Family estrangement is becoming increasingly common in the United States, with nearly one in four Americans now estranged from at least one close family member. In this episode of the Feel Free Again Podcast, I sit down with grief recovery specialist Victoria to have a deeply honest, nuanced conversation about why family estrangement happens, when it may be necessary, and when it may actually be causing more harm than healing. We talk about unresolved grief, emotional pain, mismatched values, expectations, boundaries, forgiveness, and the cultural shifts that have changed how families relate to one another. I share what I’ve seen after working with hundreds of people in grief recovery — adult children, parents, siblings — all heartbroken, often good people on both sides of the estrangement. We explore how unfinished emotional business, misunderstood boundaries, and unspoken expectations can quietly dismantle relationships, sometimes without either side fully understanding why. This conversation is not about shaming anyone for choosing distance. It’s about clarity, emotional responsibility, and reclaiming your agency. Grief recovery offers tools to help you assess whether estrangement is protecting you — or whether unresolved pain is driving decisions that don’t align with who you truly are. If you’re navigating family conflict, estrangement, forgiveness, or emotional healing, this episode will challenge you to slow down, reflect, and consider a different path forward. ⏱️ Chapters: 00:00 — Why Family Estrangement Is Rising 05:12 — Cultural Shifts and the Breakdown of Family Systems 09:47 — Expectations, Boundaries, and Planned Disappointments 14:01 — The Danger of Acting on Incomplete Emotional Pain 18:48 — Taking 1% Responsibility and Reclaiming Power 23:32 — Why Forgiveness Isn’t Weakness 28:23 — When Boundaries Become Emotional Walls 33:56 — The Grief of Parents Estranged From Adult Children 39:46 — Love, Acceptance, and Letting Others Choose 45:12 — How Grief Recovery Helps Heal or Clarify Estrangement 47:12 — Detoxing From Collective Drama Before Family Gatherings 50:47 — Teaching Kids Responsibility for Their Own Feelings 53:26 — Grieving the Child Who Is Growing Up 1:00:55 — How to Know If Estrangement Was the Right Choice Connect with Victoria: Website: https://theunleashedheart.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/victoriavolk/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theunleashedheartllc/ GRM Website: https://www.griefrecoverymethod.com/grms/victoria-volk About the Host: Cole James, President of the Grief Recovery Institute, shares about the Power of Grief Recovery! Cole is dedicating his life to help people with grief. Now, grief is much more than just losing someone. Did you know that? You've probably heard of the Five Stages of Grief, right? Well, this goes much deeper than you think. Let me explain. Everyone has some type of grief in their lives, some haven't yet, but it's part of life. We can't escape it, BUT we can work through it. And you don't have to do it alone. Let's talk about it. We have trained Grief Recovery Method Specialists, who help heartbroken people, in Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, the Middle East, Central America, South America, and North America. The Grief Recovery Method Certification Program is taught and available in multiple languages including: English, Spanish, Swedish, Hungarian, Ukrainian, and Russian. Our home office is in the United States and serves English-speaking nations and populations around the world, such as the United Kingdom, Canada, and the Commonwealth Nations. In addition, we have international affiliate offices in Sweden, Australia, Mexico, and Hungary. Our goal is to help as many people as possible, which is why our books have been translated into over 30 languages including: Spanish, French, Dutch, Portuguese, Japanese, Ukrainian, Russian, and many more. For more information visit: https://www.griefrecoverymethod.com/

In this episode of the Feel Free Again Podcast, I sit down with healing and empowerment coach Jorge Ruiz to talk about something men desperately need, but rarely reach for: grief recovery. We dig into why men often avoid emotional healing, why “I’m fine” becomes a lifestyle, and how unprocessed loss doesn’t just hurt your feelings, it quietly anchors your identity to your past and shapes how you react in the present and fear the future. Jorge shares powerful stories from working with foster youth, people coming out of prison, and men who’ve learned to survive by numbing instead of processing. We talk identity labels like “addict” or “prisoner,” and how the Grief Recovery Method can help you finally separate who you are from what happened to you. We also go deep on men’s isolation, the suicide reality, and the warrior/protector paradox: real strength isn’t pretending you feel nothing—it’s learning how to feel without being ruled by it. If you’ve ever felt stuck, reactive, ashamed, disconnected, or like peace always sits just one achievement away… this conversation is for you. I also share how grief recovery impacts marriage and fatherhood, and Jorge breaks down his FOCUS framework (Faith Overcomes Challenges Unleashes Success) plus why none of this works well until the heart gets healed first. If you know a man who needs this, please share it. It might be the conversation that helps him finally start healing. ⏱️ Chapters: 00:00 — Why Feeling “Stuck” Happens to Strong People 05:54 — Meet Ezra Stanton: The Cost of Staying in Quicksand 11:48 — The Hidden Patterns That Keep Men Stalled 17:42 — How to Tell If You’re Numb vs. Actually “Okay” 23:36 — The Moment You Realize It’s Not Just Stress 29:30 — The Lie of Self-Sufficiency (And Why It Backfires) 35:24 — Naming the Real Problem Without Shame 41:18 — The Inner Story Driving Your Outer Life 47:12 — Why Willpower Fails (Even for Disciplined Men) 53:06 — Rebuilding Clarity When You Can’t Trust Your Feelings 59:00 — The Emotional Weight You Didn’t Know You Were Carrying 01:04:54 — What Healing Actually Looks Like in Real Life 01:10:48 — Breaking the Cycle: Triggers, Reactions, and Repair 01:16:42 — Identity: Who You Become After Loss and Change 01:22:36 — Relationships Under Pressure: How Men Pull Away 01:28:30 — The Turning Point: Doing the Work That Works 01:34:24 — Practical Tools to Get Unstuck This Week 01:40:18 — What Freedom Feels Like (And Why It’s Quiet at First) 01:46:12 — The Long Game: Staying Free, Not Just Getting Free 01:52:08 — Final Charge: The Next Step for Men Ready to Move Connect With Jorge: Email: jorgeruiz@focusimaginelife.com Website: https://www.griefrecoverymethod.com/grms/jorge-ruiz Cole James, President of the Grief Recovery Institute, shares about the Power of Grief Recovery! Cole is dedicating his life to help people with grief. Now, grief is much more than just losing someone. Did you know that? You've probably heard of the Five Stages of Grief, right? Well, this goes much deeper than you think. Let me explain. Everyone has some type of grief in their lives, some haven't yet, but it's part of life. We can't escape it, BUT we can work through it. And you don't have to do it alone. Let's talk about it. We have trained Grief Recovery Method Specialists, who help heartbroken people, in Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, the Middle East, Central America, South America, and North America. The Grief Recovery Method Certification Program is taught and available in multiple languages including: English, Spanish, Swedish, Hungarian, Ukrainian, and Russian. Our home office is in the United States and serves English-speaking nations and populations around the world, such as the United Kingdom, Canada, and the Commonwealth Nations. In addition, we have international affiliate offices in Sweden, Australia, Mexico, and Hungary. Our goal is to help as many people as possible, which is why our books have been translated into over 30 languages including: Spanish, French, Dutch, Portuguese, Japanese, Ukrainian, Russian, and many more. For more information visit: https://www.griefrecoverymethod.com/

Many of us were taught to handle grief in one of two ways: ignore it and hope it fades, or simply "be strong" and move on. But if I'm being honest, that approach doesn't heal—it just buries the pain. In this episode, Part 2 with grief recovery specialist Kelli Sheumaker, we dive into the complexities of grief and the different ways people cope with loss. We explore the importance of acknowledging grief rather than pushing it aside, the ripple effects of unresolved grief on relationships and physical health, and the transformative power of the grief recovery method. This conversation highlights that healing requires action and that grief recovery is an ongoing journey—not just about processing loss but about rediscovering joy and connection. We go beyond the typical association of grief with death. We discuss grief in living relationships—marriage, parenting, friendships—and the challenging dynamics where the relationship continues, but the pain endures. We also examine how unspoken expectations lead to disappointment, how unresolved grief can distort our memories of a person, and why getting accurate about a relationship—the good, the bad, and the unfinished—can restore clarity and empower us to make informed choices. And yes, we talk about the body. Not as a guilt trip or a simple "grief causes everything," but as an invitation to consider the impact of years of unprocessed emotional pain on your nervous system, sleep, health, and how you show up for the people you love. If you've ever thought, “I should be over this by now,” this conversation is for you. ⏱️ Chapters: 00:00 — Welcome + What Feel Free Again Is About 01:50 — The Two Paths: Avoiding Grief vs Healing It 04:51 — Getting Unstuck: Safe Space + Tools That Actually Work 09:53 — The Relationship Graph: How Grief Distorts Memory (and How to Get Accurate) 16:51 — Expectations = Planned Disappointments (Marriage + Living Relationships) 21:34 — The Ripple Effect: How Unresolved Grief Impacts Everyone Around You 26:59 — Grief in the Body: Sleep, Pain, Autoimmune, and Physical Symptoms 35:50 — Chronic Illness Grief: Mourning the Life You Expected 40:58 — Core Work First, Then Day-to-Day Maintenance Tools 46:08 — How to Work With Kelli + Final Takeaways + Closing Connect with Kelli: Website 1: www.renewedhopegriefrecovery.com Website 2: https://www.griefrecoverymethod.com/grms/kelli-sheumaker Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/renewedhopegriefrecovery/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/renewedhopegriefrecovery YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@renewedhopegriefrecovery Cole James, President of the Grief Recovery Institute, shares about the Power of Grief Recovery! Cole is dedicating his life to help people with grief. Now, grief is much more than just losing someone. Did you know that? You've probably heard of the Five Stages of Grief, right? Well, this goes much deeper than you think. Let me explain. Everyone has some type of grief in their lives, some haven't yet, but it's part of life. We can't escape it, BUT we can work through it. And you don't have to do it alone. Let's talk about it. We have trained Grief Recovery Method Specialists, who help heartbroken people, in Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, the Middle East, Central America, South America, and North America. The Grief Recovery Method Certification Program is taught and available in multiple languages including: English, Spanish, Swedish, Hungarian, Ukrainian, and Russian. Our home office is in the United States and serves English-speaking nations and populations around the world, such as the United Kingdom, Canada, and the Commonwealth Nations. In addition, we have international affiliate offices in Sweden, Australia, Mexico, and Hungary. Our goal is to help as many people as possible, which is why our books have been translated into over 30 languages including: Spanish, French, Dutch, Portuguese, Japanese, Ukrainian, Russian, and many more. For more information visit: https://www.griefrecoverymethod.com/ #mentalhealth #grief #depression #sad

In today’s episode of the Feel Free Again Podcast, I’m joined again by Tammy Adams. This is her second time on the show, and I’m grateful we get to keep building on the ground we covered last time. In this conversation, we’re diving into something that’s breaking hearts everywhere: how we’ve forgotten how to love each other through differences, and how families are getting fractured, ghosted, and cut off over “outside topics” that were never supposed to cost us our relationships. We talk about how belief systems form early, why certain phrases can trigger massive reactions, and the powerful shift from “You made me feel” to “When you said/did ___, I felt ___.” Tammy brings her early childhood education background into the conversation, and we connect the dots between nervous system overwhelm, social media saturation, unresolved grief, and why so many people live in defense mode. We also get real about how unresolved emotions often show up as anger, especially for men and what it looks like to do the inner work that gives you your peace (and your relationships) back. If you’re a Grief Recovery Specialist (or considering the work), we also speak directly to the importance of creating safety and staying anchored in the mission: helping broken hearts heal without bringing our personal “rightness” into the room. If this episode helps you, please share it, subscribe, and leave a review so more people can find these tools and find their way back to connection. ⏱️ Chapters: 00:00 - Tammy Adams Returns: A Deeper Conversation on Healing Relationships 01:35 - The Divide Is Breaking Families (And We Need Better Tools) 05:20 - How Childhood Beliefs Get Wired and Become Adult Triggers 10:55 - “You Made Me Feel” vs “I Felt”: The Language That Restores Power 14:40 - Social Media, iPads, and Why Beliefs Form Earlier Than We Think 17:50 - The “One-Hour Debate” Rule: Staying Family While Disagreeing 22:55 - You’re Not a Wind-Up Toy: Owning Your Emotional Responses 27:45 - When Unresolved Grief Shows Up as Anger (Tammy’s Real Story) 37:50 - People-Pleasing, Control, and Trauma Responses in Conflict 40:14 - Why Constant Global News Keeps Us Triggered and Divided 52:45 - Message to Specialists: Create Safety, Stay in Your Lane, Help the Heart Heal Cole James, President of the Grief Recovery Institute, shares about the Power of Grief Recovery! Cole is dedicating his life to help people with grief. Now, grief is much more than just losing someone. Did you know that? You've probably heard of the Five Stages of Grief, right? Well, this goes much deeper than you think. Let me explain. Everyone has some type of grief in their lives, some haven't yet, but it's part of life. We can't escape it, BUT we can work through it. And you don't have to do it alone. Let's talk about it. We have trained Grief Recovery Method Specialists, who help heartbroken people, in Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, the Middle East, Central America, South America, and North America. The Grief Recovery Method Certification Program is taught and available in multiple languages including: English, Spanish, Swedish, Hungarian, Ukrainian, and Russian. Our home office is in the United States and serves English-speaking nations and populations around the world, such as the United Kingdom, Canada, and the Commonwealth Nations. In addition, we have international affiliate offices in Sweden, Australia, Mexico, and Hungary. Our goal is to help as many people as possible, which is why our books have been translated into over 30 languages including: Spanish, French, Dutch, Portuguese, Japanese, Ukrainian, Russian, and many more. For more information visit: https://www.griefrecoverymethod.com/ #mentalhealth #grief #depression #sad

Connect with Victoria Volk:

Website: www.theunleashedheart.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/theunleashedheart

As the host of the Feel Free Again Podcast, I’ve had the privilege of hearing countless stories of loss and restoration — but few moved me like my conversation with Victoria Volk, a grief recovery specialist and mother of three from rural North Dakota. In this episode, we explore what it really means to confront decades of buried pain and how doing so can restore connection, compassion, and freedom.

Victoria opens up about losing her father at age 8, enduring abuse, and spending 30 years trying to outrun grief through achievement, distraction, and numbing. Her breaking point led her to the Grief Recovery Method, which completely changed her life — and even saved her relationship with her mother. She shares how healing her heart didn’t require others to change, but instead invited empathy, forgiveness, and peace that rippled through her entire family.

We also talk about how grief recovery helps parents and children communicate more openly, why boundaries create safety, and what happens when anger is finally understood instead of suppressed. If you’ve ever lost someone, faced trauma, or felt emotionally stuck, this episode will remind you that you can’t heal what you won’t feel — and that freedom is closer than you think.

⏱️ Chapters:

00:00 – Intro & Welcome to the Feel Free Again Podcast

01:05 – Meet Victoria Volk: Finding Grief Recovery After 30 Years

04:56 – The Midlife Unraveling: Identity, Motherhood & Burnout

06:50 – Discovering the Grief Recovery Method & Choosing Healing

10:05 – Why You Can’t Heal Alone: The Power of Safe Spaces

16:42 – Healing the Relationship with Her Mother Through Compassion

23:04 – Boundaries, Body Awareness & Feeling Safe Again

31:02 – Teaching Kids Emotional Honesty & Healthy Anger

45:00 – Victoria’s Son’s Accident: How Grief Tools Saved Their Family

1:00:07 – Grief Is Everywhere: Why the World Needs This Work

Connect with Cindy:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorCindyCipriani/

Website: https://www.cindycipriani.com/

Contact: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/cindy-cipriani-sewell-nj/223227

Today’s conversation moved me deeply. I sat down with Cindy Cipriani, an emotional wellness coach and grief recovery specialist, whose story of loss, healing, and redemption is nothing short of powerful. From being excommunicated by her faith community and surviving domestic abuse, to finding new purpose through the Grief Recovery Method, Cindy’s testimony shows how emotional healing is possible — no matter your past.

Cindy shares how grief can hide in plain sight — not just through death or divorce, but through lost dreams, childhood beliefs, or even fictional characters who brought comfort during hard times. We explore how to process those emotions instead of carrying them silently for years, and why forgiveness isn’t about condoning pain but releasing it.

This episode is for anyone who has ever felt unseen in their grief or unsure where to start healing. You’ll learn about the five C’s of emotional wellness, how to reconnect with who you truly are, and why grief recovery is more than therapy — it’s a path to freedom. If this conversation resonates, please share it with someone who needs hope today.

Chapters:

00:00 – Welcome to the Feel Free Again Podcast

01:03 – Cindy’s Story: From Religious Trauma to Renewal

02:07 – Surviving Loss, Isolation, and a Suicide Attempt

04:13 – The Turning Point: Discovering the Grief Recovery Method

08:00 – Can You Grieve Someone You’ve Never Met?

15:08 – How the Grief Recovery Process Actually Works

21:23 – The Five C’s of Emotional Wellness Explained

33:04 – Rebuilding Identity After Loss and Forgiveness

44:08 – How Grief Recovery Changes Families and Workplaces

49:20 – Where to Find Cindy’s Books & How to Start Your Own Healing Journey

In this episode of the Feel Free Again Podcast, I sit down with Dr. Andrea Szegedi, a medical doctor, grief recovery specialist, and founder of a clinic in Budapest, Hungary. Andrea’s story is both heartbreaking and deeply inspiring — after losing her third son, she began searching for answers that science, logic, and faith alone couldn’t provide. What she discovered was that grief isn’t just emotional — it’s cellular. It lives in the body, and true recovery means reconnecting the mind, body, and heart.

Connect with Dr. Szegedi: https://www.griefrecoverymethod.com/grms/andrea-szegedi-md

Throughout our conversation, Dr. Andrea Szegedi shares how the Grief Recovery Method gave her stability in the chaos of loss, helping her rebuild her life from the inside out. She opens up about how grief physically affected her body, why expression is the opposite of depression, and how movement, music, and writing became sacred tools for healing. From crawling on the floor to completing two half-marathons, her journey is proof that emotional recovery leads to physical restoration.

We also talk about the missing education around grief, how children naturally process loss, and why modern medicine must integrate emotional healing with physical care. Andrea now uses her platform to help parents, cancer patients, and grievers around the world find peace, laughter, and hope again. Whether you’re grieving a loved one, your health, or simply trying to understand your emotions — this conversation will help you reconnect with the part of yourself that still believes in wholeness.

Chapters:

00:00 – Welcome & Introduction to Dr. Andrea Szegedi

03:00 – Losing a Child and the Birth of a Calling

06:00 – Why Logic and Faith Aren’t Enough to Heal Grief

10:00 – Understanding Grief as an Emotional Process

13:00 – The Pyramid of Grief and Finding Stability

17:00 – How Movement, Crying, and Singing Healed Her Body

23:00 – Laughter and Light Returning After Loss

31:00 – Teaching Children to Process Grief Naturally

40:00 – Integrating Medicine and Grief Recovery in Healthcare

55:00 – The Biology of Trauma and Path to Wholeness

Welcome back to the Feel Free Again Podcast! In today’s episode, I’m joined by grief recovery specialist Michele Mariscal, who brings over 8 years of experience helping people process grief through the Grief Recovery Method. We dive deep into her unique journey—from molecular biology to esoteric philosophy—and how these experiences shaped her approach to grief and healing. Michelle shares how her personal grief journey inspired her to become certified in grief recovery and how she uses powerful tools like HeartMath to help people heal from emotional trauma in both personal and workplace settings.

Connect with Michele:

https://energym.org/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelemariscal-phdgrief/

https://www.facebook.com/michele.mariscal/

https://www.amazon.com/GROWING-THROUGH-GRIEF-Alchemy-Healing/dp/1791800246/ref=sr_1_1?sr=8-1

Grief is often misunderstood, and we’re shedding light on its far-reaching impacts—especially in the workplace. Employers and coworkers often fail to recognize the daily grief events that impact productivity, mental health, and relationships. Michelle shares how grief recovery can support employees in overcoming unresolved grief, helping them process not only personal loss but also unspoken disappointments, broken relationships, and unmet expectations. This episode is a must-listen for anyone looking to understand grief beyond the obvious and learn about the transformative tools that can change the way we communicate and heal, whether in our personal lives or at work.

Tune in as we explore the often-overlooked concept of "emotional maintenance," how unresolved grief impacts workplace dynamics, and why it’s crucial for employers to integrate grief recovery into their employee wellness programs. Whether you’ve experienced personal loss or are navigating unresolved emotions in your workplace, this episode offers valuable insights on how to heal and move forward.

Chapters:

00:00 - Introduction to the Episode

00:06 - Michelle Mariscol’s Background and Grief Recovery Work

01:50 - From Molecular Biology to Esoteric Philosophy

03:43 - Michelle’s Personal Grief Journey and the Catalyst for Certification

06:01 - Finding the Grief Recovery Method in 2017

08:25 - The Power of the Grief Recovery Method as a "Template"

10:36 - The First Steps in Michelle's Grief Recovery Practice

12:57 - Grief in the Workplace: A Hidden Epidemic

15:23 - The Importance of Emotional and Mental Health for Employees

17:50 - How Grief Recovery Can Prevent Workplace Conflict

21:15 - Addressing Unmet Expectations and Grief in Career Development

23:33 - Understanding “Emotional Maintenance” in the Workplace

27:00 - How Grief Recovery Tools Strengthen Employee Relationships

31:12 - The Role of Grief Recovery in Post-Trauma Communities

34:02 - HeartMath and Grief Recovery: A Powerful Combination

38:21 - Wrapping Up and Michelle’s Final Thoughts on Grief

41:09 - Where to Find Michelle and Connect with Her Services

44:00 - Conclusion and Call to Action: Share This Episode