7: After The Storm: Where Healing Begins presented by Brian D. Smith - Episode 77: After The Storm: Where Healing Begins presented by Brian D. Smith - Episode 7
UK Health Radio Podcast
Brian D. Smith talks about mindfulness as a practical way to create space from painful thoughts and the inner critic during grief. He explains simple meditation techniques and research-supported benefits, linking them directly to life after loss and emotional recovery.
44:30•7 Aug 2026
After The Storm: Mindfulness, Grief and Finding a Quiet Moment
Episode Overview
- Mindfulness is simply noticing what’s happening while it’s happening, without jumping in or trying to stop thoughts.
- The harsh inner voice in grief is made of protective "parts" or "saboteurs" that can be observed rather than obeyed.
- Meditation works by creating a small gap between stimulus and response, helping you respond instead of react.
- Simple, comfortable practice with a neutral sound and "no forcing" can be more effective than rigid, complex techniques.
- Benefits of regular mindfulness build slowly, showing up in everyday moments as reduced anxiety, better sleep and more emotional space.
“"If you can hear that voice, then it isn't you. You are the one listening to it."”
How do people find strength in their journey to sobriety and grief? This episode of After The Storm, hosted by Brian D. Smith on UK Health Radio, leans hard into mindfulness as a practical tool when life has been torn apart by loss. Brian, a certified grief guide and founder of Grief 2 Growth, speaks from his experience after the passing of his 15-year-old daughter, Shana.
He revisits his GEMS framework—gratitude, exercise, sleep and mindfulness—and zooms in on the "M" because, as he puts it, mindfulness "lets you catch your own mind in the act." Instead of trying to "stop thinking", he explains that your mind is designed to think, and the real skill is noticing thoughts without becoming them.
You’ll hear Brian unpack the harsh inner voice that often ramps up in grief: "It says you should be further along by now… if only you had done something different, they'd still be here." He introduces two helpful models—Positive Intelligence by Shirzad Shamin and Internal Family Systems by Richard Schwartz—to show that these inner 'saboteurs' or 'parts' are actually trying to protect you, even when they make you miserable.
The heart of the episode is a very down-to-earth look at meditation. Brian shares the simple rules he learned from meditation teacher Kelvin Chin’s "Turning Within" method: be comfortable, no forcing, and let the mind do what it does while gently returning to a neutral sound. He reminds you that drifting away and coming back is the practice, not a failure.
Backed by research on anxiety, sleep and inflammation, Brian connects mindfulness directly to grief, describing it as pressing a "brake pedal" on an overwhelmed nervous system. Rather than promising instant bliss, he talks about subtle changes—more patience, less reactivity, and the ability to respond instead of react.
If you’ve ever thought "I’m terrible at meditation" or felt bullied by your own thoughts while grieving or rethinking your relationship with alcohol, this gentle, practical chat might be exactly the pause button you’ve been looking for. Could a few quiet minutes each day be the start of a different story with your pain?
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