I had such a great discussion with Claire Bidwell Smith for this episode. Claire is a therapist and is the author of three books on grief, including her most recent, “Anxiety: The Missing Stage of Grief.” Anxiety is a topic I hear about a lot from widowed parents, either in relation to themselves or their kids, so it was really great to have Claire on the show to discuss this.
Some topics Claire and I discuss include:
- How she started having anxiety and panic attacks around the time her mom died, and no one connected it to her grief;
- What anxiety is, and what are some symptoms;
- Why it’s important to work through your grief in order to tackle your anxiety;
- If you’re stifling your grief, it’s likely to manifest in anxiety;
- Grief-related anxiety can be present right away or many years out from loss;
- Kids who lost a parent often have fear of additional loss;
- How guilt and regret contribute to anxiety after loss, and ways to process these feelings;
- Sometimes people hold onto the guilt as a way of holding onto the person;
- Finding other ways to hold onto the person’s memory so you can let go of the guilt;
- Why writing is an important tool for processing grief, and tips for doing this; and
- Why telling our story of loss is important.
I hope you enjoy my discussion with Claire Bidwell Smith.
