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Protecting your mental health in the healthcare workplace, with the burned out burnout expert, Dr. Jessi Gold
We know that healthcare workers are burned out and exhausted. Provider mental health is a huge issue...but are the institutions listening? The system is broken. If you're a HCW*, it's not your fault that you're not surviving inside a broken system. This week on It's OK, why you can't self-care your way out of burnout, with burnout expert Dr. Jessi Gold.
Over and Over Again: illustrator Aubrey Hirsch on the power of storytelling
Illustrator Aubrey Hirsch joins us to talk about outrage, trauma, community building, and the ways that storytelling helps us connect and work towards the world we all want.
Untangled: Suffering & The 8-Fold Path with Koshin Paley Ellison
Your suffering deserves your attention. Zen teacher Koshin Paley Ellison is here to teach you how to work with the pain & the suffering in your life, so that it doesn't fester and cause more harm.
Other People Have It Worse: Veteran Jason Kander on PTSD & recognizing you need help
Veteran Jason Kander joins us to talk about his book, Invisible Storm, and what it really takes to go from post traumatic stress to post traumatic growth. (Don’t let that “post traumatic growth” turn you away from this episode! There are no shortcuts to happiness here.)
It’s Not Just Business: healthcare equity & leadership with Dr. Errol Pierre
Dr. Errol Pierre joins us to talk about healthcare equity and why making healthcare more accessible will prevent more grief (when it’s avoidable), and reduce suffering (when it’s unavoidable).
Pet Loss and Veterinarians Who Cry: With Veterinary Oncologist and Author Dr. Renee Alsarraf
Veterinary oncologist Dr. Renee Alsarraf joins us to talk about grief, professionalism, and the importance of being human - on the job and off.
Horse Barbie & Cultivating Trans Joy with Geena Rocero
Can you hide in plain sight? This week on It’s OK, Filipina-American model Geena Rocero, author of Horse Barbie: A Memoir, shares what it costs to suppress your true self in order to find safety and success, and why joy is powerful medicine.
Real Self-Care with Dr. Pooja Lakshmin
Why doesn't self-care (as it's marketed to us) really work? Dr. Pooja Lakshmin breaks down what “self-care” actually means when we’re living in a complex, capitalistic world.
Is there any good news on climate change? with Bill McKibben
Everything about climate change is overwhelming. Climate activist and author Bill McKibben discusses how we face the reality of the climate crisis.
A Renaissance of Our Own: the stories we tell ourselves with Rachel Cargle
Can grief be an opportunity for growth & self-understanding? This week: Rachel Cargle discusses survival optimism, the resilience narrative, and more!
Live each day like it’s your first: with Alua Arthur
What would a meaningful life look like for you? Death Doula Alua Arthur on building a relationship with yourself and others that doesn’t hold anything back.
More anger means more joy: part two with Soraya Chemaly
What do we lose when we’re not allowed to be angry? This week on It's OK, we're talking about anger with best selling author of Rage Becomes Her, Soraya Chemaly.
Rage Becomes Her (and by “her” I mean US) with Soraya Chemaly
In a lot of ways, anger is more taboo than grief. They’re deeply related, as you’ll hear in this two-part episode with the best selling author of Rage Becomes Her, Soraya Chemaly.
Do you have to be friends with everyone? with Dr. Alexandra Solomon (part two)
What should you do if someone wants to be friends, but you’re not into it? This week on It's OK, part two of our show about boundaries - how to make them, how to keep them, and sometimes, how to breach them, with Dr. Alexandra Solomon.
Tricky Boundaries & Skillful Negotiation with Dr. Alexandra Solomon (part one)
Boundaries are part of all human relationships, but they are TRICKY. This week on It's OK, part one of our show about boundaries - how to make them, how to keep them, and sometimes, how to breach them, with Dr. Alexandra Solomon.
How to Carry What Can't Be Fixed: A Guided Journal For Grief
Complex PTSD and the art of survival with author Stephanie Foo
If you’ve lived through horrific trauma or abuse, is it really fair of us to say that the ways you’ve learned to cope are “bad,” or to use clinical speak, “maladaptive”? This week author Stephanie Foo joins me to talk about complex PTSD and the ways we pathologize human responses to trauma
Organized Grief = Social Movements with Malkia Devich-Cyril
Grief is everywhere, so why aren't we talking about how much it connects us? Don't miss this week's episode with poet & media activist Malkia Devich-Cyril.
How to Help a Grieving Friend: The Animation
Don’t Clean Up! (and other tips)
Infographics & Tipsheets
How to handle judgment on your grieving process
The Reality of Loss
What Are The Right Things to Say?
How to Talk About Suicide
How Long Does Grief Last?
Is it Grief or Depression?
Is their grief normal?
Let people be sad (and other tips for supporting a grieving friend)
What’s the deal with Prolonged Grief Disorder (and why should you care)?
Did you hear? Psychiatrists have decided how long someone should grieve! On this week's show: What's all the fuss about Prolonged Grief Disorder?
Meditation for Grief
It's Okay - Book Detail Page
Does Everyone Cry?
How to Find a Grief Therapist
Can You Prepare for Loss?
Sam Sanders: Life Has Been Lifing
This week on It’s OK that You’re Not OK: Sam Sanders: Life Has Been Lifing Sam Sanders is a well known and well loved radio and podcast host. He went a little extra-viral for a recent episode of his show, Vibe Check, in which he and his co-hosts openly discussed grief. Maybe you heard…
The Weight of the World
We need to talk about grief
How do I feel alive again?
How to handle grief
Diagnosing Grief
Healthcare workers are TIRED.
What's considered "normal"?
It's Okay That you're Not Okay Audio Book
How to Carry What Can't Be Fixed
Practical, modern grief support for real life. Get the guided journal for grief from Megan Devine: How to Carry What Can't Be Fixed.
Connection is the best medicine: with Dr. Rana Awdish
This week on It’s OK that You’re Not OK: Connection is the best medicine: with Dr. Rana Awdish: Ever wonder what doctors say about their patients when they think no one can hear? Dr. Rana Awdish doesn’t have to wonder – as a patient, she overheard a lot of distressing things. Her experience led…
Do I stay or do I go? Caregivers under stress; with the co-founders of the New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care
This week on It’s OK that You’re Not OK: Do I stay or do I go? Caregivers under stress; with the co-founders of the New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care It’s no secret that healthcare professionals and caregivers of all kinds are stretched beyond their limits. We can’t look to healthcare systems themselves…
What is grief shaming?
Is There Enough Love to Go Around?
This week on It’s OK that You’re Not OK: Is There Enough Love to Go Around? The world can feel like such a lonely place sometimes. You ever feel like there’s not enough love and support to go around? Like there’s a severe shortage of compassion in the world?
Tembi Locke: From Scratch
This week on It’s OK that You’re Not OK: Tembi Locke: From Scratch. Is it still a Hollywood love story if it doesn’t have a happy ending? Tembi Locke joins me to talk about love and Hollywood, time and meaning.
Judgment happens. It's OK.
It's Ok that You're Not Ok
Explore Megan Devine's best selling book on grief: It's OK That You're Not OK.
Why do we celebrate trauma (aka: resilience)? with Dr. Gabor Maté
What is personal agency and why does losing it create disease? Dr. Gabor Maté discusses the role of trauma and grief in our personal lives and in society at large.
Collective Grief and Communal Joy: with Baratunde Thurston
Can you heal pain by focusing on joy? Baratunde Thurston gave what’s been called “the greatest TED talk of all time.” This week’s episode is a fascinating discussion of both grief and celebration – and why you don’t get one without the other.
The Full Experience: fitness, love, death & community with Supernatural coach, Leanne Pedante
This week on It’s OK that You’re Not OK: The Full Experience: fitness, love, death & community with Supernatural coach, Leanne Pedante. Have you ever wanted to just SMASH things? Leanne discusses the ways grief upended her life, how both movement and community have kept her alive, and why grief-informed fitness should be a thing.
Holiday Debrief: ghosting therapists, new year’s breakups, and holiday angels
This week on It’s OK that You’re Not OK: Holiday Debrief: ghosting therapists, new year’s breakups, and holiday angels. The holidays are over – you made it. This week, a holiday debrief, including bad behavior from therapists, why religion is not the answer to grief, and some true facts about dating after loss.
New Year’s Resolutions vs “aggressive futurism” with Kate Bowler
This week on It’s OK that You’re Not OK: New Year, Same Grief (and the Math of Suffering) with Kate Bowler – Part 1. Is acceptance overrated? What happens when you have to face a new year without your person in it (or without the health you used to have!)?
New Year, Same Grief (and the Math of Suffering) with Kate Bowler – Part 1
This week on It’s OK that You’re Not OK: New Year, Same Grief (and the Math of Suffering) with Kate Bowler – Part 1. Is acceptance overrated? What happens when you have to face a new year without your person in it (or without the health you used to have!)?
A Christmas Eve Tradition
This week on It's OK that You're Not OK: A Christmas Eve Tradition My dad used to read ‘‘Twas the Night Before Christmas” every Christmas Eve when I was a kid, after dinner and before we opened our Christmas pjs. This year I asked him to record it so I could share it, and my dad, with you.
Your Holiday Survival Guide: Family Dynamics Edition
This week on It’s OK that You’re Not OK: Your Holiday Survival Guide: Family Dynamics Edition. The holiday season is sometimes joyful, sometimes stressful – and to be honest, it’s usually a mix of both. Between external pressures and family dynamics, we figure everyone can use some tips on making it through the season.…
Permission to be free with adrienne maree brown
This week on It’s OK that You’re Not OK: adrienne maree brown: Can we give ourselves permission to be free? What if there’s nothing to fix? What if you could just, you know, be yourself – whatever that looks like today?
Living with chronic illness: a conversation for everyone with a body, with Sarah Ramey
If you’ve ever felt invisible because of an illness or disability, or loved someone with a chronic illness, this week's show with Sarah Ramey is for you.
What happens to childhood grief when you grow up? with Allyson Dinneen
This week on It’s OK that You’re Not OK: What happens to childhood grief when you grow up? with Allyson Dinneen. Our early childhood experiences of grief – and how our family systems dealt with loss – have a huge impact on our adult behaviors and relationships.
It’s Been Ten Years: What You Need to Know About Sandy Hook Survivors, with Nelba Márquez-Greene
This week on It’s OK that You’re Not OK: Gun violence, graphic imagery & the Washington Post; with Nelba Márquez-Greene. Recently The Washington Post released graphic images, videos, and audio recordings from mass shootings, in a report called “Terror on Repeat.” Should news outlets attempt to push awareness through the use of graphic imagery?
Sometimes loss is freedom: a conversation with Rebecca Woolf
This week on It’s OK that You’re Not OK: Sometimes loss is freedom: a conversation with Rebecca Woolf. What if you were just about to get divorced, but your partner gets sick? Like really sick? Rebecca Woolf was just about to leave an unhappy marriage when her husband got sick and died.
Is it time to retire the stages of grief? (Spoiler: yes)
This week on It’s OK that You’re Not OK: Is it time to retire the stages of grief? (Spoiler: yes) Everybody knows the stages of grief. Even if you didn’t go to grad school, I bet you can rattle them off. Thing is – those stages don’t help anyone: not the pros trying…
Can we make this place beautiful? with Maggie Smith
Does anything remain after devastating loss? Author Maggie Smith discusses writing, divorce, miscarriage, & why the lemonade isn’t always worth the lemons.
Wonder in an age of violence: Valarie Kaur & See No Stranger
How do you work for a more just world for EVERYONE, when some of those people cause great harm? Find out on this week's show w/ special guest Valarie Kaur.
The Old Gays talk life, joy, and the missing generation of gay elders
This week on It’s OK that You’re Not OK: The Old Gays talk life, joy, and the missing generation of gay elders. Being fabulous can save your life. The Old Gays are a social media sensation: flamboyant outfits, lip-synced dance parties, and risque theatrics you might not expect of men in their 70s...
A Place Called Home: a conversation with child welfare advocate, David Ambroz
This week on It’s OK that You’re Not OK: A Place Called Home: a conversation with child welfare advocate, David Ambroz. The scene is 1990’s New York City. Young David Ambroz and his two siblings are homeless, sleeping in bus shelters and bathing in public restrooms, under the care of his mentally ill mother.…
Overachieving as a cry for help: with Laurel Braitman
This week on It’s OK that You’re Not OK: Overachieving as a cry for help: with Laurel Braitman. Lots of smart, high achieving people learned to greet pain with stoicism: by being mature and responsible, even as kids. But what happens when you can’t maintain the facade of having your sh*t entirely together?
Such Ferocious Beauty: with Margo Timmins of the Cowboy Junkies
This week on It’s OK that You’re Not OK: Such Ferocious Beauty: with Margo Timmins of the Cowboy Junkies. Dementia means losing your person over and over again. Margo Timmins and her siblings watched their father lose pieces of himself for years. They processed all that loss the way they always have: through music.…
Cruelty on Steroids: how we talk to each other, with Jameela Jamil
This week on It’s OK that You’re Not OK: Cruelty on Steroids: how we talk to each other, with Jameela Jamil. We fight hard for the things we believe in. But HOW we fight for those things causes more damage than we realize.
Why do we celebrate trauma (aka: resilience)? with Dr. Gabor Maté
Did anyone teach you that understanding your grief is the key to being (or becoming) a healthy human being? Probably not. This week on It’s OK that You’re Not OK: Why do we celebrate trauma (aka: resilience)? with world-renowned author and physician Dr. Gabor Maté.
Sorry For Your Loss: comedian Michael Cruz Kayne
This week on It’s OK that You’re Not OK: Sorry For Your Loss: comedian Michael Cruz Kayne. How do you turn the worst thing that’s ever happened to you into a comedy show? Comedian Michael Cruz Kayne went viral for a tweet he posted on the 10th anniversary of his newborn son’s death.
Elise Loehnen: The 7 Deadly Sins and The Crown of Sadness
This week on It’s OK that You’re Not OK: Elise Loehnen: the 7 deadly sins and the crown of sadness. Should you stop being “good”? According to the 7 deadly sins, a “good person” needs no rest, has no appetite, has no desires, puts themselves last, and is never upset.
Tembi Locke: From Scratch
This week on It’s OK that You’re Not OK: Tembi Locke: From Scratch. Is it still a Hollywood love story if it doesn’t have a happy ending? Tembi Locke joins me to talk about love and Hollywood, time and meaning.
Sam Sanders: life has been lifing
Sam Sanders is a well known and well loved radio and podcast host. This week on It’s OK, Sam joins us to talk about being open with his grief, and the ongoing relationships we have with those who have died.
Steven Kotler: peak performance and getting older (for humans and for dogs!)
When life feels hard, does “peak performance” mean anything? Steven Kotler is known as the NYT best selling author of books like Stealing Fire and The Rise of Superman, but can the science of stretching limits apply to grief of any kind?
adrienne maree brown: permission to be free
What if there’s nothing to fix? What if you could just, you know, be yourself – whatever that looks like today? This week on It's OK, it’s all grief – and it’s all love with adrienne maree brown. There is nothing to fix, and there is plenty to change.
Horse Barbie & Cultivating Trans Joy with Geena Rocero
Can you hide in plain sight? This week on It’s OK, Filipina-American model Geena Rocero, author of Horse Barbie: A Memoir, shares what it costs to suppress your true self in order to find safety and success, and why joy is powerful medicine.
Organized Grief = Social Movements with Malkia Devich-Cyril
Grief is everywhere, so why aren't we talking about how much it connects us? Don't miss this week's episode with poet & media activist Malkia Devich-Cyril.
Real Self-Care with Dr. Pooja Lakshmin
Why doesn't self-care (as it's marketed to us) really work? Dr. Pooja Lakshmin breaks down what “self-care” actually means when we’re living in a complex, capitalistic world.
Real Self-Care with Dr. Pooja Lakshmin
Why doesn't self-care (as it's marketed to us) really work? Dr. Pooja Lakshmin breaks down what “self-care” actually means when we’re living in a complex, capitalistic world.
Is there any good news on climate change? with Bill McKibben
Everything about climate change is overwhelming. Climate activist and author Bill McKibben discusses how we face the reality of the climate crisis.
A Renaissance of Our Own: the stories we tell ourselves with Rachel Cargle
Can grief be an opportunity for growth & self-understanding? This week: Rachel Cargle discusses survival optimism, the resilience narrative, and more!
Can we make this place beautiful? with Maggie Smith
Does anything remain after devastating loss? Author Maggie Smith discusses writing, divorce, miscarriage, & why the lemonade isn’t always worth the lemons.
Wonder in an age of violence: Valarie Kaur & See No Stranger
How do you work for a more just world for EVERYONE, when some of those people cause great harm? Find out on this week's show w/ special guest Valarie Kaur.
The Things That Define Us, with Chase Jarvis: Part Two
In part two with Chase Jarvis, we get into a deep discussion over whether a successful person is allowed to feel intense grief, or if success disqualifies you.
The grief of getting what you want: with Chase Jarvis
Have you ever felt something, then immediately “disqualified” yourself from feeling it? As if you don’t have the right to feel what you’re feeling?
Live each day like it’s your first: with Alua Arthur
What would a meaningful life look like for you? Death Doula Alua Arthur on building a relationship with yourself and others that doesn’t hold anything back.
What’s it all for? Loss and meaning in midlife with Chip Conley
Midlife has a lot of messy stuff in it. What if midlife (and beyond) could include an ever deepening sense of self and more satisfying connections – right alongside all that cascading loss?
Living with chronic illness: a conversation for everyone with a body, with Sarah Ramey
If you’ve ever felt invisible because of an illness or disability, or loved someone with a chronic illness, this week's show with Sarah Ramey is for you.
Collective Grief and Communal Joy: with Baratunde Thurston
Can you heal pain by focusing on joy? Baratunde Thurston gave what’s been called “the greatest TED talk of all time.” This week’s episode is a fascinating discussion of both grief and celebration – and why you don’t get one without the other.
Is There Grief In Politics? with Dr. Gabor Maté
If you think politics and grief have nothing in common (or you think you don’t care about politics!) this short conversation might change your mind.
Why do we celebrate trauma (aka: resilience)? with Dr. Gabor Maté
What is personal agency and why does losing it create disease? Dr. Gabor Maté discusses the role of trauma and grief in our personal lives and in society at large.
It’s Ok that You’re Not OK: the podcast
What would be different if we could all just tell the truth about our lives? Welcome to SEASON THREE of It’s OK that You’re Not OK: the podcast (FKA: Here After with Megan Devine).
Palliative care is for everyone (yeah, even YOU) with guest, trauma surgeon Dr. Red Hoffman
Wait, isn't palliative care something hospice does before somebody dies? Well, yes, but that’s just part of the story: palliative care covers a whole lot of health conditions, even temporary medical health setbacks. Palliative care is like symptom relief for the emotional challenges of being alive.
About
We've outgrown the old ways of dealing with grief. The cutting edge of mental health is letting things hurt when they hurt. Weird that that's a New Thing, but here we are.
Books
Get the best selling books on grief from psychotherapist Megan Devine. Need to know how to help a grieving friend? Looking for ways to process grief? Really just want to know why we're so bad at grief in general - and what we can do about it? These books are for you.
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Want to know how to help a grieving friend or family member? Find resources for managing grief from psychotherapist and author Megan Devine.
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Need to know how to deal with grief at work? Looking for training to help clients with grief? Explore professional resources from grief expert and psychotherapist Megan Devine.
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Grief is hard. Access tools for managing grief, understanding the grieving process, and finding real hope (not wishful thinking hope) from psychotherapist Megan Devine.
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Life is... a lot. Everyone's at least a little bit Not OK and It's time we started talking about that... together. Listen to It's Ok that You're Not OK, the podcast from Megan Devine.
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