Grief, an inevitable part of our life story, often eludes a clear understanding. In the GeriScope community, where loss is a shared reality, comprehending the many facets of grief is not just important, it’s essential. The well-known five stages of grief have offered some framework, yet the truth is, grief doesn’t always conform to a set pattern. Enter Healing Your Heart, [Audio podcast] that presents an alternative, more personalized approach to handling grief – one that’s both compassionate and empowering.
Healing Your Heart perfectly aligns with GeriScope's mission of providing valuable knowledge and resources to our community. It stresses the importance of community support and offers practical advice on managing grief, emphasizing the personalization of the grief journey.
Unveiling 'Healing Your Heart' Podcast
Featured in the acclaimed Hidden Brain series, hosted by @Shankar Vedantam, Healing Your Heart tackles grief from an unconventional angle. Vedantam, celebrated for his deep dives into the human psyche and his guest Dr. Lucy Hone, challenge traditional models of grief, offering new coping strategies. This episode has emerged as an invaluable resource for those grappling with loss, providing new perspectives and understanding.
Lucy Hone’s works, including her books and TED Talks, shed light on the complexity of grief. In the podcast, she emphasizes, “People don’t want to be told how to feel, rather they want to know what they can do.” This aligns with the understanding that grief is not a one-size-fits-all process; it’s deeply personal and varies greatly. Hone’s insights challenge the conventional wisdom of the five stages of grief, proposing a more fluid and personalized understanding.
Why Hidden Brain Podcasts Resonate with Listeners
When Healing Your Heart first made it to the top of my podcast playlist in April 2022, a couple of years after my father’s passing, I was struck by how its insights remained relevant and its advice practical for our GeriScope community. For those not familiar with Hidden Brain it masterfully blends narrative and scientific analysis to address complex issues that affect everyone including the elderly, their loved ones, and caregivers. The podcast’s insights aren’t just intellectually stimulating; they are immediately applicable.
Healing Your Heart particularly resonates with those who have experienced sudden loss, similar to my own swift farewell to my mother. It also addresses the prolonged grief encountered in caring for someone with serious or terminal illness. Key takeaways from the podcast, aligning with GeriScope’s spirit, include:
Recognizing that while we all grieve, everyone grieves differently.
The importance of being kind to oneself and finding a personal path through grief.
Understanding that grief is filled with choices, and it's crucial to make decisions that aid in personal healing.
The concept of “Grief Ambush” – unexpected moments that trigger intense memories and emotions.
Exploring Lucy Hone’s Perspectives on Grief
The podcast’s continued relevance led to its integration into another episode Healing 2.0 Life After Loss. In this second episode, resilience researcher and author Lucy Hone again shares a shortened version of her personal story of loss and expands on the coping strategies she published in her book Resilient Grieving: Finding Strength and Embracing Life After a Loss that Changes Everything. Her TED talk, 3 Secrets of Resilient People, which was among the Top 20 TED talks of 2020, further enriches this discourse on grief. We recommend exploring all three, as different formats may provide you with different perspectives and a deeper understanding of practical techniques that may help you on your personal journey with grief.
Join the Journey: Listen to 'Healing Your Heart'
Healing Your Heart and the wisdom of Lucy Hone offer invaluable resources for those seeking a deeper understanding and more effective ways of dealing with grief. They provide not only practical advice but also emotional support and a sense of belonging, making them significant tools for anyone in the GeriScope community.
I urge our readers to listen to both Healing Your Heart and Healing 2.0 Life After Loss. These episodes offer comfort, a sense of community, and empower listeners to manage their grief. You can find these podcasts on your favorite podcast platform or through the Hidden Brain website.
We also invite you to share your experiences with grief and your thoughts on the podcast in the comments to this blog. How have you navigated your personal journey of loss? What comfort and understanding have you found?