January 22, 2025 • 42 mins
What happens when tragedy strikes, and who is there to pick up the pieces when the unimaginable occurs? Meet Krista Gregg, a seasoned professional in crime and trauma scene cleaning, as she unpacks her journey from the healthcare and automotive sectors to meeting the intense emotional demands of cleaning traumatic scenes. With a mission-driven heart and a story that inspires, Krista shares how she and her husband co-founded their business to make a tangible difference in their community. Alongside her passion for storytelling, Krista dives into her advocacy for trauma-informed mental health practices and her creation of the Bright Sky House, a beacon of hope aimed at challenging stigmas and inspiring those who hear its stories.
Cleaning biohazardous environments is not for the faint of heart, but Krista speaks with empathy and insight about the emotional resilience required. She emphasizes creating safe spaces for those grieving, while her work meticulously ensures safety and dignity are restored. By carefully preserving valuable items, especially in hoarding scenarios, Krista and her team work collaboratively with individuals to prioritize safety and healing. This compassionate approach addresses the profound effects of tragedy on families, highlighting the critical balance between professional duty and personal connection.
The episode further explores the importance of setting boundaries and effective communication strategies, both professionally and personally. Krista shares personal anecdotes, emphasizing the transformative power of boundaries in maintaining a healthy work-life balance. By fostering vulnerability and mental health awareness, she offers a compelling narrative on the significance of community support and the societal changes needed to address stigmas around male vulnerability and mental health. Join us for a thought-provoking episode that promises to leave you with a deeper understanding of the complex intersections of trauma, mental health, and recovery.
Here are all the links to reach Krista
BrightSkyHouse.com
@BrightSkyHouse on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and TikTok
@BrightSkyHouseOfficial on YouTube
Freed AI converts conversations into SOAP note.Use code Steve50 for $50 off the 1st month!
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
Hi and welcome to Finding your Way Through Therapy
.
A proud member of thePsychCraft Network, the goal of
this podcast is to demystifytherapy, what can happen in
therapy and the wide array ofconversations you can have in
and about therapy Throughpersonal experiences.
Guests will talk about therapy,their experiences with it and
(00:24):
how psychology and therapy arepresent in many places in their
lives, with lots of authenticityand a touch of humor.
Here is your host, steve Bisson.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
Hello and welcome to the new studio.
We're in the new studio, hi andwelcome to Finding your Way.
Yeah, I mean, I'm working outon some of the kinks that I have
in the studio, so hopefully wedon't have too many problems.
But this is the start of it, soI hope you enjoy it.
If you're on YouTube, go checkit out.
If you're on my podcast justlistening to it audio, let me
know how it sounds, but wantedto make sure you knew about that
(00:57):
.
So last episode we talked aboutpeer support and I hope you go
back and listen to it.
That was episode 187.
And 188 will be about a lot ofcrime scene stuff with Krista
Gregg.
Krista Gregg brings five yearsof experience in crime and
trauma scene cleaning, offeringa unique perspective and the
profound effects of tragedy onindividuals and families.
Witnessing these numeroustragedies have led her to become
(01:20):
a resource advocate fortrauma-informed and things that
are needed for the mental health, including hoarding.
She brought her experience tosomething that she calls Bright
Sky House, which will be in theshow notes, to uncover hidden
stories.
That inspires hope, challengesstigmas and fosters meaningful
connections.
So I hope you enjoy theinterview.
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Well, hi, welcome to Findingyour Way.
And episode 188 is going to bewith Krista Gregg.
I missed Krista through socialmedia and I really liked again.
(03:59):
We're working on firstresponder stuff.
We're working on trauma and hermessage.
I know she's going to talkabout the podcast that she's
going to do.
I'm just telling her in advance.
I'm going to be asking herabout it.
But to me it's so fascinatingto talk about that stuff because
I've worked with forensicpeople who had to look at those
scenes, but I've never hadanyone tell me about how it is
to clean them.
So, looking forward to havingthat conversation, and I hear
(04:21):
she's a fan of therapy, so it'seven better.
So, krista, welcome to Findingyour Way.
Speaker 3 (04:26):
Thank you so much for having me.
It's such a pleasure to be here.
I'm so grateful to be able tojust share anything that I can
over especially the last fiveyears of working in crime and
trauma synclinics.
Speaker 2 (04:36):
I can't wait to hear some more.
Speaker 3 (04:38):
Yeah.
I'm sorry, I'm interruptingbecause there's a delay.
Speaker 2 (04:44):
No, I know this is.
I should have mentionedeveryone to.
I'm recording this in the newstudio and there is some going
to be some stuff that I'm goingto have to fix, so hopefully
people are understanding.
Speaker 3 (04:55):
Absolutely, absolutely.
Well, steve, let's begin.
Where should we start?
Speaker 2 (04:59):
Well, how about you tell me, who Krista Gregg is?
Speaker 3 (05:02):
Oh, that's a deep one .
My therapist and I are stillfiguring that one out.
Who is Krista Gregg?
Krista Gregg is someone wholoves digital media, who loves
storytelling, but I'm also a momof a beautiful nine-year-old.
I'm a wife to my husband, matt,and we started a crime and
trauma scene cleaning businessback in 2019.
(05:23):
And just on the premise ofwanting to help people, we both
had previous jobs in healthcareand automotive, which no one
gets excited about.
Going to a dealership or goingto any healthcare facility it's
not a welcoming environmentsometimes for folks and we
wanted to do more.
We wanted to shift the tides onhow we were helping the
community and just dove right.
In November 2019, we opened upour first location to do this
(05:48):
work in Asheville, northCarolina, and the next year we
opened up here in Colorado, andwe've been doing this work ever
since, helping from doingsuicide remediation, unattended
deaths, to hoarding situations,meth and fentanyl remediations,
tear gas cleanups.
If it's overwhelming and youdon't know what to do, that's
(06:10):
usually when someone calls, andwe love it.
We're able to help people andgive back in these great times
of need, and it's something thatI've never experienced in my
life.
So it really opened up this newworld, in this new bubble of
what people are going through,and so I just love the idea of
helping people and supportinghowever I can.
Speaker 2 (06:33):
Well, I can see that and the first question that
comes to mind is oh, we're inAsheville, north Carolina, let's
open our second one five statesover in Colorado.
Why?
Speaker 3 (06:45):
I know we are cross country, so we were living in
Asheville at the time.
My husband's from there and I'mactually from Colorado, so we
had the team set up.
Everybody you know, when youbuy a business and we're getting
a little bit intoentrepreneurship there's owner
and operators and at firstyou're an operator.
You're the person that's doingeverything from the ground up.
(07:08):
You're going to the job sitesevery day, you're what we call
in the suit, and we had builtthe team up out there to become
owners and we had trained people.
We had created a customerservice base and referral
partners where the businesscould really stand more on its
own without us seeing theday-to-day.
And I really wanted to come backhome.
Colorado has always been homefor me.
(07:29):
It was where.
Actually, long story short, myhusband and I originally met in
Colorado, got married out hereand then moved to North Carolina
and we wanted to come back.
We have friends out here.
It's just it's that place thatyou always feel most comfortable
.
So then we knew we were movingand we still wanted to continue
what we were doing.
So let's bring it out toColorado and build a team out
here, and we're part of afranchise system.
(07:51):
So we have two franchiselocations, but the company is
called Bio One and there's 140of us throughout the United
States, so we bought a secondlocation within the franchise we
travel a lot.
Speaker 2 (08:04):
I was going to say there's a lot of travel and,
yeah, it's overwhelming to cleanup a hoarding house, for
example, or a crime scene ofsome sort or suicide, I mean.
There's so many questions Ihave about that.
The first question that comesto mind is how do you stay sane?
Because that's really roughstuff.
(08:24):
I've been in a hoarder's houseseveral times and people watch
the TV show on A&E and I tellthem that's nothing, you don't
know what it is when you'rethere, and there's something
about the smell and everythingelse that goes with that.
So how is it for you?
How do you survive that?
Speaker 3 (08:44):
So the reason why it's important to hire somebody
like our team or other teamsthat exist out there in the
community is first, I'll startwith kind of what I call the
biohazard side, so the suicides,unattended deaths, more of the
blood stuff that we clean up.
We are coming in into a momentwhen everybody's still in shock.
There's immense grief, lawenforcement has just finished
their investigation anddetermined you know cause of
(09:06):
death and there's nothing elsethat they can do.
So it's our job to come in andcreate a safe environment and
create a safe space.
And also there's an element ofmaking it so family members
don't have to see exactly whathappened.
There's we're preventingfurther trauma from them
cleaning it up themselves orhaving to visually see exactly
what happened.
And for me, how do I get throughthat?
(09:26):
I'm not going to lie Like there.
There are some scenes that areforever imprinted in my mind.
There are some situations andscenarios that are absolutely
heartbreaking, especially whenit comes to kids or if animals
are involved.
Or you know it just, and I'mnever going to say I've seen it
all, because there's alwayssomething around the corner that
surprises us.
But there is.
We don't have the emotionalattachment in a lot of cases
(09:50):
that you know the direct familymembers, next of kin and loved
ones have.
So we can come in, and thementality that I constantly keep
going, especially as we getthrough these scenes, is, if not
us, then who?
And not so long ago, beforebusinesses like ours existed, it
was family members, it wasfriends, it was, you know, maybe
(10:12):
a police officer offering tohelp out, and it wasn't done
correctly, it wasn't done safelyand it was with the best of
intentions of the community.
But now we can come in and helpand I think that really guides
me of, if not us, then who'sgoing to do it and who's going
to do it well and who's going todo it safely and who's going to
abide by regulations and who'sgoing to make sure that these
people are taken care of to thebest of our ability.
(10:32):
And that's us, and that givesme a lot of peace and hope.
When it comes to hoardingsituations, I'm not going to lie
, I get overwhelmed in hoardingsituations, but we do a lot of
prep work before we go into ahouse and so if you're talking
extreme levels, like what youmentioned on A&E and hoarders,
that's kind of a level five.
That's worst of the worst, andof course they want that on TV
(10:54):
that gets them ratings.
But we do things verydifferently than what is seen in
pop culture.
We will come up with a plan,directly with the hoarder
themselves, of what do they wantto keep, what do they want to
donate, what do they want todispose of If they're not ready
yet, what can we do?
First, to make the environmentsafe not perfect, because safety
(11:17):
is really the biggest goal.
We need them to have access toexits.
We need to make sure that ifsomething catches on fire, that
there isn't so much fuel in thehouse that it just goes up in
flames quickly and no one canget saved.
We need to make sure that weidentify fall risks or
electrical plumbing problems,mold.
There's just so much that ishappening, sometimes in a
(11:38):
hoarded home, where sometimesthe first goal is to make it
safe, and then we can go fromthere and clean up even more and
more, and it could be a layeredprocess.
Speaker 2 (11:49):
But before we even step inside someone's house.
Speaker 3 (11:51):
Yeah, please.
Speaker 2 (11:53):
So I heard you and I'm going to say one thing.
This is something that comes upwith what people have said to
me working in jails, working inthe community yeah, you're
making it safe for other people,but how is it safe for you?
So I'm going to throw thatquestion at you.
Speaker 3 (12:08):
Absolutely no, we have.
So we're wearing complete PPE,we're fully covered and we're
also wearing needle protectiongloves.
We're wearing respirators.
I mean we are covered head totoe and we're making sure that
we're methodically going throughthings little by little,
stepping into the space.
We ask a lot of pointedquestions at first.
When I say are there needles inthe home, I'm not saying, hey,
(12:29):
are you a drug addict?
I'm saying do you have diabetes?
Do you need to inject yourselfwith medicine?
I need to understand whathazards we could possibly run
into.
But we always assume there is ahazard, just for our safety and
our team's safety.
So when we come in, it is a veryslow approach and methodical
approach of getting through allof these items and it's not like
(12:51):
we're.
A lot of times people picturelike giant snow shovels and us
just putting it in a dumpster.
It's quite the opposite.
We're actually looking forthings that could be of valuable
, whether it's money, coin orit's photos.
It could be important paperwork, it could be bills.
It could be a valuable.
Whether it's money, coin orit's photos, it could be
important paperwork.
It could be bills, it could bemail.
It's not for us to decide allthe time to what's valuable to
(13:12):
somebody, so we really try toget to understand them and
what's important to them as well.
Speaker 2 (13:18):
Yeah, and I think that that's the excellent point,
because what's valuable to youmay not be valuable to the next
person, and what's valuable toanother person could be junk to
you.
So I think that's a good point.
And you talk a little bit aboutthe hoarders and the suicides.
You touched a little bit on it,but that must be also very
difficult, and there's a wholedifferent ballgame if you're
(13:39):
dead by hanging and been therefor two hours, versus gunshot
wound and been there for twodays.
So I'm sure that there is somedifferences between those things
too.
Speaker 3 (13:50):
A hundred percent.
And it's one of those thingswhere you know, obviously, as
the longer that a body has beenlaying around, there's a
decomposition phase where, if wecan't respond quickly and if
you know, if someone'sunattended for several days,
months, I mean the list goes on.
In terms of the climate,whether it's hot or cold, what
room it's in, if it's amulti-level house versus what
(14:12):
kind of flooring you have, thespread and the contamination can
really vary and it can be asquick as wiping down a space to
we have to deconstruct an entirespace.
But for us, again, there's alot of different procedures.
Again same PPE type of scenario, but we're really slowly going
into a space with taking onething at a time.
We're testing a lot forbloodborne pathogens and we are
(14:35):
trying to stay very transparent.
Whether it's hoarding orwhether it's the biohazard work,
we're always trying to staytransparent with the family and
with the people that we'reworking with Now, with the, with
the biohazard side, whetherit's a suicide and unintended
death, a, you know, some sort ofa crime scene, we're trying to
be very mindful to have how muchwe share, what is important to
share and what is also traumaticto share.
(14:56):
You know I'm not going to say,hey, we found a skull fragment
and we're throwing that away.
But I may say, hey, we found anote that no one else had.
Do you want us to save it orwould you like?
How would you like us to handlethat?
So those are two differentexamples of ways that we can be
transparent and make sure thatpeople are in control, but we
also take care of them and dothe job we need to do.
Speaker 2 (15:17):
Yeah, and I think that that's the stuff that I can
imagine also brings you totherapy, and you talked about
loving your therapist andworking on who Krista Gregg is,
but I'd like to hear more about.
The question is usually haveyou ever been in therapy?
Clearly, we've answered thatquestion.
So how is therapy for you?
How is your experience withtherapy?
Speaker 3 (15:38):
Oh gosh, I've been.
I've been doing therapy I thinkI'm coming up on four or five
years now but I was diagnosed in2011 with depression and I
think I had experienced it for avery long time, even when I was
in high school, and certainly Ican recall very deep, dark
moments in college, and it wasone of those things for me
personally where I couldn't comeup with a positive thought.
(16:01):
Like it was, I would be so darkand down that I couldn't
generate any positivity.
I would be willing myself,wanting myself to come up with
something positive, and I justcouldn't, and I was not happy
with my job.
I was struggling inrelationships and I got
diagnosed.
But five years ago I decidedespecially with the line of work
(16:24):
that we're getting into and wehad our daughter my husband and
I had our daughter and myhusband and I are working
together I needed some newstrategies with coping with the
work that I'm seeing, how toabsorb it and how to not have
attachments to it and how toprocess exactly what I'm seeing
and how I'm helping people.
(16:46):
These are folks that they dohave mental health problems
themselves.
They're going through somethingthemselves their own traumatic
moments so how can I bettercommunicate with them.
But then also, how can I bettercommunicate with my husband,
who's not only my businesspartner but you know, I'm
married.
I want to have thatrelationship still.
How can we be there for ourdaughter?
(17:07):
There was so much going on andit was just a mess of emotions
that I needed someone to helpcenter me.
And I didn't know what the termboundary was before.
I didn't know I could doboundaries.
I could tell people no, I couldsay hey, we're not doing this
today, or this is a line in thesand for me.
That seems so natural today,but when I started I had none.
(17:33):
I had no boundaries.
Even that in and of itself isits weight in gold.
Speaker 2 (17:38):
How did that work out for you?
No boundaries.
Speaker 3 (17:41):
Oh, my boundaries are great.
My nine-year-old is even sayingMom, that's a boundary for me.
She's using it against me now.
She's like, no, mom, that's aboundary, no, they crossed my
boundaries.
She's using it with friendsthere.
She's like, no, mom, that's aboundary, no, they cross my
boundaries.
And she's using it with friendsand like there's such a moment
of pride.
And then it's like I don'tthink that means what you think
it means.
Or let's reassess what thatboundary is and why it's there.
But I love it and she and Ihave these deep conversations
(18:04):
where I can have also much morepatience.
Or if there is somethinghappening at the business with a
customer, or even internally inour household, if there's a
disagreement, I have a bettertime thinking about it as its
singular problem, not about apersonal attack on me.
(18:25):
I do a better job ofassociating.
What's the problem?
What can I control, what can Inot control, and how can I
address this in a manner that isappropriate and that's really
hard at first to even thinkabout it that way.
Speaker 2 (18:38):
You know what's interesting is in my office
upstairs this is a studio I havea sign that says what can you
control?
It's my reaction, my emotions,my thoughts and everything else
you can't control.
So reminding yourself of whatyou can control is something I
typically do in therapy.
I also get from my clients ohyeah, you and your fucking son.
But that's a whole differentstory for a different day.
Speaker 3 (19:00):
I know it's, it's so hard I mean it's hard to you
know when we were talking aboutworking with hoarders.
There's a lot where they willget feedback and comments.
Maybe it's three months later,six months later.
Where did you put this?
I think you threw this away.
Why did you do this?
And you know, I expect that now.
(19:21):
So what can we control?
As a business, we can be reallythorough with our documentation.
We can take a lot of picturesof every part of the house.
If we're throwing somethingaway, we can take a picture of
it.
So we know why.
We can document our processes.
So then, six months down theroad, we can effectively
communicate.
You know what happened to them.
We can also have them walkthrough the house and sign a
satisfaction survey.
Those are things we can control.
(19:42):
But in six months, if they'restill wondering why they're
missing something I can't always.
I can't control that.
If they decide to fill theirhouse up with items again, I
can't control that.
But we can be there for them,we can support them, we can
offer them therapists and otherresources.
But when they're angry andcalling me, it's not about me,
it's not about our team.
Usually, if they do mess up,we'll own it.
(20:03):
I say usually we're not perfect, but we do better on our end
and then we can help, supportand that's all we can do.
And I take that kind ofphilosophy with almost
everything now in my life.
But I learned that in therapy.
I learned how to sort throughthat in therapy.
Speaker 2 (20:19):
Well, I think it's also learning to not personalize
is one of those four agreements.
And if you ever read the fouragreements, do not personalize
is one of my favorites to remindpeople because you know, like
right now being you know inthose situations people are
angry, but they don't know whatto do with their anger.
So you're the quotes, you're,you're the victim, so to speak.
I gotta go after you, but ithas nothing to do with you.
(20:41):
I've been call every name intherapy, uh, justifiably or not,
but most of the time notbecause it has nothing to do
with me, but rather their ownstuff.
So I think that it's importantto realize that, and I'm sure
that when you're cleaning crimescenes or you think about trauma
that people are perhaps goingthrough, it's really helpful to
depersonalize, so to speak, notin a bad way, not a pathological
(21:03):
way, but to save your own ass,so to speak.
Speaker 3 (21:06):
Exactly, and that's also I mean when I see people
struggling, especially withinthe profession.
That really led me to this yearpromoting and creating a
business called bright sky house, which is something that's been
on my mind for a while.
But I wanted a place wherepeople can create communities
and share their stories and thenI can also help connect, and
what I mean by that is there's alot of people that are going
(21:28):
through trauma, grief in momentsafter we've just come in to
help them, but they have nowhereto go and they don't know even
the first person to talk to orwhere to look or what's a safe
resource for them.
And so you know, with that inmind, of what I can control,
what I can't control, man, Iknow a lot of people after five
years who are still struggling.
I haven't been through thesethings myself personally, but I
(21:52):
know how to create a community,I know how to help people tell
stories and I know that I couldeasily connect people together
to build support systems.
And so that's one of thedrivers and, I guess, the
passion that I have behindeverything that I'm doing right
now, which started with hey,let's have a crime and drama
scene cleaning company, and, asI keep learning more.
Hopefully I can continue tohelp support these vulnerable
(22:15):
people.
Speaker 2 (22:16):
And what's the website?
I'm going to put it in the shownotes, but what's the website
for people who are justlistening?
Speaker 3 (22:21):
Yeah, thank you, it's brightskyhousecom.
Speaker 2 (22:25):
I'll definitely put it in the show notes.
But that's a very importantthing to connect, because one of
the things that happens in themental health world and I see
that in the first responderworld too is it's hard to find
resources and recommendableresources.
I can give you a therapist, butI'd rather like if Krista is
(22:46):
someone.
I know, I want to give her agood therapist.
Speaker 3 (22:49):
Yes, and someone that specializes in what you're
going through, someone thatisn't just trying to wing it and
you may be the first personthat they're talking to that is
experiencing what you'reexperiencing.
But yeah, absolutely, it's soimportant to feel seen and heard
and understood and, as much aswe want to lean on the people
around us, sometimes the peoplearound us just don't have the
tools to really show up and bepresent in a way that you need
(23:11):
them to.
So finding communities andfinding therapists and support
groups of people who understand,I feel like that's more
important than ever.
Speaker 2 (23:19):
Right, and also people who are your friends and
family around you.
They want to remain your familyand friend and they don't want
to be your therapist.
And something that I explainedto my friends and I mentioned
this on the podcast before.
But my girlfriend, when we metthrough a app, it said I'm a
therapist, I'm not yourtherapist, and she she always
(23:40):
reminds people that that's whatshe found funny in my message.
But, truthfully, like, I lovemy friends but I don't want to
be the therapist and it's notbecause I don't love them.
Speaker 3 (23:50):
It's because they should have a good resource to
go talk to.
Oh, absolutely, I find thatwith, like lawyers too.
Yeah, there's a lot of peoplein certain professions where I
feel like like, hey, you're myfriend, but you're a lawyer,
what do you think about this?
Or hey, you're a doctor.
Can you take a look at this?
For me, by the way, you're mybest friend.
Like at some point, you also asa human.
That doesn't just define whoyou are, you find who you are.
Speaker 2 (24:13):
You are also an individual as well.
Well, it's also what you know.
First responders get you know.
Police officers are like hey,you know what?
I got a ticket at this place.
The police officer does notgive a shit about your ticket,
he just wants to be at a party,and so I think that that's what
happens, you know, with a wholelot of our professions.
Speaker 3 (24:27):
Absolutely.
There's a time and a place tostorytell, I'm sure, but you
know you just want to show upand be you.
You also, I wonder, as a firstresponder and in law enforcement
.
It is probably critical toseparate that and to have your
own space in your own life whereit's not all consuming, where
you're constantly respondingfrom one emergency event to
another.
Speaker 2 (24:47):
Well, you talk about the trauma and everything else.
One of the things that Idiscuss with most people is when
you are a first responder, thatbecomes your identity and I
tell people that's not youridentity, that's your job and
you got to separate and a lot ofthe work that I do with first
responders.
I'm not a first respondermyself, but the first responders
I work with they definitely golike oh well, what happens to my
(25:11):
identity?
I mean, you got to find onethere, sherlock, and that's
sometimes very hard for them.
Speaker 3 (25:16):
Yeah, I can only imagine and what they say.
I mean we respond to things,but they're nonstop.
I like I'm sure adrenalinerushes nonstop for them in
responding.
Speaker 2 (25:26):
Well, I think it's also important to maybe talk
about you know we talk about thefirst responders, we talk about
these scenes maybe talk about.
You know we talk about thefirst responders, we talk about
these scenes.
I'd love to hear more aboutyour views of trauma Because I
think that you know, trauma issomething that, to me, we can
define it all we want, butsometimes it is a personal
definition and I know thatsounds weird coming from a
therapist, but what I mean bythat is if I see a dead cat on
(25:48):
the side of the road, that'd betraumatic to me but not
traumatic for most people, andthat's not for you to judge if
it's traumatic or not.
So I'd love to hear more ofyour views on trauma.
Speaker 3 (25:57):
You know, I've never actually even thought about
defining it before.
I'm sitting here and I'mthinking, okay, what is trauma?
How are we defining it?
And I feel like off the cuffhere.
I'm just thinking if there is asomething that is emotionally
impacting you from whatever thisevent is in a negative way, or
something that's sticking withyou or hitting you in in a sense
of giving you grief, in a senseof giving you sadness, some of
(26:19):
those really powerful emotionsthat come up.
And what's what's reallysticking out in my mind, that
I'm kind of replaying in my head, is my daughter.
She, you know I see trauma everyday with the crime and trauma
scene, cleaning stuff that we'redoing, and you know I'm
surrounded by a lot of timesthese situations of death or
seeing someone horrid because ofa traumatic event that happened
(26:41):
in their life, and they need tohave this feeling of control
somehow.
But my daughter last year shehad a really nasty injury where
she accidentally got her fingerslammed in our shower door,
which is a glass shower door,and it's very heavy and she had
to get stitches.
We had to go to the emergencyroom like and even to this day
she's like Mom.
That is trauma for me that is atraumatic event and I would
(27:03):
love to talk to somebody aboutmy trauma.
And I'm thinking you know what?
She's nine years old.
That is probably the mosttraumatic thing that's ever
happened to her and it doesstick with her.
So, yeah, that is her trauma.
Will it fade in time, like allthings?
Maybe probably, but right nowthat's a big deal for her and so
that's kind of that was.
It's changing my mind a littlebit as we go.
(27:23):
A traumatic event, I think, issomething that just sticks with
you and shapes you as a person.
Whether that's a positiveshaping or a negative, you know,
is to be determined on how yourespond and adapt and what
happened, I suppose.
Speaker 2 (27:36):
I agree with you, and I think that it's one of those
things that you go to a crimescene.
I've only been to a few of themand I can tell you I was never
traumatized.
There were scenes that were alittle more disturbing.
Sure, do I really think aboutit?
Did it bother me?
Not really, but if it botheredsomeone else, and that's their
(27:57):
God-given right.
I think that what I mean aboutbeing trauma, being personalized
, is that if it's traumatic foryou to have a guy who's bald
with a goatee, I can't judgethat.
That's up to you if you findthat traumatic.
If I'm traumatized by blondes,again, that's not for you to
decide or not.
Speaker 3 (28:13):
That's my trauma and I think about I'll just stop
dyeing my hair, it's fine.
Speaker 2 (28:18):
Oh, you're a natural, I'm sure, but no, but I think
it's important that we jokearound.
But I think that that's one ofthe things that I feel is the
biggest misnomer is that, again,I've been to a few scenes and I
go and people are like reallyit doesn't bother you, I can't
tell you it did.
Maybe if I did 400 of thosescenes, maybe it would be a
different story.
But I think that what I wouldsay to you and maybe we can keep
(28:47):
on talking about it is thatgoing to those scenes can be
traumatic for some people I'msure people are listening to the
podcast, going holy crap, Iwould never do that.
Going holy crap, I would neverdo that.
And for other people it's likeyou know, and I'd rather be at a
suicide and a homicide thanever be on a hoarder and
cleaning up that hoarding.
But that's me, and that doesn'tmean anything else, but that's
me.
Speaker 3 (29:03):
I, oh man, I love both for so many different
reasons for each of them.
But for me, the trauma thatsticks with me is the stories of
how they got there, it's whathappened, it's talking with
family members.
I've learned that I can't asktoo many questions.
I don't want to know too much,because then I start really
connecting in a way that isunhealthy for me, where I start
(29:25):
absorbing everyone else'sfeelings and emotions in a way
where it's not healthy for me.
I can't change what happenedand I have to find again that
boundary.
But in terms of, I mean, evenwhen we went on our very first
job, it was a suicide in amobile home in the Appalachian
mountains and my husband hadgone through all the training, I
(29:49):
was still working my full timejob, so I just left my desk and
headed on up to a suicide.
I'd never seen it before, Inever experienced something like
this before.
I didn't know how I was goingto react and respond and I just
saw the blood and I saw whereeverything happened and I was
like, all right, let's clean itup.
It just it didn't bother me, itdidn't affect me at all.
(30:11):
But it's the stories about itand how we got there.
I just I have a soft spot thereWith hoarding.
I love this idea of findingthings and sorting through
things.
I could spend all day in ahouse and organizing and this
goes here and this goes thereand let's open this book and
let's see what's in here.
(30:31):
And I love the discoveryprocess.
I love looking at the beforeand afters and seeing what I've
accomplished.
I would say the only thing thatI do not like and still to this
day cannot stand on a job ispoop.
It's not even like, it's justit's.
(30:53):
It's urine and fecal matterfrom humans, and whether it's in
adult diapers, whether it'sbeen built up because of
plumbing situations and I won'tgo any further for the listeners
that have squirmy stomachs, butthat's still.
That's the one thing of it thatthat I can't handle.
But the rest of it, I'mfascinated by the process of how
we got here and also thediscovery and hoarding
situations.
We've discovered so much.
It's kind of fun.
Speaker 2 (31:14):
I really want to hit on a couple of things.
First of all, for me it's vomit.
I can do poop, I can do pee,but vomit, no, that's me.
Number two I think that whatyou said is so important because
, again, think of my audienceand think people are going to be
listening to this.
You know, you go to your firstcrime scene and it doesn't
bother you.
(31:34):
And why should it?
Because that's what people sayoh my God, that would have
affected me.
That's awesome.
But your name is Johnny, it'sJane, it's not, you know, it's
not Krista, it's not Steve, it'snot Julie or whatever.
The point being is.
I think that it's so personal.
That's why I go back to traumaMe being traumatized by xyz.
(31:55):
That's not for you to decide ifI'm right or wrong.
It's, you know.
Why do vomit?
Why does vomit bother me?
I'd like to tell you, I know Idon't know, but it bothers me.
You know, show me a pile ofpoop, I'll look at it, go.
Yeah, it's poop and that's it.
That's especially if it's dry.
It definitely doesn't eventouch my radar.
Um, so I think that it'sreminding you know that personal
(32:16):
stories and what you know, youjump in and what you like and
this and that.
So I really was.
Speaker 3 (32:21):
Everyone's looking for a cause or a reason, or to
point fingers when somethingtraumatic happens or trying to
(32:42):
determine how did this personget this way?
And what we really landed on,which I think is so important,
is we see different versions ofpeople.
I see my husband, as you knowwhat Matt Gregg shows me as as
himself, as my husband, as as mypartner in doing business.
But he has another element tohim, where his mom sees him, and
there's other angles that andother purviews that he gives
(33:04):
people in the world or ourcustomers.
And we started down this pathof do you ever truly know
somebody, or is that really allinside them and they're the only
ones that can truly say thatthey know themselves?
Or maybe they don't.
Like In this world where we'reconstantly wanting to point
fingers or say this is the truthor this is what happened, I
almost wonder if it just lieswith the individual and no one
(33:26):
can really say for sure.
Speaker 2 (33:27):
Well, there's a few things I want to say.
I'm going to just say my firstthing and then I want to ask you
a question.
For me, what I go back to isthat when you know, when you
think about knowing other people, I don't know about you, but
I'm still learning about myself,so how the hell am I going to
know about other people?
I remember a professor in myundergrad said that if you die
(33:50):
and you know yourself completely, you're a better person than I
am, and I always wanted to givethat to people as advice.
And I'd love to hear more aboutyour podcast, because you
mentioned it in passing, but I'dlove for people to go listen to
it.
What's the podcast about?
You kind of mentioned it, but Iwant to hear more specifics
about it.
Speaker 3 (34:08):
Yes, so we're in recording.
It is not live yet, but when itis live I will let you know.
So I have about six women linedup who are going to be sharing
their stories where theirhusbands have died of suicide,
and the reason why it was soimportant for me to really focus
on this niche group of women is, you know, in 2023, the CDC
(34:30):
reported that 80% of all suicidedeaths were done by males in
America, and I think there's twothings that can be accomplished
with sharing these stories ofthe widows that are left behind.
One is how to create more of acommunity for them to feel like
they're not alone, to reach outto others who are going through
what they're going through.
It is such an what I'm gatheringis it's a very isolated
(34:52):
situation where they are lostand no one understands, and
sometimes they are blamed orthey are surprised by things
that they didn't realize weregoing on in their husband's
lives, and they may have kids orthey may be a stay at home mom
and they have to pick up allthese pieces by themselves.
They have to figure out whatopening an estate means, and all
of this is resting on theirshoulders as they're grieving
(35:14):
for the person that was closestto them in the world and that
felt very isolating when Italked to people.
So creating this community herewas really important, and so
I'm about six people in andtalking with them and sharing
with them.
I would love to take it evenfurther, but the other side of
the coin is I really think 80%is a staggering number and I
(35:44):
want to send a message and Iwant to have advocacy around men
becoming vulnerable and gettingmental health that they deserve
, that is needed, that they have.
It is very unfair, in my mindand this is me personally to
expect a wife and loved ones toalways know what's happening up
here and here, and I think thatthere are times when men do need
(36:05):
to reach out and they're not,and resources are available, but
our society and stigmas and howpeople were raised or brought
up to think it prevents men fromgetting help, and so one of the
things that we want to do aswell is how do we advocate for
that?
How do we create more of aopening, open community for
people seeking help and lettingthem know they're not alone and
it's okay?
Speaker 2 (36:24):
I mean, I have a lot of ideas on that, so I want to
hear it.
Speaker 3 (36:28):
I am all ears.
I am all ears.
Speaker 2 (36:31):
But this is, this is the thing that I I you know as a
feminist myself, and I knowpeople like oh, you're not a
woman, you can't be a feminist.
Well, I am a feminist, I havetwo daughters and much more of a
feminist than ever before.
But one of the things that, ifI cry, even people I respect
sometimes say what's wrong withyou.
And it's not because they'remean and I'm not pointing
(36:53):
fingers at them, but there's alack of ability to be vulnerable
, because men, when they crypeople, don't know how to react.
So that's number one.
Number two men have to be ableto say I'm going to be
vulnerable.
And that's basically saying toa man go run naked in the street
at 20 degree weather.
I mean, that's the hard part isto convince men that it's okay
(37:14):
to be vulnerable.
I work with men a lot because ofmy job, especially with the
first responders, but thatvulnerability like it takes me
six months to a year where awoman and again, sexist or not,
call me whatever you want Womencome in and like this is exactly
what's going on.
Here's my vulnerability, here'smy.
And women are just where menare, not necessarily that way,
(37:36):
and I think we got to encouragethat.
And I'm going to add one finalthing about this.
You talked about suicide.
Men commit suicide more oftenthan women.
That's not true.
Actually, women try suicidemore often than men, but men use
more violent means and that iswhy they're 80-20.
Speaker 3 (37:52):
Okay, Well, the numbers that I was pulling, Okay
, no, it's good.
I would love to see that databecause I was pulling it from
the CDC from 2023.
And it was.
It didn't say exactly the means, but it did say out of all the
suicides, it was about 80% weremales.
But I do agree with you interms of you know how it's done
and it is with men, it's usuallyby a firearm.
Speaker 2 (38:15):
Yeah, and I think that that's why like for suicide
.
If you ever have men, it'susually by a firearm, yeah, and
I think that that's why like forsuicide if you ever have.
If I got to find my old data, Iused to be a suicide prevention
specialist, so I know a lotabout this stuff.
So if you ever want to have aprivate conversation, we can go
there.
But for you know, let's getthem in the talk is really hard
because you know even the nicestpeople in the world.
I mean I know my friends arevery supportive, but sometimes
(38:37):
it's like what people in theworld?
I mean, I know my friends arevery supportive, but sometimes
it's like what's wrong with youand that's not because they're
mean people.
So I think we just got tochange a little bit and that's
going to take a while, but I'mforcing it and you have another
podcast as far as I know and Idefer to your expertise.
Speaker 3 (38:50):
Oh, sorry, say that again.
Speaker 2 (38:52):
No, no, that's fine, please continue.
Speaker 3 (38:54):
Oh, I was going to say so I am dipping my toe in
here as just someone that hascleaned up scenes.
I am still learning all of this, so I absolutely would love to
meet, especially because youhave the specialties and
experience and certainly withsuicide prevention and helping
people.
So I just absolutely defer toyou too and your expertise and
your guidance, and you have somuch more experience in that
area.
Speaker 2 (39:15):
Right, and you know, the people who survive suicides
will tell you that once theytried to commit suicide of any
kind and they the first, as soonas they pulled the trigger, or
they try to hang themselves, orto take a handful of pills or
what have you, the first thingthat comes to mind, which is
really strange, it's like ohshit, what am I doing?
So we only know we already.
We obviously only know the oneswho survived.
(39:36):
Obviously there's no ones whoare dead we can't really
interview.
But that's something to come up.
And I want to complete this byasking there's another podcast
that you're saying, that you'reworking on too.
Speaker 3 (39:47):
Yes, it's called Light a Match.
It's a little tongue-in-cheek,mainly because anytime that we
go to work with a family or ahoarder themselves, or a family
who's dealing with the hoardingsituation, the most frequent
question is should we just lightit on fire?
Is it really worth all of thiseffort of sorting through things
and disposing of things?
(40:08):
And so I titled it Light aMatch, because, yep, you can
light a match and burn it alldown, but a match can also
symbolize hope.
You know, it's a light, it'sit's, it's inspiration, and I
want to really unveil some ofthese stigmas about hoarding and
talk a little bit deeper as towhy do people hoard and what are
they hoarding hard conversationand hell or shame or judgment
(40:29):
and also get that help that youneed.
And so, again, it's anotherstorytelling platform where I
would love people to come on onthe show and talk about either
their experience with hoardingif a loved one hoarded, if they
inherited an estate or a housethat has been hoarded in, or if
they grew up in a hoardingsituation, or if there's someone
who is struggling today or hasgot the help that they needed
(40:51):
and they're no longer hoarding.
I just think there's so manyangles and so many perspectives
here that any story can reallyhelp shed the stigma and
encourage people.
It's okay, you can get somehelp and there are a lot of
resources out there.
Speaker 2 (41:02):
So if people want to be on your show or people want
to know more about you, how dothey reach?
Speaker 3 (41:08):
you If people want to be on the show.
Yes, I'm going to throw out anemail address here for everybody
.
It is hello H-E-L-L-O atbrightskyhousecom.
Speaker 2 (41:20):
All right.
And I'll put that in the shownotes you can reach out.
Speaker 3 (41:23):
You can follow us on social media, too, at Bright Sky
House, and that's on all socialchannels.
It's at Bright Sky House.
Speaker 2 (41:30):
Well, I want to thank you for this interview.
It was amazing.
I'd love to have you back on.
I don't know what we talk about, but I think that I would love
to have a non-delayed, non-nudestudio stuff so we can talk a
little more.
But truly, it's a delight andyou and your husband are doing
(41:52):
amazing work and I reallyappreciate you.
Speaker 3 (41:53):
So thank you.
Thank you so much.
It is such an honor.
I am so grateful to be here.
Thank you, thank you.
Speaker 2 (41:58):
Thank you so much.
It is such an honor.
I am so grateful to be here.
Thank you Well, this concludesthe episode.
Krista Gregg, thank you so much.
Appreciate it.
Hope you guys enjoy.
Go to our show notes for allher resources.
Speaker 1 (42:08):
But episode 189 will be about coaching and I hope you
join me, then Please like,subscribe and follow this
podcast on your favoriteplatform.
A glowing review is alwayshelpful and, as a reminder, this
podcast is for informational,educational and entertainment
purposes only.
If you're struggling with amental health or substance abuse
issue, please reach out to aprofessional counselor for
consultation.
(42:29):
If you are in a mental healthcrisis, call 988 for assistance.
This number is available in theUnited States and Canada.
Hi and welcome to Finding your Way Through Therapy
.
A proud member of thePsychCraft Network, the goal of
this podcast is to demystifytherapy, what can happen in
therapy and the wide array ofconversations you can have in
and about therapy Throughpersonal experiences.
Guests will talk about therapy,their experiences with it and
(00:24):
how psychology and therapy arepresent in many places in their
lives, with lots of authenticityand a touch of humor.
Here is your host, steve Bisson.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
Hello and welcome to the new studio.
We're in the new studio, hi andwelcome to Finding your Way.
Yeah, I mean, I'm working outon some of the kinks that I have
in the studio, so hopefully wedon't have too many problems.
But this is the start of it, soI hope you enjoy it.
If you're on YouTube, go checkit out.
If you're on my podcast justlistening to it audio, let me
know how it sounds, but wantedto make sure you knew about that
(00:57):
.
So last episode we talked aboutpeer support and I hope you go
back and listen to it.
That was episode 187.
And 188 will be about a lot ofcrime scene stuff with Krista
Gregg.
Krista Gregg brings five yearsof experience in crime and
trauma scene cleaning, offeringa unique perspective and the
profound effects of tragedy onindividuals and families.
Witnessing these numeroustragedies have led her to become
(01:20):
a resource advocate fortrauma-informed and things that
are needed for the mental health, including hoarding.
She brought her experience tosomething that she calls Bright
Sky House, which will be in theshow notes, to uncover hidden
stories.
That inspires hope, challengesstigmas and fosters meaningful
connections.
So I hope you enjoy theinterview.
And here's the interviewGetFreeai yes, you've heard me
(01:49):
talk about it previously inother episodes, but I'm going to
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Imagine being able to payattention to your clients all
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(02:11):
what the client is saying,because it is keeping track of
what you're saying and willcreate, after the end of every
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But it goes above and beyondthat.
Not only does it create aprogress note, it also gives you
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you've asked questions aroundthat, as well as being able to
(02:32):
write a letter for your clientto know what you talked about.
So that's the great, greatthing.
It saves me time, it saves me alot of aggravation and it just
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And for $99 a month.
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You know, the best part of ittoo is that if you want to go
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So they went out, you went out,everybody wins and I think that
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Well, hi, welcome to Findingyour Way.
And episode 188 is going to bewith Krista Gregg.
I missed Krista through socialmedia and I really liked again.
(03:59):
We're working on firstresponder stuff.
We're working on trauma and hermessage.
I know she's going to talkabout the podcast that she's
going to do.
I'm just telling her in advance.
I'm going to be asking herabout it.
But to me it's so fascinatingto talk about that stuff because
I've worked with forensicpeople who had to look at those
scenes, but I've never hadanyone tell me about how it is
to clean them.
So, looking forward to havingthat conversation, and I hear
(04:21):
she's a fan of therapy, so it'seven better.
So, krista, welcome to Findingyour Way.
Speaker 3 (04:26):
Thank you so much for having me.
It's such a pleasure to be here.
I'm so grateful to be able tojust share anything that I can
over especially the last fiveyears of working in crime and
trauma synclinics.
Speaker 2 (04:36):
I can't wait to hear some more.
Speaker 3 (04:38):
Yeah.
I'm sorry, I'm interruptingbecause there's a delay.
Speaker 2 (04:44):
No, I know this is.
I should have mentionedeveryone to.
I'm recording this in the newstudio and there is some going
to be some stuff that I'm goingto have to fix, so hopefully
people are understanding.
Speaker 3 (04:55):
Absolutely, absolutely.
Well, steve, let's begin.
Where should we start?
Speaker 2 (04:59):
Well, how about you tell me, who Krista Gregg is?
Speaker 3 (05:02):
Oh, that's a deep one .
My therapist and I are stillfiguring that one out.
Who is Krista Gregg?
Krista Gregg is someone wholoves digital media, who loves
storytelling, but I'm also a momof a beautiful nine-year-old.
I'm a wife to my husband, matt,and we started a crime and
trauma scene cleaning businessback in 2019.
(05:23):
And just on the premise ofwanting to help people, we both
had previous jobs in healthcareand automotive, which no one
gets excited about.
Going to a dealership or goingto any healthcare facility it's
not a welcoming environmentsometimes for folks and we
wanted to do more.
We wanted to shift the tides onhow we were helping the
community and just dove right.
In November 2019, we opened upour first location to do this
(05:48):
work in Asheville, northCarolina, and the next year we
opened up here in Colorado, andwe've been doing this work ever
since, helping from doingsuicide remediation, unattended
deaths, to hoarding situations,meth and fentanyl remediations,
tear gas cleanups.
If it's overwhelming and youdon't know what to do, that's
(06:10):
usually when someone calls, andwe love it.
We're able to help people andgive back in these great times
of need, and it's something thatI've never experienced in my
life.
So it really opened up this newworld, in this new bubble of
what people are going through,and so I just love the idea of
helping people and supportinghowever I can.
Speaker 2 (06:33):
Well, I can see that and the first question that
comes to mind is oh, we're inAsheville, north Carolina, let's
open our second one five statesover in Colorado.
Why?
Speaker 3 (06:45):
I know we are cross country, so we were living in
Asheville at the time.
My husband's from there and I'mactually from Colorado, so we
had the team set up.
Everybody you know, when youbuy a business and we're getting
a little bit intoentrepreneurship there's owner
and operators and at firstyou're an operator.
You're the person that's doingeverything from the ground up.
(07:08):
You're going to the job sitesevery day, you're what we call
in the suit, and we had builtthe team up out there to become
owners and we had trained people.
We had created a customerservice base and referral
partners where the businesscould really stand more on its
own without us seeing theday-to-day.
And I really wanted to come backhome.
Colorado has always been homefor me.
(07:29):
It was where.
Actually, long story short, myhusband and I originally met in
Colorado, got married out hereand then moved to North Carolina
and we wanted to come back.
We have friends out here.
It's just it's that place thatyou always feel most comfortable
.
So then we knew we were movingand we still wanted to continue
what we were doing.
So let's bring it out toColorado and build a team out
here, and we're part of afranchise system.
(07:51):
So we have two franchiselocations, but the company is
called Bio One and there's 140of us throughout the United
States, so we bought a secondlocation within the franchise we
travel a lot.
Speaker 2 (08:04):
I was going to say there's a lot of travel and,
yeah, it's overwhelming to cleanup a hoarding house, for
example, or a crime scene ofsome sort or suicide, I mean.
There's so many questions Ihave about that.
The first question that comesto mind is how do you stay sane?
Because that's really roughstuff.
(08:24):
I've been in a hoarder's houseseveral times and people watch
the TV show on A&E and I tellthem that's nothing, you don't
know what it is when you'rethere, and there's something
about the smell and everythingelse that goes with that.
So how is it for you?
How do you survive that?
Speaker 3 (08:44):
So the reason why it's important to hire somebody
like our team or other teamsthat exist out there in the
community is first, I'll startwith kind of what I call the
biohazard side, so the suicides,unattended deaths, more of the
blood stuff that we clean up.
We are coming in into a momentwhen everybody's still in shock.
There's immense grief, lawenforcement has just finished
their investigation anddetermined you know cause of
(09:06):
death and there's nothing elsethat they can do.
So it's our job to come in andcreate a safe environment and
create a safe space.
And also there's an element ofmaking it so family members
don't have to see exactly whathappened.
There's we're preventingfurther trauma from them
cleaning it up themselves orhaving to visually see exactly
what happened.
And for me, how do I get throughthat?
(09:26):
I'm not going to lie Like there.
There are some scenes that areforever imprinted in my mind.
There are some situations andscenarios that are absolutely
heartbreaking, especially whenit comes to kids or if animals
are involved.
Or you know it just, and I'mnever going to say I've seen it
all, because there's alwayssomething around the corner that
surprises us.
But there is.
We don't have the emotionalattachment in a lot of cases
(09:50):
that you know the direct familymembers, next of kin and loved
ones have.
So we can come in, and thementality that I constantly keep
going, especially as we getthrough these scenes, is, if not
us, then who?
And not so long ago, beforebusinesses like ours existed, it
was family members, it wasfriends, it was, you know, maybe
(10:12):
a police officer offering tohelp out, and it wasn't done
correctly, it wasn't done safelyand it was with the best of
intentions of the community.
But now we can come in and helpand I think that really guides
me of, if not us, then who'sgoing to do it and who's going
to do it well and who's going todo it safely and who's going to
abide by regulations and who'sgoing to make sure that these
people are taken care of to thebest of our ability.
(10:32):
And that's us, and that givesme a lot of peace and hope.
When it comes to hoardingsituations, I'm not going to lie
, I get overwhelmed in hoardingsituations, but we do a lot of
prep work before we go into ahouse and so if you're talking
extreme levels, like what youmentioned on A&E and hoarders,
that's kind of a level five.
That's worst of the worst, andof course they want that on TV
(10:54):
that gets them ratings.
But we do things verydifferently than what is seen in
pop culture.
We will come up with a plan,directly with the hoarder
themselves, of what do they wantto keep, what do they want to
donate, what do they want todispose of If they're not ready
yet, what can we do?
First, to make the environmentsafe not perfect, because safety
(11:17):
is really the biggest goal.
We need them to have access toexits.
We need to make sure that ifsomething catches on fire, that
there isn't so much fuel in thehouse that it just goes up in
flames quickly and no one canget saved.
We need to make sure that weidentify fall risks or
electrical plumbing problems,mold.
There's just so much that ishappening, sometimes in a
(11:38):
hoarded home, where sometimesthe first goal is to make it
safe, and then we can go fromthere and clean up even more and
more, and it could be a layeredprocess.
Speaker 2 (11:49):
But before we even step inside someone's house.
Speaker 3 (11:51):
Yeah, please.
Speaker 2 (11:53):
So I heard you and I'm going to say one thing.
This is something that comes upwith what people have said to
me working in jails, working inthe community yeah, you're
making it safe for other people,but how is it safe for you?
So I'm going to throw thatquestion at you.
Speaker 3 (12:08):
Absolutely no, we have.
So we're wearing complete PPE,we're fully covered and we're
also wearing needle protectiongloves.
We're wearing respirators.
I mean we are covered head totoe and we're making sure that
we're methodically going throughthings little by little,
stepping into the space.
We ask a lot of pointedquestions at first.
When I say are there needles inthe home, I'm not saying, hey,
(12:29):
are you a drug addict?
I'm saying do you have diabetes?
Do you need to inject yourselfwith medicine?
I need to understand whathazards we could possibly run
into.
But we always assume there is ahazard, just for our safety and
our team's safety.
So when we come in, it is a veryslow approach and methodical
approach of getting through allof these items and it's not like
(12:51):
we're.
A lot of times people picturelike giant snow shovels and us
just putting it in a dumpster.
It's quite the opposite.
We're actually looking forthings that could be of valuable
, whether it's money, coin orit's photos.
It could be important paperwork, it could be bills.
It could be a valuable.
Whether it's money, coin orit's photos, it could be
important paperwork.
It could be bills, it could bemail.
It's not for us to decide allthe time to what's valuable to
(13:12):
somebody, so we really try toget to understand them and
what's important to them as well.
Speaker 2 (13:18):
Yeah, and I think that that's the excellent point,
because what's valuable to youmay not be valuable to the next
person, and what's valuable toanother person could be junk to
you.
So I think that's a good point.
And you talk a little bit aboutthe hoarders and the suicides.
You touched a little bit on it,but that must be also very
difficult, and there's a wholedifferent ballgame if you're
(13:39):
dead by hanging and been therefor two hours, versus gunshot
wound and been there for twodays.
So I'm sure that there is somedifferences between those things
too.
Speaker 3 (13:50):
A hundred percent.
And it's one of those thingswhere you know, obviously, as
the longer that a body has beenlaying around, there's a
decomposition phase where, if wecan't respond quickly and if
you know, if someone'sunattended for several days,
months, I mean the list goes on.
In terms of the climate,whether it's hot or cold, what
room it's in, if it's amulti-level house versus what
(14:12):
kind of flooring you have, thespread and the contamination can
really vary and it can be asquick as wiping down a space to
we have to deconstruct an entirespace.
But for us, again, there's alot of different procedures.
Again same PPE type of scenario, but we're really slowly going
into a space with taking onething at a time.
We're testing a lot forbloodborne pathogens and we are
(14:35):
trying to stay very transparent.
Whether it's hoarding orwhether it's the biohazard work,
we're always trying to staytransparent with the family and
with the people that we'reworking with Now, with the, with
the biohazard side, whetherit's a suicide and unintended
death, a, you know, some sort ofa crime scene, we're trying to
be very mindful to have how muchwe share, what is important to
share and what is also traumaticto share.
(14:56):
You know I'm not going to say,hey, we found a skull fragment
and we're throwing that away.
But I may say, hey, we found anote that no one else had.
Do you want us to save it orwould you like?
How would you like us to handlethat?
So those are two differentexamples of ways that we can be
transparent and make sure thatpeople are in control, but we
also take care of them and dothe job we need to do.
Speaker 2 (15:17):
Yeah, and I think that that's the stuff that I can
imagine also brings you totherapy, and you talked about
loving your therapist andworking on who Krista Gregg is,
but I'd like to hear more about.
The question is usually haveyou ever been in therapy?
Clearly, we've answered thatquestion.
So how is therapy for you?
How is your experience withtherapy?
Speaker 3 (15:38):
Oh gosh, I've been.
I've been doing therapy I thinkI'm coming up on four or five
years now but I was diagnosed in2011 with depression and I
think I had experienced it for avery long time, even when I was
in high school, and certainly Ican recall very deep, dark
moments in college, and it wasone of those things for me
personally where I couldn't comeup with a positive thought.
(16:01):
Like it was, I would be so darkand down that I couldn't
generate any positivity.
I would be willing myself,wanting myself to come up with
something positive, and I justcouldn't, and I was not happy
with my job.
I was struggling inrelationships and I got
diagnosed.
But five years ago I decidedespecially with the line of work
(16:24):
that we're getting into and wehad our daughter my husband and
I had our daughter and myhusband and I are working
together I needed some newstrategies with coping with the
work that I'm seeing, how toabsorb it and how to not have
attachments to it and how toprocess exactly what I'm seeing
and how I'm helping people.
(16:46):
These are folks that they dohave mental health problems
themselves.
They're going through somethingthemselves their own traumatic
moments so how can I bettercommunicate with them.
But then also, how can I bettercommunicate with my husband,
who's not only my businesspartner but you know, I'm
married.
I want to have thatrelationship still.
How can we be there for ourdaughter?
(17:07):
There was so much going on andit was just a mess of emotions
that I needed someone to helpcenter me.
And I didn't know what the termboundary was before.
I didn't know I could doboundaries.
I could tell people no, I couldsay hey, we're not doing this
today, or this is a line in thesand for me.
That seems so natural today,but when I started I had none.
(17:33):
I had no boundaries.
Even that in and of itself isits weight in gold.
Speaker 2 (17:38):
How did that work out for you?
No boundaries.
Speaker 3 (17:41):
Oh, my boundaries are great.
My nine-year-old is even sayingMom, that's a boundary for me.
She's using it against me now.
She's like, no, mom, that's aboundary, no, they crossed my
boundaries.
She's using it with friendsthere.
She's like, no, mom, that's aboundary, no, they cross my
boundaries.
And she's using it with friendsand like there's such a moment
of pride.
And then it's like I don'tthink that means what you think
it means.
Or let's reassess what thatboundary is and why it's there.
But I love it and she and Ihave these deep conversations
(18:04):
where I can have also much morepatience.
Or if there is somethinghappening at the business with a
customer, or even internally inour household, if there's a
disagreement, I have a bettertime thinking about it as its
singular problem, not about apersonal attack on me.
(18:25):
I do a better job ofassociating.
What's the problem?
What can I control, what can Inot control, and how can I
address this in a manner that isappropriate and that's really
hard at first to even thinkabout it that way.
Speaker 2 (18:38):
You know what's interesting is in my office
upstairs this is a studio I havea sign that says what can you
control?
It's my reaction, my emotions,my thoughts and everything else
you can't control.
So reminding yourself of whatyou can control is something I
typically do in therapy.
I also get from my clients ohyeah, you and your fucking son.
But that's a whole differentstory for a different day.
Speaker 3 (19:00):
I know it's, it's so hard I mean it's hard to you
know when we were talking aboutworking with hoarders.
There's a lot where they willget feedback and comments.
Maybe it's three months later,six months later.
Where did you put this?
I think you threw this away.
Why did you do this?
And you know, I expect that now.
(19:21):
So what can we control?
As a business, we can be reallythorough with our documentation.
We can take a lot of picturesof every part of the house.
If we're throwing somethingaway, we can take a picture of
it.
So we know why.
We can document our processes.
So then, six months down theroad, we can effectively
communicate.
You know what happened to them.
We can also have them walkthrough the house and sign a
satisfaction survey.
Those are things we can control.
(19:42):
But in six months, if they'restill wondering why they're
missing something I can't always.
I can't control that.
If they decide to fill theirhouse up with items again, I
can't control that.
But we can be there for them,we can support them, we can
offer them therapists and otherresources.
But when they're angry andcalling me, it's not about me,
it's not about our team.
Usually, if they do mess up,we'll own it.
(20:03):
I say usually we're not perfect, but we do better on our end
and then we can help, supportand that's all we can do.
And I take that kind ofphilosophy with almost
everything now in my life.
But I learned that in therapy.
I learned how to sort throughthat in therapy.
Speaker 2 (20:19):
Well, I think it's also learning to not personalize
is one of those four agreements.
And if you ever read the fouragreements, do not personalize
is one of my favorites to remindpeople because you know, like
right now being you know inthose situations people are
angry, but they don't know whatto do with their anger.
So you're the quotes, you're,you're the victim, so to speak.
I gotta go after you, but ithas nothing to do with you.
(20:41):
I've been call every name intherapy, uh, justifiably or not,
but most of the time notbecause it has nothing to do
with me, but rather their ownstuff.
So I think that it's importantto realize that, and I'm sure
that when you're cleaning crimescenes or you think about trauma
that people are perhaps goingthrough, it's really helpful to
depersonalize, so to speak, notin a bad way, not a pathological
(21:03):
way, but to save your own ass,so to speak.
Speaker 3 (21:06):
Exactly, and that's also I mean when I see people
struggling, especially withinthe profession.
That really led me to this yearpromoting and creating a
business called bright sky house, which is something that's been
on my mind for a while.
But I wanted a place wherepeople can create communities
and share their stories and thenI can also help connect, and
what I mean by that is there's alot of people that are going
(21:28):
through trauma, grief in momentsafter we've just come in to
help them, but they have nowhereto go and they don't know even
the first person to talk to orwhere to look or what's a safe
resource for them.
And so you know, with that inmind, of what I can control,
what I can't control, man, Iknow a lot of people after five
years who are still struggling.
I haven't been through thesethings myself personally, but I
(21:52):
know how to create a community,I know how to help people tell
stories and I know that I couldeasily connect people together
to build support systems.
And so that's one of thedrivers and, I guess, the
passion that I have behindeverything that I'm doing right
now, which started with hey,let's have a crime and drama
scene cleaning company, and, asI keep learning more.
Hopefully I can continue tohelp support these vulnerable
(22:15):
people.
Speaker 2 (22:16):
And what's the website?
I'm going to put it in the shownotes, but what's the website
for people who are justlistening?
Speaker 3 (22:21):
Yeah, thank you, it's brightskyhousecom.
Speaker 2 (22:25):
I'll definitely put it in the show notes.
But that's a very importantthing to connect, because one of
the things that happens in themental health world and I see
that in the first responderworld too is it's hard to find
resources and recommendableresources.
I can give you a therapist, butI'd rather like if Krista is
(22:46):
someone.
I know, I want to give her agood therapist.
Speaker 3 (22:49):
Yes, and someone that specializes in what you're
going through, someone thatisn't just trying to wing it and
you may be the first personthat they're talking to that is
experiencing what you'reexperiencing.
But yeah, absolutely, it's soimportant to feel seen and heard
and understood and, as much aswe want to lean on the people
around us, sometimes the peoplearound us just don't have the
tools to really show up and bepresent in a way that you need
(23:11):
them to.
So finding communities andfinding therapists and support
groups of people who understand,I feel like that's more
important than ever.
Speaker 2 (23:19):
Right, and also people who are your friends and
family around you.
They want to remain your familyand friend and they don't want
to be your therapist.
And something that I explainedto my friends and I mentioned
this on the podcast before.
But my girlfriend, when we metthrough a app, it said I'm a
therapist, I'm not yourtherapist, and she she always
(23:40):
reminds people that that's whatshe found funny in my message.
But, truthfully, like, I lovemy friends but I don't want to
be the therapist and it's notbecause I don't love them.
Speaker 3 (23:50):
It's because they should have a good resource to
go talk to.
Oh, absolutely, I find thatwith, like lawyers too.
Yeah, there's a lot of peoplein certain professions where I
feel like like, hey, you're myfriend, but you're a lawyer,
what do you think about this?
Or hey, you're a doctor.
Can you take a look at this?
For me, by the way, you're mybest friend.
Like at some point, you also asa human.
That doesn't just define whoyou are, you find who you are.
Speaker 2 (24:13):
You are also an individual as well.
Well, it's also what you know.
First responders get you know.
Police officers are like hey,you know what?
I got a ticket at this place.
The police officer does notgive a shit about your ticket,
he just wants to be at a party,and so I think that that's what
happens, you know, with a wholelot of our professions.
Speaker 3 (24:27):
Absolutely.
There's a time and a place tostorytell, I'm sure, but you
know you just want to show upand be you.
You also, I wonder, as a firstresponder and in law enforcement
.
It is probably critical toseparate that and to have your
own space in your own life whereit's not all consuming, where
you're constantly respondingfrom one emergency event to
another.
Speaker 2 (24:47):
Well, you talk about the trauma and everything else.
One of the things that Idiscuss with most people is when
you are a first responder, thatbecomes your identity and I
tell people that's not youridentity, that's your job and
you got to separate and a lot ofthe work that I do with first
responders.
I'm not a first respondermyself, but the first responders
I work with they definitely golike oh well, what happens to my
(25:11):
identity?
I mean, you got to find onethere, sherlock, and that's
sometimes very hard for them.
Speaker 3 (25:16):
Yeah, I can only imagine and what they say.
I mean we respond to things,but they're nonstop.
I like I'm sure adrenalinerushes nonstop for them in
responding.
Speaker 2 (25:26):
Well, I think it's also important to maybe talk
about you know we talk about thefirst responders, we talk about
these scenes maybe talk about.
You know we talk about thefirst responders, we talk about
these scenes.
I'd love to hear more aboutyour views of trauma Because I
think that you know, trauma issomething that, to me, we can
define it all we want, butsometimes it is a personal
definition and I know thatsounds weird coming from a
therapist, but what I mean bythat is if I see a dead cat on
(25:48):
the side of the road, that'd betraumatic to me but not
traumatic for most people, andthat's not for you to judge if
it's traumatic or not.
So I'd love to hear more ofyour views on trauma.
Speaker 3 (25:57):
You know, I've never actually even thought about
defining it before.
I'm sitting here and I'mthinking, okay, what is trauma?
How are we defining it?
And I feel like off the cuffhere.
I'm just thinking if there is asomething that is emotionally
impacting you from whatever thisevent is in a negative way, or
something that's sticking withyou or hitting you in in a sense
of giving you grief, in a senseof giving you sadness, some of
(26:19):
those really powerful emotionsthat come up.
And what's what's reallysticking out in my mind, that
I'm kind of replaying in my head, is my daughter.
She, you know I see trauma everyday with the crime and trauma
scene, cleaning stuff that we'redoing, and you know I'm
surrounded by a lot of timesthese situations of death or
seeing someone horrid because ofa traumatic event that happened
(26:41):
in their life, and they need tohave this feeling of control
somehow.
But my daughter last year shehad a really nasty injury where
she accidentally got her fingerslammed in our shower door,
which is a glass shower door,and it's very heavy and she had
to get stitches.
We had to go to the emergencyroom like and even to this day
she's like Mom.
That is trauma for me that is atraumatic event and I would
(27:03):
love to talk to somebody aboutmy trauma.
And I'm thinking you know what?
She's nine years old.
That is probably the mosttraumatic thing that's ever
happened to her and it doesstick with her.
So, yeah, that is her trauma.
Will it fade in time, like allthings?
Maybe probably, but right nowthat's a big deal for her and so
that's kind of that was.
It's changing my mind a littlebit as we go.
(27:23):
A traumatic event, I think, issomething that just sticks with
you and shapes you as a person.
Whether that's a positiveshaping or a negative, you know,
is to be determined on how yourespond and adapt and what
happened, I suppose.
Speaker 2 (27:36):
I agree with you, and I think that it's one of those
things that you go to a crimescene.
I've only been to a few of themand I can tell you I was never
traumatized.
There were scenes that were alittle more disturbing.
Sure, do I really think aboutit?
Did it bother me?
Not really, but if it botheredsomeone else, and that's their
(27:57):
God-given right.
I think that what I mean aboutbeing trauma, being personalized
, is that if it's traumatic foryou to have a guy who's bald
with a goatee, I can't judgethat.
That's up to you if you findthat traumatic.
If I'm traumatized by blondes,again, that's not for you to
decide or not.
Speaker 3 (28:13):
That's my trauma and I think about I'll just stop
dyeing my hair, it's fine.
Speaker 2 (28:18):
Oh, you're a natural, I'm sure, but no, but I think
it's important that we jokearound.
But I think that that's one ofthe things that I feel is the
biggest misnomer is that, again,I've been to a few scenes and I
go and people are like reallyit doesn't bother you, I can't
tell you it did.
Maybe if I did 400 of thosescenes, maybe it would be a
different story.
But I think that what I wouldsay to you and maybe we can keep
(28:47):
on talking about it is thatgoing to those scenes can be
traumatic for some people I'msure people are listening to the
podcast, going holy crap, Iwould never do that.
Going holy crap, I would neverdo that.
And for other people it's likeyou know, and I'd rather be at a
suicide and a homicide thanever be on a hoarder and
cleaning up that hoarding.
But that's me, and that doesn'tmean anything else, but that's
me.
Speaker 3 (29:03):
I, oh man, I love both for so many different
reasons for each of them.
But for me, the trauma thatsticks with me is the stories of
how they got there, it's whathappened, it's talking with
family members.
I've learned that I can't asktoo many questions.
I don't want to know too much,because then I start really
connecting in a way that isunhealthy for me, where I start
(29:25):
absorbing everyone else'sfeelings and emotions in a way
where it's not healthy for me.
I can't change what happenedand I have to find again that
boundary.
But in terms of, I mean, evenwhen we went on our very first
job, it was a suicide in amobile home in the Appalachian
mountains and my husband hadgone through all the training, I
(29:49):
was still working my full timejob, so I just left my desk and
headed on up to a suicide.
I'd never seen it before, Inever experienced something like
this before.
I didn't know how I was goingto react and respond and I just
saw the blood and I saw whereeverything happened and I was
like, all right, let's clean itup.
It just it didn't bother me, itdidn't affect me at all.
(30:11):
But it's the stories about itand how we got there.
I just I have a soft spot thereWith hoarding.
I love this idea of findingthings and sorting through
things.
I could spend all day in ahouse and organizing and this
goes here and this goes thereand let's open this book and
let's see what's in here.
(30:31):
And I love the discoveryprocess.
I love looking at the beforeand afters and seeing what I've
accomplished.
I would say the only thing thatI do not like and still to this
day cannot stand on a job ispoop.
It's not even like, it's justit's.
(30:53):
It's urine and fecal matterfrom humans, and whether it's in
adult diapers, whether it'sbeen built up because of
plumbing situations and I won'tgo any further for the listeners
that have squirmy stomachs, butthat's still.
That's the one thing of it thatthat I can't handle.
But the rest of it, I'mfascinated by the process of how
we got here and also thediscovery and hoarding
situations.
We've discovered so much.
It's kind of fun.
Speaker 2 (31:14):
I really want to hit on a couple of things.
First of all, for me it's vomit.
I can do poop, I can do pee,but vomit, no, that's me.
Number two I think that whatyou said is so important because
, again, think of my audienceand think people are going to be
listening to this.
You know, you go to your firstcrime scene and it doesn't
bother you.
(31:34):
And why should it?
Because that's what people sayoh my God, that would have
affected me.
That's awesome.
But your name is Johnny, it'sJane, it's not, you know, it's
not Krista, it's not Steve, it'snot Julie or whatever.
The point being is.
I think that it's so personal.
That's why I go back to traumaMe being traumatized by xyz.
(31:55):
That's not for you to decide ifI'm right or wrong.
It's, you know.
Why do vomit?
Why does vomit bother me?
I'd like to tell you, I know Idon't know, but it bothers me.
You know, show me a pile ofpoop, I'll look at it, go.
Yeah, it's poop and that's it.
That's especially if it's dry.
It definitely doesn't eventouch my radar.
Um, so I think that it'sreminding you know that personal
(32:16):
stories and what you know, youjump in and what you like and
this and that.
So I really was.
Speaker 3 (32:21):
Everyone's looking for a cause or a reason, or to
point fingers when somethingtraumatic happens or trying to
(32:42):
determine how did this personget this way?
And what we really landed on,which I think is so important,
is we see different versions ofpeople.
I see my husband, as you knowwhat Matt Gregg shows me as as
himself, as my husband, as as mypartner in doing business.
But he has another element tohim, where his mom sees him, and
there's other angles that andother purviews that he gives
(33:04):
people in the world or ourcustomers.
And we started down this pathof do you ever truly know
somebody, or is that really allinside them and they're the only
ones that can truly say thatthey know themselves?
Or maybe they don't.
Like In this world where we'reconstantly wanting to point
fingers or say this is the truthor this is what happened, I
almost wonder if it just lieswith the individual and no one
(33:26):
can really say for sure.
Speaker 2 (33:27):
Well, there's a few things I want to say.
I'm going to just say my firstthing and then I want to ask you
a question.
For me, what I go back to isthat when you know, when you
think about knowing other people, I don't know about you, but
I'm still learning about myself,so how the hell am I going to
know about other people?
I remember a professor in myundergrad said that if you die
(33:50):
and you know yourself completely, you're a better person than I
am, and I always wanted to givethat to people as advice.
And I'd love to hear more aboutyour podcast, because you
mentioned it in passing, but I'dlove for people to go listen to
it.
What's the podcast about?
You kind of mentioned it, but Iwant to hear more specifics
about it.
Speaker 3 (34:08):
Yes, so we're in recording.
It is not live yet, but when itis live I will let you know.
So I have about six women linedup who are going to be sharing
their stories where theirhusbands have died of suicide,
and the reason why it was soimportant for me to really focus
on this niche group of women is, you know, in 2023, the CDC
(34:30):
reported that 80% of all suicidedeaths were done by males in
America, and I think there's twothings that can be accomplished
with sharing these stories ofthe widows that are left behind.
One is how to create more of acommunity for them to feel like
they're not alone, to reach outto others who are going through
what they're going through.
It is such an what I'm gatheringis it's a very isolated
(34:52):
situation where they are lostand no one understands, and
sometimes they are blamed orthey are surprised by things
that they didn't realize weregoing on in their husband's
lives, and they may have kids orthey may be a stay at home mom
and they have to pick up allthese pieces by themselves.
They have to figure out whatopening an estate means, and all
of this is resting on theirshoulders as they're grieving
(35:14):
for the person that was closestto them in the world and that
felt very isolating when Italked to people.
So creating this community herewas really important, and so
I'm about six people in andtalking with them and sharing
with them.
I would love to take it evenfurther, but the other side of
the coin is I really think 80%is a staggering number and I
(35:44):
want to send a message and Iwant to have advocacy around men
becoming vulnerable and gettingmental health that they deserve
, that is needed, that they have.
It is very unfair, in my mindand this is me personally to
expect a wife and loved ones toalways know what's happening up
here and here, and I think thatthere are times when men do need
(36:05):
to reach out and they're not,and resources are available, but
our society and stigmas and howpeople were raised or brought
up to think it prevents men fromgetting help, and so one of the
things that we want to do aswell is how do we advocate for
that?
How do we create more of aopening, open community for
people seeking help and lettingthem know they're not alone and
it's okay?
Speaker 2 (36:24):
I mean, I have a lot of ideas on that, so I want to
hear it.
Speaker 3 (36:28):
I am all ears.
I am all ears.
Speaker 2 (36:31):
But this is, this is the thing that I I you know as a
feminist myself, and I knowpeople like oh, you're not a
woman, you can't be a feminist.
Well, I am a feminist, I havetwo daughters and much more of a
feminist than ever before.
But one of the things that, ifI cry, even people I respect
sometimes say what's wrong withyou.
And it's not because they'remean and I'm not pointing
(36:53):
fingers at them, but there's alack of ability to be vulnerable
, because men, when they crypeople, don't know how to react.
So that's number one.
Number two men have to be ableto say I'm going to be
vulnerable.
And that's basically saying toa man go run naked in the street
at 20 degree weather.
I mean, that's the hard part isto convince men that it's okay
(37:14):
to be vulnerable.
I work with men a lot because ofmy job, especially with the
first responders, but thatvulnerability like it takes me
six months to a year where awoman and again, sexist or not,
call me whatever you want Womencome in and like this is exactly
what's going on.
Here's my vulnerability, here'smy.
And women are just where menare, not necessarily that way,
(37:36):
and I think we got to encouragethat.
And I'm going to add one finalthing about this.
You talked about suicide.
Men commit suicide more oftenthan women.
That's not true.
Actually, women try suicidemore often than men, but men use
more violent means and that iswhy they're 80-20.
Speaker 3 (37:52):
Okay, Well, the numbers that I was pulling, Okay
, no, it's good.
I would love to see that databecause I was pulling it from
the CDC from 2023.
And it was.
It didn't say exactly the means, but it did say out of all the
suicides, it was about 80% weremales.
But I do agree with you interms of you know how it's done
and it is with men, it's usuallyby a firearm.
Speaker 2 (38:15):
Yeah, and I think that that's why like for suicide
.
If you ever have men, it'susually by a firearm, yeah, and
I think that that's why like forsuicide if you ever have.
If I got to find my old data, Iused to be a suicide prevention
specialist, so I know a lotabout this stuff.
So if you ever want to have aprivate conversation, we can go
there.
But for you know, let's getthem in the talk is really hard
because you know even the nicestpeople in the world.
I mean I know my friends arevery supportive, but sometimes
(38:37):
it's like what people in theworld?
I mean, I know my friends arevery supportive, but sometimes
it's like what's wrong with youand that's not because they're
mean people.
So I think we just got tochange a little bit and that's
going to take a while, but I'mforcing it and you have another
podcast as far as I know and Idefer to your expertise.
Speaker 3 (38:50):
Oh, sorry, say that again.
Speaker 2 (38:52):
No, no, that's fine, please continue.
Speaker 3 (38:54):
Oh, I was going to say so I am dipping my toe in
here as just someone that hascleaned up scenes.
I am still learning all of this, so I absolutely would love to
meet, especially because youhave the specialties and
experience and certainly withsuicide prevention and helping
people.
So I just absolutely defer toyou too and your expertise and
your guidance, and you have somuch more experience in that
area.
Speaker 2 (39:15):
Right, and you know, the people who survive suicides
will tell you that once theytried to commit suicide of any
kind and they the first, as soonas they pulled the trigger, or
they try to hang themselves, orto take a handful of pills or
what have you, the first thingthat comes to mind, which is
really strange, it's like ohshit, what am I doing?
So we only know we already.
We obviously only know the oneswho survived.
(39:36):
Obviously there's no ones whoare dead we can't really
interview.
But that's something to come up.
And I want to complete this byasking there's another podcast
that you're saying, that you'reworking on too.
Speaker 3 (39:47):
Yes, it's called Light a Match.
It's a little tongue-in-cheek,mainly because anytime that we
go to work with a family or ahoarder themselves, or a family
who's dealing with the hoardingsituation, the most frequent
question is should we just lightit on fire?
Is it really worth all of thiseffort of sorting through things
and disposing of things?
(40:08):
And so I titled it Light aMatch, because, yep, you can
light a match and burn it alldown, but a match can also
symbolize hope.
You know, it's a light, it'sit's, it's inspiration, and I
want to really unveil some ofthese stigmas about hoarding and
talk a little bit deeper as towhy do people hoard and what are
they hoarding hard conversationand hell or shame or judgment
(40:29):
and also get that help that youneed.
And so, again, it's anotherstorytelling platform where I
would love people to come on onthe show and talk about either
their experience with hoardingif a loved one hoarded, if they
inherited an estate or a housethat has been hoarded in, or if
they grew up in a hoardingsituation, or if there's someone
who is struggling today or hasgot the help that they needed
(40:51):
and they're no longer hoarding.
I just think there's so manyangles and so many perspectives
here that any story can reallyhelp shed the stigma and
encourage people.
It's okay, you can get somehelp and there are a lot of
resources out there.
Speaker 2 (41:02):
So if people want to be on your show or people want
to know more about you, how dothey reach?
Speaker 3 (41:08):
you If people want to be on the show.
Yes, I'm going to throw out anemail address here for everybody
.
It is hello H-E-L-L-O atbrightskyhousecom.
Speaker 2 (41:20):
All right.
And I'll put that in the shownotes you can reach out.
Speaker 3 (41:23):
You can follow us on social media, too, at Bright Sky
House, and that's on all socialchannels.
It's at Bright Sky House.
Speaker 2 (41:30):
Well, I want to thank you for this interview.
It was amazing.
I'd love to have you back on.
I don't know what we talk about, but I think that I would love
to have a non-delayed, non-nudestudio stuff so we can talk a
little more.
But truly, it's a delight andyou and your husband are doing
(41:52):
amazing work and I reallyappreciate you.
Speaker 3 (41:53):
So thank you.
Thank you so much.
It is such an honor.
I am so grateful to be here.
Thank you, thank you.
Speaker 2 (41:58):
Thank you so much.
It is such an honor.
I am so grateful to be here.
Thank you Well, this concludesthe episode.
Krista Gregg, thank you so much.
Appreciate it.
Hope you guys enjoy.
Go to our show notes for allher resources.
Speaker 1 (42:08):
But episode 189 will be about coaching and I hope you
join me, then Please like,subscribe and follow this
podcast on your favoriteplatform.
A glowing review is alwayshelpful and, as a reminder, this
podcast is for informational,educational and entertainment
purposes only.
If you're struggling with amental health or substance abuse
issue, please reach out to aprofessional counselor for
consultation.
(42:29):
If you are in a mental healthcrisis, call 988 for assistance.
This number is available in theUnited States and Canada.
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