The Caring Death Doula
In a world that rushes past death and ignores grief, The Caring Death Doula stops to listen with tenderness, truth, and time. Whether you are grieving right now or here to learn how to help those grieving, join your host, Frances, a certified grief educator on the journey of finding connection, conversations, and comfort. Let's make grief and death a natural part of our conversations.
The Caring Death Doula
Slowing Down, Honoring Grief, Finding Rest
Holidays can be tender when the world expects sparkle and your heart feels heavy. In this episode, I begin with warm Thanksgiving wishes and then get honest about why December needs to be slower: to protect our energy, honor real limits, and let grief breathe without apology.
Instead of pushing through, we talk about what easing up actually looks like—fewer commitments, simpler routines, and permission to choose rest over perfection.
I share why nervous system care matters when you’re carrying loss, and how small comforts offer real relief. Think weighted blankets, a hot drink, a walk outside, a few minutes watching kids play, or a favorite comedian to coax a laugh. These aren’t distractions; they’re grounding tools that tell your body it’s safe to soften.
We also explore the myths that keep people stuck—the idea that grief has a deadline, that other people get to judge your pace, or that you must keep producing like nothing happened. You don’t. Your timeline is yours.
Looking ahead, I announce a lighter release schedule in December and a return for season two in January.
This community is building a healthier culture around loss—one honest conversation at a time.
If you’re grieving, I’m holding space for you. If someone you love is hurting, we have discussed ways to show up: bring something warm, handle a chore, sit in quiet company, and ask what would help today.
Subscribe to stay close as we continue this work, share this episode with someone who needs gentle support, and leave a review to help more people find tools for hard seasons. Your presence here matters.
I am here for you.
Frances, The Caring Death Doula.
Click here to send me a text. I would love to hear from you your thoughts on this episode.
Sign up for my newsletter, ask questions, and get responses via Email: thecaringdeathdoula@gmail.com
Follow on FB The Caring Death Doula
https://www.facebook.com/share/1CUfH9Kek6/?mibextid=wwXIfr
IG The_Caring_Death_Doula https://www.instagram.com/the_caring_death_doula?igsh=MXdjOTF3MWo2a3RpYw%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
Thank you for joining me today. If you're in the United States, I want to wish you a happy Thanksgiving and I hope you have a just beautiful day with your family, with your friends, in whatever way you celebrate, even if it's just finger foods and football, and maybe games and watching the parade, or maybe it's a big sit-down meal. But I just really hope it's enjoyable and it's refreshing. And if you don't live in the United States, I still hope you have an amazing day. And I thank you for joining me today. I want to explain that for the month of December, I'm gonna slow down a little bit so that I can spend time enjoying the holiday season that we have here in the United States to be with my family and friends and hopefully travel. I have grandbabies to see. I have a new grandson that I'm hoping to travel out to see. So I just I need to slow down a little bit and just be in the moments. And I encourage you to do that. It's very, that's very healing, very nourishing for your nervous system. But I thank you for showing up today and joining me. So I guess I didn't say that in taking a little slower time in the month of December, I'm only gonna be doing one episode a week. And then I'm still trying to decide whether I'm gonna take a week off or two weeks off or no weeks off, because grief doesn't take off, does it? But I'm gonna come back in January and we're gonna start season two. And if you have been with me since the beginning, I thank you. I thank you that no matter if you were here at the beginning or you came in the middle, or if this is your first episode, I want to thank you for being here. If this is your second, third, tenth, twentieth episode, thank you. Thank you if you've gone back and listened to other episodes. Thank you if you've shared these episodes. Because I am starting a movement. We are going to get comfortable with grief and talking about it and understanding it and supporting each other. And so you being here means the world to me. And I thank you. If you're grieving today, I'm holding space for you. Grief is hard. Grief is draining. Grief needs to be tended to. Don't deny it, don't push it away, don't let anyone tell you that you're doing it wrong or that you're doing it too slow or too fast or not whatever, right? So many people have their opinions that they're going to share with you. They may even say, well, that's nothing to grieve about. Don't listen to them. You grieve the way you need to grieve, well, however, that looks like, and for as long as it looks like. And I am really sorry because I know bosses, I know jobs and managers, society doesn't support us. I know that. And sometimes you have to just keep going and get to that job because you need that paycheck. Or you need to get up because you've got children to take care of. When your body says rest, you need to rest. You need to laugh, put on, watch a comedian, watch children. Go to if you don't have children of your own, go to a park and just watch them. They are so beautiful. And they laugh. Their joy can just lift you up and just maybe soothe a little bit. Whatever you need, get outside, make a hot drink, get under your weighted blanket, wrap a soft, comfy blanket around you like a hug. Whatever you need, tend to yourself, tend to your grief. Because it is hard. And there's nothing wrong, there's nothing weak in acknowledging that you're struggling, acknowledging that you need help, acknowledging that grief is hard. Just know that I'm here for you. I thank you for joining me. I'm holding space for you. Grief is part of our life and we cannot escape it. And even if we try, it's still there. Even after we've walked in it, through it, however you want to phrase it, it's still there. And it's gonna pop up. It's gonna pop up just out of the blue at times, a memory of something you've lost, someone you've lost. Grief is hard. Take care of you. Support someone you know who's grieving. Do what you can. Rest. Put off things. Conserve your energy. Take care of you. Put you first. As much as you can. I know that's hard. This is the caring death, doula, and I am here for you.