We all need this episode. Whether you're a family caregiver, caring for an ill or aging loved one, or you're a busy clinician who cares for seriously ill patients, this episode is for you.

Michael L Smith shares his wisdom and inspirational guidance about how we all block the love that we deserve and how we can learn to receive it.

Michael is a visionary author, speaker, and transformational guide whose life’s work bridges love, longevity, holistic well-being, and human potential. Michael has devoted his life to helping people remember their individual and collective wholeness, holiness, and sacred purpose.

His journey has been shaped by profound personal experiences, including the loss of his brother Ric (52), which deepened his calling to explore love not as an abstract ideal but as a living medicine for the heart, gut, mind, body and soul. Through books, courses, retreats, and public talks, he weaves science, spirituality, and lived wisdom into practical pathways for personal transformation and collective healing.

Michael’s forthcoming book, How to Receive Love: Your Heart & Soul’s Purpose, and its companion programs aim to ignite a global movement of self-love, deep connection, and inspired service. 

You can find Michael at https://receivelove.com/

Have a listen and soothe your soul.

Dr. Delia

P.S., Join our private Facebook group "CareWell for Caregivers"

www.doctordelia.com

Coping Courageously: A Heart-Centered Guide for Navigating a Loved One’s Illness Without Losing Yourself is available here: www.copingcourageously.com

Please review this podcast wherever you listen and forward your favorite episode to a friend! And be sure to subscribe!

Sign up to stay connected and learn about upcoming programs:
https://trainings.integrativepalliative.com/IPI-stay-in-touch

I'm thrilled to be listed in Feedspot's top 15 palliative podcasts!
https://blog.feedspot.com/palliative_care_podcasts/

Caring for a parent who is aging or who has dementia, debility, or serious illness such as cancer can be absolutely exhausting. 

It can feel like you're hanging on by your fingernails. 

This week on The Integrative Palliative Podcast we're talking about 15 ways to help you care for yourself as you care for your aging parent.

Your wellbeing matters too.

- Dr. Delia

www.integrativepalliative.com

Join our Facebook Group, CareWell for Caregivers

Coping Courageously: A Heart-Centered Guide for Navigating a Loved One’s Illness Without Losing Yourself is available here: www.copingcourageously.com

Please review this podcast wherever you listen and forward your favorite episode to a friend! And be sure to subscribe!

Sign up to stay connected and learn about upcoming programs:
https://trainings.integrativepalliative.com/IPI-stay-in-touch

I'm thrilled to be listed in Feedspot's top 15 palliative podcasts!
https://blog.feedspot.com/palliative_care_podcasts/

If your parent has cancer, dementia, serious illness, or is just declining because they're getting older, you may feel the urge to help them as they get weaker. Perhaps you make space in your busy life, juggle responsibilities with both your parents and your kids, research the best care, and just try your best to show up for your parents. 

When you do all that it can be shocking and frustrating if your parents rebuff your efforts to help.

This week on The Integrative Palliative Podcast I share 20 things that you can do if your parents won't accept your help.

Thanks for all that you do!

Dr. Delia

Delia Chiaramonte, MD

www.integrativepalliative.com

Coping Courageously: A Heart-Centered Guide for Navigating a Loved One’s Illness Without Losing Yourself is available here: www.copingcourageously.com

Please review this podcast wherever you listen and forward your favorite episode to a friend! And be sure to subscribe!

Sign up to stay connected and learn about upcoming programs:
https://trainings.integrativepalliative.com/IPI-stay-in-touch

I'm thrilled to be listed in Feedspot's top 15 palliative podcasts!
https://blog.feedspot.com/palliative_care_podcasts/

There are so many kinds of grieving. You may be grieving the death of a loved one, a pet, a breast, a job, or you may be experiencing anticipatory grief for a loved one who is ill or aging.

Grief is not a competition.

There is no hierarchy of grief. Some people are grieving the loss of a spouse or the loss of a child or the loss of a sibling or parent. Everyone's grief is individual, and there is no value in comparing.

If you have an ill or aging loved one, or a loved one who has died, listen to this week's episode for 8 ways to honor your own grief and avoid comparing it to the grief of others.

Your wellbeing matters.

Dr. Delia

Delia Chiaramonte, MD

P.S., Now available as an audiobook: Coping Courageously: A Heart-Centered Guide for Navigating a Loved One’s Illness Without Losing Yourself 

Coping Courageously: A Heart-Centered Guide for Navigating a Loved One’s Illness Without Losing Yourself is available here: www.copingcourageously.com

Please review this podcast wherever you listen and forward your favorite episode to a friend! And be sure to subscribe!

Sign up to stay connected and learn about upcoming programs:
https://trainings.integrativepalliative.com/IPI-stay-in-touch

I'm thrilled to be listed in Feedspot's top 15 palliative podcasts!
https://blog.feedspot.com/palliative_care_podcasts/

Caring for an aging parent is hard in the best of circumstances. Whether your parent has cancer, Alzheimer's disease, another form of dementia, or an end of life condition, it can be overwhelming, exhausting, and stressful to support them as their health declines.

Add in challenging relationships with your siblings, and the whole mess can feel unmanageable. This week on The Integrative Palliative Podcast we'll talk about what you can do when you're caring for an aging parent with siblings who are adding to your stress.

Let's keep talking!

Dr. Delia

www.integrativepalliative.com

Coping Courageously: A Heart-Centered Guide for Navigating a Loved One’s Illness Without Losing Yourself is available here: www.copingcourageously.com

Please review this podcast wherever you listen and forward your favorite episode to a friend! And be sure to subscribe!

Sign up to stay connected and learn about upcoming programs:
https://trainings.integrativepalliative.com/IPI-stay-in-touch

I'm thrilled to be listed in Feedspot's top 15 palliative podcasts!
https://blog.feedspot.com/palliative_care_podcasts/

Zoom memorials or celebrations of life get a bad rap. They may be seen as a second class way to honor a loved one - far less meaningful than a standard funeral.

Let's rethink that narrative!

Having a celebration of life by Zoom can be a powerful and meaningful way to honor your loved one who has died. They are easier to plan and they allow far away friends and relatives to attend and celebrate your loved one.

This week on The Integrative Palliative Podcast I provide a practical roadmap for creating a Zoom funeral that is moving and healing.

Share with someone that you know who needs to hear this right now.

I'm here for you,

Dr. Delia

Coping Courageously: A Heart-Centered Guide for Navigating a Loved One’s Illness Without Losing Yourself is available here: www.copingcourageously.com

Please review this podcast wherever you listen and forward your favorite episode to a friend! And be sure to subscribe!

Sign up to stay connected and learn about upcoming programs:
https://trainings.integrativepalliative.com/IPI-stay-in-touch

I'm thrilled to be listed in Feedspot's top 15 palliative podcasts!
https://blog.feedspot.com/palliative_care_podcasts/

After the death of a loved one, it can be difficult to know what to do with their ashes. In this episode of The Integrative Palliative Podcast we explore the many meaningful ways people can honor their loved ones by using their ashes in creative ways.

From stones to records to jewelry to coral reefs (and more), there are many ways to use your loved one's ashes.

Choosing a meaningful approach can help coping and grieving. 

Have a listen and let me know what you would add.

Take care of yourself,

Delia

www.integrativepalliative.com

Coping Courageously: A Heart-Centered Guide for Navigating a Loved One’s Illness Without Losing Yourself is available here: www.copingcourageously.com

Please review this podcast wherever you listen and forward your favorite episode to a friend! And be sure to subscribe!

Sign up to stay connected and learn about upcoming programs:
https://trainings.integrativepalliative.com/IPI-stay-in-touch

I'm thrilled to be listed in Feedspot's top 15 palliative podcasts!
https://blog.feedspot.com/palliative_care_podcasts/

When a loved one is sick and caregiving gets exhausting, it can be powerful to have someone give you permission to take a break.

Should you need their permission? Of course not. But the voices in your mind can be critical and bossy and insist that you continue to work or take care of other people until you're completely exhausted, stressed and depleted.

This week we discuss the power of permission when we offer it to other people and also when we offer it to ourselves.

What permission can you offer this week?

Delia 

Delia Chiaramonte, MD

Coping Courageously: A Heart-Centered Guide for Navigating a Loved One’s Illness Without Losing Yourself is available here: www.copingcourageously.com

Please review this podcast wherever you listen and forward your favorite episode to a friend! And be sure to subscribe!

Sign up to stay connected and learn about upcoming programs:
https://trainings.integrativepalliative.com/IPI-stay-in-touch

I'm thrilled to be listed in Feedspot's top 15 palliative podcasts!
https://blog.feedspot.com/palliative_care_podcasts/

When someone you love is is ill or had died, life feels hard. Yet sometimes we add to our distress by judging how we are feeling or behaving. 

We feel sad and then we feel critical that we're still sad. 

We feel angry and then feel guilty that we feel angry.

It is the "shoulds" that cause us distress - it doesn't have to be that way.

This week I'll share the 3 words that can help reduce your suffering.

I'm glad you're here!

Delia

www.integrativepalliative.com

Coping Courageously: A Heart-Centered Guide for Navigating a Loved One’s Illness Without Losing Yourself is available here: www.copingcourageously.com

Please review this podcast wherever you listen and forward your favorite episode to a friend! And be sure to subscribe!

Sign up to stay connected and learn about upcoming programs:
https://trainings.integrativepalliative.com/IPI-stay-in-touch

I'm thrilled to be listed in Feedspot's top 15 palliative podcasts!
https://blog.feedspot.com/palliative_care_podcasts/

In this deeply personal and powerful episode, Dr. Delia Chiaramonte shares her experience of traumatic loss of both her father and her father-in-law. 

Traumatic grief is not just about missing someone—it’s about having your sense of the world torn apart. It can show up in surprising ways: emotional numbness, panic, guilt, dissociation, and even physical symptoms. In this episode, you’ll learn how traumatic grief differs from more typical grief, and what helps people begin to heal.

You’ll also hear:

• Surprising aspects of traumatic grief that many people don’t talk about
• Evidence-supported tools to support healing after traumatic loss
• The importance of the body in trauma recovery

Whether you’re grieving a traumatic loss or supporting someone who is, this episode offers a space for truth, tenderness, and the possibility of healing.

Mentioned in This Episode:

• Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: Call or text 988 (24/7 free support)
• Therapies that may help: EMDR, Somatic Experiencing, trauma-informed grief therapy
• Mind-body tools for trauma: grounding, breathwork, guided imagery, gentle movement

Connect With Dr. Delia:

• Website: www.integrativepalliative.com
• LinkedIn: Delia Chiaramonte, MD

If This Episode Helped You…

• Please leave a rating or review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify
• Share it with someone in your life who would benefit from hearing it
• Subscribe for more heart-centered episodes about serious illness, caregiving, and the healing journey

Coping Courageously: A Heart-Centered Guide for Navigating a Loved One’s Illness Without Losing Yourself is available here: www.copingcourageously.com

Please review this podcast wherever you listen and forward your favorite episode to a friend! And be sure to subscribe!

Sign up to stay connected and learn about upcoming programs:
https://trainings.integrativepalliative.com/IPI-stay-in-touch

I'm thrilled to be listed in Feedspot's top 15 palliative podcasts!
https://blog.feedspot.com/palliative_care_podcasts/