We are thrilled to once again have the opportunity to speak with Dr. MaryCatherine (MC) McDonald. Listeners will remember MC from Season 2 Episode 2, When Grief and Trauma Meet, when we spoke with her about her book Unbroken, The Trauma Response is Never Wrong. MC is back to speak with us about her soon-to-be-published second book, The Joy Reset, Six Ways Trauma Steals Happiness and How to Get it Back.

MaryCatherine speaks about cultivating true joy, a joy that is very different from the "positivity” recently popularized in our culture that tells us we need to be optimistic or think positively when we are feeling distressed. MC helps us understand that living joyfully requires attention and practice, but if we put in the time and effort, we can learn to see small little joys every day even when we feel the pressures and stresses of life closing in on us.

MaryCatherine explains how we can sabotage our happiness with different strategies that may initially feel protective, but in practice act as “joy thieves”. She reminds us that joy can be messy but can be found in the shadows if we know how to look for it.

Have feedback about the podcast? Have an idea for a future episode? Get in touch with us: whatnow@hospicepeterborough.org

The relationships we have with our pets has changed over the past several decades. The attachment we share with our pets has elevated their position to where they are often considered a valued member of the family. In this episode we speak with Dr. Lianna Titcombe, Palliative Veterinarian and Melanie Savage, Registered Social Worker specializing in pet loss.

Lianna and Melaine are both pioneers in their respective fields. Lianna specializes in supporting her patients to have a pain and symptom free death surrounded by loving family in the familiarity of their home environment (and she also educates other veterinarians to provide this care). Melanie specializes in supporting grieving individuals and families during the palliative and grief process for when a beloved pet dies. They bring insight and compassion into understanding why the palliative journey and death of our pets can be such a deep experience of grief and loss.

Please have a listen or send to a friend whose life has been changed and enriched through a relationship with a pet. If having a pet isn't part of your world, you may still want to listen as it may increase your understanding of others grieving the death of a pet.

Have feedback about the podcast? Have an idea for a future episode? Get in touch with us: whatnow@hospicepeterborough.org

We are honoured to be speaking with Dr. Sheldon Solomon, one of the founders of Terror Management Theory (TMT). TMT suggests that the dawning of the awareness of our own existence is quickly followed by the awareness of our eventual and inevitable demise. This awareness of being alive and knowing it, creates a state of awe and wonder. Conversely, the awareness of our mortality also causes us to experience dread, anxiety and terror. TMT suggests that we use culture as a buffer to soothe and protect from our death anxiety.

But what happens to the buffering effect of our cultural worldview when we are challenged by reminders of our mortality? How does it inform our actions and attitudes, our conscious and unconscious behaviour? To answer these questions, Sheldon explains TMT and walks us through the decades of research from colleagues around the world. He also paves the way and gives a nod to where the future of his research is headed.

In a style that is both humorous and academically serious, and with a command of the English language this is uniquely Sheldon's, this episode is rich and dense with information. You may need to listen more than once... but it's worth it!

Have feedback about the podcast? Have an idea for a future episode? Get in touch with us: whatnow@hospicepeterborough.org

The death of a child is a traumatic event for any parent and a death by suicide carries its own unique challenges. As Sharon MacLeod shares her story, we hear a difficult journey of a family’s struggle to support, manage and seek help for their exceptional yet complex son Alexander. We are honoured to have Sharon join us and thank her for her openness and courage. We hope this recording honours Alexander’s life; as David Kennedy often says, a person should be remembered for their life in its entirety and not for just how they died. May Sharon's story also serve and support others who travel these hard roads.

Have feedback about the podcast? Have an idea for a future episode? Get in touch with us: whatnow@hospicepeterborough.org

In Season 2 we offered "The Written Word": which was an episode dedicated to sharing poems, lyrics and quotes that speak to us. We had positive feedback from the original episode, so we decided to do it again this season. We hope some of these words will resonate with our listeners and we welcome your feedback!

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In this episode we engage in a lively discussion with our colleague and friend, Dr. John Beamish. Together, we explore what it means to face our own mortality and work toward finding moments of acceptance and peace with the inevitable reality of death. Our conversation explores how we and John have worked with death anxiety and grief within ourselves over the years. It's a treat to have Dr Beamish join us and we thank you for joining our discussion.

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People often speak of the importance of dignity at the end of life.

Sometimes the medicalization of illness interrupts being seen in our full humanness which erodes our sense of dignity.

In the first episode of 2025, we speak with Dr. Harvey Chochinov, physician, author, researcher, and developer of Dignity Therapy, who shows us how to put dignity front and center in the process of caring for those living with a life-threatening illness.

Have feedback about the podcast? Have an idea for a future episode? Get in touch with us: whatnow@hospicepeterborough.org

In this last episode of 2024, the co-hosts offer support, compassion and suggestions for navigating the holidays.

It’s often not the most wonderful time of the year, especially for those grieving and living with illness. Have a listen or pass it along to someone who needs a little extra support during this month. Our blessings to all our listeners.

We’ve got some great episodes lined up for January 2025, please c'mon back to listen! We are so grateful for your support.

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