How a Grief Podcasts May Help You Cope With Loss

Content Warning: Please note that this article contains topics related to grief, traumatic loss, and other potentially triggering subjects. Read with discretion. 

Grief can be a challenging emotional experience after losing someone or something you loved. It may occur after a death, breakup, diagnosis, or career end. Many people experience grief, which can be a natural part of life and coping with loss. 

There may not be one strategy for coping with loss, overcoming grief, and healing. Some find support through family, support groups, or bereavement professionals. While there may be no replacement for professional grief counseling, a podcast could be a valuable tool to help you cope. 

A grief podcast can help you mourn a death, handle divorce, or feel less alone in your experiences. Hearing hosts speak about their grief out loud could help you feel solidarity and understanding. From finding different ways to cope, hearing stories that may make you feel less alone, or talk shows that make you laugh, everyone may mourn a loss differently. 

How Grief Podcasts May Help You Cope With Loss 

Coping with grief can feel challenging, overwhelming, and isolating. While everyone may have their own ways of coping with a loss, solace may come from listening to a podcast for some. 

Podcasts may allow you the following benefits: 

• Feeling less alone with your feelings 

• Humor to help you laugh when times are difficult 

• Research and statistics on grief to educate yourself 

• A unique perspective on loss 

• A distraction when you feel low 

• Potential suggestions for support 

• Potential coping mechanisms 

You May Feel Less Alone

When experiencing grief, you may feel alone or that no one in your personal life understands what you're experiencing. Listening to a podcast could allow you to hear stories from individuals experiencing a similar situation. Additionally, they may provide validating or supportive tips for your grief. 

Potential Healthy Coping Mechanisms

Finding healthy coping mechanisms can be beneficial when dealing with grief. A podcast may offer you a fresh perspective, new strategies for coping, and a unique point of view. For example, what works for someone else might be something you never considered until you listened to the podcast.  

Understanding Your Emotions Better

When mourning a loss, it can be natural to experience a wide range of emotions, which might feel confusing. One day you may feel angry at the world, and other days, you may feel deep sadness. A podcast may help you better understand your feelings and know that others may also feel that way. Podcast guests might be grief experts who can offer coping mechanisms for these emotions.

Humor 

Some podcasts may try to take a light or humorous approach to grief to help those experiencing it distract themselves from painful emotions. Studies show that laughter can reduce stress, which may make it a beneficial coping mechanism when feeling down. 

How A Podcast Episode May Help Grieving Children

Supporting children and young adults through grief can feel challenging for families, caregivers, or parents that may also be experiencing grief. At a young age, a person might not have as much experience managing complicated emotions and may not have the tools to cope with loss. Teens could also still be developing these coping skills. 

Listen to your children and try to create a safe space for them to discuss their grief with you. If they feel uncomfortable discussing their feelings, it could be beneficial to point them toward resources. In this case, an age-appropriate podcast or video series about grief may help them feel heard.

If children listen to a mix of personal stories about others dealing with death or loss, they may become more comfortable with the idea of grief or notice that they can cope in healthy ways while still feeling sad and missing the person, animal, or situation they lost. 

Podcasts To Try

Everyone may have a different experience with grief, and with so many podcasts available, you may be unsure where to start. From grieving the death of a loved one to mourning the end of a relationship, there may be a podcast that can help. 

Below are a few highly-rated grief podcasts to help you manage and overcome grief. 

Griefcast

Griefcast is an award-winning podcast by Cariad Lloyd that offers listeners a safe space to explore their experience with losing a loved one. Griefcast balances humor with the seriousness of grief, intending to help listeners experiencing a potentially devastating loss feel happier and less alone. Cariad interviews the following celebrities in recent episodes: 

• Amanda Palmer 

• Angela Barnes

• Ed Byrne 

Where's The Grief?

For those who may find it difficult to talk to friends and family about their experience with grief, comedian Jordan Ferber offers a space for individuals experiencing grief to find support. Ferber encourages an honest and open discussion about how grief affects people while providing healthy coping mechanisms to help people work through their loss. A few guests include: 

• Filmmaker, artist, and dancer, Adriana Marchione 

• Comedian, Erin Lok

• Grief specialist and hypnotherapist, Silke Herwald 

Healing Pet Loss Podcast

Beloved pets may become a significant part of your life, and it can feel devastating for some to lose them. Others may not understand the pain of losing a pet. However, grief can be as intense when losing an animal as a family for some individuals. 

For many children and teens, losing a pet may be the first intense loss they experience and their first opportunity to develop coping skills during grief. The Healing Pet Loss Podcast offers practical strategies for coping with the loss of a cherished pet while providing empathy and support. Some episodes include: 

• A Scenic Journey With Koda, The Angel Dog

• Trust Your Heart: A Sacred Spirit Journey With Peanut Doodles, The Angel Dog

• A Magical Meeting With Pepper, The Angel Cat 

The Grief Gang

The Grief Gang podcast attempts to normalize the conversation surrounding grief, supporting those who may also be experiencing a loss. By discussing grief in a casual setting, people may develop a healthier attitude towards the topic rather than feeling like it must stay hidden. Some topics discussed in the podcast include: 

• Grieving Our Mum: A Conversation With My Brother, Kyle 

• Navigating Through Milestones: Moving Home 

• Race, Identity, & Losing A Loved One In The Public Eye With Natalie Morris 

Grief Out Loud

Produced by the Dougy Center, Grief Out Loud is a podcast that attempts to create an open and honest conversation about grief. Each episode provides personal and relatable stories, practical tips for individuals to cope with grief, and interviews with professional grief counselors. 

The Dougy Center is a place to find support for all ages dealing with a death, a family dying of a terminal illness, or other losses. Aside from the podcast, you can also visit the Dougy Center website for more resources. Some of their podcast episodes include: 

• "I Needed To See People Who Looked Like Me:" Luna Peak Foundation

• Grief Doesn't Fit In A Box, But You Can Make A List: What Is Your Grief? 

• Celebrating Dia De Los Muertos 

Good Mourning

Hosted by Sally Douglas and Imogen Carn, Good Mourning is an Australian grief podcast that explores authentic experiences with openness, hope, and humor. This podcast interviews guests who experienced grief and how loss impacted their lives, providing a source of support for those living with loss and allowing them to feel seen and understood. Some episodes include: 

• Grief Tip Tuesday: Parenting Through Grief 

• Becoming Unstuck After Trauma With Britt Frank 

• How To Heal Your "Grief Brain" With Neurologist Dr. Lisa Shulman 

What's Your Grief?

Hosted by mental health professionals Eleanor Haley & Lisa Williams, What's Your Grief is a podcast that explores the potential ins and outs of grief and mourning a loss. They discuss different experiences of grief, how they can impact your life, and provide practical strategies and advice to help individuals cope with loss and overcome grief. Episodes in the podcast include: 

• Loneliness In Grief And Other Topics

• How Attitudes About Death Impact Grief

• Expanding Our Understanding Of Grief 

The Mindfulness And Grief Podcast

Hosted by Heather Stang, the Mindfulness And Grief podcast explores grief and uses mindfulness and compassion to work through the grieving process. Some of the episodes in the podcast include: 

• #53: Hope Is A Bright Star: Finding Comfort & Peace After The Death Of A Child With Author Faith Wilcox 

• #50: Fatherless Odyssey: Navigating Both Biological And Step-Father Loss With Reid Peterson 

• #48: The Art Of Visualizing Grief: Translating Pain Into Pictures With Ronald Mathias 

When To See A Therapist

While a grief podcast can be a valuable resource to help you cope with grief, it's not a replacement for professional therapy. If you've recently experienced a loss, are finding it difficult to cope, or grief affects your mental health, it may benefit you to discuss your feelings with a therapist. Talking about your grief out loud can be scary at first but may offer vulnerability and social connection. 

Online therapy can be an effective tool for those experiencing grief if they find it difficult to leave home during their grieving process. Online therapy can allow you to receive treatment and support to help you overcome a loss from home. Studies show online therapy is as effective as professional in-person therapy for various mental health conditions and challenges. Many individuals receiving online therapy in the study reported it improved mental health after a month.

If you're considering counseling, an online platform like BetterHelp may match you with a licensed therapist who supports your specific needs. A licensed therapist can help you work through your emotions and provide tools and strategies to help you cope and overcome a loss. In addition, BetterHelp has a podcast dedicated to mental health: Getting Better: Stories of Mental Health, which you can listen to here. 

Takeaway 

Grief can be a challenging subject, and it may feel isolating. If you're looking for connection and understanding, consider a grief podcast. Although they do not replace professional support, they might provide comfort during a difficult period. You can also receive personalized care by reaching out to a counselor for guidance and support.