy and sadness can coexist and that grief changes shape over time, offering hope to those early in loss and pointing listeners to their journal and course for support.

📌 Timestamps
00:00 Welcome to Grief Unfiltered
00:35 Danette Solo Story
01:38 Who I Was Before
03:52 Losing Dad Changed Everything
05:19 Stop Sweating Small Stuff
07:35 Time Feels Different Now
10:18 Showing Up as a Mom
12:08 What Matters Most
12:39 Loving Who I Became
13:40 Waves That Still Hit
15:38 Hope for Early Grief
16:09 Resources and Goodbye

🌿 Get Support:
🌱 Ready to grow through your grief? Get my Befriend Your Grief course for the support and tools needed to transform your pain into a meaningful journey.
🌧️ Want to see how your grief is affecting you? Download my free quiz and complete it at your own pace.
🌐 Website: https://www.growthroughyourgrief.net/
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/growthroughyourgrief/
Subscribe to Grief Unfiltered + download each episode on Apple, Spotify, or Android.
17 min
March 26 Krystle's Grief Journey: Losing Dad, Living With Anxiety, and Finding Help
Krystle from Grief Unfiltered shares a solo episode about her grief journey after her dad’s stage-four lung cancer diagnosis 13 days after the birth of her second daughter in 2015, and his death 10 months later. She describes years of worsening anxiety that began around her 2012 honeymoon, including panic attacks, severe agoraphobia, postpartum depression/anxiety, and later health anxiety that intensified after her dad’s decline and death. Krystle explains how avoidance affected daily life and parenting until her husband urged her to seek help; about two and a half years after her dad died, she started therapy, used grounding and exposure exercises, and gradually regained independence. In January 2022 she began sertraline, pushed through early side effects, and found medication plus therapy life-changing. She encourages listeners to seek support, find the right therapist fit, and care for themselves while honoring loved ones.
📌 Timestamps:
00:00 Welcome to Grief Unfiltered
00:34 Why a Solo Story
01:34 Life Before the Loss
02:36 Anxiety Begins to Surface
04:32 Honeymoon Panic Trigger
06:55 Agoraphobia Takes Hold
07:47 Postpartum Struggles
10:01 The Cancer Phone Call
12:23 Stage Four Reality
15:19 Ten Months of Anticipatory Grief
17:12 Aftermath and Health Anxiety
20:28 Naming Anxiety and Hitting Bottom
21:46 Choosing Therapy
24:44 Therapy Tools and Small Wins
27:35 COVID and Setbacks
29:13 Trying Medication
30:53 Life Gets Lighter
33:26 What I Want You to Know
36:18 Support and Final Goodbye

🌿 Get Support:
🌱 Ready to grow through your grief? Get my Befriend Your Grief course for the support and tools needed to transform your pain into a meaningful journey.
🌧️ Want to see how your grief is affecting you? Download my free quiz and complete it at your own pace.
🌐 Website: https://www.growthroughyourgrief.net/
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/growthroughyourgrief/
Subscribe to Grief Unfiltered + download each episode on Apple, Spotify, or Android.
37 min
March 19 How Grief Changes Over Time (and Why That Doesn’t Mean You’re Doing It Wrong)
Krystle and Danette of Grief Unfiltered discuss how grief evolves rather than fading in a straight line, sharing how losing their father felt consuming at first and later became more wave-like, with triggers such as birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays shifting from dread to moments of honoring and celebration. Krystlel explains that time alone didn’t help until she did the work, describing a major turning point around the five-year mark after therapy helped her channel her dad’s legacy of helping others into creating Grow Through Your Grief, an online course, and a journal. They explore why later grief can be confusing, emphasizing it can resurface without meaning failure, and suggest returning to basic self-care tools—movement, hydration, journaling, balanced rest, and small habit changes—while rejecting timelines, avoiding comparisons, and allowing joy and grief to coexist.

📌 Timestamps:
00:00 Welcome to Grief Unfiltered
00:33 How Grief Evolves
01:24 Early Grief Consumes
03:49 Time Plus Work Heals
05:27 Anxiety and Firsts
07:06 From Dread to Celebration
11:44 Five Year Turning Point
15:07 Why Later Grief Confuses
20:14 Tools for Later Stages
22:32 Self Care Small Steps
26:06 Permission for Joy
28:44 No Timeline Keep Going
31:37 Closing and Resources
🌿 Get Support:
🌱 Ready to grow through your grief? Get my Befriend Your Grief course for the support and tools needed to transform your pain into a meaningful journey.
🌧️ Want to see how your grief is affecting you? Download my free quiz and complete it at your own pace.
🌐 Website: https://www.growthroughyourgrief.net/
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/growthroughyourgrief/
Subscribe to Grief Unfiltered + download each episode on Apple, Spotify, or Android.
32 min
March 12 When the World Moves On but Your Grief Doesn’t
Krystle and Danette of Grief Unfiltered discuss a common but rarely spoken part of grief: when initial support fades while the loss still feels intense. Using their father’s death as an example, Krystle describes overwhelming check-ins and help up to the funeral, followed by an abrupt drop-off that felt isolating and created pressure to “be better.” They explore why people stop reaching out, including discomfort, fear of saying the wrong thing, and misleading impressions from social media. They encourage grievers to ask for connection and set expectations about whether they want to talk or cry, and encourage supporters to ask how someone is truly doing. They emphasize that grief has no timeline, joy and grief can coexist, and healing requires intentional work such as therapy and journaling.

📌 Timestamps:
00:00 Welcome to Grief Unfiltered
00:33 When the World Moves On
01:29 Support Fades After Funeral
06:22 Why It Gets So Lonely
08:33 Awkwardness and Social Media
13:17 Ask for Real Support
14:03 What Helped Us Cope 1
5:04 Therapy and Doing the Work
20:20 Living With Grief Long Term
22:09 Final Takeaways and Resources

🌿 Get Support:
🌱 Ready to grow through your grief? Get my Befriend Your Grief course for the support and tools needed to transform your pain into a meaningful journey.
🌧️ Want to see how your grief is affecting you? Download my free quiz and complete it at your own pace.
🌐 Website: https://www.growthroughyourgrief.net/
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/growthroughyourgrief/
Subscribe to Grief Unfiltered + download each episode on Apple, Spotify, or Android.
24 min
March 05 Grief Triggers: The Random Tuesday Gut Punch
Krystle and Danette of Grief Unfiltered discuss unexpected grief triggers that arise outside obvious dates like anniversaries, such as songs, smells, grocery-store moments, milestones, and even feeling peaceful. They share personal examples, including Danette being triggered by a neighbor at the family farm who “loved” their dad and Krystle being hit by a Cheerios box campaign that referenced “dad” and “dog.” They explore how hearing stories about their dad can feel therapeutic on their own terms but triggering when initiated by others, and emphasize that triggers aren’t setbacks because grief isn’t linear and can persist even 10 years later. They suggest acknowledging triggers, letting emotions happen, talking to someone, journaling, therapy, and nature, and note their journal is available at growthroughyourgrief.net.
📌 Timestamps:
00:00 Welcome to Grief Unfiltered
00:33 Unexpected Grief Triggers
01:54 Farm Encounter Trigger
04:43 Grocery Aisle Gut Punch
06:42 Talking About Dad
13:39 Are Triggers Setbacks
17:56 Joy and Guilt After Loss
20:59 Tools to Handle Triggers
23:14 Journal and Closing
🌿 Get Support:
🌱 Ready to grow through your grief? Get my Befriend Your Grief course for the support and tools needed to transform your pain into a meaningful journey.
🌧️ Want to see how your grief is affecting you? Download my free quiz and complete it at your own pace.
🌐 Website: https://www.growthroughyourgrief.net/
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/growthroughyourgrief/
Subscribe to Grief Unfiltered + download each episode on Apple, Spotify, or Android.
25 min
February 26 Functional Grief: When You’re Still Showing Up but Falling Apart Inside
Krystle and Danette from Grief Unfiltered discuss “functional grief,” describing how people can keep working, parenting, and meeting responsibilities while internally carrying intense exhaustion, sadness, and emotional weight after losing a loved one. They share personal experiences after their dad’s death, including masking feelings in public, feeling judged or misunderstood, questioning their own grief when they appear “fine,” and crashing at home from the effort of coping. They highlight how others often assume functioning means healing, leading to less support, and note the loneliness that follows when check-ins fade. They emphasize permission to not be okay, the importance of processing grief rather than suppressing it, and tools that helped them, including journaling, therapy, and antidepressants, while encouraging listeners to seek support and care for their emotional and physical wellbeing.
📌 Timestamps:
00:00 Welcome to Grief Unfiltered
00:33 What Is Functional Grief
02:19 Krystle's Robotic Routine
05:12 When the Mask Slips
07:52 Highlight Reels and Assumptions
10:09 What Happens at Home
12:36 Questioning Your Own Grief
17:47 Why It’s So Exhausting
21:11 What Others Misunderstand
22:41 Permission to Ask for Help
24:07 From Surviving to Therapy
31:00 Journaling and Final Encouragement

🌿 Get Support:
🌱 Ready to grow through your grief? Get my Befriend Your Grief course for the support and tools needed to transform your pain into a meaningful journey.
🌧️ Want to see how your grief is affecting you? Download my free quiz and complete it at your own pace.
🌐 Website: https://www.growthroughyourgrief.net/
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/growthroughyourgrief/
Subscribe to Grief Unfiltered + download each episode on Apple, Spotify, or Android.
35 min
February 12Parenting Through Grief: Navigating Loss While Raising Young Children
In this solo episode, Krystle explores the immense challenge of grieving the loss of a loved one while parenting young children. The narrator shares their deeply personal story of losing a father to cancer shortly after welcoming their second daughter, and discusses the emotional turmoil and exhaustion that accompanied trying to parent through such immense grief. The episode delves into the struggle of balancing motherhood with anticipatory grief, the guilt and fears that arise, and the moments of small joy that act as a lifeline. Listeners are reminded that parenting doesn't demand perfection, merely presence, even through tear-stained and vulnerable moments. This story is a testament to resilience, the importance of self-care, and the reminder that it's okay to not have it all together while navigating the intersections of grief and parenthood.

📌 Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction: Grieving and Parenting
00:46 The Onset of Grief
02:44 Anticipatory Grief and Guilt
04:31 The Aftermath of Loss
06:02 Finding Strength and Joy
07:12 Healing and Moving Forward
08:30 Honoring Memories
09:01 Conclusion: Sharing and Support

🌿 Get Support:
🌱 Ready to grow through your grief? Get my Befriend Your Grief course for the support and tools needed to transform your pain into a meaningful journey.
🌧️ Want to see how your grief is affecting you? Download my free quiz and complete it at your own pace.
🌐 Website: https://www.growthroughyourgrief.net/
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/growthroughyourgrief/
Subscribe to Grief Unfiltered + download each episode on Apple, Spotify, or Android.
11 min
February 06 Navigating Anxiety and Grief: My Personal Journey
In this solo episode of 'Grief Unfiltered,' Danette Sugg shares her deeply personal experience with anxiety following the loss of her father. She describes how grief unexpectedly manifested as anxiety, impacting her daily life and well-being. Danette discusses her struggle with the physical symptoms of anxiety, how she learned to recognize and manage it, and the importance of self-compassion and support systems. This episode offers a raw and honest exploration of grief and mental health, providing listeners with insights and relatable experiences to help them on their own healing journey.
📌 Timestamps:
00:00 Welcome to Grief Unfiltered
00:38 Danette's Solo Episode: Anxiety and Grief
01:21 The Unexpected Physical Impact of Grief
03:28 Recognizing and Addressing Anxiety
08:55 Practical Tips for Managing Anxiety
14:57 The Importance of Support Systems
17:22 Final Thoughts and Encouragement
🌿 Get Support:
🌱 Ready to grow through your grief? Get my Befriend Your Grief course for the support and tools needed to transform your pain into a meaningful journey.
🌧️ Want to see how your grief is affecting you? Download my free quiz and complete it at your own pace.
🌐 Website: https://www.growthroughyourgrief.net/
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/growthroughyourgrief/
Subscribe to Grief Unfiltered + download each episode on Apple, Spotify, or Android.
20 min
January 29 Navigating Grief: Finding Support and Avoiding Missteps
In this episode, we discuss what has genuinely helped us through our grief and identify the well-intended actions that inadvertently made it harder. We emphasize that true support is about being present rather than fixing the grief. Key points include the importance of having a safe space to express emotions, connecting with others who've experienced similar losses, and the therapeutic benefits of creative outlets and therapy. We also advise those supporting grieving individuals to take initiative and offer direct help, rather than leaving decisions to the bereaved. Finally, we highlight the importance of continued support beyond the initial months of loss. Authenticity, empathy, and presence are underscored as vital elements in grief support.
📌 Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction to Grief Support
00:54 Personal Stories of Grief
02:20 The Power of Vulnerability
04:55 Therapeutic Activities for Grief
10:16 Challenges and Missteps in Grief Support
15:48 Advice for the Grieving and Their Supporters
19:27 Practical Tips for Supporting the Grieving
27:56 Final Thoughts and Resources

🌿 Get Support:
🌱 Ready to grow through your grief? Get my Befriend Your Grief course for the support and tools needed to transform your pain into a meaningful journey.
🌧️ Want to see how your grief is affecting you? Download my free quiz and complete it at your own pace.
🌐 Website: https://www.growthroughyourgrief.net/
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/growthroughyourgrief/
Subscribe to Grief Unfiltered + download each episode on Apple, Spotify, or Android.
29 min