Zeina Ramadan: Grief

Zeina Ramadan: Grief

How do people find strength in their journey to sobriety and mental wellbeing when grief knocks the wind out of them? This conversation between psychology student and grief specialist Zeina Ramadan and host Tyler Barber takes on that question head‑on, especially for young adults and students. You’ll hear Zeina share how a “cool sounding” hospice job quickly turned into something deeply personal when she lost both grandparents in the same year.

That parallel of studying grief while living it gives her a grounded, no‑nonsense way of talking about loss: "You don't know grief until you experience it." She walks through why the familiar five stages model doesn’t fit most people and explains newer ideas like grief and restoration orientations – the constant back‑and‑forth between feeling the pain and getting on with everyday life.

The episode breaks down why grief looks different for everyone, why guilt is so common, and how avoidance can quietly take over through work, substances or endless distractions. Zeina talks through prolonged grief disorder, how identity can become wrapped up in the person who died, and what that means for those who feel stuck years later. Students and young adults get particular attention here: juggling studies, jobs, relationships and family responsibilities while grieving away from home.

Zeina offers practical suggestions – leaning on community support, asking for help with everyday tasks, finding personal ways to honour someone’s memory, and building small routines to restore a sense of control. If you’re sober, cutting down, or just trying to protect your mental health, this episode may help you see grief as something shared and human, rather than something you have to “tough out” alone.

It might leave you asking: who’s in your corner when loss hits, and how can you let them in a little more?