This episode is the second part of a conversation that I had with Julia Warren. Julia is a mother, yoga teacher, writer and recovering addict. In September 2021, she lost her husband Doug when he relapsed and died of a drug overdose. In this episode, Julia shares her own writing, documenting her thoughts and feelings as she grieves her husband.
We talk about what's helpful and unhelpful when someone is grieving. What the shittiest things are about grief, and how through fully surrendering to our grief, it's possible to find joy, and hope.
Human connection is about not turning our faces away when the going gets tough. It's about sitting with our own sense of inadequacies that may surface when we are faced with a situation that we don't know how to deal with. Saying 'I don't know, but I'm here and I'm staying here' is a really simple, but profound thing that we can offer to someone, anyone when they are going through a difficult time.
I hope that through talking with Julia today, we have given you courage if you need it to not turn away from the difficulties in life and face them. Yes, maybe with fear and uncertainty but the way to get through is to continue in spite of that fear, because it's the path to human connection.
Resources for the UK:
https://www.ataloss.org/faqs/bereaved-by-an-addiction
https://www.changegrowlive.org/
https://alcoholchange.org.uk/
https://www.alcoholics-anonymous.org.uk/
For Punjabi communities: https://www.nomorepretending.co.uk/about
gov.uk/browse/benefits/bereavement
gov.uk/government/publications/ guide-to-coroner-services-and-coroner-investigationsa-short-guide
cruse.org.uk/drugs-and-alcohol
https://www.drugfam.co.uk/
samaritans.org/sites/default/files/kcfinder/files/press/
Samaritans%20Media%20Guidelines%202013%20UK.pdf
For families of addicts:
https://nacoa.org.uk/
https://www.al-anonuk.org.uk/
Specifically for children:
childline.org.uk
hopeagain.org.uk
You can find out more abut Julia on Instagram: www.instagram.com/juliainvisions or at her website www.juliawarrenyoga.com
As I mention at the end of the podcast, I have a new book out called 'Stop the world I want to get off'. More details here
The Therapeutic Poet in conversation with Julia Warren about bereavement through overdose. Part 2
jackypower.substack.com
The Therapeutic Poet
I write here to really encourage you to be more you. To help you give yourself permission to feel, rather than shrugging off your struggles with the shorthand of, ‘it’s bad for my mental health’.
I write here to really encourage you to be more you. To help you give yourself permission to feel, rather than shrugging off your struggles with the shorthand of, ‘it’s bad for my mental health’.Listen on
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The Therapeutic Poet in conversation with Julia Warren about bereavement through overdose. Part 2