Welcome to the Shalene Show. Thanks so much for being here. I'm very grateful that you would spend your time with me.

I want to start by asking you a question.

Have you ever had an experience or maybe you're having it now where you

feel a sense of loss almost like a sense of grief for

something or someone who isn't dead,

but it's gone or they're gone or the way it once was is gone.

If something came to mind and you feel conflicted or strange or even

struggled to identify what it is you're feeling, well then this is the episode for you because today we're talking about the

ambiguity. This concept, this feeling is sometimes referred to as ambiguous loss or

ambiguous grief and I'm going to do my best today to unpack it.

As I've said many times, I'm not a licensed psychologist or psychiatrist.

My objective is just to get into think deeper.

Even though I might offer some suggestions or tips, I hope that you know this doesn't replace therapy.

Like listen to the show. I hope that you find it entertaining.

I really do hope that when you listen to certain episodes they make you think a little deeper

that you can sort through some of your own thoughts. Maybe I give you the right words to express what it is.

You're feeling or going through at least that's what I feel like happens based on a lot of the messages I read from you

inside the pod squad or inside our patreon group and even though I joke that talking about these things and talking through them and doing the research

is very therapeutic for me. I still have a therapist and I just want you to know that I am not a therapist.

This doesn't replace therapy and it's one of the reasons why it was really important to me that I find

a place I could recommend to you for those of you who you're toying with this idea.

And maybe you've never gone in person to see a therapist, but it's something you're curious about or maybe you know you need to talk to somebody.

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