Ep 3: Overcoming Addiction and Grief with Caron Grossman

Show Notes:

My dearest friend Caron Grossman is joining me for the first podcast interview! 

She is a Registered Nurse, has worked in grief and end-of-life, and is a writer. She has an incredible TedxTalk called: Permission to Grieve. She has overcome many challenges and lives a courageous and open-hearted life. She’s a dear friend and a wonderful person and you’re going to love her. 

Caron shares how she’s always had a desire to know more about herself. At an early age she felt like she was “too much” for people. She could feel what others felt, but didn’t know how to talk about. It became clear to her that she was different, and she felt it had to be a secret so because she wanted to fit in. 

She shares her story of loss that occurred early in her life. With no one to talk to, she turned to food and other ways to numb her feelings. Like many of us, she had all these feelings but no way to express them, or work through them. 

Caron shares how her addictions provided a buffer for her once her mom had passed away. It was a way for things to feel less scary since she didn’t have the language or the tools to deal with her emotions. 

Recovery for her began when she was finally able to get the real reason she was using food and later alcohol to manage her feelings. You will relate to her journey. She sought help once and didn’t go back until a few years later when she felt ready. Giving up her addictions meant saying goodbye to the person she was to transform to the person she is today. 

Caron explains how writing a letter to her emotions helps her to truly feel them. She acknowledged that if she avoids feeling them, they come out in a different, ultimately more difficult way. 

Be comfortable with the uncomfortable. 

We have been raised to be pretty and to never make others uncomfortable and now we know it’s okay to be messy. Everything doesn’t have to be perfect and it’s fine if things are untidy. 

“Where do you feel that in your body?” Caron explains that she was asked that in therapy and didn’t really know what it meant or how to even feel her emotions. Now she explains that she can feel it and identify where in her body her emotions show up. 

Caron shared with me that there is freedom with discipline and boundaries. There was a time when I couldn’t understand that and she explains it in such a lovely way. The freedom that comes from discipline and boundaries and the ease that comes from honoring them. 

Don’t miss the rapid fire questions at the end. Caron shares some amazing book options and her “what I know for sure answer” will inspire you too. 

Resources: 

• Permission to Grieve TED Talk
• Finding Me by Viola Davis
• Alcoholics Anonymous
• Overeaters Anonymous
• Al-Anon

P.S. Want to dive deeper into your personal Emotional Expedition? Join me and an intimate group for an 8 week LIVE virtual book study of Brené Brown's book, Atlas of the Heart. This book will be our roadmap to understanding ourselves & others better, learning the language to better express ourselves & ask for what we need, and coming together in community & connection. For more information: Atlas of the Heart Book Study