About this episode

Kathy Mela discusses the hidden grief associated with midlife changes, including empty nests and lost identities, and offers insights on navigating these transitions with self-compassion.

When was the last time something changed in your life and you just... moved on? Didn't name it, didn't sit with it, just kept going? That's worth a second look. Kathy Mela spent 45 years in the NICU before becoming The Grief Navigator. Her take on grief will probably surprise you. Because she's not just talking about loss through death. She's talking about the grief of an empty nest, a career that ends, an identity you outgrow, a version of yourself you quietly left behind. In this conversation, Kathy breaks down why so many of us are walking around with unnamed grief and what it actually looks like to move through it. We get into the difference between sorrow and grief, why anger and disconnection are often grief in disguise, and a framework for navigating any life transition with more self-compassion and less self-judgment.

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