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How To Deal With Grief and Trauma

How To Deal With Grief and Trauma

By: Nathalie Himmelrich
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You can't go through life without experiencing loss and trauma the question is how do we deal and live with the grief and pain? Join Nathalie Himmelrich, grief expert and author, talking to people who have experienced grief and trauma first-hand. If you want to be inspired by others who traveled through their grief and trauma, found that healing is possible, and came out the other end knowing they can survive and thrive in life after loss. For more info: www.nathaliehimmelrich.com

© 2026 How To Deal With Grief and Trauma Hygiene & Healthy Living Psychology Psychology & Mental Health Social Sciences
Episodes
  • Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day: How to Build Real Support for Grieving Families | 207

    Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day: How to Build Real Support for Grieving Families | 207
    Oct 14 2026
    Send us Fan MailToday, 15 October, is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day. In this episode I move beyond what to say and focus on how to build support around a grieving family, and how to keep it going over time.For grieving parents, I share practical questions to help you find the right support for yourself, ways to support each other as a couple when you grieve differently, and how to include and protect your other children. For grandparents, aunts and uncles, I introduce the Circles of Support model and its simple rule: comfort in, dump out.For supporters, I walk through how support needs to change from the first days to the first weeks, months and years. And for friends, I share the story of firefighters and builders, so you can ask yourself honestly which one you are, or whether you are neither. I close with an invitation to join the International Wave of Light tonight at 7 pm."Support is not a single act. It is a relationship that continues."Who this is for: Parents who have experienced miscarriage, stillbirth or infant loss. Grandparents, aunts, uncles and siblings. Friends, colleagues and professionals who want to support a grieving family not only in the first days, but for the long term.In this episodeFinding the right support for yourself after the death of your babySupporting each other as a couple when you grieve differentlyIncluding and protecting siblingsCircles of Support for grandparents and the wider family: comfort in, dump outHow support needs to change: the first days, weeks, months and yearsFirefighters and builders: which kind of friend are you?The Wave of Light, 15 October at 7 pmChapters00:00 Intro October 15 Wave of Light 01:32 Welcome & Overview02:42 Support Does Not Arrive by Itself04:05 For Grieving Families: Support for Yourself07:31 Spread Your Support08:30 Support for Each Other as a Couple10:50 Your Other Children12:54 Speak Up14:13 The Wider Family: Grandparents, Aunts and Uncles18:24 Supporters: Support Over Time21:08 Friends: Are You a Firefighter or a Builder?25:17 Continuous Support26:21 The Wave of LightCircles Mentioned in this episodeCircles of Support (blog): nathaliehimmelrich.com/circles-of-support/Episode 106, When Loss Reshapes Our CircleEpisode 205, PAIL Awareness Month: Dos and Don'tsEpisode 201, Grief and TimeBook: Grieving Parents: Surviving Loss as a CoupleBook: Bridging the Grief GapAccess free resources: nathaliehimmelrich.com/free-resources-hubIf this episode helped you, please rate the podcast with five stars and leave a short review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. It takes less than a minute and helps other grieving families find these conversations.Support the show💡 If today’s episode touched you, please share it with someone who might need it. 🤝 Become a supporter of the show! Starting at $3/month & leave a review.Stay Connected🌐 Visit nathaliehimmelrich.com💌 Subscribe to the newsletter for resources and updates🎧 Never miss an episode—follow the podcast!💛 Socials Instagram FacebookFind Support Resources 💜 For Grievers – Resourceshttps://nathaliehimmelrich.com/grief-trauma-support/💜 For Supporters – Supporting someone https://nathaliehimmelrich.com/supporters-resources/💜 Books – Explore books on grief and healing https://nathaliehimmelrich.com/books/💜 Support – Offers - free and paid https://nathaliehimmelrich.com/free-resources-hub/
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    31 mins
  • Breast Cancer Awareness Month: The Hidden Grief and Trauma of Breast Cancer | 206

    Breast Cancer Awareness Month: The Hidden Grief and Trauma of Breast Cancer | 206
    Oct 9 2026
    Send us Fan MailOctober is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and most of what we see is about early detection and survival. Both matter. But there is a side of breast cancer that rarely makes it onto a poster: the grief and the trauma. The losses that happen long before, and very often without, any death. The fear that stays in the body after treatment ends. And the quiet exhaustion of the people standing beside someone who is ill.In this episode, I map out how many people are affected worldwide, including men, and then look at breast cancer through two lenses. As grief: the losses of body, hair, trust, fertility, intimacy, identity and an assumed future. And as trauma: the "before and after" moment of diagnosis, medical trauma, fear of recurrence, and why your nervous system is protecting you, not failing you.I speak to people who have been diagnosed, to partners, families and friends, to those living with metastatic breast cancer, and to those who have lost someone to breast cancer."You can be deeply grateful to be alive, and deeply sad about what you have lost. Both are true. Both are allowed."Who this is for: Anyone who has been diagnosed with breast cancer, at any stage, women and men. Partners, children, parents and friends walking alongside them. People living with metastatic breast cancer. Anyone grieving someone who died of breast cancer. And professionals who support them.In this episode:How many people breast cancer affects worldwide, including menThe losses no one calls griefWhen a diagnosis becomes trauma, and fear of recurrenceYou don't have to be brave all the timeFor partners, families and friends: what helpsLiving with metastatic breast cancerIf you have lost someone to breast cancerA short grounding practiceChapters:00:00 Intro Breast Cancer Awareness01:19 Welcome04:01 The Statistics06:15 Grief and Trauma07:37 The Losses No One Calls Grief11:45 When a Breast Cancer Diagnosis Becomes Trauma14:01 What Does Trauma After Breast Cancer Look Like15:57 SSP Safe and Sound Protocol16:25 You Don't Have to be Brave All The Time17:51 If You Are Supporting Someone With Breast Cancer20:57 Men Experiencing Breast Cancer21:30 People With Metastatic Breast Cancer23:26 If You Have Lost Someone Through Breast Cancer1528.7208321528.72083225:29 Closing Exercise27:30 Where To Go From Here29:22 Where to Find Support30:12 If You Are Affected Episodes mentioned: 15 Amie Lands, 72 Hope Edelman, 74 Diana Richardson, 75 David Kessler, 106 Friendship After Grief and Trauma, 111 Anticipatory Grief, 114 Disenfranchised Grief, 117 Secondary Loss Grief, 134 Identity-Related Grief, 136 Non-death Loss, 163 When the Body Learns Danger, 170 Single-Incident Trauma, 171 Medical and Birth Trauma, 190 Mourning Someone Who Is Still Alive, 197 Deb Dana, 201 Grief and Time, 207 Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness (next Wednesday). Full archive: nathaliehimmelrich.com/episode-overview-latest-episode-first/Support lines: Switzerland, KrebsInfo 0800 11 88 11 Germany, Krebsinformationsdienst 0800 420 30 40 UK, Breast Cancer Now 0808 800 6000 USA, American Cancer Society 1-800-227-2345 (24/7) Australia, Cancer Council 13 11 20Access free resources: nathaliehimmelrich.com/free-resources-hubIf this episode helped you, please rate the podcast with five stars and leave a short review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. It takes less than a minute and helps others find these conversations when they need them.Support the show💡 If today’s episode touched you, please share it with someone who might need it. 🤝 Become a supporter of the show! Starting at $3/month & leave a review.Stay Connected🌐 Visit nathaliehimmelrich.com💌 Subscribe to the newsletter for resources and updates🎧 Never miss an episode—follow the podcast!💛 Socials Instagram FacebookFind Support Resources 💜 For Grievers – Resourceshttps://nathaliehimmelrich.com/grief-trauma-support/💜 For Supporters – Supporting someone https://nathaliehimmelrich.com/supporters-resources/💜 Books – Explore books on grief and healing https://nathaliehimmelrich.com/books/💜 Support – Offers - free and paid https://nathaliehimmelrich.com/free-resources-hub/
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    32 mins
  • Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month: Dos and Don'ts for Bereaved Parents and Supporters | 205

    Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month: Dos and Don'ts for Bereaved Parents and Supporters | 205
    Oct 1 2026

    Send us Fan Mail

    31 Days PAIL Companion: Start here

    October is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month, and on 15 October, families worldwide light a candle at 7 pm for the International Wave of Light. In this episode, I look at where this month came from, why pregnancy and infant loss remains one of the most silenced losses, and what both grieving parents and their supporters can do differently.

    I bring together the 2025 Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness mini-series (episodes 142 to 157), its guest conversations and paired episodes for parents and for supporters, and turn them into two clear lists of dos and don'ts. One for you if your baby has died. One for you if you are standing beside someone whose baby has died.

    I also share a personal note fifteen years after the death of my daughter Amaya, offer simple ways to mark 15 October, and point you to the exact episodes in the archive to return to, depending on where you are right now.

    "You do not need the perfect words. What hurts most is not the clumsy sentence. It is the silence."

    Who this is for: Parents who have experienced miscarriage, stillbirth or infant loss, at any time. Partners, grandparents and siblings. Friends, colleagues and professionals who want to support bereaved parents without saying the wrong thing.

    In this episode:

    • The history of Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month and the Wave of Light
    • A recap of the 2025 PAIL mini-series, episodes 142 to 157
    • Dos and don'ts for grieving parents
    • Dos and don'ts for supporters, including what to say and what not to say
    • Ways to mark 15 October
    • Where to start in the archive

    Episodes mentioned: 142, 144 to 157 (PAIL Mini Series), 201 Grief and Time. Full list: nathaliehimmelrich.com/pregnancy-and-infant-loss-awareness-mini-series/

    Access free resources: nathaliehimmelrich.com/free-resources-hub

    If this episode helped you, please rate the podcast with five stars and leave a short review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. It takes less than a minute and helps other grieving parents find these conversations.


    Support the show

    💡 If today’s episode touched you, please share it with someone who might need it.

    🤝 Become a supporter of the show! Starting at $3/month & leave a review.

    Stay Connected

    • 🌐 Visit nathaliehimmelrich.com
    • 💌 Subscribe to the newsletter for resources and updates
    • 🎧 Never miss an episode—follow the podcast!
    • 💛 Socials Instagram Facebook

    Find Support Resources

    • 💜 For Grievers – Resources
      https://nathaliehimmelrich.com/grief-trauma-support/
    • 💜 For Supporters – Supporting someone https://nathaliehimmelrich.com/supporters-resources/
    • 💜 Books – Explore books on grief and healing https://nathaliehimmelrich.com/books/
    • 💜 Support – Offers - free and paid
      https://nathaliehimmelrich.com/free-resources-hub/
    Show More Show Less
    21 mins
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