grief support group #5 💌 on being friends with exes, missing my mom, and navigating friendship after parental loss

Welcome to the 💌💗GRIEF SUPPORT GROUP🪩🍒‼️. This is my radio show on KSFS Radio at San Francisco State where I talk all things pop culture, my research on grief and media, and answer your advice questions.This week I discuss missing my mom, the concept of being friends with exes, earnestly dating, and answer the following advice questions:★ Can you please give advice on how to navigate this situation with my friend? I am at a loss of what to do at this point. My dad died 10 months ago, and it was really unexpected. During the week after he died, I had a friend offer to bring over dinner. Her dad had passed the year prior and I was grateful to have someone to lean on who gets it, especially because most of my close friends/family aren’t nearby. She ended up saying there was too much traffic and said I should come over to her house the next week (which I absolutely did not have the energy to do). I was so deep in my grief (and just shock) at that time that I didn’t realize how hurtful it was until I had a moment to process it later. I thought maybe it was too much for her but she has historically only done what was convenient for her in our friendship. She started to randomly text me - a hug and heart emoji on Father’s Day and “just wanted to say I’m thinking of you” texts every few months. She text me “thinking of you” again this week but she’s never asked how I’m doing beyond these texts. I don’t know what to do at this point because it just feels so surface level. Would love your advice!★ How do I help my friend who really self sabotages themself. They are going through a tough time 24/7 it seems and I feel as though I’m watching them hurt themselves (ex: self deprecating comments, substance abuse, no impulse control).Ask your advice questions anonymously here: bit.ly/ksfsadviceHere’s the music I played this week: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3efDjcUXOyj7MAgDx9GufC?si=imzDCtZ6SOiVp1qu_EUesgIf you want to play the music alongside the audio:Introduction segmentMusic break [running out of time, main thing]Research segment Music break [You Don’t Know My Name]Advice segment 1 Music break [Boy’s a liar Pt. 2]Advice segment 2 and outroListen live next time on Tuesdays from 9-10 a.m. PST at ksfsmedia.net or by downloading the KSFS radio app. 🪩 See you there! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit griefandmedia.com