Grief is the New Normal Podcast with Dr. Heather Taylor cover art

Grief is the New Normal Podcast with Dr. Heather Taylor

Grief is the New Normal Podcast with Dr. Heather Taylor

By: Dr. Heather Taylor PsyD Psychologist
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Grief is the New Normal is the podcast that refuses to sugarcoat loss—because grief isn’t a problem to fix, it’s a reality to live with. Hosted by Dr. Heather Taylor, a licensed psychologist with over a decade of experience in grief and trauma, this show dives deep into the messy, nonlinear, and very real ways grief impacts our lives. Whether you’re navigating the death of your person, wrestling with the weight of an invisible loss, or trying to figure out who you even are after everything changed—this podcast is here for you. With a mix of solo deep dives, expert interviews, and candid conversations, Dr. Taylor unpacks the emotions no one warns you about, challenges outdated grief narratives, and offers both practical tools and hard-earned wisdom to help you feel less alone. No toxic positivity. No “fixing” your grief. Just honest talk, validation, and the reminder that you don’t have to do this alone. Because in a world that wants you to move on, Grief is the New Normal is here to help you move through. Tune in for honest stories, practical tools, and a reminder that your grief—and how you carry it—is valid. Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts.© 2024 Grief is the New Normal Psychological Services All Rights Reserved. Hygiene & Healthy Living Psychology Psychology & Mental Health Social Sciences
Episodes
  • Grief is the New Normal Podcast: S3E18 What Grief Reveals: Liberation Psychology, Emotional Suppression, and the Power of Story with Dr. Rohit Agrawal

    Grief is the New Normal Podcast: S3E18 What Grief Reveals: Liberation Psychology, Emotional Suppression, and the Power of Story with Dr. Rohit Agrawal
    Jun 11 2026
    What Grief Reveals: Liberation Psychology, Emotional Suppression, and the Power of Story with Dr. Rohit Agrawal Grief does not exist in a vacuum. It lives inside systems, inside bodies, inside communities that have been taught to look away from pain. In this episode, Dr. Heather Taylor sits down with Dr. Rohit Agrawal, licensed clinical psychologist and liberation psychology practitioner, to explore what grief reveals when we actually stop running from it. This conversation goes deep. From why men are emotionally robbed by cultural norms around masculinity, to how Dungeons and Dragons can be a vehicle for grief processing, to what radical extremism and substance use have in common at their root, Dr. Rohit brings a framework that expands what grief-informed care can actually look like. If you have ever wondered why grief can feel both devastating and clarifying, or why so many people are in pain even as access to mental health care increases, this episode will shift how you think about both. In this episode you will learn: What liberation psychology is and why it matters for grief-informed careHow emotional suppression in men links to loneliness, substance use, family conflict, and extremismWhy the grief of cultural disconnection and internalized oppression is real and requires namingHow storytelling, gaming, and media help people access emotions that are otherwise locked awayWhat "follow the fear" means as a clinical tool and how it leads back to grief every timeWhy grief reveals what matters to us, and how that can be liberating rather than only painfulHow to help someone reconnect with emotion when they have spent years pushing feelings downWhat it means to be therapeutic with one another without being each other's therapist Concepts and frameworks discussed in this episode: Liberation psychology, internalized oppression, systemic grief, disenfranchised grief, existential grief, memento mori, values clarification, somatic grounding, bibliotherapy, tabletop role-playing games as therapeutic modality, D&D therapy, masculinity and emotional restriction, shame and suicide risk in men, continuing bonds, the dual process of meaning-making, grief as catalyst, the Bechdel test and non-toxic masculinity in storytelling About Dr. Rohit Agrawal: Dr. Rohit Agrawal is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist and practitioner at Center Focused Therapy in Chicago, IL. In his work with clients, Rohit challenges the impact of systemic oppressions on individuals and communities. He is passionate about demystifying mental healthcare and combating internalized presumptions of power, privilege, and normalcy that have a profound impact on community health. Rohit co-facilitates a weekly interpersonal Men of Color process group, destigmatizing the conditioning men have received around emotional vulnerability and relationship-building. Outside of his clinical work, Rohit engages in professional and community education and consultation to depathologize suffering and promote forms of sustainable community care. His outlook is informed by bell hooks, Irvin Yalom, Lillian Comas-Diaz, Carl Rogers, Thích Nhất Hạnh, and R.D Laing. Outside of his involvement in the psychology field, Rohit is an avid Dungeons & Dragons player and Game Master, and deeply believes in the power of tabletop gaming as a vehicle for storytelling, creative expression, and community connection. He is currently building up his social media channel and presence to combine gaming, storytelling, and liberation psychology. Check out Free Action when it goes live in Winter 2025. ------------------------------- Grief is not a problem to solve. It is a human experience to move through, and most of us were never taught how. Grief is the New Normal is hosted by Dr. Heather Taylor, licensed psychologist and grief specialist with over a decade of experience in grief, trauma, and reproductive psychology. This show exists to change the conversation around loss by expanding what grief looks like, who it belongs to, and what it actually means to integrate it into your life. Whether you're grieving a death, a diagnosis, a relationship, an identity shift, or the world as you knew it, your grief is real, it deserves space, and you are not behind. And if you're a clinician, coach, or helper carrying your own grief while holding space for others, this show was built for you too. Dr. Taylor brings research-informed frameworks, honest clinical perspective, and the STAY framework, a grief-informed approach to living with loss that goes far beyond the five stages. Expect nuance, depth, and conversations that take grief seriously. No toxic positivity. No fixing. Just honest conversation, real validation, and a community built around grief literacy, disenfranchised grief, anticipatory grief, collective grief, and the full spectrum of human loss. grief support podcast · disenfranchised grief · anticipatory grief · grief after loss · grief for clinicians · grief-informed care · grief...
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    1 hr and 6 mins
  • Grief is the New Normal Podcast: S3E17 Why Do I feel Everything at Once? Where Grief Gets Messy

    Grief is the New Normal Podcast: S3E17 Why Do I feel Everything at Once? Where Grief Gets Messy
    Jun 8 2026
    Grief is not just sadness. It is rage, relief, guilt, numbness, joy, and everything in between, often all in the same afternoon. In this episode, Dr. Heather Taylor continues her six-part series on common grief reactions by unpacking the emotional chaos of grief and why it is not only normal, it is expected. If you have ever cried in the car and then laughed twenty minutes later and felt terrible about it, or waited for the "real" feelings to arrive and felt scared when nothing came, this episode gives you language for what is actually happening and permission to stop judging yourself for it. In this episode you will learn: Why grief is not an emotion but a container for all of your emotionsWhy joy, laughter, and relief during grief are not betrayal, they are adaptiveHow Stroebe and Schut's dual process model explains the emotional whiplash of griefWhy some feelings arrive months or years late, and what that actually meansThe taboo grief feelings nobody talks about: relief, anger, guilt, numbness, and joyHow to use the STAY framework to track specific losses and allow emotional complexityWhy moving emotions through the body matters as much as processing them mentallyHow to find the right witnesses for your grief and why that changes everything Feelings and concepts discussed: Sadness, rage, guilt, relief, numbness, joy, emotional whiplash, delayed grief, disenfranchised grief, grief as a container, affect labeling, completion cycles, grief witnesses. Story Time with Heather: Dr. Taylor shares a personal story about training for a half marathon after her heart failure diagnosis and the unexpected emotional release that came with crossing the finish line, a powerful example of delayed grief finding its moment. Resources and concepts mentioned: George Bonanno: variability in bereavement and emotional trajectoriesStroebe and Schut: dual process model of bereavementKenneth Doka: disenfranchised griefDaniel Siegel: affect labeling and the prefrontal cortexThe Dougy Center: grief is contextualThe STAY Framework: Track the Loss, Allow Complexity This is Part 2 of 6 in the Grief Reactions Series: Part 1: Physical | Part 2: Emotional | Part 3: Cognitive | Part 4: Behavioral | Part 5: Spiritual and Existential | Part 6: Social Episode Timestamps: 00:00 Grief Is the New Normal 00:54 Emotional Chaos Explained 02:09 The Myth That Grief Should Look Like Sadness 03:58 Joy, Guilt, and the Emotional Waves 06:29 Numbness and Delayed Grief Reactions 08:43 Story Time with Heather: The Half Marathon 13:32 Taboo Feelings: Relief, Anger, Guilt, and More 17:26 What To Do With Your Grief Feelings 19:40 Practical Anchors and Finding Your Witnesses 21:25 Weekly Reflection and Invitation 23:31 Next Episode and Wrap Up ----------------- Grief is not a problem to solve. It is a human experience to move through, and most of us were never taught how. Grief is the New Normal is hosted by Dr. Heather Taylor, licensed psychologist and grief specialist with over a decade of experience in grief, trauma, and reproductive psychology. This show exists to change the conversation around loss by expanding what grief looks like, who it belongs to, and what it actually means to integrate it into your life. Whether you're grieving a death, a diagnosis, a relationship, an identity shift, or the world as you knew it, your grief is real, it deserves space, and you are not behind. And if you're a clinician, coach, or helper carrying your own grief while holding space for others, this show was built for you too. Dr. Taylor brings research-informed frameworks, honest clinical perspective, and the STAY framework, a grief-informed approach to living with loss that goes far beyond the five stages. Expect nuance, depth, and conversations that take grief seriously. No toxic positivity. No fixing. Just honest conversation, real validation, and a community built around grief literacy, disenfranchised grief, anticipatory grief, collective grief, and the full spectrum of human loss. grief support podcast · disenfranchised grief · anticipatory grief · grief after loss · grief for clinicians · grief-informed care · grief literacy · coping with grief · grief and identity · mental health and grief · reproductive grief · pet loss grief · collective trauma and grief · grief integration · STAY framework New episodes dropping regularly Connect with Dr. Heather Taylor: Website: griefisthenewnormal.com Instagram: @grief_is_the_new_normal Substack: How We STAY with Grief https://drheathertaylor.substack.com/ Newsletter: Bridging the Grief Gap on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/heather-taylor-psyd-licensed-psychologist/ Journal: Authentically Unapologetic, available on Amazon https://a.co/d/0dM0DloC Contact: hello@griefisthenewnormal.com This episode is sponsored by Oasys EHR. Try Oasys free for your first month. Use code HEATHER-2865 at oasysehr.com. Music by The Dadicorns. Copyright 2026.
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    24 mins
  • Grief is the New Normal Podcast: S3E16 Healing Hearts: Liz Quinn's Journey Through Grief

    Grief is the New Normal Podcast: S3E16 Healing Hearts: Liz Quinn's Journey Through Grief
    Jun 5 2026
    Grief Integration, Parenting After Loss, and the Healing Power of Story with Liz Quinn Grief doesn't disappear. It changes shape, and over time, it becomes part of who you are. In this episode, Dr. Heather Taylor sits down with Liz Quinn, host of the Healing Hearts Podcast, for an honest and deeply human conversation about what it means to carry loss across years, across identities, and across generations. Liz has navigated three profound losses: her daughter Alivia in 2008, her father in 2018, and her mother in 2020. What began as a search for community in a space with few resources became a mission to create one. The Healing Hearts Podcast exists because Liz knows what it feels like to be searching and find nothing that fits. In this conversation, Liz and Dr. Taylor explore what grief integration actually looks like in practice, not as a finish line but as a living, evolving relationship with the people we love and have lost. What you'll hear in this episode: How grief shifts over 17 years and what "lighter" actually means when you're a loss parent The beautiful and complicated work of parenting after loss, including open conversations with children, the Alivia angel tree, and why her daughter carried an eight-pound teddy bear everywhere at eighteen months Why identity loss after losing a parent hits differently, and how Liz's mother's death became the pivot point for a 100-pound wellness journey, a master's degree in library science, and a full career shift into grief advocacy The role of ritual in grief, and why some years call for a botanical garden and some years call for letting the kids camp in the backyard while you stay inside What Liz would tell herself in those early days after losing Alivia, and why "keep moving forward" means something entirely different when you understand that they come with you Liz's new pregnancy and infant loss book, written by loss moms for loss moms, designed to land in hospital memory boxes so families have what they need before they even know to look for it Resources and links mentioned: Healing Hearts Podcast: Instagram at healing_hearts_podcast Phoenix Bears (weighted bears for bereaved families) Touch of Teddy (loss teddy bear ornaments, free in October for Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month) October is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month Chapter Markers: 00:00 Intro 00:25 Meet Liz Quinn 00:40 Healing Hearts Origin Story 02:30 What Grief Feels Like After 17 Years 06:13 Parenting After Loss 12:31 Rituals, Symbols, and Honoring Alivia 13:51 The Alivia Teddy Bear 17:23 Losing Both Parents 21:46 Identity Shifts and Life After Loss 25:07 Grief Training and Education Study 26:00 About the Healing Hearts Podcast 29:44 Seasonal Grief and Anniversary Rituals 34:30 What She Would Tell Her Early Self 37:06 Key Takeaways 38:08 Connect with Liz and Upcoming Projects 39:53 Outro -------------------- Liz Quinn is the host of the Healing Hearts Podcast, an author, and a grief advocate. After losing her firstborn daughter, Alivia, and both of her parents, Liz began sharing stories of love, loss, and hope to remind others they are not alone in their grief --------------------- Grief is not a problem to solve. It is a human experience to move through, and most of us were never taught how. Grief is the New Normal is hosted by Dr. Heather Taylor, licensed psychologist and grief specialist with over a decade of experience in grief, trauma, and reproductive psychology. This show exists to change the conversation around loss by expanding what grief looks like, who it belongs to, and what it actually means to integrate it into your life. Whether you're grieving a death, a diagnosis, a relationship, an identity shift, or the world as you knew it, your grief is real, it deserves space, and you are not behind. And if you're a clinician, coach, or helper carrying your own grief while holding space for others, this show was built for you too. Dr. Taylor brings research-informed frameworks, honest clinical perspective, and the STAY framework, a grief-informed approach to living with loss that goes far beyond the five stages. Expect nuance, depth, and conversations that take grief seriously. No toxic positivity. No fixing. Just honest conversation, real validation, and a community built around grief literacy, disenfranchised grief, anticipatory grief, collective grief, and the full spectrum of human loss. grief support podcast · disenfranchised grief · anticipatory grief · grief after loss · grief for clinicians · grief-informed care · grief literacy · coping with grief · grief and identity · mental health and grief · reproductive grief · pet loss grief · collective trauma and grief · grief integration · STAY framework New episodes dropping regularly Connect with Dr. Heather Taylor: Website: griefisthenewnormal.com Instagram: @grief_is_the_new_normal Substack: How We STAY with Grief https://drheathertaylor.substack.com/ Newsletter: Bridging the Grief Gap on ...
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    40 mins
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