The Widowed Mom Podcast

I explore the profound lessons about grief, sadness, and joy from the beloved Disney Pixar movie, Inside Out, and share how they mirror our own experiences with loss and grief. Learn valuable insights about allowing our emotions to work together, rather than forcing one to dominate.   Get full show notes, transcript, and more information here: https://www.coachingwithkrista.com/289

12/9/24 • 20:19

Have you ever shared something difficult about your grief, only to have someone respond with a dismissive comment like, “They're in a better place” or, “At least you had the years you had together?” This instinct to fix or "right" a situation is known as the righting reflex. It’s a common response to seeing someone in pain that’s usually well-intentioned… but it doesn’t feel good.   I explore the concept of the righting reflex, how it shows up in our interactions with others and ourselves, and strategies for responding to it in a way that honors our feelings and needs.   Get full show notes, transcript, and more information here: https://www.coachingwithkrista.com/288

12/2/24 • 10:29

I sit down with my client, Amy Krill, who shares her story of love, loss, and resilience after the unexpected passing of her husband four years ago. Hear Amy’s journey of embracing grief wholly, making bold decisions, and ultimately creating a life she loves on the other side of tragedy.   Get full show notes, transcript, and more information here: https://www.coachingwithkrista.com/287

11/25/24 • 49:27

I share a powerful philosophy that has transformed my approach to personal growth and decision-making: we learn by doing.    Hear examples of how learning by doing can help you navigate this chapter with greater ease and resilience, and how to apply this mindset to your journey as a widow to create the life you desire.   Get full show notes, transcript, and more information here: https://www.coachingwithkrista.com/286

11/18/24 • 16:09

Are you dreading the holidays as a widow? Do certain sights, smells, or sounds trigger painful memories and emotions during this festive season?   The holidays can be an incredibly challenging time when you're grieving the loss of a loved one, but being prepared and having a plan can make the experience more manageable. I explore practical strategies for handling holiday triggers with more ease and grace, and share tips for creating your personalized holiday resilience plan.   Get full show notes, transcript, and more information here: https://www.coachingwithkrista.com/285

11/11/24 • 22:20

Do you ever feel pressured to find a romantic partner in order to be truly happy? What if being single was actually an opportunity to build a rich, fulfilling life on your own terms? I talk with Meghan Keane, founder of NPR's Life Kit podcast, about her new book Party of One: Be Your Own Best Life Partner.   Meghan shares her personal journey of losing her father at a young age and supporting her widowed mother, how societal expectations around marriage and partnership have evolved over time, and why it's important to prioritize all types of love and connection in our lives.   Get full show notes, transcript, and more information here: https://www.coachingwithkrista.com/284    

11/4/24 • 54:16

Are you holding on to your late partner’s belongings, unsure of when or how to let them go? It’s a tricky balance isn’t it - the desire to keep their memory close while also wanting to move forward, or maybe you simply aren’t ready to begin thinking about the future yet.   Explore why releasing your partner's belongings after a loss can be so difficult. Hear a helpful reframe for this struggle that can guide you in determining whether you're honoring your loved one or simply holding on, along with a reminder that there is no right or wrong timeline for this process.   Get full show notes, transcript, and more information here: https://www.coachingwithkrista.com/283

10/28/24 • 23:41

From the Industrial Revolution to the modern-day superwoman ideal, women in grief especially have internalized the belief that our worth is tied to our output, but at what cost?   Learn how the pressure to be productive can be harmful during grief. You'll also explore questions to help you examine your current relationship with productivity, allowing you to redefine success and give yourself permission to rest and feel.   Get full show notes, transcript, and more information here: https://www.coachingwithkrista.com/282

10/21/24 • 19:11

Have you ever felt that deep ache or yearning after losing your person? While it’s a normal part of the grieving process, our minds often make the presence of this ache mean something negative about ourselves or our grief.   Hear why you feel this ache in the first place, why it’s not a problem to solve, and how to rethink the ache so you can begin moving towards the experience you want to have.    Get full show notes, transcript, and more information here: https://www.coachingwithkrista.com/281    

10/14/24 • 07:42

Jenny Douglas is an amazing widow who has been through the trenches of grief and come out the other side. We discuss how Jenny rebuilt her life and rediscovered joy, even in the midst of sadness, and why investing in yourself is one of the best things you can do for your well-being.   Jenny shares her powerful story of love, loss, and finding herself again after her husband John passed away.   Get full show notes, transcript, and more information here: https://www.coachingwithkrista.com/280

10/7/24 • 38:03

Have you ever considered that widowhood could be a doorway to a more intentional life? It's not about loving that our person died, but about using this experience as an opportunity for growth and change, only if you want it.   Hear how the loss of your person can bring up both new and long-standing struggles, and how widowhood can serve as an invitation to rewire our brains and change patterns that no longer serve us.   Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.coachingwithkrista.com/279

9/30/24 • 10:39

When empty nesting meets widowhood, you can expect to experience complex emotions. This unique combination of life transitions can feel like a double whammy, leaving you disoriented, lonely, and unsure of your identity.   Explore six key challenges that arise when empty nesting and widowhood collide, and learn what you can do about the compounded sense of loneliness and the struggle of rebuilding routines during this identity shift.   Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.coachingwithkrista.com/278

9/23/24 • 17:28

Those automatic, habitual first thoughts you have in grief might not be particularly kind or useful, but the good news is that with awareness, you can choose subsequent thoughts that move you closer to the life you want.   Learn how to be on the lookout for unhelpful first thoughts, and to explore examples of choosing second or even third thoughts that will allow you to see different possibilities.    Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.coachingwithkrista.com/277    

9/16/24 • 12:21

18 months ago, Helen Tanner was widowed after her husband Philip died unexpectedly following a short illness. In this episode, Helen shares her raw experience of becoming a widow at 43 years old, and how she’s navigating her grief as a doctor and mother of two.   Hear how Helen’s medical training left her ill-equipped to handle her grief, how she has helped her young boys process their anger and sadness in healthy ways, and the unexpected gifts that have emerged since her husband passed.    Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.coachingwithkrista.com/276

9/9/24 • 45:19

One of the most essential ingredients to loving life again, yet one of the least talked about, is your belief in your inherent worthiness. Even if it’s unconscious, if you don’t believe you’re worthy of loving life again, you will keep repelling it.   Learn how your long-held limiting beliefs may be blocking your path forward and how to cultivate a deep knowing that your worth is fully intact.   Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.coachingwithkrista.com/275

9/2/24 • 22:30

Hugo’s death happened in such a way that, within a matter of hours, the rug had been ripped right out from underneath me, and he was gone. While you might not have the same story, I know that sense of powerlessness is a shared experience, no matter how your person died.   Learn why the desire for control and power is normal, examples of how this might be manifesting in your life, and how to make peace with the feeling of powerlessness.   Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.coachingwithkrista.com/274

8/26/24 • 17:57

Losing a loved one leaves us feeling like we’re at the effect of circumstances in life we didn’t and would never ask for. While we can’t change the significant loss we experience in grief, we can intentionally choose our internal experience of how we respond to life.   Learn why choosing helpful thoughts in grief matters, how the intentional thoughts you choose can shape your grief experience, and a list of helpful thoughts I encourage you to borrow.   Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.coachingwithkrista.com/273

8/19/24 • 28:04

How do you allow yourself space to grieve without fighting your feelings? This is something my Mom Goes On client, Berit Van Neste, had to learn when she lost her husband, Roy, to dementia and began slowly putting the pieces of her life back together.   Berit shares her journey through love, loss, and finding herself again, and the surprising lessons she’s learned about navigating grief.   Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.coachingwithkrista.com/272

8/12/24 • 49:02

I get mad when people suggest false binaries in the dating experience of widows, especially when they haven’t been through this experience themselves. Wouldn’t it be nice if dating again as a widow was cut and dry, and not complicated, messy, or an emotional rollercoaster?   I give you permission to embrace the 'and' in dating and offer 20 examples of how the 'and' in dating again as a widow helps you make space for the human experience you're having.   Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.coachingwithkrista.com/271

8/5/24 • 11:09

Every single day, I work with widows who are creating post-traumatic growth and don’t even realize it because the changes they’re undergoing don’t feel big enough.    It’s time to expand what we consider post-traumatic growth. Learn what post-traumatic growth in the small things could look like for you and how you might already be showing up with courage and bravery in the little things.    Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.coachingwithkrista.com/270

7/29/24 • 20:39

I have coached widows who are struggling with their in-laws countless times. It’s an experience that’s extremely common, and while these situations are far from pleasant, there are also many opportunities here for you to cultivate more freedom, self-trust, and self-validation.   I give you 10 strategies that will help you maintain perspective as you navigate what might be a challenging relationship with your in-laws.   Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.coachingwithkrista.com/269

7/22/24 • 26:53

My client, KC Morris, has accomplished a lot since her husband’s passing, but she felt there was more to life than just keeping her household together, staying on top of her career, and being a mom.   KC decided to take a leap of faith and push herself towards the full, rich, vibrant life that she knew was available to her, and she’s here today to share her experience of navigating early grief and wearing all the hats as a widowed mom.    Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.coachingwithkrista.com/268    

7/15/24 • 46:17

I love the possibilities that post-traumatic growth gives us in grief, but while growth is always available to us, it is far from a “should.”   Whether you’re explicitly telling yourself that you should be growing from your grief, or your “should” is showing up in disguise, join me this week as I show you why you shouldn’t grow from grief unless you want to, and alternative ways to start seeing your grief experience.   Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.coachingwithkrista.com/267

7/8/24 • 11:18

Grief is intense and complicated and completely unique to each and every person, so if you’re seeking reassurance that your experience is normal, you’re not alone… but it’s also not serving you.   Tune in this week to learn why we want to know if what we’re facing in grief is normal, how this question is unhelpful, and what you can ask instead.   Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.coachingwithkrista.com/266

7/1/24 • 14:00

When you’ve experienced so much sadness, it’s common to feel worn down by it. But sadness doesn’t exist to hold you back. It’s there to remind you that you’ve lost something you care about deeply. So, can we smile at our sadness, welcome it in a little more, and witness it?    In this episode, I'll show you the gifts sadness brings when we stop shoving it down by exploring themes of sadness from Disney's Inside Out movie.   Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.coachingwithkrista.com/265

6/24/24 • 22:48

What do you do when you want to love life again after loss, but your happiness and joy left with your person? After the death of her husband Rob, my client Christy O’Neil knew she wanted to actively create an extraordinary life.   She knew coaching would help her make life beautiful again, but she didn’t realize just how much, and she’s here to share her insights with you on this episode.    Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.coachingwithkrista.com/264

6/17/24 • 44:51

Among her many significant achievements, Elise Loehnen is the author of the NewYork Times bestseller, On Our Best Behavior: The Seven Deadly Sins and the Price Women Pay to Be Good, and she’s here today to help us make sense of our experience as women, especially in grief.   Elise gives us a masterclass on how we are socialized as women, the cataclysmic price we pay to be perceived as “good,” and how we can find a more honest way to express ourselves in the world.   Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.coachingwithkrista.com/263

6/10/24 • 57:28

Taylor Swift is someone I have a lot of admiration and respect for. She’s a phenomenal artist and businesswoman with a list of accomplishments longer than most, but she missed the mark a few weeks ago and we have to talk about it.   Hear my thoughts on Taylor’s decision to categorize her songs using the five stages of grief, and why perpetuating a one-size-fits-all approach might be the antithesis of helpful.   Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.coachingwithkrista.com/262

6/3/24 • 11:36

There are so many false binaries in grief that make the experience more painful than it already is. From forced gratitude to sweeping your sadness under the rug, none of it would be necessary if you started using the word ‘and’ more in your everyday life.   Learn why I believe ‘and’ is one of the most magical words we can use in grief, how ‘and’ makes room for everything you feel, and how you can begin embracing the power of ‘and.’   Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.coachingwithkrista.com/261

5/27/24 • 11:07

My Mom Goes On client Stephanie Hester-Rodriguez lost her husband in October 2021 after he contracted COVID.  She went from living her happiest, best days to being thrown into the depths of grief.    Hear how her husband’s death ripped up the foundation of her life, shook her faith, and her process of rebuilding a life she loves.   Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.coachingwithkrista.com/260

5/20/24 • 39:52