Grief without a physical death: Honoring a spectrum of losses

In this episode, I speak with Amy Wright Glenn about what it means to live in a grief-denying, grief-phobic culture, and steps we can take to work toward shifting this culture. We also talk about grieving losses that don’t involve a physical death (e.g., estrangements, challenging relationships with caregivers, loved ones with mental health challenges, visions for who we think we might have been had it not been for trauma and other adverse life experiences) and how these losses can get encoded in our memories and stored in our bodies even if they occurred at an early age. We also discuss how our early models for relating to emotions affect our own processing of grief and relationship to grieving. We also talk about the intersection of grief and gratitude, and how the two can co-exist without gratitude bypassing or minimizing the genuine pain of grief and loss.

Amy Wright Glenn earned her MA in Religion and Education from Teachers College, Columbia University. She taught for eleven years in The Religion and Philosophy Department at The Lawrenceville School in New Jersey earning the Dunbar Abston Jr. Chair for Teaching Excellence. Amy is a Kripalu Yoga teacher, (CD)DONA birth doula, hospital chaplain, Birthing Mama® Prenatal Yoga and  Wellness Teacher Trainer and a regular contributor to PhillyVoice wherein she writes on mindfulness, spirituality, parenting, ethics, birthing, and dying.

Amy is the founder of the Institute for the Study of Birth, Breath, and Death (https://birthbreathanddeath.com) and the author of Birth, Breath, and Death: Meditations on Motherhood, Chaplaincy, and Life as a Doula and Holding Space: On Loving, Dying, and Letting Go. To connect further with Amy, follow her on IG (@birthbreathanddeath or @amy_wright_glenn).

For more information, tools, and strategies, please follow @drfoynes on Instagram.

Please note that the information provided in this episode does not constitute professional advice or therapy, mental health services, or health care services, and is not intended to serve as a substitute for professional advice or services. If you are struggling with a mental health crisis or need immediate assistance, please call 911 or go to your nearest emergency room.