Navigating Grief — Finding Your Way After the Death of Your Spouse

When major catastrophes happen in your life, you suffer. And when you suffer, you tend to want to curl up and hide. I know the feeling, because that happened to me.

In today’s Deep Dive podcast, “Navigating Grief — Finding Your Way After the Death of Your Spouse,” I’m discussing the what now? question people face in the wake of such loss.

When my husband died in 2015, I was in a state of shock at first. Although I distracted myself with my radio program, it was a terrible time when I got off the air. So, I know what I’m talking about when listeners call me looking for support after the death of their spouse.

4 Actions to Take When You’ve Lost a Spouse:

1. Find a grief group. The people you’ll meet will understand what you’re feeling because they’re going through it too.

2. Lean on friends and family who stand by you. I feel a great sense of gratitude to this day toward the people who truly buoyed me up and simply listened to me.

3. Let yourself cry. The pain is visceral and terrifying. In this episode, you can hear several somatic exercises I recommended that my caller, Gigi, try when feeling strong emotions.

4. Be patient with yourself. No one wants to hear this, but it can take a few years after your loss to start feeling comfortable and happy in your new life. When I first spoke to Yul, he was a ball of emotions. Listen to this episode for his follow-up call about how his life had changed six months later.

Hear from listeners who share their own tips for dealing with loss

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☎️ You’re not alone:

Whether you’re in the beginning stages of grief or stuck on painful emotions years later, dial 1-800-DRLAURA (1-800-375-2872) or click here to find a time we can speak together on air.

💌 Finding Solace in Unexpected Places

My grieving listener, Layne, had a particularly visceral reaction to reading my children’s book, “Why Do You Love Me?“ Read her eye-opening takeaways from my book in Thursday’s Email of the Day.

5 Tips for Saying No

As a child, I bet you had no trouble saying no. But when you got older, “no” became a terrifying impossibility — even to say it out loud.

You don’t want to let anyone down, hurt their feelings, or make them mad at you. Despite how complicated anyone tries to make it, saying no is incredibly simple.

📹 Teaching You How to Be Assertive with Others:

"Now, go DO the right thing!"