Nathalie Himmelrich

Inspiring Hope | Finding healthy ways of Grieving | Writer

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Nathalie Himmelrich on Trauma and Its Impact on the Nervous System | Episode 40

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HOW TO DEAL WITH GRIEF AND TRAUMA is completely self, funded, produced, and edited by me, Nathalie Himmelrich.
Consider making a small donation to support the Podcast here. Thank you! 

For more information, please visit Nathalie’s website, join the podcast’s Instagram page, and subscribe to the newsletter to receive updates on future episodes here.

Nathalie Himmelrich Trauma and Its Impact on the Nervous System

Todays Episode 

All trauma involves grief but not all grief needs to necessarily be or feel traumatic.

When is a loss also traumatic and when is it not? 

What are the differences between a traumatic loss and a non-traumatic loss?

Why and how does it matter? 

How can we support ourselves and others after a traumatic loss?    

All these questions and more are the topics for today’s episode.

Nathalie’s links: Website | Instagram

Topics discussed in this episode

  • Examples of losses that can be traumatic 
  • The difference between traumatic and non-traumatic losses
  • Symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
  • Trauma response in the body 
  • Polyvagal theory and its application to trauma
  • Nervous system regulation
  • The importance of trauma-informed, grief-literate professional care

Resources mentioned in this episode

  • Dr. Stephens Porges’s Polyvagal Theory 

Thank you for listening!

HOW TO DEAL WITH GRIEF AND TRAUMA is produced and edited by me, Nathalie Himmelrich. 

John Henry Parker on How Helping Troubled Veterans Helped Him Deal With Grief | Episode 37

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HOW TO DEAL WITH GRIEF AND TRAUMA is completely self, funded, produced, and edited by me, Nathalie Himmelrich.
Consider making a small donation to support the Podcast here. Thank you! 

For more information, please visit Nathalie’s website, join the podcast’s Instagram page, and subscribe to the newsletter to receive updates on future episodes here.

John Henry Parker

Today on the podcast I am speaking with John Henry Parker who has experienced multiple losses in his family. From avoiding grief and its emotionality altogether after the loss of his older brother Russel when John was just twenty years old, he could no longer do that when his son Danny died in 2009. Therapeutic writing and helping other troubled veterans as he calls them were his ways of dealing with his loss.

About this week’s guest 

John Henry Parker is a behavioral assessment analyst, writer, and audiobook narrator. For over 35 years, he has immersed himself in the work of personal transformation with a simple philosophy; Apply everything to self, first.
His passion ranges from writing, offering men’s transformational work to the philosophy in life of giving back and paying it forward. His passion for supporting and working with transitioning veterans and their families is in memory of his son Danny, who was killed in an adrenaline-seeking, excessive speed-related motorcycle accident after completing his military service. Danny was a Purple Heart Recipient and Combat Veteran of two deployments to Afghanistan with the Army 10th Mountain Division. John is a former peacetime Marine, and his father was a former Marine, Korean War Combat Veteran, and Air Force Reconnaissance photographer in Vietnam.

Check out John’s links:

Topics discussed in this episode

  • Growing up with an alcoholic father and in a ‘bad’ neighborhood
  • His mother’s Parkinson’s disease for 35 years
  • Significant losses: John’s older brother Russel through a motorcycle accident when he was twenty, and his son Danny (highspeed motorcycle accident) in 2009
  • Aunt Glady’s influence on John’s view on life: God is love, the gift of empathy, and the law of reciprocity
  • Working with troubled veterans 
  • Epigenetic trauma

Resources mentioned in this episode

  • Bruce Lipton, Joe Dispenza

Thank you for listening!

 If you’d like to be updated on future episodes, please subscribe to the newsletter on Nathalie Himmelrich.com

 If you need grief support, please contact me for a FREE 30 min discovery session.

 HOW TO DEAL WITH GRIEF AND TRAUMA is produced and edited by me, Nathalie Himmelrich. 

Shannon Traphagen on Vulnerability and Loneliness as a Widow | Episode 36

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Shannon Traphagen

HOW TO DEAL WITH GRIEF AND TRAUMA is completely self, funded, produced, and edited by me, Nathalie Himmelrich.
Consider making a small donation to support the Podcast here. Thank you! 

Today on the podcast I am speaking with Shannon Traphagen about the loss of the love of her life and best friend from brain cancer. She so beautifully describes feeling rudderless and lost after having spent all her adult life with her husband. Before her husband’s diagnosis, they were on the road to adoption but due to his illness, they also lost that option. Shannon slept downstairs on the couch for a year to avoid the loneliness of the bedroom she had shared with her husband and the baby’s room across the hallway. She slowly worked her way back into embracing her life and now helps others through her podcast. Shannon speaks about vulnerability and loneliness, a topic she feels is not discussed enough in grief. 

About this week’s guest 

Shannon Traphagen, MSW, is a published author, motivational grief & loss speaker, patient advocate, and host of The Game On Glio Podcast. A show centered around the stories of brain cancer patients, caregivers, doctors, researchers, therapists, and grief and loss journeys. With a background in magazine publishing, social work, and modern media, Shannon is also walking through her own grief journey after losing her 45-year-old husband to Glioblastoma two years ago. She now helps others through her podcast and her own experiences, bridging the gap in communication between patients/families, widows, and the medical community. She is also the founder of Traphagen’s Trail Ride 4 Brain Cancer, a cycling fundraiser which has raised over $30,000 to date for brain cancer clinical trials. 

Shannon’s links:

Topics discussed in this episode

  • Miscarriages
  • The diagnosis of brain cancer of her husband led to the loss of adoption in the process
  • The death of her husband from glioblastoma
  • How to come to ‘I’m ok with this (loss)’ 
  • Vulnerability and loneliness
  • Secondary losses
  • Finding resilience through creating meaning

Resources mentioned in this episode

Links

–> For more information, please visit Nathalie’s website. 

–> Subscribe to the newsletter to receive updates on future episodes here.

–> Join the podcast’s Instagram page.

Thanks for listening to HOW TO DEAL WITH GRIEF AND TRAUMA. If you’d like to be updated on future episodes, please subscribe to my newsletter on Nathalie Himmelrich.com

If you need grief support, please contact me for a FREE 30 min discovery session.

HOW TO DEAL WITH GRIEF AND TRAUMA is produced and edited by me, Nathalie Himmelrich. 

Sarah Stillman on How Dealing With Trauma Does Not Prevent But Helps Prepare For Future Trauma | Episodes 34 and 35

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HOW TO DEAL WITH GRIEF AND TRAUMA is completely self, funded, produced, and edited by me, Nathalie Himmelrich.
Consider making a small donation to support the Podcast here. Thank you! 

Episodes 34

Episodes 35

Sarah Stillman

Today on the podcast I am speaking with Sarah Stillman, who suffered preeclampsia and concealed placental abruption which led to the stillbirth of her first son. Having been sexually assaulted earlier on in her life in a medical environment, she was very clear about needing to take charge of her medical care to avoid further traumatization. Unfortunately, the developments her pregnancy experienced leading to emergency care, resulted in her experiencing more trauma.

We had such a rich conversation that this became a double episode. Make sure you listen to the second part which is going to be published a week after this in which we dive much deeper into the topic of pregnancy after loss and how to deal with the trauma of sexual assault.     

About this week’s guest

Sarah is one of Nathaniel’s two mamas (yes, he has two moms)! Nathaniel is Sarah and Amy’s firstborn son conceived through IVF with a traumatic ending in severe early-onset preeclampsia, placental abruption, emergency C-section, a brief NICU stay, and death within his mother’s arms. Sarah took to grieving, finding out what happened, and planning for future pregnancy like a full-time job, and in the midst of the uncertainty and haze of grief, identified resources that helped answer critical questions. In honor of her son, she created whenmybabydied.com which aims to offer families a centralized resource hub of information and answers for the question no parent ever thought they’d have to find. Sarah is currently pregnant with Nathaniel’s sibling who is expected to be born in April 2023. She lives with her wife, two dogs, and Nathaniel’s warrior spirit in Central Massachusetts.

Check out Sarah’s links:

Topics discussed in this episode

Part One

  • Early miscarriage, appendicitis operation during subsequent pregnancy, preeclampsia leading to the stillbirth of her son Nathaniel
  • Prior sexual assault trauma leading to challenges in medical care during pregnancy
  • Loss and trauma
  • Secondary losses following a stillbirth

Part Two

  • Empty arm syndrome
  • Being pregnant after a stillbirth
  • Sexual assault
  • The effect of prior trauma on pregnancy
  • Grieving the loss of having planned for a healing event when it turns into a new trauma

Resources mentioned in this episode

Links

–> For more information, please visit Nathalie’s website.

–> Subscribe to the newsletter to receive updates on future episodes here.

–> Join the podcast’s Instagram page.

Thanks for listening to HOW TO DEAL WITH GRIEF AND TRAUMA. If you’d like to be updated on future episodes, please subscribe to my newsletter on Nathalie Himmelrich.com

If you need grief support, please contact me for a FREE 30 min discovery session.

HOW TO DEAL WITH GRIEF AND TRAUMA is produced and edited by me, Nathalie Himmelrich.

Ana Vick on the Importance of Stillbirth Prevention | Episode 33

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HOW TO DEAL WITH GRIEF AND TRAUMA is completely self, funded, produced, and edited by me, Nathalie Himmelrich.
Consider making a small donation to support the Podcast here. Thank you! 

Ana Lepe Vick

Today on the podcast I am speaking with Ana Vick about the trauma of stillbirth and pregnancy loss. Ana believes in the importance of stillbirth prevention during pregnancy. Having experienced the trauma of pregnancy loss multiple times, and finding out more about Owen’s reason for death helped her move from self-blame and shame and gave her some sort of closure. This allowed Ana to turn her story into meaningful advocacy to support others not having to experience what she had.  

About this week’s guest 

Ana Lepe Vick is a maternal health advocate and stillbirth rights activist who grew up in the Bay Area and is a recent North Carolina transplant. She is a wife and mother of 3, known as Still My Son on social media where she finds support and inspiration to continue pushing for change in memory of her middle son, Owen Nathaniel, and all babies gone too soon. Owen was unexpectedly born still at almost 32 weeks of a perfect “textbook” pregnancy via crash c-section. She also suffered miscarriages before and after Owen’s death so she’s no stranger to the trauma of pregnancy loss. Although she would much rather have her son in her arms, she proudly parents Owen through her activism and role as Co-Director of Communications of PUSH for Empowered Pregnancy (a stillbirth prevention non-profit she helped found with other bereaved families in 2021). As part of the Count the Kicks Influencer Advisory Board she leads targeted efforts to outreach to Spanish-speaking communities because every parent deserves to know how to protect their baby through fetal movement education. She is the Social Media Lead for the SHINE for Autumn Act, which is a bill she hopes will be passed soon for the U.S. to start making a systemic change to prevent stillbirths. In addition, Ana is helping to spread “Womb Wisdom” through her new educational platform, Sacred Birth Circle, where she interviews maternal health experts & birthing parents to help families be better informed about their pregnancy and birth journeys. She will always wish her family could be complete, but she’s thankful she can keep her son’s memory alive while saving babies in his honor. 

Check out Ana’s links:

Topics discussed in this episode

  • The stillbirth of her son Owen 
  • The trauma of pregnancy loss
  • The importance of stillbirth prevention during pregnancy
  • Knowing the reason for Owen’s death helped Ana move from guilt and gave her some sort of closure

Resources mentioned in this episode

Links

–> For more information, please visit Nathalie’s website. 

–> Subscribe to the newsletter to receive updates on future episodes here.

–> Join the podcast’s Instagram page.

Thanks for listening to HOW TO DEAL WITH GRIEF AND TRAUMA. If you’d like to be updated on future episodes, please subscribe to my newsletter on Nathalie Himmelrich.com

If you need grief support, please contact me for a FREE 30 min discovery session.

HOW TO DEAL WITH GRIEF AND TRAUMA is produced and edited by me, Nathalie Himmelrich. 

Estelle Thompson on How Art and Yoga Saved My Life | Episode 32

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Estelle Thompson
Estelle Thompson

HOW TO DEAL WITH GRIEF AND TRAUMA is completely self-funded, produced, and edited by me, Nathalie Himmelrich.
Consider making a small donation to support the Podcast here. Thank you! 

Today on the podcast I am speaking with Estelle Thompson, who has been an inspiration for me for years. We’ve met on Instagram as part of a yearly event called May We All Heal which I started in 2015 and gave grieving mothers a creative outlet and an avenue to share with others. Estelle has a way of using art and yoga in her healing journey that drew me in and it was an honor for me to be speaking with her. Here is someone who can laugh while crying, who exemplifies living with the paradox of living a creative life while holding the gift of what death has brought her.  

About this week’s guest 

Estelle Thomson, M.A. in Counselling Psychology is a leading yoga teacher and educator in the intersecting fields of expressive arts, embodied movement, and psychology. With over ten years of experience, her work explores the relationship between breath, body, emotions, imagination, and play. Estelle is a faculty member of Quantum University, internationally recognized for offering online courses and graduate degree programs in holistic, alternative, natural, and integrative medicine. Estelle leads numerous lectures, workshops, and retreats locally and internationally.

Estelle’s links: Website | Instagram

Topics discussed in this episode

  • Giving birth prematurely and the unexpected death of her son Tommy Tinker when he was just 2 years old 
  • Art and yoga saved her life
  • Writing for grief
  • Change of identity
  • How to use creativity

Resources mentioned in this episode 

Links

–> For more information, please visit Nathalie’s website. 

–> Subscribe to the newsletter to receive updates on future episodes here.

–> Join the podcast’s Instagram page.

Thanks for listening to HOW TO DEAL WITH GRIEF AND TRAUMA. If you’d like to be updated on future episodes, please subscribe to my newsletter on Nathalie Himmelrich.com

If you need grief support, please contact me for a FREE 30 min discovery session.

HOW TO DEAL WITH GRIEF AND TRAUMA is produced and edited by me, Nathalie Himmelrich. 

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    Nathalie Himmelrich

    I accompany people therapeutically as a holistic counsellor and coach.

    I walk alongside people dealing with the challenges presented by life and death.

    I’m also a writer and published author of multiple grief resource books and the founder of the Grieving Parents Support Network.

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