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Grief Podcasts To Make You Feel Less Alone

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Grief Podcasts To Make You Feel Less Alone
Photo by Geio Tischler / Unsplash
We’re all in this club that no one asked to join, and it’s really helpful when you realize there are other people in the club.” Cariad Llyod

If someone you love has died, a time will come on your journey when the people around you no longer want to hear about your grief. As soon as you start talking about grief, they either tune you out or leave the room.

When you get to this place, grief podcasts can be your lifeline.

I found that grief podcasts are a place to find your tribe: A community of people who have walked the path you now walk and are willing to be present for difficult conversations even years later because they know that grief doesn't go away. It is integrated into the fabric of your life and the pain that remains is a legacy of a love that trascends time and space.

For this grief resource Thursday, I have compiled a list of podcasts on different grief themes and also included specific episodes that speak to different grief reactions like loneliness, emotional overwhelm and grief brain.

It is my hope that you can feel supported, understood, and have the opportunity to participate - albeit vicariously- in some of the conversations you wish you could be having.

Grief Podcasts by Themes

General Grief

  • Grief Out Loud: This podcast is hosted by Jana DeCristofaro and includes a mix of personal stories, and tips for supporting yourself, teens, and children. Interviews with bereavement professionals are also included in podcast episodes. They promise a platitude and cliché-free environment.
  • What’s Your Grief Podcast: This is a grief podcast hosted by Eleanor Haley and Litsa Williams who are also the mental professionals behind the What’s Your Grief Website. In the podcast, they simplify topics ranging from grief theory to coping skills. Their main goal is to demystify the complicated and mostly crazy experience of grief. Their approach is practical and supports you in your day-to-day grieving journey.
  • The Mindfulness and Grief Podcast: This podcast hosted by author and thanatologist Heather Stang, which features episodes on how to cope with grief from a mindfulness perspective and cultivate self-compassion.
  • Good Mourning Grief Podcast:  This podcast hosted by Sally Douglas and Imogen Carn features honest conversations around grief with helpings of hope and humor. Their mission is to make people feel less alone in their grief and no topic is off limits. They bring on inspiring guests and also share tips and advice on how to cope.
  • Grief Encounters: This is an Irish grief podcast hosted by Venetia Quick and Sasha Hamrougue to open up the conversation around grief and create a modern platform for people to share their experiences.
  • The Adventures of Memento Mori: This is a podcast exploring the science, mysticism, culture and mystery of death. It is also described as “A skeptic’s Guide for Learning to Live by Remembering to Die”. Its tone is satirical and philosophical and the podcast follows host, nontheist Chaplain D.S. Moss, as he attempts to reconcile his own impermanence and live a more meaningful life. Might be good for an atheist who feels hopeless and apathy and is missing loved one.

Grief and Humor

  • Where is the Grief: This podcast is hosted by comedian Jordan Ferber and brings in some levity to the topic of death and grief which is often full of darkness and discomfort. Podcast episodes feature discussions with other comedians and performers who have experienced grief and encourages a more open conversation around the effects of grief and offers coping mechanisms. This might be good for people who are experiencing depression or apathy in grief.
  • Death is Hilarious: Death is Hilarious is a podcast hosted by the Grief Relief Foundation and talks about grief in a humorous, realistic, and death positive way with comedians and professionals in the grief space. It talks about using humor and jokes to cope with grief.
  • Grief Cast:  This podcast hosted by British comedian, actor and writer, Cariad Llyod brings on media personalities to share their stories about loved one’s they have lost. The podcast is centered around creating a space for people to realize that they are not alone in this journey with grief. In each episode, Lloyd makes space for natural, unhurried conversations for her guests to talk about death where, in her words, “Nobody’s going to change the subject.”

Sleep & Dreams Podcasts

  • Grief Dreams: This is an entertaining, enlightening and always supportive podcast hosted by grief dreams experts Dr. Joshua Black and Jade Karling Black. Various guests talk about their life, loss, grief, and any grief dreams (e.g., dreams of the deceased) they had.
  • The Dream Detective Podcast: The Dream Detective Podcast hosted by Mimi Pettibone explores the mysteries of the mind, body, spirit, and dreams. Some episodes feature interviews with thought leaders in fields such as intuition, spirituality, psychology, relationships, healing, and psychic and paranormal phenomena, while other episodes are dedicated to dreams including dream interpretation and paranormal sleep and dream phenomena.
  • The Grounded Sleep Podcast:  This is a podcast hosted by David Gandelman. Grief usually comes with sleep issues and David offers meditations to help you sleep. 'You don't have to do anything except get into bed, close your eyes, and allow David to guide you into a deep, peaceful rest
  • Nothing Much Happens - Bedtime stories to help you sleep: "Having trouble sleeping? Join Yoga and meditation teacher Kathryn Nicolai for bedtime stories where nothing much happens to help you relax and sleep peacefully. The stories are a soft landing spot for your mind"

Afterlife Podcasts

  • Evidence of the Afterlife: Join best-selling author Maverick Vardøger on his search for Evidence of the Afterlife. This podcast explores various topics including astral projection, out-of-body experiences (OBEs), near-death experiences (NDEs), mediumship, and other consciousness phenomena to gather incredible Evidence of the Afterlife.
  • Hacking the Afterlife Podcast: This is Richard Martini's podcast where he interviews people who can access the flipside. Jennifer Shaffer is a medium he works with often (JenniferShaffer.com) but podcasts may include other folks who can access the flipside.
  • This is Your Afterlife with Dave Maher: What happens when we die? What if this is the afterlife? Comedian, coma survivor, and former Pitchfork writer Dave Maher ("This American Life") asks artists, entertainers, and activists for definite answers to these unanswerable questions.
  • One Afterlife: Near Death Experiences and the Big Picture: Are you afraid to die? Are you interested in near death experiences and what may happen after you die? One Afterlife provides you with powerful insights and thought-provoking examples directly from a long-time experiencer.
  • What comes next? Conversations on the afterlife (npr): This is a series that examines concepts of life after death with leaders from different faiths.
  • Life After Life Podcast: What happens to our soul when our human body dies? As a medium since childhood, Majona has had many other-worldly experiences and conversations. In this podcast, she shares thought-expanding experiences, insights and musings.

Podcast by Grief Responses

This section includes specific podcast episodes that speak to some of the different reactions and responses that you might experience while grieving. For example, it has episodes around the more physical aspects of grief like exhaustion and anxiety, emotional overwhelm, and even the psychospiritual issues that come with grief like depression, apathy, and isolation.

Physical Realm of Grief

Exhaustion & Fatigue

Emotional Realm of Grief

Emotional Overwhelm 

Anxiety 

Cognitive realm of grief

Grief Brain Fog 

Grief at Work

Psychospiritual Realm of Grief

Loneliness & Social Isolation

Apathy

Evolution of Grief

Suicide

Grief Dreams & Visitation Dreams

Mourning Rituals

Afterlife