Navigating grief during the holidays can feel especially heavy when the world expects joy, celebration, and togetherness.

In this compassionate episode of Courageous Retirement, host Vona Johnson welcomes clinical psychologist and grief educator Dr. Richelle to offer gentle help and practical support for anyone experiencing loss during the holiday season.

Together, they explore how grief is more than the loss of a loved one—it can also stem from changes in health, relationships, identity, purpose, or life transitions common in midlife and retirement. Dr. Richelle explains how unprocessed grief can affect emotional well-being, energy, and relationships, and why acknowledging grief is a vital step toward healing.

This conversation offers practical ways to cope with grief during the holidays, including:

• managing holiday loneliness, 
• setting healthy boundaries, 
• simplifying expectations, and 
• creating meaningful rituals that honor both loss and hope. 

Dr. Richelle emphasizes the importance of giving yourself permission—to feel, to rest, and to approach the holidays honestly and gently.

Drawing from both her professional expertise and personal journey through loss, Dr. Richelle provides reassurance and wisdom for those seeking peace during grief. If you are carrying sorrow into this season, this episode offers understanding, encouragement, and a reminder that you are not alone—and that healing is possible, even during the holidays.

✨ You don’t have to do the holidays the way you always have. You get to do them your way.

Episode Chapters:
00:00 Understanding Holiday Loneliness and Grief
00:19 Introducing Dr. Richelle, Clinical Psychologist & Grief Educator
01:19 What Grief Really Is (More Than Loss)
01:38 Emotional Impact of Grief
05:39 Short-Term Energy Relieving Behaviors (STERBs)
08:42 Dr. Richelle’s Personal and Professional Journey
19:57 The “Backpack” of Accumulated Loss
23:10 Navigating Grief During the Holidays
24:25 Coping Strategies for the Holiday Season
27:25 Creating Meaningful Rituals
30:34 Giving Yourself Permission to Grieve
34:40 Resources for Grief Recovery
38:55 Grounding Exercise for Holiday Stress
42:22 Final Thoughts and Season Conclusion

Resources:
Learn more about Dr. Richelle’s Grief Recovery Method®, take the What’s Blocking You? Quiz, and explore her books Journey Through Grief and Loss and Abundant Soul  HERE.

Notable Quotes:

“It’s okay to say not this year. It’s okay to say not yet.” — Dr. Richelle

“Give yourself permission to cancel. Give yourself permission to simplify this year. Permission is so powerful because we are judgmental of ourselves.” — Dr. Richelle

“You don’t have to do the holidays—you get to do them honestly.” — Dr. Richelle

Scripture for Reflection:
“The instructions of the Lord are perfect, reviving the soul…
They are more desirable than gold, even the finest gold.

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