#10 How to Be There for a Grieving Friend with Medical Student Kira Sklar

For most of us, death is a topic that was typically avoided in our households growing up. So, when a friend loses a loved one, it's difficult to know how to respond, especially if we've never experienced deep loss ourselves.

You don't know what to say, and don't want to say the wrong thing, so you say nothing. For those grieving, it can then feel like they are all alone.

With the help of her therapist, Kira learned how to be very vocal with her friends about what she needed from them when her father passed away by suicide. It helped as well that her father was also very vocal about his depression, in an effort to take away the shame and stigma, hoping others find it easier to open up about their own struggles.

In this episode, Kira shares the story of her father's death, and we discuss the importance of normalizing grief and the different ways we've felt supported by friends through our grief. We also talk about the different ways we've personally approached sharing the information that our fathers have passed with new people we meet.

Resources Mentioned:

The Inflamed Mind: A Radical New Approach to Depression
by Edward Bullmore

Healing from Within: Psychological Techniques You Can Use to Help the Mind Heal the Body by Dennis T Jaffe, PhD.

Get in touch with Kira Sklar:
[e-mail]

Donate to 'Sick Not Weak' Organization (organization that Kira's dad was very much involved with):
https://www.sicknotweak.com/

Get in touch with Maayan and Michal:
Website: https://www.sistersinpsychology.com
Instagram: @sistersinpsychology
Email: [e-mail]