What Now? On the threshold of life, death, and grief.
Presented by palliative and bereavement health care professionals Julie Brown, Red Keating and David Kennedy. Dying is one of the few experiences we will all share, yet little is done in our culture to prepare us for this inevitability and it's resulting bereavement and grief. Drawing on their vast knowledge and experience each episode is a conversation meant to enlighten and demystify the often difficult and emotional experiences of dying, death and bereavement. Presented in partnership with Hospice Peterborough.
What Now? On the threshold of life, death, and grief.
S3E14 - Finding Joy (even when life is hard)
We are thrilled to once again have the opportunity to speak with Dr. MaryCatherine (MC) McDonald. Listeners will remember MC from Season 2 Episode 2, When Grief and Trauma Meet, when we spoke with her about her book Unbroken, The Trauma Response is Never Wrong. MC is back to speak with us about her soon-to-be-published second book, The Joy Reset, Six Ways Trauma Steals Happiness and How to Get it Back.
MaryCatherine speaks about cultivating true joy, a joy that is very different from the "positivity” recently popularized in our culture that tells us we need to be optimistic or think positively when we are feeling distressed. MC helps us understand that living joyfully requires attention and practice, but if we put in the time and effort, we can learn to see small little joys every day even when we feel the pressures and stresses of life closing in on us.
MaryCatherine explains how we can sabotage our happiness with different strategies that may initially feel protective, but in practice act as “joy thieves”. She reminds us that joy can be messy but can be found in the shadows if we know how to look for it.
Have feedback about the podcast? Have an idea for a future episode? Get in touch with us: whatnow@hospicepeterborough.org
