Is It Time to Retire the Stages of Grief? (Spoiler: yes)

We’re on break, creating all new episodes for season 3. In the meantime, here’s one of our favorite episodes from the past year. See you soon.

Everybody knows the stages of grief. Even if you didn’t go to grad school, I bet you can rattle them off. Thing is - those stages don’t help anyone: not the pros trying to support patients or clients, not the person trying to survive an impossible situation. Tune in for the inside scoop on the stages of grief and what we should be doing instead, with a special shout-out to the tv shows getting grief right.  

In this episode we cover:

• where the stages of grief came from, and why their creator was Less Than Pleased with what happened next
• whether an “innocent” mention of the stages of grief really matters in a movie or tv show (shout out to netflix: HMU!) 
• what to do if your boss asks you to support your co-workers through a death in the company
• and much more, because I have a lot to say on these stages, apparently. 

Questions to Carry with you:

• rooting out the ways the stages of grief live in your head (it’s not as uncomfortable as it sounds!) 

Extra resources: I’ve written a lot about the stages of grief. Check out this article, this instagram post, and for more of my feelings about The Starling, click here. Be sure to pick up It’s OK that You’re Not OK wherever you get your books, too - there’s a lot about the stages in there (including the reasons why graduate programs still teach this outdated model). 

For more help navigating grief in the workplace, check out Alica Forneret, Lantern, and Grief Coach. I provide corporate consulting on grief related comms, too. Get in touch via megandevine.co  Disclosure: these aren’t paid placements - I’ve worked with all these folks and I super dig them. Go check them (and me!) out. 

Thanks for listening to this week’s episode of Here After with Megan Devine. Tune in, subscribe, leave a review, send in your questions, and share the show with everyone you know. Together, we can make things better, even when they can’t be made right. 

To submit your questions visit megandevine.co

For more information, including clinical training and consulting, visit us at www.megandevine.co

For grief support & education, follow us at @refugeingrief on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok

Want to talk with Megan directly? Join our patreon community for live monthly Q&A sessions. All the info at this link. 

Check out Megan’s best-selling books - It’s OK That You’re Not OK and How to Carry What Can’t Be Fixed.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.