In today’s episode of Mourning Sips and Soul Shifts, I’m talking about something I don’t think gets named enough in grief: the shame spiral. That heavy feeling of watching everyone around you move forward—working, laughing, planning vacations—while you’re still carrying the weight of your loss. If you’ve ever asked yourself “why am I not further along by now?”, this episode is for you.

We dig into:
✨ Why grief comes with a hidden layer of shame, and why that shame is not a sign anything is wrong with you
✨ How productivity culture and unrealistic bereavement policies fuel the pressure to “get back to normal”
✨ Why comparing your grief to someone else’s highlight reel—online or in person—isn’t a fair comparison
✨ How well-meaning comments like “you seem so strong” can unintentionally add to the shame
✨ Why grief doesn’t follow the neat five-stage narrative we were taught, and how that mismatch creates guilt
✨ Mindset shifts to help release the shame spiral

Mentioned in this episode (listen wherever you get your podcasts!):

Episode 86 | Navigating Social Media & Our Mental Health as We’re Grieving: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/086-navigating-social-media-our-mental-health-as-were/id1688812587?i=1000680126476

Episode 148 | The 5 Stages of Grief: Myths vs. Reality (and What Grief Really Looks Like): https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-5-stages-of-grief-myths-vs-reality-and-what/id1688812587?i=1000724369638

Letters of Light 💌✨ https://lossesbecomegains.com/letters

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