The Mindfulness & Grief Podcast

When someone dies, the relationship doesn't end. It changes.

In this episode of the Mindfulness & Grief Podcast, Heather Stang and Amanda Palermo explore Step 6 of the Mindfulness & Grief System: Continuing Bonds. Together, they discuss why staying connected to the person who died is a healthy and natural part of grieving, and how memories, rituals, objects, and everyday moments can help us maintain a lifelong relationship w...

Sometimes in grief, you feel like you're doing better.

You're getting through the day. You're sleeping more. Maybe you've started to reconnect with parts of your life again.

And then, out of nowhere, a wave hits.

It can feel like you're right back where you started.

In this episode of the Mindfulness & Grief Podcast, Heather Stang and Amanda Palermo explore Step 5 of the Mindfulness & Grief System: Getting Unstuck.

This step spe...

When grief brings up difficult emotions, it can be hard to know what to do next. Do you lean in? Do you step back? Do you let yourself cry, or do you take a break from the intensity?

In this episode of the Mindfulness & Grief Podcast, Heather Stang and Amanda Palermo explore how to tend to difficult emotions with more wisdom, discernment, and care.

This is Step 4 of the Mindfulness & Grief System: Skillful Courage.

Skillful co...

When grief softens the initial shock, other feelings often rise to the surface. In this episode of the Mindfulness & Grief Podcast, Heather Stang and Amanda Palermo explore how compassion can support you when grief brings guilt, self-criticism, resentment, and the pain of being human.

Grief does not only break the heart open. It can also make us hard on ourselves. You may judge your emotions, question your reactions, or feel gui...

When someone you love dies, your mind doesn't go quiet. It gets loud. In this episode of the Mindfulness & Grief Podcast, Heather Stang and Amanda Palermo explore how mindfulness can support you when grief pulls you into rumination, anxiety, and mental loops.

Grief doesn't just affect your heart. It affects your mind. You replay conversations. You imagine worst case scenarios. You jump into the future. You go back into the past....

The First Step to Calm Your Nervous System After Loss

Grief doesn't just affect your heart. It affects your body. In this episode of the Mindfulness & Grief Podcast, Heather Stang and Amanda Palermo explore why grief overwhelms the nervous system and why you can't think your way out of it. When loss shakes your world, symptoms like brain fog, insomnia, body aches, anxiety, and exhaustion are not signs that you are failing. They ...

Grief can feel chaotic, exhausting, and unpredictable. Many people receive support after a loss, but still feel unsure what to do when emotions surge or the nervous system feels overwhelmed.

In this episode of the Mindfulness & Grief Podcast, Heather Stang and cohost Amanda Palermo explore why having a system matters when you are grieving. Not stages. Not fixing. A compassionate framework you can return to when you do not know w...

The holiday season can be especially tender when you are grieving. Familiar traditions, gatherings, and quiet moments can intensify the ache of missing someone you love. Even well meaning silence from others can make the loss feel heavier and more isolating.

In this episode of the Mindfulness and Grief Podcast, thanatologist, yoga therapist, and author Heather S...

Thanksgiving can be an emotionally complex day when you are grieving. Even simple traditions or familiar gatherings can feel overwhelming when your heart is carrying loss. Whether this is your first Thanksgiving without your person or one of many, it is normal to feel tender, unsure, or stretched thin by expectations and family dynamics.

In this episode of the M...

Holiday invitations can feel complicated when you are grieving. Even the kindest offers can bring pressure, guilt, or a sense that you should show up in ways your heart simply cannot. Whether this is your first holiday without your person or your twentieth, it is normal to feel overwhelmed by expectations, social demands, and the weight of what has changed.

In t...

The holidays can stir up as much pain as joy when you're grieving. Lights, music, and celebrations can feel unbearable when your heart is heavy with loss. Whether this is your first holiday without your person or your twentieth, it's normal to miss them deeply.

In this episode of The Mindfulness & Grief Podcast, thanatologist, yoga therapist, and author Heather Stang shares her own story of loss and the silence that shaped her ...

When Faith Wilcox's daughter Elizabeth began to complain about knee pain, her doctors thought it was just growing pains and she would be fine. As her pain continued, she was diagnosed with a rare bone cancer that affects pediatric patients.

Through 10 months of treatment, Elizabeth remained positive and supportive of the other patients. Ultimately, Elizabeth passed away just one year after her diagnosis. I...

Hospice is a service that provides physical and emotional support for someone who is in their last six months of life. Hospice is a compreh...

Until he met Patty Furino, bereaved father Dave Roberts didn't believe that the signs he kept seeing were coming from his beloved daughter, Jeannine. But soon, everything changed. In this episode of the Mindfulness & Grief Podcast, Dave shares his journey of love and loss and how the signs from his daughter transformed from triggering waves of grief into joy, and how they remind Dave that Jean...

In episode 50 of the Mindfulness & Grief Podcast, Reid Peterson shares his story of losing both father figures in his life and the grief that comes with living without those important people. Although he was not close to his biological father the way he hoped, Reid still grieves the relationship that he wished he had with him. After his loss, Reid found support through grief groups but wanted more consistent support. This led h...

Ronald Mathias talks to us about his field of medical illustration: the art of taking complex medical procedures, descriptions, or concepts and turning them into something visual for ease of understanding. He spends most of his time translating traumatic injuries and building empathy for the pain someone has suffered into a visual medium for litigation. He is also tasked with the extremely difficult job of taking the unseen symptom...

The tables are turned as Heather Stang, the regular host of the Mindfulness & Grief Podcast, is interviewed by guest host Audrey Hughey about the new guided journal for grief, From Grief to Peace, which releases on June 1, 2021. Heather shares how she began journaling about her grief over her Uncle Doug's death in high school and the differences between free journaling and guided writing with prompts. Audrey shares how she proc...

In episode 46, lifelong friends Shelley Buck and Kathy Curtis share their journey of childhood friendship, staying in touch through college, and the comfort that Kathy provided to Shelley following the devastating loss of her son, Ryder. Ryder was a talented musician and world traveler who continued to live his life to the fullest even after his Stage IV cancer diagnosis.

After Ryder's death, Shelley felt extremely lost and unsure...