Grief comes with a lot of questions, and quite often you may feel like you're the only one wanting to ask these.

You're not alone.

As grief coaches, John and Carolyn both hear a lot of the same questions over and over again from clients. 

"Will I feel this sad forever?" 

"Am I stuck in grief?" 

"What if I fall in love again and they die too?"

"My friends seem to be sick of me being sad, should I hide my grief from them?"

In this episode we address these questions, along with some more very common things that we hear... A LOT.

Don't forget to rate and review our podcast, and spread the word so that more people know it exists.

We'd love to help as many grievers as possible through this hardest time of their lives.

Visit our websites: carolyngowercoaching.com & johnpolocoaching.com to learn more about our work.

For added support in a caring community, join our FREE Facebook Group by clicking here : https://www.facebook.com/groups/696138811624151/?ref=share

WOULD YOU LIKE TO HELP US KEEP OUR PODCAST GOING?

MONTHLY SUPPORTERS receive the following:

$4.99 and Up - Receive our deepest gratitude for your support & buy a coffee for John and a green tea for Carolyn to keep us going while we’re recording :)

$9.99 Option - Receive our deepest gratitude for your support PLUS you will automatically be entered into a monthly drawing to win a 60 minute "Sip & Chat" with BOTH John and Carolyn to be held on Zoom. You can bring along your drink of choice, and we are all yours for one entire hour. We spend the hour however you want. It can be a coaching session, you can ask us anything, it can be a chat, or we can all share funny or special memories about our loved ones who’ve passed. You get to choose!

Visit johnpolocoaching.com to become a My Person Died Too supporter.

Whether you had the opportunity to say goodbye or not, the death of a loved one is absolutely heartbreaking and horrible.

There can be a price to pay either way... you may get the opportunity to say goodbye, but it's after watching them suffer with  a terminal illness... or their death may be sudden and without suffering, but it's a huge shock, and there were no goodbyes.

Death rarely happens like it does in a Disney movie.

In this episode, we share what some of our listeners have told us they would have said to their person, if they had been given the opportunity for a proper goodbye.

We also share how we both said goodbye to our spouses, after watching them suffer with cancer.

Don't forget to rate and review our podcast, and spread the word so that more people know it exists.

We'd love to help as many grievers as possible through this hardest time of their lives.

Visit our websites: carolyngowercoaching.com & johnpolocoaching.com to learn more about our work.

For added support in a caring community, join our FREE Facebook Group by clicking here : https://www.facebook.com/groups/696138811624151/?ref=share

WOULD YOU LIKE TO HELP US KEEP OUR PODCAST GOING?

MONTHLY SUPPORTERS receive the following:

$4.99 and Up - Receive our deepest gratitude for your support & buy a coffee for John and a green tea for Carolyn to keep us going while we’re recording :)

$9.99 Option - Receive our deepest gratitude for your support PLUS you will automatically be entered into a monthly drawing to win a 60 minute "Sip & Chat" with BOTH John and Carolyn to be held on Zoom. You can bring along your drink of choice, and we are all yours for one entire hour. We spend the hour however you want. It can be a coaching session, you can ask us anything, it can be a chat, or we can all share funny or special memories about our loved ones who’ve passed. You get to choose!

Visit  https://johnpolocoaching.com/ to become a My Person Died Too supporter.

Grieving through the holiday season is especially hard.

At a time when everyone else is having fun and enjoying the festivities with their  families, it can really magnify the absence of your person from your life.

In this episode, John and Carolyn share what their first holiday season was like after their spouses died, and how it has changed since then.

We also offer plenty of tips and strategies to help you through this challenging time of year.

Listen out for the special sound effects in the last 8-10 minutes of this episode. No, John doesn't have a squeaky chair, or a new pet... it's actually his stomach growling! 

Don't forget to rate and review our podcast, and spread the word so that more people know it exists.

We'd love to help as many grievers as possible through this hardest time of their lives.

Visit our websites: carolyngowercoaching.com & johnpolocoaching.com to learn more about our work.

For added support in a caring community, join our FREE Facebook Group by clicking here : https://www.facebook.com/groups/696138811624151/?ref=share

WOULD YOU LIKE TO HELP US KEEP OUR PODCAST GOING?

MONTHLY SUPPORTERS receive the following:

$4.99 and Up - Receive our deepest gratitude for your support & buy a coffee for John and a green tea for Carolyn to keep us going while we’re recording :)

$9.99 Option - Receive our deepest gratitude for your support PLUS you will automatically be entered into a monthly drawing to win a 60 minute "Sip & Chat" with BOTH John and Carolyn to be held on Zoom. You can bring along your drink of choice, and we are all yours for one entire hour. We spend the hour however you want. It can be a coaching session, you can ask us anything, it can be a chat, or we can all share funny or special memories about our loved ones who’ve passed. You get to choose!

Visit  https://johnpolocoaching.com/ to become a My Person Died Too supporter.

The people we surround ourselves with on a day to day basis is so important to your self-care.

Just as toxic people have the ability to bring you down and make you feel even worse, the right people have the ability to support you and lift you up when you need it.

Grief changes you, therefore it makes sense that your relationships with some people will also undergo changes.

In this episode, John and Carolyn discuss why people seem to disappear from your life when you're grieving, how to set boundaries and rebuild your friendship circle, why we might have friends for different reasons, and so much more.

Don't forget to rate and review our podcast, and spread the word so that more people know it exists.

We'd love to help as many grievers as possible through this hardest time of their lives.

Visit our websites: carolyngowercoaching.com & johnpolocoaching.com to learn more about our work.

For added support in a caring community, join our FREE Facebook Group by clicking here : https://www.facebook.com/groups/696138811624151/?ref=share

WOULD YOU LIKE TO HELP US KEEP OUR PODCAST GOING?

MONTHLY SUPPORTERS receive the following:

$4.99 and Up - Receive our deepest gratitude for your support & buy a coffee for John and a green tea for Carolyn to keep us going while we’re recording :)

$9.99 Option - Receive our deepest gratitude for your support PLUS you will automatically be entered into a monthly drawing to win a 60 minute "Sip & Chat" with BOTH John and Carolyn to be held on Zoom. You can bring along your drink of choice, and we are all yours for one entire hour. We spend the hour however you want. It can be a coaching session, you can ask us anything, it can be a chat, or we can all share funny or special memories about our loved ones who’ve passed. You get to choose!

When someone we love dies, it can really change the way we view the world.

Whereas once we may have been somewhat naive, we now know that bad stuff CAN and DOES happen... and that your entire world can change in the blink of an eye.

It's therefore understandable that grief can come with a heightened sense of anxiety, a state of hypervigilance where you are always on red alert waiting for something else to happen.

In this episode we discuss some of the most common causes and types of anxiety that we've come across in grief, and some things that are helpful and not so helpful in living with it.

Don't forget to rate and review our podcast, and spread the word so that more people know it exists.

We'd love to help as many grievers as possible through this hardest time of their lives.

Visit our websites: carolyngowercoaching.com & johnpolocoaching.com to learn more about our work.

For added support in a caring community, join our FREE Facebook Group by clicking here : https://www.facebook.com/groups/696138811624151/?ref=share

WOULD YOU LIKE TO HELP US KEEP OUR PODCAST GOING?

MONTHLY SUPPORTERS receive the following:

$4.99 and Up - Receive our deepest gratitude for your support & buy a coffee for John and a green tea for Carolyn to keep us going while we’re recording :)

$9.99 Option - Receive our deepest gratitude for your support PLUS you will automatically be entered into a monthly drawing to win a 60 minute "Sip & Chat" with BOTH John and Carolyn to be held on Zoom. You can bring along your drink of choice, and we are all yours for one entire hour. We spend the hour however you want. It can be a coaching session, you can ask us anything, it can be a chat, or we can all share funny or special memories about our loved ones who’ve passed. You get to choose!

Five years ago Hope Wood woke to find her husband, Phillip missing.

18 days later his body was found.

Hope shares with us the shock of finding that her husband had taken his life, and how it has affected the lives of her and their 2 children.

We discuss the stigma surrounding suicide loss, and how your grief can often be minimized or dismissed.

We thank Hope for her vulnerability in this very important discussion.

Hope is a Therapist in South Carolina and also offers coaching globally.

Follow the links below to find out more about Hope and her work:

https://bio.site/hopewoodcounselcoach

www.hopewoodwriter.com

www.instagram.com/hopewoodcounselcoach

Don't forget to rate and review our podcast, and spread the word so that more people know it exists.

We'd love to help as many grievers as possible through this hardest time of their lives.

Visit our websites: carolyngowercoaching.com & johnpolocoaching.com to learn more about our work.

For added support in a caring community, join our FREE Facebook Group by clicking here : https://www.facebook.com/groups/696138811624151/?ref=share

WOULD YOU LIKE TO HELP US KEEP OUR PODCAST GOING?

MONTHLY SUPPORTERS receive the following:

$4.99 and Up - Receive our deepest gratitude for your support & buy a coffee for John and a green tea for Carolyn to keep us going while we’re recording :)

$9.99 Option - Receive our deepest gratitude for your support PLUS you will automatically be entered into a monthly drawing to win a 60 minute "Sip & Chat" with BOTH John and Carolyn to be held on Zoom. You can bring along your drink of choice, and we are all yours for one entire hour. We spend the hour however you want. It can be a coaching session, you can ask us anything, it can be a chat, or we can all share funny or special memories about our loved ones who’ve passed. You get to choose!

It's so important to take time out to do things that feed your soul, but even more so when you're grieving.

This episode isn't particularly about self-care, even though these things will definitely benefit your self-care. 

It's more about encouraging you to find things that might lift your mood, bring you some calm and peace, or maybe even find your creative side.

It's about finding ways to make time for you, even if you are time poor. It's about finding the things that will feed your soul.

There's even a little surprise rap from Carolyn at the end!

Don't forget to rate and review our podcast, and spread the word so that more people know it exists.

We'd love to help as many grievers as possible through this hardest time of their lives.

Visit our websites: carolyngowercoaching.com.au & johnpolocoaching.com to learn more about our work.

For added support in a caring community, join our FREE Facebook Group by clicking here : https://www.facebook.com/groups/696138811624151/?ref=share

WOULD YOU LIKE TO HELP US KEEP OUR PODCAST GOING?

MONTHLY SUPPORTERS receive the following:

$4.99 and Up - Receive our deepest gratitude for your support & buy a coffee for John and a green tea for Carolyn to keep us going while we’re recording :)

$9.99 Option - Receive our deepest gratitude for your support PLUS you will automatically be entered into a monthly drawing to win a 60 minute "Sip & Chat" with BOTH John and Carolyn to be held on Zoom. You can bring along your drink of choice, and we are all yours for one entire hour. We spend the hour however you want. It can be a coaching session, you can ask us anything, it can be a chat, or we can all share funny or special memories about our loved ones who’ve passed. You get to choose!

Guilt can be such a heavy burden to carry, especially if you're already filled to your emotional capacity with grief.

When someone we love dies, we sometimes give ourselves superhuman powers... powers that we think could have enabled us to either prevent their death, or cause their death... all because of that one small thing that we did or didn't do.

And we become so committed to our story, even if it isn't really logical.

But what if there was a truer story??

If you're listening to this episode on Spotify, please be sure to participate in our poll.

Don't forget to rate and review our podcast, and spread the word so that more people know it exists.

We'd love to help as many grievers as possible through this hardest time of their lives.

Visit our websites: carolyngowercoaching.com.au & johnpolocoaching.com to learn more about our work.

For added support in a caring community, join our FREE Facebook Group by clicking here : https://www.facebook.com/groups/696138811624151/?ref=share

WOULD YOU LIKE TO HELP US KEEP OUR PODCAST GOING?

MONTHLY SUPPORTERS receive the following:

$4.99 and Up - Receive our deepest gratitude for your support & buy a coffee for John and a green tea for Carolyn to keep us going while we’re recording :)

$9.99 Option - Receive our deepest gratitude for your support PLUS you will automatically be entered into a monthly drawing to win a 60 minute "Sip & Chat" with BOTH John and Carolyn to be held on Zoom. You can bring along your drink of choice, and we are all yours for one entire hour. We spend the hour however you want. It can be a coaching session, you can ask us anything, it can be a chat, or we can all share funny or special memories about our loved ones who’ve passed. You get to choose!

In this episode we dive into the topic of grief activators: what they are, what can cause them, ways to deal with them, and why we choose to no longer call them grief triggers.

Carolyn shares a recent personal story that activated her grief beyond what she expected it could, five and a half years after her husband Tony died.

John also shares some ways in which his grief has been activated since his wife Michelle passed.

Please be aware that in this episode we discuss suicide, cancer and car accidents, if these are things that may feel activating to you.

Don't forget to rate and review our podcast, and spread the word so that more people know it exists.

We'd love to help as many grievers as possible through this hardest time of their lives.

Visit our websites: carolyngowercoaching.com.au & johnpolocoaching.com to learn more about our work.

For added support in a caring community, join our FREE Facebook Group by clicking here : https://www.facebook.com/groups/696138811624151/?ref=share

WOULD YOU LIKE TO HELP US KEEP OUR PODCAST GOING?

MONTHLY SUPPORTERS receive the following:

$4.99 and Up - Receive our deepest gratitude for your support & buy a coffee for John and a green tea for Carolyn to keep us going while we’re recording :)

$9.99 Option - Receive our deepest gratitude for your support PLUS you will automatically be entered into a monthly drawing to win a 60 minute "Sip & Chat" with BOTH John and Carolyn to be held on Zoom. You can bring along your drink of choice, and we are all yours for one entire hour. We spend the hour however you want. It can be a coaching session, you can ask us anything, it can be a chat, or we can all share funny or special memories about our loved ones who’ve passed. You get to choose!

GRIEF...

It's one of those things that you don't really know too much about... until you do.

You may have some expectations of what grief could be like... but when you experience it on a deep personal level, you will find that the reality of grief is very different to what you had expected.

In this episode, we take a look at some very common societal beliefs and expectations of grief, and see how they compare to the reality that we have witnessed both personally, and with our clients.

We'll also share a  list we've compiled of "Things we didn't know until we were widowed".

Don't forget to rate and review our podcast, and spread the word so that more people know it exists. 

We'd love to help as many grievers as possible through this hardest time of their lives.

Visit our websites: carolyngowercoaching.com.au & johnpolocoaching.com to learn more about our work.

For added support in a caring community, join our FREE Facebook Group by clicking here : https://www.facebook.com/groups/696138811624151/?ref=share

WOULD YOU LIKE TO HELP US KEEP OUR PODCAST GOING?

MONTHLY SUPPORTERS receive the following:

$4.99 and Up - Receive our deepest gratitude for your support & buy a coffee for John and a green tea for Carolyn to keep us going while we’re recording :)

$9.99 Option - Receive our deepest gratitude for your support PLUS you will automatically be entered into a monthly drawing to win a 60 minute "Sip & Chat" with BOTH John and Carolyn to be held on Zoom. You can bring along your drink of choice, and we are all yours for one entire hour. We spend the hour however you want. It can be a coaching session, you can ask us anything, it can be a chat, or we can all share funny or special memories about our loved ones who’ve passed. You get to choose!