Widow 180 The Podcast with Jen Zwinck
When you become a widow, the heartache can be overwhelming. You feel lost. You feel broken. You feel alone. And you find yourself trying to pick up the pieces of your life and function. But I believe that every widow has the capacity to endure, that every widow has the power to overcome and the determination to create a new life filled with meaning and purpose. The Widow 180 Podcast is about turning tragedy, loss and fear into strength and creativity and a new passion for life. It's about self-reflection and realizing that we only have this one precious life to live and that a new life and a new you is achievable.Each week I will be interviewing widows, incredible survivors of loss. These women have taken the lessons they've learned and the insights they've gained and used them to grow and transform themselves. Some have started businesses, went back to school, run marathons, lost 100 pounds, and moved across the world! They made a choice not to be held down.How did they do it? How did they get through their grief? What's their secret? What lessons can we learn from them that will transform our own lives? How can we write our own story because our story isn't over yet? How can we begin our Chapter 2? I hope that you are as inspired by these women as I am. And maybe hearing even just one story will be life-changing for you.
Widow 180 The Podcast with Jen Zwinck
198. Complicated Grief vs. Normal Grief - What Is Complicated Grief & How To Treat It
Most bereaved people make their way along the grief road, albeit bumpy and full of potholes, that leads to accepting the loss, integrating the reality of that loss into a new life, and reimagining a future with the possibility of joy.
The acute grief, the intensely painful grief that you feel in those first months, starts to lessen. It transforms and becomes integrated into your new life, your new normal.
Most people fall into this category.
However, a small minority of people, roughly 7-10% according to the National Institute of Health, become so entangled, essentially trapped in their grief.
And this is where complicated grief is different. Complicated grief is the syndrome that occurs when the transformation from the darkness of grief back into the light does not happen.
Complicated grief disrupts the healing process. Complicated grief is altered grief that starts down a different course than the one we just talked about. Basically, it takes a turn for the worse. You struggle to move forward. Your grief is so profound it becomes chronic and debilitating. It cripples your ability to function normally in the world. The suffering persists. It becomes deep-rooted. Sometimes lasting for years. Healing just doesn’t happen.
Today we discuss what it means to have complicated grief, who is likely to experience it, and how we can treat it.
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