Heart Healing from Loss

Admitting you're struggling with feelings of grief and loss and sorrow is huge. When you're going through it, seemingly small things like just getting out of bed — or listening to a podcast that takes on loss — these are actually marks of courage.

First, an announcement:

Grief Coach Wendy Sloneker is opening up a group — 13 people will spend 13 weeks preparing for the often-elevated gut punch of the holidays.

If the start of Pumpkin Spice Latte season evokes dread in you, the group starts October 26 and runs through January 18. 

If this sounds of interest to you, be sure to reach out to Wendy for an introductory call. You can contact her through her website, wendysloneker.com. 

Second, today's episode is about grief around changes in your body. Chronic pain, menopause, auto-immune issues, illness, injury, aging — all of these can bring grief as you navigate new physical realities and maybe even a new identity.

How do you handle the changes in your body? Have a listen, share if you know someone who might be going through these feelings, and be sure to reach out to Wendy if you could use additional support: wendysloneker.com, [email protected].

When you experience a loss, you get asked — by very well-intended friends, family, and others — how you're "doing."

It can get exhausting trying to think of an answer. "I'm fine," is far from accurate and not fooling anyone. Or it might be true but makes us feel guilty for being true, even if that "fine" is extremely transitory. No one wants to hear that you're "terrible" or "sad" or "lousy," or maybe they're just fine hearing it, but you feel worse saying it.

You didn't even brush your teeth today; how do you answer the question, "How are you?" without dragging them down with you?

These are the knots grief and loss can tie us up in. Grief Coach Wendy Sloneker is ready to help you get unknotted. You can make a shift in how you think about every piece of progress you make, even if the progress is as small as brushing your teeth today.

Give yourself the time to listen and steep in the self-care, then visit Wendy at wendysloneker.com for a complimentary consultation.

When you're a caretaker, it can be difficult to remember to also take care of yourself. 

But not acknowledging your own boundaries, needs, and triggers can be dangerous; ignoring them for too long can cause the dreaded BURNOUT.

Once you reach the point of burnout, or "compassion fatigue," it can be hard to find or fight your way back. And too many people in the healing professions are lost because they neglect their own need to heal and be whole.

In this conversation, Grief Coach Wendy Sloneker talks with Coach and Burnout Expert Carl Arrogante on the warning signs and potential dangers of ignoring impending burnout.

Listen, then find Carl at his website, https://www.coachingwithcarl.net/. And if you're looking for help to heal from grief, be sure to set up a complimentary consultation with Wendy at wendysloneker.com. 

Grief and loss and change can come with a whole tangle of emotions — sometimes so tangled, it's difficult to sort them all out and identify each one.

That's OK. You don't have to.

Taking the pressure off when you don't really know how you feel is an important way of giving yourself a break. If someone asks you, or even if it's just you asking yourself, "How are you feeling?" it's OK not to have or give an answer.

Grief Coach Wendy Sloneker takes us through why feeling the emotions can be hard enough and articulating them might feel impossible — and why you don't owe anyone an explanation.

If you're having a hard time putting words to the feelings in your gut and heart, have a listen. Then consider setting up a complimentary consultation with Wendy to explore those feelings and learn how to manage them. You can find her at her website, wendysloneker.com. 

You can do everything right — exercise, eat right, do the things that give you joy — and still life can pull the rug out from under you.

Holly Bertone of Pink Fortitude (https://academy.pinkfortitude.com/heart-healing-loss-podcast-welcome) knows this all too well: a breast cancer diagnosis at age 38 turned her “happy, healthy” life upside down.

There were good things too. Even great things, with a marriage proposal and new stepson. But all of this meant a total shift in identity from happy, active single gal to happy but struggling wife and mom. 

And life wasn’t through with her yet.

In this moving episode, Grief Coach Wendy talks with Holly about the many challenges life can come at you with — as well as the many gifts, if you’re open enough to recognize them. And grateful enough to receive them.

Find more about Holly at her website, https://pinkfortitude.com/. And if you’re ready to work through your challenges around grief and change, sign up for a complimentary consultation with Wendy Sloneker at https://www.wendysloneker.com/.

Resources mentioned:

https://academy.pinkfortitude.com/heart-healing-loss-podcast-welcome

"Be busy, get busy, stay busy." It's the mantra of life in the US and much of the world, and it's a good short-term fix for grief and loss.

Emphasis on the "short-term." 

Many of us find our feelings of grief are much more acute in the evenings and at night, when the busyness of the day winds down. Suddenly we notice the loss of routines more; we feel the silence more, and the normal time of rest becomes anything but restful.

If you find evenings and nights especially lonely and challenging, Grief Coach Wendy Sloneker has some ideas that can make the eves easier.

Listen to the episode, then consider making an appointment for a complimentary connection call with Wendy: https://www.wendysloneker.com/. 

Content warning: Discussion of death by suicide.

How do you show up for a friend who has lost someone to suicide? What do you say? What do you not? Should you bring something? Do something? What should you expect?

Navigating someone else's grief can be a mine field. You don't want to cause further pain, but not doing anything doesn't feel right either.

And what should you expect? Anything, everything, and nothing. If you've been listening to Wendy's podcast, you know that everyone's experience of grief and process through grief and reaction to grief is unique to them.

Listen in on how Grief Coach Wendy is helping a friend through grief while dealing with her own sadness. It's life: up close and personal.

For more help, visit hearthealingfromloss.com.

The grief around ending a relationship may not be about losing the person, it can also include disappointment from the loss of dreams, hopes, and expectations. 

There’s nothing wrong with feeling sad about that loss as well, but not understanding the roots of feelings of grief can make it harder to move on.

In this episode, Grief Coach Wendy Sloneker talks about the elements of grief that can come from relationships that are strained or over, and how taking a deep dive into the mechanics of that relationship can help the healing.

See what resonates with you, then find some help and healing of your own in a complimentary session with Wendy. You can schedule time with her at HeartHealingFromLoss.com.

Just as there are many different kinds of loss, there are many different definitions of "family." And though your family may not look like anyone else's, the losses you experience are valid.

In this episode, Grief Coach Wendy Sloneker talks about what constitutes loss while creating a family, however you define that family.

Humans experience the full range of human feelings, and it's important to "count yourself in," when you've had an important life event. 

Learn more, then visit Wendy at HeartHealingFromLoss.com to schedule your complimentary consultation. 

When someone you know is going through painful emotions, our urge is to do something to take the pain away.

Our intentions are good, but the execution can cause more pain than comfort. 

In this episode, Grief Coach Wendy Sloneker helps us find some better alternatives based around listening from the heart, rather than reacting from the brain.

Have a listen, then start on the path of healing YOUR painful emotions by scheduling a complimentary consult with Wendy at Heart Healing From Loss.