A Solo Person's Guide to ADHD
A Solo Person’s Guide to ADHD is a podcast for adults with ADHD who are doing life without a built-in support system — no partner, no shared mental load, no automatic second brain.
If you’re single, living alone, or functionally solo, ADHD hits differently.
There’s no one reminding you to grab the thing, finish the form, or notice when you’re overwhelmed. Executive dysfunction doesn’t show up as chaos — it shows up as quiet overload, decision paralysis, and the constant feeling that something is wrong, even when you can’t explain what.
This podcast isn’t about productivity hacks, motivation, or “finally getting your life together.”
It’s about understanding what’s actually happening — where ADHD, solo living, and modern life collide — and learning how to build external support, structure, and safety on purpose.
Hosted by Christine Dunning, a master certified life coach, musician, and late-diagnosed adult with ADHD, each episode offers reflection, language, and practical reframes to help you:
- stop blaming yourself for systems that were never designed for solo brains
- identify problems earlier, before burnout sets in
- build structures that work with ADHD instead of against it
You’re not broken.
You’re not behind.
You’re doing too much alone — and this podcast exists to name that, clearly and honestly.
Want to connect? Find me on my website: www.twocatscoaching.com or email me at christine@twocatscoaching.com
A Solo Person's Guide to ADHD
Why Goodbye Doesn’t Come Easily: Grieving Loved Ones When You Have ADHD
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
Host: Christine Dunning, Master Certified Life Coach & founder of Two Cats Coaching
Guest: Stacy Collins, hospice chaplain (Dignity Hospice) & fellow late-diagnosed ADHDer
This second episode in our ADHD & Grief series goes deep on the big one: grieving the death of a loved one—a parent, partner, close friend, or family member. Christine and Stacy explore how ADHD can intensify and complicate the experience—and how support, planning, and self-compassion can make a very hard season a little gentler.
What We Cover
- What hospice really is (and isn’t):
Interdisciplinary care (chaplain, social worker, nurse, CNA) focused on comfort, meaning, and family support—often Medicare-covered when prognosis is ~ six months or less, with the possibility of renewal. - Saying goodbye on purpose:
Hard/beautiful conversations, forgiveness, personal wishes, and rituals that honor the person. - ADHD layers in grief:
Overwhelm → “do-er mode,” numbness, or shutdown; executive-function strain; shame spirals; and how to check in with what’s truly needed right now. - Personal stories:
Sudden loss vs. time to prepare, cumulative grief, and the comfort of knowing a loved one’s wishes. - Grief fog & decision-making:
Why it helps to delay big life choices, what must be handled now, and how to share the load. - If you’re solo (or become solo):
How to ask for help, lean on hospice teams and bereavement services, and let good listeners be present. - Planning for your own end-of-life:
Advance care planning, where to keep documents, who knows how to find them, and choosing meaningful bequests. - Re-entering life:
Gentle self-care, small rituals to mark transitions, and naming that you are changed—and still moving forward.
Favorite Lines
“You will do grief the way you do grief.”
“Sometimes ADHD grief looks like chaos—or like numbness.”
“Live the life you want to live until you die.”
Series Roadmap
- Ep 13: What Is Grief? (ADHD & Big Feelings)
- Ep 14: Why Goodbye Doesn’t Come Easily (this episode)
- Ep 15: Pet Grief — The Quiet Ones Hurt the Most
- Ep 16: Grieving Lost Dreams — The Life I Didn’t Live
- Ep 17: Rituals & Real Talk — ADHD-Friendly Grief Rituals
Resources & Support
- U.S. 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (24/7)
- 911 for emergencies
- Local hospice/bereavement programs (ask your provider or hospice organization)
- Dignity Hospice (Denver): www.dignityco.com
Disclaimer
This podcast is for education and support. It is not medical or mental-health advice. If you’re struggling to function or feel unsafe, please seek professional help (U.S.: 988 or 911).
Connect
- Website & show hub: TwoCatsCoaching.com
- IG/FB: @TwoCatsCoaching
- Freebies? Click here
- Subscribe, rate, and share if this helped you. 🐾
Hi everyone, I'm Christine Dunning, a Master Certified Life Coach and the owner of Two Cats Coaching. Welcome to a Solo Person's Guide to ADHD. This week we are talking about grief. This is a I know it can be a very heavy subject. I'm hoping we can have a few light moments too. I know I have a few light stories actually about some personal grief. And today we're going to talk about the big one. Why goodbye doesn't come easily. And we're going to talk about grieving the death of a loved one. So, parent, significant other. I know we're a podcast for solo people, but a lot of us do have significant others or close friends or cousins or things like that, whatever it is that is close to you. Again, I want to introduce uh Stacey Collins, my good longtime friend. And uh she is the hospice chapel, and this was her idea that we should talk about grief. And I think it's a great one. The first episode, if we want to go back and look, that's gonna be episode 13. You can go back and check. And we just kind of gave an overview of how um people with ADHD and people who are single are impacted a little bit differently than the average person. Today we're gonna talk about the hard stuff. And we're gonna actually, I'd like to start by talking about your work because this is what you do for a living. And honestly, there are parts of this I don't know a ton about. So um tell me about hospice and what hospice is and what hospice does.
SPEAKER_00Yes, yeah. So I um have been a hospice chaplain with Dignity Hospice, and that's uh we go more into care centers and homes. We don't have a base hospice um facility.
SPEAKER_01That's the word you want.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, facility. Okay, yes, but um, but one of the one of the beautiful things about hospice is just even in the in the name hospice, we know that um it is an end-of-lifetime that we can actually acknowledge. And um, there's a whole care team that is with a social worker and a chaplain and a nurse and a CNA and um this whole team is there um to support this person and the family and hopefully help them be able to love this person and um for the family to be able to acknowledge um that they may not have that much time left. So this is a time where those um beautiful conversations, hard conversations, forgiveness can happen, and and even just finding out how would this person like to go out? Are there specific prayers? Are there um, you know, just to be able to think ahead? And this is where also it can be very helpful to have thought out some of the advanced care planning, and um that can also then relieve the family um in that time of um time of grief also.
SPEAKER_01I'm sure it's a I'm sure it's a a difficult job, but also probably quite rewarding.
SPEAKER_00Yes, yes. And I due to um some of my own um losses that I'll go into in a little bit, um for some reason I feel like uh just to it it's a it feels like a privilege to walk beside a family um and see them really sometimes wrestle with the tough stuff, the the stuff of um you know saying goodbye um to that loved one. And we're all gonna be there someday. So I think um to me, just to be part of that journey that everyone will um eventually take and hospice is a I think it's a gentler way to go. It it some people like to uh like to think I I don't want to hang around when I'm ill, I just want to go quickly. But this is kind of the easier, softer way for our loved ones to be able to get some time to say goodbye.
SPEAKER_01And that's true. Um and as and again, we're gonna go into our own personal stories here in just a minute. And I've had opportunities to say goodbye and not had opportunities to say goodbye. And it's it's different. Tell me a little bit about how does hospice work? Um, you know, when do you know it's time to call in hospice? Do they contact you?
SPEAKER_00You know, we're yes. Um sometimes it's the families themselves that contact their doctor, and maybe a doctor says maybe it's time for hospice. And hospice is uh they're able to come onto hospice, which um is covered by by Medicare. And um when in there when they have maybe six six months or less um to live, and this even if they get to the six months and you see that this person is still in decline, um, then that can be um renewed. But it's a so it's more it's a the doctor is the one really to identify that. But lots of people may see that a nurse might, um, the decline or just a family member, and then they can contact um different hospices and some places already refer to specific, um they have maybe several that they've worked with more often, some of the care centers.
SPEAKER_01Um that's really interesting. I did and that's cool that it's that it's covered by Medicare. It's not that a family needs to come out of pocket for.
SPEAKER_00Right, right. And so, and then then we go as a as a hospice team, we go into homes or assisted living facilities or skilled nursing facilities, and um and we're there as that extra layer of support to the medical staff that's already involved.
SPEAKER_01So that's cool. So um we wanted to take a little bit of time and talk a little bit about our own personal uh dealings with death. Um both of us have had some pretty significant things. Um for me, um I started young. My father died when I was three years old. Uh there's a picture, a couple of pictures of him on the back corner here. My camera's a little different from normal, so you can't see him today. Um my mother remarried, so that was and he was great, adopted me in the whole nine yards. But I sort of grew up with around that surrounding of grief, and my mother made the decision not to have me come to the funeral. Um, and I understand that intellectually, and I wish I had gone. Because I don't know that I got to say a goodbye, and I don't remember my dad. So that's challenging for me sometimes. That's been sort of a lifelong struggle that I've dealt with. I and I feel like I've dealt with it more at this point, but it went on for a long time. Um my dad died when I was my my dad, uh my stepdad um died when I was in my 20s. Um and then my mom actually lived here um and moved here for that last year and a half of her life. She wasn't technically in decline, but I think she I think she sort of knew that um she certainly knew that this was going to be the last place she lived. That was something she and I talked about, which is kind of an eerie feeling, I think. Um and then um she's been gone now for close to 30 years. So it's so you know, I I became an orphan at the age of 34, which is not young, but not old either. Um but then since then um I've had a few friends pass away, but I haven't uh I've been very lucky that within my family, um my siblings and stuff, and I have a large family, um, we're all still around. So but uh yeah, it's it's challenging. So yeah, and I know you've dealt with your family, unlike mine, is small. It is, it is you've had a a significant amount of loss.
SPEAKER_00I had a period of one year and a day, I guess it would be, there I had three big losses. And you know, we we may talk about this a little bit more, but the talk about cumulative grief and not being able just feeling like you're processing one and then another death happened. So my sister died at age 40, and she had two little boys, so that was just pretty tragic. And then um seven months later, my dad died. Um, and after and then a year and a day after my sister died, my uh stepfather died, who was had been my stepfather for 20 years. Um so really another father figure in my life. So those three, and then going and shortly after that or within that, I was going through a separation and a divorce and finishing seminary. So it was just this accumulation of that I couldn't keep up with. I couldn't keep up with the grief. And and I I've had to kind of, as time's gone, time has gone on, find ways to kind of circle back around and um say, oh gosh, my dad is gone, my stepdad's gone. I kind of my sister, it was so big and and kind of a first big loss for me of a And you don't have any of your siblings. No, that was my one sister, one sibling. So um it it's been hard. And I think um, so I really have compassion for people that have these multiple losses that um whether that's you know, death or you know in the midst of those losses were other losses. So it's it just adds up. It really does.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I because and as we'll talk about, uh the death of a loved one isn't the only kind of grief we can have, but it does tend to be the most significant and the longest lasting because it's it's irreversible.
SPEAKER_00Absolutely, absolutely.
SPEAKER_01So I guess my one of my first big questions is when somebody with ADHD pass has a loved one pass, um how does that affect somebody with the disorder that you and I both deal with?
SPEAKER_00Yes, yes. I think um it can often somebody at first may just be uh overwhelmed because we can be overwhelmed on a good day. And so then having that come and go, what do I need to do is a big question. People go there. They don't want to deal maybe with the feelings first. They go, what do I have to do? Um, and then coming into that place of allowing yourself to feel. And so sometimes an early thing is it's easy to go numb or sort of say, I'm not really feeling. You can hear people say, I'm not, I haven't cried yet. And that's absolutely very normal to have even that little bit of a shutdown or something. But I think ADHD folks, um, because of, you know, often having multiple plates spinning and balls in the air, we um it can feel kind of like there's either chaos or either chaos or numbness. You kind of go one way or the other often. And so if there's a way to be able to um just get into the present moment and be able to say what really is needed right now. And maybe it's crying, maybe it's journaling, maybe it's a hug from a friend, maybe um it's it's I think we get caught in the because we don't think we're that good at the um executive function things like the list of what I need to do with this happening, that's where we often go first. And I think to be able to kind of check in with yourself more and say what what is really um what is really needed right now. What do I need right now? What does my family need? What does the situation need? But you're part of that situation, so don't um erase yourself in it.
SPEAKER_01And I I think you're right. I think the the concept of, oh my gosh, now I have to deal with a coroner, deal with um, you know, burial arrangements and things like that. Um one of the things that I that I know um looking at different people in my life, I know I was always when my mother passed, she passed very suddenly. We were not expecting it. Um but we always felt pretty blessed that almost everything we knew what she wanted. She'd been very open about talking about what she wanted. And I'll tell this story because um grief is hard, and so let's tell a funny story. My uh when my my mother wanted to be cremated, uh she had been married twice, um, both very happily, and had outlived both husbands, and so she wanted to be her ashes to be scattered in three places. One with uh each of her husbands, my my dad and my stepdad. Um, and then one section, which I mean, they're 10 miles away, uh, where my my father is buried and my stepfather was his ashes were scattered. Uh, but she also wanted a section uh in Minnesota where she had grown up. And I had a sister who lived lived there, and so she took the ashes back with her, and she wanted mom wanted them scattered on the homestead she'd grown up on, which at that point was owned by one of my cousins. So that was easy, you know, it was not hard to do. Um but so my sister arranged and they they had a little cousins gathering, and uh because it was winter time, not a good not a good winter to be getting around. They they had the cousin and they had a little lunch because it's Minnesota, and then after telling stories about mom and all of that, then they realized they had to make a decision where to scatter the ashes, and they decided under the tree where the outhouse used to be. Which sounds really people are like, what? They didn't like it. I know it's actually mom used to go hide in the outhouse when she didn't want to do tours. And we all knew that story. That she would go and sit in the outhouse and read in order to avoid doing dishes or laundry or or you know, whatever the tour was she was trying to avoid. Um and so they thought that would be a place where she would feel at home on the family homestead. So, you know, love it. It doesn't, but it was it was great that we knew what she wanted. And I think that's a that's a real benefit.
SPEAKER_00It is, it is, and it can help with the the grief process, I think, if you can have these discussions ahead of time or uh write it down or something, because I think um a lot of families in in hospice, a lot of people um maybe they don't have your typical memorial or funeral, but they'll get everybody together and um mom wanted a you know, just kind of a party and people sh would share stories. So there's again, there's not one way to grieve, and there's not one way to um celebrate a life. Um and so finding those ways, I think that can really that can really help um in the process itself. But you know, sometimes we just don't have that, have that knowledge, and then you just gotta go with hopefully your family can kind of come to some kind of uh an agreement. Or if you're solo and then you don't have that extended family, talk to your friends, say what I don't know what exactly, but you know, let's brainstorm. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Um and some people don't want to talk about it. I know that's that's something else um I've experienced that um somebody I know uh her husband passed of cancer after a pretty bad 18-month battle. And he never wanted to, even though he was obviously failing at a certain point, he never wanted to talk about it. And so then she was left saying, Okay, what kind of a what kind of a funeral do I have? What kind of a thing do I do? Um, you know, and she had to make those decisions because they were decisions he just didn't feel he could make. Um and I always feel like that's unfortunate, but um, you know, yeah, so it is what it is. Everybody deals with these things differently.
SPEAKER_00Yes, absolutely. And I think our society sometimes runs from that. Although I have heard that the some of the newer generations coming up, they're looking at at death that we all die. You know, sometimes we learn from the next generation coming up to to face something. And I think that um it there's those without going into detail, but the death cafes and things like that where you were questions um are put out there um to be able to face our own loss and the fact that we'll lose everyone at some point.
SPEAKER_01Yes.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Well, and even people who are partnered, you know, for those of us who are single. Uh if you out if you s outlive your partner, you're now single too. Yes. And so, and that's I mean, that's for instance, for instance, what happened to my mother, it's happened to both of my sisters.
SPEAKER_00Um And usually one goes before the other. Yeah. You know, it's rare you go together, and then it that happens too.
SPEAKER_01But so again, for somebody uh with ADHD and uh and especially someone who's single and doesn't have that built-in support at home, um it it however we're the independent type, and it's hard sometimes to ask for help. Are are there ways that we can do that? I mean, and where does where do things like hospice or other support teams come in for that? Can they can they actually help you like with making the funeral arrangements?
SPEAKER_00Yes, and and um we have you know after a loss also you have we have um bereavement counselors that can work with you for I think don't quote me on this, but I think it's 15 months after the loss for multiple family members if if it's needed. So I think processing that, but even prior to that, the social worker or chaplain um it's part of our part of our work if someone wants that to be able to um help them with that. So there's in that system there really is a support to say um, you know, let's sit down and and really figure out a way to honor this person. And that um and I would say also just, you know, if you feel totally alone, you know, those those friends that really are able to just listen and not give like this is what you need to do to fix this or do this and that, but those friends that are will willing to just be with you as you're crying or as you are frustrated or whatever it might be to find those people. Sometimes we feel like we're a burden to others, but it's such a to me to be there for friends in that way is a is a gift to me to be able to do that.
SPEAKER_01That's great. I love that. Um so one of uh another issue that often comes up is um the grief fog. That you know, as we are in, especially that most active part of grief, you know, when the death has been more imminent. Um what are some suggestions as to how people handle that intense period?
SPEAKER_00Yes, I think especially not to um, you know, make the big decisions or life changes or the move right then and be able to just kind of because if you're already in a fog, you know, you want to let that uh some of that burn off. And that and for each person that might be different, but I think um knowing you don't have to do it all right away. And we certainly learned during COVID, you can put off the memorial, you can, you know, even for a year, and maybe that's even in certain families and certain for certain people that may even be better. You have some time, you can look through photos, you can um nothing has to be rushed. And then some for some people um to know, gosh, in order to move forward, I this has to uh this needs to happen sooner than later. So again, not a one size fits all.
SPEAKER_01Well, and I think sometimes, you know, and especially if you are the the only person or the only single person dealing with um a death in your family, say a parent, for example, um, there are unfortunately big decisions that have to be made. You know, are you going to sell a property? Are you going to um move a surviving spouse out of a home and into a care facility? Are you going to, you know, how do you how do you just simply split up the stuff if you have siblings? All of those and those things can be wrought with family dynamics.
SPEAKER_00Yes, and often it can fall on the more either responsible one or the one that just will do it. And and that doesn't mean it's the non-ADHD person. Sometimes that's the person that can go into hyper focus mode in those times and or the one that is able to feel and walk through this. And and again, we know there are big gifts with having ADHD. Because it it allows us sometimes different pathways to the same place. And so sometimes you're the one that the family goes, this person um will help us, they'll do this or something. So I think but it's important to talk to to everybody and and share that load if possible. Um and I mean a lot of the funeral homes and um will also help. They have people to help talk through some things too. And um, you know, there are that that can very you know help if you're feeling like, oh gosh, I gotta go it alone.
SPEAKER_01One other thing that I think is an important part of this is not only dealing with our loved ones' mortality, but dealing with our own possible mortality, you know, we're all gonna die sometime. Yes, yes, you know, and so what are things that we can do, and especially as somebody who's single, I don't have somebody who's automatically going to inherit my stuff or be there for me. Um as I hit even those last stages if I have a disease or something like that, or you know, God forbid I get hit by a car. Um, you know, how do I make sure that I have things set up so that things aren't just dumped on my loved ones?
SPEAKER_00That is good. I think again, being able to do some of the um advanced care planning and um writing about it is wonderful if you can get to that where you say what what what would be a meaningful um nonprofit to donate to, or what are some of the, you know, to know that, you know, even though, and I don't have children, even though I don't have children, what would be where would I like to see some life and to give back? And um so thinking about that ahead of time. And some people even say, you know, at age 18, it's not too soon to do this kind of work because you don't know, you never know. Um it's hard to go into it, but if you can just um begin that process with just what means something to me, what do I imagine um I'd like to see? And for my own death, what what would I really like? And getting that to um your friends and family um and or or having a place where you can you tell somebody this is where it's located.
SPEAKER_01Um I think I think that's yeah, I think that's some of it too, is like, you know, do people know where I store my important papers? Yes. Yes. Do people know what, you know, if I get sick, what I would like? What if it's a what if it's something sudden? You know, do they know how to find those things? I think it's important to it's it's so hard to have these conversations, but I think it's important to do that. Yes. For me personally, I mean I've talked to a handful of friends, you're being you being one of them. Um, one of my sisters. And she and I've had long discussions on this because we she and I feel a lot of the same way about this. Um and of course we've been through the same deaf experiences in our family, in our own, in our own family. Um and then I I've talked to some of my nieces and nephews because if all of the if I survive all of those people, they're probably still gonna be around when I'm gone. So um, and I have to admit, I don't have all my paperwork in order. That's one of those things I I keep inching away at it, and then I get distracted and busy.
SPEAKER_00Oh yeah. But but I think again, it's like this, and that's where you know some people will say to me, You work for hospice, isn't that sad? Isn't that hard? I think there's something very um life-giving to facing death, because that's a truth in our lives. We're not getting out of this alive. And um I think it can be very freeing. It's like moving, accepting our own death can bring us life. And and one of the things with hospice is we help people to live the life they want to live until they die. And um so I think um what did I want to live the life yes, to to to be able to live live fully and live the life they want to live until they until they die. And as they die, you know, even being able to to um do that on their on their terms. And again, we we don't always have you know, we don't have a control over maybe the when of when we die. Um but um how we go through that.
SPEAKER_01And I think another important thing is before we get to that point, to um make sure that we are treating the loved ones in our lives with no regrets. Um again, my mother died when I was just 34, and she and I were quite close. So, and I've had a lot of people say, Oh, that was it must be so hard. Of course it was, it was very hard. But I know there are two things I know. And one was that I didn't have anything unsaid with my mother. Um you know, we had a we had a good relationship, she knew I loved her, I know she loved me. There was no like what ifs, what ifs between us. And the other thing, and this was this is challenging, and I'm but it's something she and I, she and I are the ones, I was the child to whom she often had these kind of discussions. Um, she had different kinds of discussions with other siblings. And I'm not, I wasn't her executor, my brother was because that was more his wheelhouse, not mine. Uh, you don't if you if you can avoid it, you don't have hand the executive keys to the to the your child who's undiagnosed ADHD. Although I'm my nephew is one of the ones I'm looking at for that, and he's way more ADHD than I. But but he's also in the power. So, you know, there's that. But um she was ready to go. And that's a very interesting discussion to have with your parent, who at that point isn't exhibiting any, I mean, she'd have her share of health issues, but it wasn't like she was in hospice or something at the time. But she said, I've I have lived I she said, I'm not saying I want to go, but when the time comes, I'm good. I have already done the things I wanted to do.
SPEAKER_00That must bring you great comfort.
SPEAKER_01Yes, and I think we had that discussion within less than a year of her death. So so when it happened, it was again not easy, because it's never easy. And my mother died um of a blood clot. So it was it was an instant death. We didn't we there was no no goodbye. Um the other thing that gives me comfort is that she was not alone. She actually was had a nurse, she lived in one of those extended nursing facilities. She was still independent, but she called for some help that night because she was not feeling well. And so she was literally talking to a nurse, and her face just went up and she was gone. And so if she could have been saved, she would have been. Because the nurse literally, you know, grabbed her, started CPR, pulled the cord, the paramedics were there in like a minute and a half, two minutes. It was very quick. Um, but she was gone. And um, and although that that is hard, on the other hand, I know she really didn't want to linger in a nursing home. So I'm very grateful that we didn't have to deal with it. But that's why I don't know as much about hospices. We didn't deal deal with that with her. We didn't have to. She was she was here one minute and gone then.
SPEAKER_00Yes, yes. And and sometimes people are in hospice and they think and they believe they're ready to go, and some reason it doesn't happen like that. And and sometimes it does. And I there's you know, we'll have questions like is there something that um would help you be able to let go more? Or is there a way, you know, w what whatever that might be, maybe um talking to someone that you haven't talked to in a while and all those things. That's part of our work.
SPEAKER_01You hear about the people hanging on until somebody gets to fly in.
SPEAKER_00Yes, exactly. Or that, yeah, until I'm gonna get through, you know, some people that are adamant I'm gonna get through this Christmas or this holiday. Um and they do sometimes and sometimes not. Again, it's never um never one size fits all. Yes.
SPEAKER_01Um Wow, this has been uh powerful and and challenging. Um I'm trying to think if there's anything else we haven't covered. Um I think one thing one thing that I that I am thinking about is that so as you're going through this grieving period after your loved one has passed, um how do you sort of reintegrate back into your regular life? You know, when do you when do you go back to work and how you deal with you know the pressures of your regular life once you are past this the first portion of your grieving period?
SPEAKER_00I th I think um everybody is different, but I think listening to yourself and and and maybe finding ways to know this is how I'm gonna still take care of myself, even when I've got to get back to the office or get back to work, um, I'm gonna come back and take a bubble bath or I'm gonna do this or that, some self-care things just built in to life in this new way. And um the other thing I think um is even prior to that, and I know we're gonna get into this in another episode, um, but more about like even these rituals of um, you know, maybe saying, I'm I'm ready to enter back into the world more. Maybe there's uh some kind of way or ritual you can have, whether that's lighting a candle, or um one time a f friend and I went and we took all these different little leaves and flowers that were on the ground and we put them in a little ball and um put them down in a there was a river, and so we just let them float down the river, and that's um that is sort of letting go of some things or grief or saying I'm and and welcoming in then the new life that's coming. So I think um, you know, being able to name it and that this is you are change for life with this loss. Yes. And um, but it can be very, I think the ritual part of it um is a way to just name that that I will never be the same. Your life touched me, or this job touched me that I worked in for so long and now I'm letting go of it, whatever it is, right? Um, that we find those um those ways to release and welcome in the new.
SPEAKER_01That sounds fabulous. Let's go ahead and and wrap this one up, I think. I think we've we've sort of been through. Uh thank you so much for coming and talking about this. Um, a reminder that if you are finding yourself um dealing with any kind of an especially intense grief, if you're really struggling, please do reach out to a mental health professional or your doctor. Um if it's urgent, call 911 or 988 in the United States for medical help. Um and know that you're not alone. Um take the time to take care of yourself. Um it's really important. There are and and that doing grief right is not really an option. You will do grief the way you do grief. And uh as somebody with ADHD uh that may look different from other people around you, and that's okay. We are who we are. We're going to talk next time about um pet grief, uh, especially for those of us who are single in ADHD. Um but not just us. Uh anybody who is a pet lover, um they're in some ways sort of our our practice grief because their lives are shorter than ours. So it's much more unless you have a parent. Um but um yeah, more likely that they will pass before us. And in some ways, it's a way to practice how to grieve these bigger griefs for when we do lose our human loved ones. Yes. So again, I'm Christine Dunning. Uh thank you much for come for coming. Um a reminder to if you are interested in these episodes, do check these out. We're gonna have five of these total. Um remember to subscribe, hit like, uh, and share these with other people who may be dealing with grief issues in their life. And again, we'll see you next time as we talk about pets. Thanks for coming.