Permission to Grieve: Tips to Help You Cope and Heal with Loss

In this moving episode, I welcome hospital chaplain, author, and online educator, J.S. Park. J.S. takes us on a poignant journey through the intricate layers of grief and the profound realm of emotions that accompany loss. Drawing from his experiences in a trauma center, J.S. Park shares the non-linear nature of grief, stressing the importance of embracing pain and validating all emotions that surface. Together, we explore societal norms surrounding grief, empathetic responses, and the delicate balance between fixing and sitting with discomfort. Listen in to reflect on the subject of mortality and discover a deeper understanding of grief as a natural response to loss and the compassion found in grief’s turmoil.

For eight years J.S. has been an interfaith chaplain at a thousand-plus-bed hospital that is designated a Level 1 Trauma Center. His role includes grief counseling, attending every death, every trauma and Code Blue, staff care, and supporting end-of-life care. He also served for three years as a chaplain at one of the largest nonprofit charities for the homeless on the east coast. J.S. has a MDiv completed in 2010 and a BA in Psychology. He also has a sixth-degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do. J.S. currently lives in Tampa, Florida with his wife, a nurse practitioner, and his three-year-old daughter, newborn son, and their adopted dog.

—J.S.’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jspark3000/?hl=en
—J.S.’s Book - As Long As You Need: Permission to Grieve: https://jsparkblog.com/2024/02/08/preorder-my-new-book-as-long-as-you-need-permission-to-grieve/
—J.S.’s X: https://twitter.com/jsparkblog?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
—J.S.’s YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNc6TwqBwxM
—J.S.’s Quiz: https://www.markgroves.com/kwik-quiz

If you want to dive deeper into Mark’s content, search through every episode, find specific topics we’ve covered, and ask him questions, go to his Dexa page: https://dexa.ai/markgroves

Themes: Grief, Loss, J.S. Park, As Long As You Need, Permission to Grieve, Trauma, Death, Emotions, Empathy, Discomfort, Mortality, Life Death Cycle, Hospital, Chaplin, Emotional Health, Compassion, Relationships, Spirituality, Transformation, Mental Health, Purpose

0:00:00 Intro
0:03:06 The Role of a Chaplain in Trauma Care
0:06:01 Supporting Patients with Advanced Directives
0:07:22 Preparing for the Unpredictable Nature of Grief
0:12:18 Defining Grief as a Response to Loss
0:15:01 Shifting Perspectives on Grief as a Chaplain
0:18:09 Grief as a Non-linear Journey
0:22:46 The Consequences of Suppressing Grief
0:24:10 Exploring the Sacred and Spiritual Aspects of Grief
0:35:01 Loss and Faith
0:35:53 Offering Comfort
0:37:21 The Realm of Metaphysics
0:40:18 Room for Mystery and Ambiguity
0:43:33 Holding Space for Grief
0:48:18 Impact of Holding Space
0:49:44 The Space Grief Takes
0:53:24 Balancing Work and Life
0:57:07 Grief Literacy
0:58:57 Flexible Grief Approaches
1:01:11 Validating Loss and Grief
1:03:02 Confronting Grief and Building Skills

This episode is sponsored by Cozy Earth: Use code GROVES for 40% off sitewide at http://www.cozyearth.com

Contact us at podcast@markgroves.com for sponsor product support, questions, comments, or just to say hello!