How to Help People Dealing with Trauma and Grief with Janice Scholl

Content Warning: Today’s conversation involves mention of medical trauma and near-death experiences. If these are triggers for you, I gently encourage you to wait to listen or proceed carefully. 

Grief is so much more than losing a loved one. We can grieve after breakups and when we purposely choose to change; we can even grieve the loss of opportunity and parts of ourselves as we grow and age. But when society has conditioned us to grit it out when faced with something difficult, we realize that not only do we not know how to grieve, we don’t know how to support others through their grief. Janice Scholl joins me on the podcast today to share her personal story of navigating crisis and grief and the value of having support from others during challenging times. This week, episode 221 of the Positively LivingⓇ Podcast is about how to help people dealing with trauma and grief.

Janice Scholl is a podcast host, speaker, and former commercial banker. She spends her time talking to parents and experts about raising strong, confident, resilient girls, as well as family finances and family-driven career breaks. Her podcast, Raising Middle School Girls, helps parents worldwide support their tween and teen girls navigate common challenges such as friendships, family communication, confidence, social media, and so much more. 

In this episode of the Positively LivingⓇ Podcast, Janice shares her perspective on grief as a fundamental identity change and she gives you actionable advice you can take to recognize and cope with grief, and how to support others who are grieving.  

Janice and I cover the following topics:

• Having the emotional maturity to hold space for someone’s emotions without trying to “fix” the situation. 
• Both devastation and gratitude can coexist; finding joy and appreciation comes from knowing the opposite. 
• Three things you can do to help someone who can’t verbalize what they need in a time of crisis.

Let go of your fear of getting it wrong and take action with the right intentions. Grief is a journey we all share at one point or another and the more we can hold space for each other, the better off we’ll be. 

CONNECT WITH JANICE SCHOLL:

Raising Middle School Girls 

Instagram

CONNECT WITH LISA ZAWROTNY:

Facebook

Instagram

Resources

Work with Lisa! 

LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

(Find links to books/gear on the Positively Productive Favorites Page.)

Motherhood and Money with Janice Pica-Scholl

Navigating Grief through Humor with Katie Rössler

How We Grow through Grief with Katie Rössler

Coping with Grief by Giving Back with Lindsay Taylor 

Chapters

• 0:00 How to Help People Dealing with Trauma and Grief with Janice Scholl
• 6:05 Grief is not a process, but rather a new normal after experiencing a difficult crisis.
• 12:31 Janice shares her personal experience with grief.
• 18:59 Holding space for others, embracing discomfort, and the importance of emotional maturity.
• 23:43 How to support someone going through difficult times.
• 29:49 Specific actions you can do to show empathy and support someone who might not be able to vocalize their need for help.
• 34:51 The importance of connection and empathy in healing from trauma.