Category Archives: Uncategorized

The Mary Mac Show | Preparing for the Holidays II

In this week’s episode, we speak about Christmas, Hanukkah and other year-end holidays and how we can best navigate through them.

If this is the first year without your special loved one, there are many decisions that need to be made to help yourself get through them with the least amount of stress and anxiety.

So listen in to Episode 211 and please be kind to yourself as we move into this season.

Or you can also listen into the audio only through youtube:

And remember to pick up my ebook Holiday Grief: How To Cope With Stress, Anxiety and Depression After a Loved One’s Death through Amazon Kindle.

Additional Notes:
Visit my Crisis Resources page if you need someone to speak with. There is no harm in picking up the phone if you feel overwhelmed and need a friend. They are there to listen.

Learn EFT, the Emotional Freedom Technique with Brad Yates.

Please watch Marisa Peer’s “I Am Enough” video which will help you feel better.

Meditation Videos to help you rest. Choose which resonate with you.

Also, I hope you will help support The Mary Mac Show by contributing a gift of any size that is comfortable for you so we can continue this important work. It would be much appreciated.

Please share our episodes with anyone you know who might benefit from this knowledge. Also subscribe to my podcast on whichever podcast platform you listened in.

xoxo

The Mary Mac Show | When You Decide

In Episode 174, we discuss when grief becomes softer and we allow ourselves to consider dating, building a new life, storing belongings and moving forward.

As we move through our grieving process, we wonder when is the exact right time to allow ourselves to begin to live again, perhaps love again.

We question when we should pack up some of their things, maybe reorganize their room, or give away their things.

We wonder if dating should be on your radar. Has it been enough time?

And what is the exact right time, anyway?

Not to mention what our family and friends have to say about it all. Should their voice matter?

Deciding if and when to make such changes in our life takes time.

And only YOU can make those decisions.

And it won’t be easy because regret, guilt and other ugly emotions may come up for you.

Even if they don’t come up for you, there may be family or friends who will bring them up and cause you to be cautious, question your decisions and sometimes make you backtrack and question your actions or potential actions you once were so at peace with before you engaged them in your decisions.

In this episode I speak about making decisions on your own and not putting it up for a vote.

This is your life and only YOU get to vote on what will work for you.

Granted if you’re married, a joint decision may be needed.

But it will be you who ultimately knows when you’re ready for the next steps in your life.

And only you can decide what those next steps will be.

Trust yourself, my love.

You have been through a great trial.

Give yourself the credit you deserve.

Grief is messy and you need to pamper yourself through it.

So let your spirit lead you.

When you get the nudge inside to move forward, do it.

Don’t question it.

Just act with decisiveness.

Never to regret that decision because you knew you were ready.

Remember to love yourself through those decisions, even if you are wailing while putting away some of their things.

Take baby steps if you need to.

A small box put away in the attic for now. Later, donating those things to a deserving person or place.

Coffee with a new friend from the support group. Or perhaps a movie to allow yourself some joy and an outing.

Give yourself the grace you deserve.

Much Love, my Warrior.
xoxo

Additional Notes – Some things that will help along this journey to ease the pain:

If you are having an especially difficult time emotionally, I recommend you speak with a specialist at a hotline near you. Here you will find hotlines all around the world. Trained counselors are there to listen, free of charge, to what’s going on with you. Take advantage of their great kindness. Vent with an objective individual. You don’t have to be ‘suicidal’ to call them, but if you are, that’s the best place to call. Don’t hestitate!

For parents and teens, there is an amazing resource where you can email or text counselors for help at The Boys Town National Hotline! Outstanding assistance for your children and you. You can also dial 988 for assistance.

Visit Julie’s EFT episodes on grief and she will teach you the Emotional Freedom Technique. Her videos calm your spirit and help you release emotional and physical pain as you move forward.

Here are some meditation music to help you rest.

You can order your Bach’s Rescue Remedy from most health food stores, either in person or online. Remember, these do have alcohol in them.

I use the Rescue Remedy 20ml drops but they have spray and other versions which might work better for you. And…they also have products to calm pets, too.

*To find a homeopathic doctor, visit here or here. Many offer phone consultations if you cannot find one in your area. They work with patients around the globe. You can also research in your area of the world.

Grab my free ebook, 21 Things You Need to Know About the Grieving Process, right here on my site.

Please share with anyone who may need this knowledge. Also subscribe, rate and review this podcast on whichever podcast platform you listened in.

2021 Podcast Awards | Would Love Your Vote in July

We are excited to announce that The Mary Mac Show has been nominated at the People’s Choice Podcast Awards in the Category of Health!

This would not have been possible without your support of our show.

We now reach 70 countries, ranked in the top 10 podcasts for Grief and Bereavement, and in the top 10% of all podcasts worldwide.

But we need your help!!

Voting takes place from July 1st through July 31st.

And I’m counting on my listeners from around the world to vote for us!!

It would mean so much to me if you’d take the time to go to www.PodcastAwards.com, sign in to vote and cast your vote for The Mary Mac Show under the Health Category.

You also have a place to add my name and show when you sign in, if you consider me someone who has influenced you along your journey.

Also I’d appreciate it if you would share this post with all your family, friends and colleagues who are deeply hurting as well as to your social media platforms. Gaining exposure will help many more families.

Thank you so much for voting and spreading the word!

Much Love!

The Mary Mac Show | Difficult Discussions

The Mary Mac Show Podcast

In this week’s episode, we speak about the Difficult Discussions that families need to have, but fail to have, surrounding end-of-life care, death and burial.

I realize this is not something that many families consciously do long before it is needed, but it is a topic that we are all more aware of this year, with the pandemic, than ever before.

Since there is a good chance that this is the first time since spring that you will be with your family to celebrate Hanukkah, Christmas and other year-end holidays this year, I am encouraging you to please use that time specifically as an opportunity to discuss these topics and start to think about what your older relatives may want for themselves when they die or become ill.

It might be your grandparents, parents, even you and your spouse.

Listen in to Episode 52 as we discuss how important it is to gather as a family this season to talk about end-of-life preferences and the best ways to carry them out.

Bless you.

xoxo

An Uncommon Valentine’s Day

avatar-heartEveryday life after losing your spouse or sweetheart can be quite difficult. But handling holidays such as Valentine’s Day can be unnerving.

We start to see the advertisements on television for roses, jewelry and heart-shaped boxes of chocolate weeks before this day. Restaurants feature special dinners for two on that evening. And when you were paired with someone you love, chances are good these ads didn’t affect you.

But they do now.

The anticipation of a significant holiday or date such as the anniversary of your loved one’s death or their birthday can bring many emotions that we might not have expected. But please know that they are natural and normal.

Most of us feel such intensity around holidays because we are sad that we can no longer enjoy the closeness, experiences and love we once shared with our honey.

Some of us also are angry that they died before us. Others of us struggle with the unfairness to the point of cloistering ourselves in an effort to never be hurt again.

But there comes a time when we consciously accept that we are still alive and if we were supposed to go first, then we would have. And since this is the way things have turned out, why not live life to the fullest.

When that turn in thinking eventually arrives, it can gloriously begin a guilt-free new life whereby you take a long deep breath and with a loving kiss planted on their picture, you decide to consider new adventures.

It doesn’t mean you don’t miss them. It doesn’t mean you will not honor their memory for your children’s sake. It only means that you are now beginning a new and perhaps a somewhat scary life where the unknown awaits.

And that is a good thing.

So on Valentine’s Day, find the right thing that will make you happy. Is it the chocolate-covered pretzels, cherries or strawberries? Shall you get that massage you have been promising yourself because you miss your husband’s touch?

Will you finally accept your buddies’ invitation for a round of golf and lunch instead of sitting in front of the television alone?

Will you decide to give a little time to someone who is hurting like you and share a candlelit dinner together with a funny movie?

Or is it, perhaps, time to give that little soul at the animal rescue shelter a new life with you?

Even if you find yourself melancholy at times, no need to be embarrassed. Those who love you know this transition has not been easy for you.

So accept that kind pat on the back or hug, accept all the well wishes of those who love and care for you and remember that your sweetheart would want you to enjoy your life. Their love for you will never die.