The Joyful Mom Podcast
322 episodes - English - Latest episode: 5 days ago - ★★★★★ - 24 ratingsI’m Megan Hillukka, a mother to a large family, a wife, business owner, homeschooling mom, and this podcast shows you how to find joy in motherhood, even when it’s busy, overwhelming, and chaotic, so that you can have peace, energy, and be the mom you thought you would be. We’ll talk about mental health, business, homemaking, marriage, raising kids, and more, all the ups and downs that a mother might experience in her life as she raises her family. This is the Joyful Mom Podcast.
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Episodes
102: Learning to Love Yourself
July 01, 2021 06:00 - 13 minutes - 11.7 MBEpisode Pointers: Learning to love yourself is not something that happens overnight, but it’s so important.If you want to love others well, you have to learn to love yourself first. When you learn to love yourself, you can take care of yourself.You can give love to others without depleting yourself. Oftentimes, we don’t have much compassion for anyone else when we are hurting.The pain is so overwhelming that we can’t connect and get resentful towards others. Working with moms has shown ...
101: Using Colors with Mehnaz Khan
June 24, 2021 06:00 - 35 minutes - 24.1 MBMehnaz Khan is an Artist and a Color Psychology Specialist. In today’s episode,she will share how colors affect the way we feel and the way we think. Episode Pointers : Everything in the environment like every single element of a painting, a decor, or texture impacts the subconscious mind. Colors are not only visual stimuli but they can impact you both on a psychological and emotional level. Every time a color is processed in your mind, there are some chemical changes happening in your ...
100: Who Am I?
June 17, 2021 06:00 - 17 minutes - 12.2 MB“Who Am I?” is one of the sections of my Life After Child Loss Program. It is a part of my C.A.R.R.Y.ing Grief Framework where the Y stands for You and learning to love yourself again. 3 Parts of Who Am I?: 1. Who Was I? The person we were, died the day our child died. You cannot continue to be the person you were, when you experience the death of your child. You are forever changed. The people in our lives have to grieve the loss of you as you were, and you also have to grieve that p...
99 : Suffering is Optional- Byron Katie and The Work
June 10, 2021 06:00 - 11 minutes - 10.3 MBEpisode Pointers: Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional. The suffering comes in, when we resist what is. Whether it’s the emotion, the circumstance, the relationship, what is. The resistance brings suffering. Byron Katie’s 4 questions in “The Work”: Go through a situation in your life that frustrated you or caused you a lot of stress. Replay that as if you were there again, and pay attention to what was causing you the most stress or frustration. Journal this out, and notice the...
98 The Decisions You Make with Katrina Ubell
June 03, 2021 06:00 - 48 minutes - 35.6 MBYou can contact her through the following: Website : www.katrinaubellmd.com Instagram: @coachkatrinaubellmd Facebook : www.facebook.com/katrinaubellmd If you want more tools to help you, I have a workshop called Stop Talking Start Feeling, it’s a workshop that dives into emotions, what they are, and how you can begin to feel and process them and get them out of your body instead of stuffing them down. It also goes specifically into processing and releasing the emotions of guilt and sadne...
98 The Decisions You Make with Katrina Ubell
June 03, 2021 06:00 - 48 minutes - 35.6 MBYou can contact her through the following: Website : www.katrinaubellmd.com Instagram: @coachkatrinaubellmd Facebook : www.facebook.com/katrinaubellmd If you want more tools to help you, I have a workshop called Stop Talking Start Feeling, it’s a workshop that dives into emotions, what they are, and how you can begin to feel and process them and get them out of your body instead of stuffing them down. It also goes specifically into processing and releasing the emotions of guilt and sadne...
97: The Finality and Acceptance of Death
May 27, 2021 06:00 - 15 minutes - 13.1 MBEpisode Pointers: Acceptance is something that seems so hard to be okay with. You know the fact that your child died and yet something in you fights this reality. Because you don’t want to believe it. And maybe if you keep fighting it, it means it didn’t happen or it’s not true. You never have to accept anything. You don’t have to accept that your child died. You don’t have to accept that they are not here. You can fight the rest of your life if you want. However,fighting and not wantin...
96: Guilt
May 20, 2021 06:00 - 18 minutes - 15 MBGuilt is a very normal emotion to feel because we think that is our job to raise and protect our children, to keep them safe. It is also our job to make sure they are okay,healthy, loved, and ultimately protect them from dying. The reality is, that we cannot protect them from dying, but it certainly feels like it's’ our responsibility and that we do everything we can do to prevent it. I encourage you to process and feel guilt. The whole point and purpose is to move through guilt, so th...
95 : What are you focusing on in Grief?
May 13, 2021 06:00 - 15 minutes - 12.8 MBEpisode Pointers: In grief, we often focus on it’s negative side. We think that life has to be suffering, life awful and horrible the rest of our lives. It’s also easy to think that people are rude, mean, and they don’t care. It’s easy for us to focus and give our energy on the people who are not helping us rather than those people who have helped, support , and comfort us in our grief journey. Here’s the thing about focus. The more you focus on something, the more you find more of it. ...
94: In the Blink of an Eye with Tina Kadish
May 06, 2021 06:00 - 50 minutes - 36.8 MB“This is the biggest challenge. I've had other challenges in my life but this is far above any challenge that I've had, and any challenge that I think I will have in the future.” Tina Kadish Episode Pointers: We all have this anger. Think of it as like energy that comes up in your body. And we look to who we could direct this anger at. So sometimes it's God, sometimes it's at our child, sometimes at ourselves, sometimes at somebody who kind of played a role in our child's death. I have ...
94: In the Blink of an Eye with Tina Kadish
May 06, 2021 06:00 - 50 minutes - 36.8 MB“This is the biggest challenge. I've had other challenges in my life but this is far above any challenge that I've had, and any challenge that I think I will have in the future.” Tina Kadish Episode Pointers: We all have this anger. Think of it as like energy that comes up in your body. And we look to who we could direct this anger at. So sometimes it's God, sometimes it's at our child, sometimes at ourselves, sometimes at somebody who kind of played a role in our child's death. I have ...
93: What do I do with my child’s things?
April 29, 2021 05:00 - 14 minutes - 12.5 MBEpisode Pointers: There are certain things that we want to be gone right away, especially those things connected to their death. In other people’s experience, there are other people who came into their lives and pushed them to get rid of things or pushed them to pack away their child’s clothes when they weren’t ready yet. And, they regretted it or they had to go back and redo it by themselves. There’s a thing called linking objects. It is when you begin to connect to your dead child thro...
92: STOP TALKING, START FEELING
April 22, 2021 06:00 - 13 minutes - 9.33 MBEpisode Pointers: Stop Talking Start Feeling is a mini-program that helps you process the emotions inside of your body. Many grieving mothers and other people have tried everything but they still failed to process their grief. They still don’t know what to do. I’ve noticed that we get too focused on talking or trying to get through the experience. We forget that we need to sit with it and feel it too. There are 2 ways in Processing Grief: Top-Down Processing - is where you work through...
91: Grounding Your Nervous System with Amisha Klawonn
April 15, 2021 06:00 - 42 minutes - 31.1 MBEpisode Notes: When we started to get people into their bodies, into their breath, and just feeling what they needed to feel, they got better, and faster. Yoga Therapy really looks at the person as a whole. We all have these different sides and these different pieces of us. But sometimes we look at them separately. Therapy helps you look at all of those different pieces of yourself. Nervous System Grounding: Our nervous system is the piece of us that gives us the resilience and the ban...
90: Radical Responsibility
April 08, 2021 06:00 - 19 minutes - 15.6 MBEpisode Pointers: I know how quickly we can begin to pick apart and judge ourselves. I want you to look at yourself and your life with curiosity and ask: Where can I take responsibility? Where is it not my responsibility to take? Do I need to set up boundaries? When your cup is full, you cannot learn anything new.I hope you can open your heart and mind to talking about responsibility today. What does it mean to take responsibility? There’s a term called taking radical responsibilit...
89: Anger and Acting Out in Grief
April 01, 2021 06:00 - 18 minutes - 14.8 MBEpisode Pointers: Grief does not give us the right to lash out at others. It does not give us a free pass on acting in whatever way we want. Lashing out to others and using your anger to hurt others only hurts you more. Anger truly is an emotion that can explode and destroy so many things. It can come out as boiling frustration, explosive anger, resentment, or many other ways. Underneath anger is so many things- the lack of control over the situation, stress, fear, worry. The anger, bit...
88: Suicide, Reiki and death With Sharon Ehlers
March 25, 2021 06:00 - 46 minutes - 32.3 MBSharon has lost her best friend and her former fiance from suicide. In addition to that pain,she has also lost her father from a fall. This combination of heartaches and grief has put her in a dark place where she thought she was not gonna make it. However, she got up, faced grief, and even helped other people who are dealing with grief by founding her company, GRIEF REIKI. Episode Pointers: Back in 2009, I lost my best friend to suicide. And it just threw me into a place, you know, that...
87: On the Exhaustion Treadmill
March 18, 2021 06:00 - 12 minutes - 10.8 MBSo every day, you wake up, immediately get busy, because if you take a moment to think, you will start to go on the rabbit hole of what happened with your child, how you could have prevented it, and get very depressed and not be able to move. So all day, you exhaust yourself, you put your energy into other people, you run run run, you keep so busy, so that at night hopefully you can be so exhausted you just fall asleep without having to think. I get it. I’ve been there, there is absolutely...
87: On the Exhaustion Treadmill
March 18, 2021 06:00 - 12 minutes - 10.8 MBSo every day, you wake up, immediately get busy, because if you take a moment to think, you will start to go on the rabbit hole of what happened with your child, how you could have prevented it, and get very depressed and not be able to move. So all day, you exhaust yourself, you put your energy into other people, you run run run, you keep so busy, so that at night hopefully you can be so exhausted you just fall asleep without having to think. I get it. I’ve been there, there is absolutely...
86: Physical Sickness in Grief
March 11, 2021 07:00 - 13 minutes - 11.5 MBIn this episode, we are going to talk about how grief affects our health physically. Episode Pointers: Grief, trauma, anxiety, and everything that came in between can cause stress. It will then manifest into physical symptoms.Thus, Grief can show up physically in our bodies. Emotions have a big role inside our bodies. So, processing your emotions are very important in dealing with grief. When you are stressed, have anxiety, fear, and of those emotions that put stress on your body, your...
85: Tips for Getting Sleep When Grief Keeps You Awake
March 04, 2021 07:00 - 15 minutes - 13 MBSleep is a place where our bodies heal, process trauma and information that we’ve experienced in our lives. Sleep is so healthy for us to get but what do you do when you can’t sleep at all? Here are my tips for you : 1. Brain Dumping This is especially helpful for when you try to lay down and you cannot turn your brain off. When all the things going through your head are on repeat and you can’t sleep, you should try it. Brain dumping is where you just take everything that’s going on in ...
84: The Layers of grief with Erica McAfee
February 25, 2021 07:00 - 50 minutes - 36.6 MBIn this episode, Erica McAfee shared her grief journey, her different layers of grief, and how she used them and got inspired to create a maternal child health company for Black women, the Sisters in Loss. At the age of 14, She first experienced grief when her father died. For many reasons specific to her own grief journey, her grief didn't fully express itself until the death of her 2 angels. The grief that she had felt before somewhat accumulated. She realized that she needed to face grie...
83: Having Another Baby After loss
February 18, 2021 07:00 - 17 minutes - 13.5 MBIn today’s episode, we are going to talk about pregnancy after loss, specifically the fear of having another baby. Episode Pointers: I’ve talked to many women who are terrified of having another baby. There are so many unknowns, so many things that they fear, including forgetting their baby that died. Maybe they feel like they are trying to replace their baby who died. Another is that they fear losing that baby and having to go through this pain again. These fears stop grieving moms fr...
83: Having Another Baby After loss
February 18, 2021 07:00 - 17 minutes - 13.5 MBIn today’s episode, we are going to talk about pregnancy after loss, specifically the fear of having another baby. Episode Pointers: I’ve talked to many women who are terrified of having another baby. There are so many unknowns, so many things that they fear, including forgetting their baby that died. Maybe they feel like they are trying to replace their baby who died. Another is that they fear losing that baby and having to go through this pain again. These fears stop grieving moms fr...
82: Encouragement to do Nothing
February 11, 2021 07:00 - 5 minutes - 5.55 MBIn this episode, we are going to talk about how taking breaks in your grief works. Episode Pointers: It is a ton of work to manage your mind, your emotions, and sometimes you just want to throw it all out the window and just be where you are at. You recognize that you feel crappy, angry, depressed, but you just don’t want to do anything to change it right now. I talk a lot about the healing work, effort, and mental and emotional work that comes with grief, but sometimes you just want to ...
81 : You Cannot Wish Trauma Away
February 04, 2021 07:00 - 11 minutes - 9.27 MBExperiencing trauma or PTSD while grieving is so challenging. The pain is doubled.You need to deal both of these intense feelings. But how? In this episode, we are going to talk about dealing with trauma while grieving.No matter how many wishes or prayers we need to do, it won’t go away without doing the right actions. Most of you know that my 15 month old daughter died in her sleep, but if you’re new here, that’s my story, and 4 weeks after she died, our next baby girl was born. So sleep ...
81 : You can’t wish away trauma
February 04, 2021 07:00 - 11 minutes - 9.27 MBExperiencing trauma or PTSD while grieving is so challenging. The pain is doubled.You need to deal both of these intense feelings. But how? In this episode, we are going to talk about dealing with trauma while grieving.No matter how many wishes or prayers we need to do, it won’t go away without doing the right actions. Most of you know that my 15 month old daughter died in her sleep, but if you’re new here, that’s my story, and 4 weeks after she died, our next baby girl was born. So sleep ...
80: How to Help Your Grieving Friend
January 28, 2021 07:00 - 13 minutes - 9.08 MBThis episode is more speaking to those around you to learn about grief and how they can help and support you on your grief journey. Episode Pointers: I often think that our brains are trying so hard to comprehend our loss, that there is no extra room for all the things that used to be easy in the past. It’s hard to keep up on bills, it’s hard to remember anything, it’s hard to keep track of anything, it’s a major feat to get the energy to clean the house. You can help so much by doing phys...
79 : Physical health vs mental health
January 21, 2021 07:00 - 14 minutes - 11.2 MBAre you healthy? What are the ways you do to make you healthy? Remember, that being healthy is not only physically but also mentally. So often, physical health takes precedence over mental health. And it shouldn’t be that way. Episode pointers: We cannot see what goes on within someone else’s body or within their mind. So often, as the person who is living in a stressed state, or in deep grief, you might feel like you have to try to convince others that this really is as bad as you say i...
79 : Physical health vs mental health
January 21, 2021 07:00 - 14 minutes - 11.2 MBAre you healthy? What are the ways you do to make you healthy? Remember, that being healthy is not only physically but also mentally. So often, physical health takes precedence over mental health. And it shouldn’t be that way. Episode pointers: We cannot see what goes on within someone else’s body or within their mind. So often, as the person who is living in a stressed state, or in deep grief, you might feel like you have to try to convince others that this really is as bad as you say i...
78 What is Emotional Freedom Technique/ E.F.T./ Tapping?
January 14, 2021 07:00 - 13 minutes - 10.8 MBIn this episode, I am going to share a very special tool for you to use to support you in your grieving journey.I often use this with myself and with my clients. This tool is the Emotional Freedom Technique/ E.F.T./ Tapping. This is a tool/tapping in which you tap on your certain parts of your body. First, we speak out all the painful and heavy things.We bring up the pain and hardpoints to the surface and let it go. Then, we tap in positive truths, bringing in affirmations and more posit...
78 What is Emotional Freedom Technique/ E.F.T./ Tapping?
January 14, 2021 07:00 - 13 minutes - 10.8 MBIn this episode, I am going to share a very special tool for you to use to support you in your grieving journey.I often use this with myself and with my clients. This tool is the Emotional Freedom Technique/ E.F.T./ Tapping. This is a tool/tapping in which you tap on your certain parts of your body. First, we speak out all the painful and heavy things.We bring up the pain and hardpoints to the surface and let it go. Then, we tap in positive truths, bringing in affirmations and more posit...
EP 77 Does this ever get better?
January 07, 2021 07:00 - 12 minutes - 10.3 MB“Does it ever get better?” “Please tell me it gets better.” “I can’t keep living this way.” Have you also asked the same question? Are you feeling the same way? Let’s talk more about these questions in this episode. Episode Pointers : Someone else’s experience doesn’t mean it has to be yours. I remember feeling this way, and I remember wondering if I would ever have joy again. Is it even possible for me to feel that deep true joy that I felt before Aria died? ...
76 Anxiety With Your Other Kids
December 31, 2020 07:00 - 16 minutes - 12.7 MB“If you have other children, how are your anxiety or stress levels about them?” And the overwhelming response was- horrible, over the top, very high, through the roof. In this episode, I wanted to discuss this and offer a maybe different perspective on this. Episode Pointers: Please don’t let yourself do the shame cycle. - Shame does nothing in helping you, all it does is keep you cycling exactly where you are at. After Aria died, I was also di...
75: How Do I Know if I'm Grieving Correctly?
December 24, 2020 07:00 - 11 minutes - 8.3 MBIs there a correct way of grieving? This is the common question a grieving mother would ask. We often compare our grieving to other’s experiences. In this episode, we are going to know if there is a correct way of handling grief. Episode Pointers : Each of us have our own path .We have different experiences and different relationships. There is a strong narrative that we all grieve differently in a sense that anyone can grieve in whatever way and it’s correct, or it’s okay. Grief is no...
74: What is the Difference Between Therapy and Coaching?
December 17, 2020 07:00 - 22 minutes - 15.8 MBBoth Therapy and coaching are very essential in our grieving journey. So, how do they differ and how can they help us in dealing with child loss? In this episode, we are going to know their importance, difference , and how they affect us in healing and moving forward. Episode Pointers: Most therapists are a place for you to go and talk, to get out the stuff that's coming up inside, to get the words out of your mind.And that feeling is amazing when you are walking with grief and you just ...
73 : A Father’s Perspective
December 10, 2020 07:00 - 28 minutes - 20.8 MBIn today’s episode, I have a very special guest who I hold closely to my heart, my dear husband, Justin. He is going to share with us how he dealt with grief, express it, and how he held our family together during the darkest part of our lives. Episode pointers: We grieve differently. It depends on every individual’s personality. It’s easier for a mom to go to another mom to share her grief journey. We often think that husbands are strong enough to handle the grief on their own. They n...
73 : A Father’s Perspective
December 10, 2020 07:00 - 28 minutes - 20.8 MBIn today’s episode, I have a very special guest who I hold closely to my heart, my dear husband, Justin. He is going to share with us how he dealt with grief, express it, and how he held our family together during the darkest part of our lives. Episode pointers: We grieve differently. It depends on every individual’s personality. It’s easier for a mom to go to another mom to share her grief journey. We often think that husbands are strong enough to handle the grief on their own. They n...
72 : ANTS Thoughts
December 03, 2020 07:00 - 19 minutes - 14.3 MB“Ants may be tiny but they can definitely ruin your picnic.That’s how our negative thoughts can ruin our day”. Dr. Daniel Amen In this episode, we are going to talk about different types of ANTs ( Automatic Negative Thoughts) , and how we can relate these in grieving. Episode Pointers: Thoughts are real, and they have a direct impact on how you feel and how you behave. “You don’t have to believe every thought that goes through your head. It’s important to think about your thoughts, to ...
72 : ANTS Thoughts
December 03, 2020 07:00 - 19 minutes - 14.3 MB“Ants may be tiny but they can definitely ruin your picnic.That’s how our negative thoughts can ruin our day”. Dr. Daniel Amen In this episode, we are going to talk about different types of ANTs ( Automatic Negative Thoughts) , and how we can relate these in grieving. Episode Pointers: Thoughts are real, and they have a direct impact on how you feel and how you behave. “You don’t have to believe every thought that goes through your head. It’s important to think about your thoughts, to ...
71 : Ways to remember your child this season
November 26, 2020 07:00 - 12 minutes - 9.89 MBIn this episode, I am going to share with you some tips on how your child will be noticed or remembered in this holiday season. If you want your child remembered, plan something or do something that will remember them, and don’t expect or wait for others to do that.So if you want something in particular, plan it, get it, create it, spread the word, whatever you need to do. Here are some ideas that we do in particular to remember Aria: A picture frame with a lot of pictures of her. We lig...
70: Grief as a Child
November 19, 2020 07:00 - 39 minutes - 28.5 MBWe have a special guest for this episode, Randi Proman Wolfson, who’s going to show us how grief looks into a child’s eyes She first experienced grief when she lost her dad at the age of 10.There wasn’t any kind of grief support way back then so she failed to process her grief up until she received grief support in her early adulthood. Episode pointers: Teachers should be educated how to handle kids in grief, and teach their classmates how to support their grieving friend. Families shoul...
69: Anxiety and Fear Leading Up to the Holidays
November 12, 2020 07:00 - 12 minutes - 9.69 MBFor this episode, we are going to focus on the internal work in ways moving through the holidays. Feeling anxious or dreading the holidays is just normal for a grieving mom.The first thing that you usually say is that your baby/child won’t be here. You won’t know how big the wave of grief may be on that day , but you know that you are scared and don’t want to feel that dreadful pain. What if you could just let the wave come, and be okay with however big it is? When you are open to the w...
69: Anxiety and Fear Leading Up to the Holidays
November 12, 2020 07:00 - 12 minutes - 9.69 MBFor this episode, we are going to focus on the internal work in ways moving through the holidays. Feeling anxious or dreading the holidays is just normal for a grieving mom.The first thing that you usually say is that your baby/child won’t be here. You won’t know how big the wave of grief may be on that day , but you know that you are scared and don’t want to feel that dreadful pain. What if you could just let the wave come, and be okay with however big it is? When you are open to the w...
68: 3 Ideas to Support You Through the Holidays
November 05, 2020 07:00 - 16 minutes - 11.5 MBHoliday season is a time for happiness and making good memories with your loved ones. How can a grieving mom experience true happiness if she is still having intense pain and longing of her child? In these special holiday episodes,I am going to help you in going through this holiday season. Here are my practical tips for you: 1. Have a plan A, plan, B, and plan C. Because you truly don’t know when a grief wave will hit, and it’s helpful to have something else you can do if you are just ...
67 : God, Grief and the Work I Do
October 29, 2020 06:00 - 14 minutes - 10.6 MBIn this episode, I want to share to you how God has given me strength in facing the most difficult and painful aspect in my life, the death of my baby, Aria. I believe that she’s in Heaven and in a better place. Even if I wanted her back with me, she would not want to come back. When you are given a trial, God also gives you the strength to be able to get through it. Even if my faith is so important to me, I have here some reasons why I don’t often talk about it in my coaching : ...
67 : God, Grief and the Work I Do
October 29, 2020 06:00 - 14 minutes - 10.6 MBIn this episode, I want to share to you how God has given me strength in facing the most difficult and painful aspect in my life, the death of my baby, Aria. I believe that she’s in Heaven and in a better place. Even if I wanted her back with me, she would not want to come back. When you are given a trial, God also gives you the strength to be able to get through it. Even if my faith is so important to me, I have here some reasons why I don’t often talk about it in my coaching : ...
66 : The Words You Say and Speak
October 22, 2020 06:00 - 12 minutes - 9.31 MBIn this episode, we are going to know how powerful words are especially in grief. We can connect the words in our thoughts, and use them to communicate how we are feeling.That’s the reason why we need to be careful on what we think, and what we say to ourselves and to other people. Here are some points for this episode : We label emotions as GOOD or BAD. We embrace GOOD emotions and we avoid BAD emotions. The more you repeat the words and thoughts again and again, the more you believe t...
EP 65 : ALL GOOD or ALL BAD
October 15, 2020 06:00 - 11 minutes - 8.85 MBHow can you tell someone if he or she is good or bad? Is it through his or her actions? In this episode,we are going to realize that we are not ALL GOOD nor ALL BAD. We are a combination of both.Every one of us has our own battles. You can’t judge someone just because of his or her actions. You don’t know his or her story and struggles. Grieving is extremely painful. We may become full of bitterness and hatred but it doesn’t give us the right to label and hurt other people. No one is ...
64: Baby Loss and Holding on to Hope with Ashley
October 01, 2020 05:00 - 36 minutes - 25.9 MBIn this episode, we are going to listen to Ashley’s story of grieving, moving on, and inspiring others. Ashley had lost a child not only once, but twice- her two lovely daughters. Let’s know how she was able to stand up and continue healing after these tragic events. She also shared that it is possible to feel both sorrow and joy at the same time. Let’s listen to how it’s possible to feel both. Here are some points for this episode : -We don’t notice how quickly death comes into ou...