Episode 009: Part 2 Unspeakable Losses, Grief and Healing with Stacy Hladek, LPC

Examine Your Hedman

Your hosts, Tara Hedman and Diane Thompson welcome Stacy Hladek, LPC, to today’s episode. Stacy lost both of her parents to a drunk driver 20 years ago. Ten years later, her daughter also passed away in a car accident, and in today’s episode (the second of two), she dives deep into the details of this terrible incident that changed her life forever as well as the lives of her husband and son. Stacy talks about shock, trauma, grief, and loss.

Through her remarkable story, Stacy discloses her tremendous pain, grief, and healing. Stacy is a Licensed Professional Counselor in Colorado Springs specializing in children and trauma. She is direct and warm, a powerful and rare combination.

Life really can suck less, so examine your head, man!

Key Takeaways:

[1:34] Stacy shares how her daughter passed away and how she found out about it.

[5:20] Stacy shares not remembering what happened once she found out the news.

[8:12] What is dissociation?

[12:17] Stacy shares how children experience dissociation differently than adults do.

[13:01] Stacy remembers what the day her daughter passed away was like.

[16:33] What was going on in Stacy’s mind and heart when her daughter’s friends started showing up at her door?

[17:45] Grief can be very contradictory.

[21:25] What was it like “being a mess?”

[25:30] Stacy and Tara talk about the connection between memory and smell.

[30:08] Stacy explains how exhausting it is to grieve.

[36:12] Stacy shares the blessings that came after her daughter passed away.

[39:10] There’s crucial importance in continuing to talk about those who have passed away.

[42:30] Stacy shares how the relationship with her husband was impacted by the loss of her parents and their daughter.

[48:10] Stacy talks about the most and least helpful tools she got from counseling.

[49:39] It is better to say the wrong thing than not say anything at all.

[51:53] Stacy shares how she helped her son through his grieving process.

[55:26] What is the biggest difference in Stacy today compared to herself before her losses?

[57:40] Stacy extends her advice to people who are grieving.

[59:41] What does Stacy know now that she wishes she had known then?

[1:02:55] What was helpful from counseling?

[1:04:05] Stacy gives a brief synopsis of EMDR.

[1:07:56] Adult grief can look very different from a child’s grief.

Mentioned in this episode:

Hedman Wellness

Examine Your Hedman Podcast

Visit Examine Your Hedman

Room of Marvels, James Bryan Smith

A Grief Observed, C. S. Lewis

Internal Family Systems

Lifespan Integration

EMDR Therapy

This podcast is not a substitute for a therapeutic relationship with a mental health professional