Chelsea London Lloyd, a comedian, actress and self proclaimed “grief gal” and I chat about her unique relationship with humor and grief. As a child, she grew up with two sick parents and after a long 15 year journey with ALS, her father passed away. His passing has informed her life’s purpose, her art and her podcast, Dying of Laughter.  Now as an adult, she has a beautiful, dynamic relationship with grief and helps others who are experiencing loss. In today’s episode, we talk about the importance of volunteerism and practical ways to show up for people when they’re grieving. We discuss a very important relationship Chelsea has mentoring a child her mother’s battle with breast cancer and after her mother passes. We process through the unique challenges that anticipatory grief brings and Chelsea shares some ways that we can better show up for people in the midst of suffering. 

 

• [02:37] Chelsea’s introduction.
• [03:55] What is grief and how to find the humor in it?
• [10:15] How children process grief and death and how community plays a part.
• [15:14] How Chelsea and her family navigated the day-to-day of having an illness.
• [19:31] How to show up for a child who needs support.
• [27:41] How and when to show up for someone who is grieving.
• [32:30] Anticipatory grief versus grief that has recently happened.
• [36:19] Chelsea’s identity in relation to grief and definition of family.

 

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

 

• Grief is the deep emotional response to a circumstance, primarily the loss of someone close to you in the context of death. However, that can be expanded to many other things that you lose in your life, like a loss of relationship, loss of identity, loss of your physical, or in COVID, a loss of connection to human beings.
• I think it's really important for all of us to step into our power in some way in a volunteer space. Most people have the time, but don't realize the value in showing up for others through volunteering. 
• Mark the calendar of the anniversary of the loss so that you can reach out one, three, five years later. It can be as simple as checking in and letting that person know you’re thinking about them. 

 

Resources:

 

Kudoboard

The Power of Now by Eckhart Toley

Modern Loss Resources

Experience Camps - Support for Grieving Children

@_ChelsWhoElse_

@dyingoflaughter_podcast

www.ChelsWhoElse.com

 

BIO:

 

Chelsea London Lloyd is a comedian & grief activist who uses humor to help people cope with their pain. Lloyd grew up with two sick parents; at age 8 her parents were diagnosed with ALS and breast cancer. Her dad died of ALS when she was 19 and her mom -- who lost her own mother to leukemia at 19 -- currently combats stage 4 metastatic breast cancer which returned after 17 years in remission.

 

Lloyd volunteers / hosts peer-lead grief groups via The Dinner Party, mentors a 9 year-old girl (whose mom has stage 4 BC) via Walk With Sally, and volunteers at OUR HOUSE: Grief Support via their grief camps and groups. 

 

She spent 2020-2021 producing viral short-form comedic & grief content for BuzzFeed.