Exploring Grief’s Manifestations and Meanings

After a short run of tax tips about IRS scam calls, innocent spouse relief, passport restrictions and wage garnishment, Agnes and Ryan turn to grief. Agnes explains that grief follows many kinds of loss, not only death, and describes its emotional, physical, social and spiritual signs, how to support someone who is grieving, and how bereavement groups help.

Takeaways

• Grief can follow a divorce, job loss, move, pet loss or aging, and can show up as changes in sleep, appetite, mood and routines.
• When you offer help to a grieving person, follow through, and just ask what they need or sit and listen rather than saying it was their time.
• If grief is lasting a very long time or health is declining, see a doctor or counselor; a bereavement group helps because others understand.

Chapters

• 0:00 Tax tips: scams, innocent spouse, garnishment
• 3:46 Welcome and Agnes's call with the IRS
• 5:21 Agnes's bereavement group work
• 6:57 Grief goes beyond death
• 9:33 Five stages and how grief shows up
• 12:43 Physical signs people miss
• 14:19 How to react when someone is crying
• 18:34 What not to say to someone grieving
• 20:10 Grieving a lifestyle after divorce
• 24:20 Complicated grief and bereavement groups
• 29:00 Grief as love with no place to go
• 33:14 Things falling apart and rebirth
• 34:18 Self-care and getting checked by a doctor

Conversation and opinion, not medical, legal, tax or financial advice.