Uploaded June 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Grab my Sunday Times Best Selling Book: Healthy Shouldn't Be This Hard 👇😆✌🏼
https://linktr.ee/HealthySBTH
Have you ever carried grief in silence, not knowing that what you're feeling or a way through?
This week I'm joined by Dr Chloe Paidoussis-Mitchell, psychologist and grief specialist, and one of the most compassionate voices helping people understand loss in all its forms.
Chloe has a way of cutting through the silence and the shame and what she shares isn't about moving on. It's about people who've carried grief for years and finally found a way to live alongside it.
What we explore together:
-Why the goal of grief isn't to "get over it" and what it actually means to heal
-Why grief doesn't follow the five stages and why that model was never designed for bereavement
-The losses no one talks about: divorce, estrangement, childlessness, leaving your home country, loneliness
-How the brain maps the people we love and why grief feels so physically disorienting
-How to actually help someone who is grieving and why a text message isn't enough
-What a friendship breakup really does to us, and how to make sense of it
-The signs you're dysregulated and what your body is trying to tell you
-A simple technique to create a safe space in your mind for moments of overwhelm
If you or someone you love is carrying grief of any kind, whether or not there has been a death, this one is for you.
Love, Sarah Ann 💛
Dr Chloe's book 'Loss: A Prescription':
amazon.co.uk/Loss-Prescription-practical-roadmap-recovery/dp/0008617201
This episode is sponsored by:
NOWATCH: The compassionate health tracker
Connecting body and mind with unique stress recovery insights so you can live fully today
👉 15% off with code LWBW15 at nowatch.com
DIOME: Rest deeper. Stay grounded.
Rested is available now and Grounded lands later this month.
👉 Get 20% off with code SARAH20 at DIOME.CO
The Great British Veg Out
How to support your gut, energy, and hormones by eating more — not less.
👉 https://sarahmacklin.substack.com/p/t…
Reset Your Health
If your body feels off after stress, travel, or burnout — this is where to start.
👉 https://sarahmacklin.substack.com/s/r...
👉 Practical beats perfect. Here's a free 5-recipe PDF I use to support energy and stress during busy weeks.
sarahannmacklin.com/5_free_recipes
👉 If this resonates, you can join the thousands who read The Compassionate Cure each week.
sarahmacklin.substack.com
Let's be friends!
📷 Instagram: instagram.com/sarahannmacklin
📹 Subscribe: youtube.com/@livewellbewellsarah
🐦 Twitter: https://x.com/SarahAnnMacklin
📱 TikTok: tiktok.com/@livewellbewellpodcast
💌 Newsletter: sarahmacklin.substack.com
Timestamps
02:59 — Introduction: What grief actually is and why "getting over it" is the wrong goal
05:03 — Why we live in a grief illiterate world
09:51 — How to get comfortable processing your emotions
12:50 — Why distraction is a problematic coping mechanism
13:21 — Grief beyond death: divorce, estrangement, childlessness and loneliness
15:03 — Chloe's personal story: how she became a grief specialist
21:11 — The neuroscience of grief: how the brain maps the people we love
27:33 — How long does grief actually last?
31:12 — What to say (and not say) to someone who is grieving
33:51 — Why the five stages of grief is a myth
41:20 — How to actually help someone: don't ask, just show up
46:15 — Why having friends is the biggest predictor of longevity
48:46 — Friendship breakups: the grief no one talks about
64:37 — "It's a reflection of their capacity, not your worth"
67:26 — A simple safe space technique for moments of overwhelm
70:07 — Signs you are dysregulated — and what to do about it
76:19 — Final advice: how to begin healing
Grab my Sunday Times Best Selling Book: Healthy Shouldn't Be This Hard 👇😆✌🏼
https://linktr.ee/HealthySBTH
Have you ever carried grief in silence, not knowing that what you're feeling or a way through?
This week I'm joined by Dr Chloe Paidoussis-Mitchell, psychologist and grief specialist, and one of the most compassionate voices helping people understand loss in all its forms.
Chloe has a way of cutting through the silence and the shame and what she shares isn't about moving on. It's about people who've carried grief for years and finally found a way to live alongside it.
What we explore together:
-Why the goal of grief isn't to "get over it" and what it actually means to heal
-Why grief doesn't follow the five stages and why that model was never designed for bereavement
-The losses no one talks about: divorce, estrangement, childlessness, leaving your home country, loneliness
-How the brain maps the people we love and why grief feels so physically disorienting
-How to actually help someone who is grieving and why a text message isn't enough
-What a friendship breakup really does to us, and how to make sense of it
-The signs you're dysregulated and what your body is trying to tell you
-A simple technique to create a safe space in your mind for moments of overwhelm
If you or someone you love is carrying grief of any kind, whether or not there has been a death, this one is for you.
Love, Sarah Ann 💛
Dr Chloe's book 'Loss: A Prescription':
amazon.co.uk/Loss-Prescription-practical-roadmap-recovery/dp/0008617201
This episode is sponsored by:
NOWATCH: The compassionate health tracker
Connecting body and mind with unique stress recovery insights so you can live fully today
👉 15% off with code LWBW15 at nowatch.com
DIOME: Rest deeper. Stay grounded.
Rested is available now and Grounded lands later this month.
👉 Get 20% off with code SARAH20 at DIOME.CO
The Great British Veg Out
How to support your gut, energy, and hormones by eating more — not less.
👉 https://sarahmacklin.substack.com/p/t…
Reset Your Health
If your body feels off after stress, travel, or burnout — this is where to start.
👉 https://sarahmacklin.substack.com/s/r...
👉 Practical beats perfect. Here's a free 5-recipe PDF I use to support energy and stress during busy weeks.
sarahannmacklin.com/5_free_recipes
👉 If this resonates, you can join the thousands who read The Compassionate Cure each week.
sarahmacklin.substack.com
Let's be friends!
📷 Instagram: instagram.com/sarahannmacklin
📹 Subscribe: youtube.com/@livewellbewellsarah
🐦 Twitter: https://x.com/SarahAnnMacklin
📱 TikTok: tiktok.com/@livewellbewellpodcast
💌 Newsletter: sarahmacklin.substack.com
Timestamps
02:59 — Introduction: What grief actually is and why "getting over it" is the wrong goal
05:03 — Why we live in a grief illiterate world
09:51 — How to get comfortable processing your emotions
12:50 — Why distraction is a problematic coping mechanism
13:21 — Grief beyond death: divorce, estrangement, childlessness and loneliness
15:03 — Chloe's personal story: how she became a grief specialist
21:11 — The neuroscience of grief: how the brain maps the people we love
27:33 — How long does grief actually last?
31:12 — What to say (and not say) to someone who is grieving
33:51 — Why the five stages of grief is a myth
41:20 — How to actually help someone: don't ask, just show up
46:15 — Why having friends is the biggest predictor of longevity
48:46 — Friendship breakups: the grief no one talks about
64:37 — "It's a reflection of their capacity, not your worth"
67:26 — A simple safe space technique for moments of overwhelm
70:07 — Signs you are dysregulated — and what to do about it
76:19 — Final advice: how to begin healing
