#18| What Happens When You Suppress Grief? Understanding the Emotional Cost of Pushing It Down
From Holding Women Through Grief | Miscarriage, Still Birth, Loss, Death, Grief Support Group by Tasha Cofer | Bereavement Doula, Grief Educator, Author
April 20, 2026 · 10 min · Episode 2
About this episode
This episode discusses the emotional and physical costs of suppressing grief and offers insights on healthier ways to process it.
Do you keep telling yourself “I’m fine” … but you can feel your body disagreeing? Are you staying busy so you don’t have to feel and then wondering why you’re exhausted? Do your emotions come out sideways irritability, snapping, numbness, anxiety that seems to come out of nowhere? Have you thought, “If I start crying, I won’t stop,” so you just keep pushing through? Today we’re naming something so many women do after loss often without even realizing it: suppressing grief. Not because you don’t care. Not because you’re cold. But because you’re trying to survive. And listen… I’m not here to shame that. I’m here to tell you the truth: Grief that gets pushed down doesn’t disappear. It just shows up somewhere else. In this episode, we talk about what grief suppression looks like in real life (because most women don’t call it suppression they call it “being strong”). We talk about why it happens, what it costs emotionally and physically, and what to do instead without forcing some big dramatic breakdown. We’re not aiming for collapse.We’re aiming for small, honest releases so your grief doesn’t have to scream to be heard. When grief doesn’t come out as tears, it often comes out as…
People in this episode
Host: Tasha Cofer
Topics covered
- grief suppression
- emotional cost
- mental health
- women's experiences
- grief management
Keywords
- grief
- emotions
- anxiety
- numbness
- irritability
- loss
- mental health
- support
More episodes of Holding Women Through Grief | Miscarriage, Still Birth, Loss, Death, Grief Support Group
- #23| Why I Do This Work: My Miscarriage Story & The Silence Nobody Talks About · June 8, 2026 · 9 min
- Encore Episode: Loving Yourself After Loss — Finding Your Way Back to You · June 1, 2026 · 8 min
- #22| How Do I Find a Therapist or Support Person Who Understands Grief? What to Ask Before You Book · May 18, 2026 · 7 min
- #21| Is This Grief or Depression After Baby Loss? How to Tell the Difference · May 11, 2026 · 10 min
- #20| How Do I Survive Mother’s Day After Baby Loss? Gentle Ways to Honor Your Baby · May 4, 2026 · 11 min
- #19| Why Does My Partner Grieve So Differently After Baby Loss? Understanding Different Grief Styles · April 27, 2026 · 10 min
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