Life After Loss

08/22/2026

Our first widow/widower group twice a month meeting is happening now. If you have lost a spouse/SO come join us.

08/21/2026

I wrote this in a grief group. I like it so much, I am reposting. Please share with someone you know grieving.

Tomorrow, August 22 Diana Morrison Turner and I are launching a twice a month online group for widows and widowers. Join us at DissolvingGrief.com

How we grieve is a choice. That we loved so much and lost the person we love and now we grieve...that isn't a choice. Except we choose to love. That's a different post!
I lost my beautiful husband 6 years ago to a glioblastoma. He was 56. I miss him every day. And I decided I would live my life with him walking beside me as he embarked on his new adventure and I stay here creating and living my new adventure.
Like my mom, I could decide to grieve every day for more years than they were married. That is not disrespect to my mother, who I love with all my heart. That is the fact of her choice.
I decided I had too much love in my heart to just sit and wallow. I dated after a time and I found a man who respects my husband...a man he never met. He respects him through the stories and the fact that here is my late husband, walking beside me.
The pain does begin to subside. But like any wound, if you keep picking and the scab and opening the wound, you will bleed again and be in pain again. There is

08/12/2026

The 2nd Edition of Conversations with my Dead Husband is coming out on September 1, 2026. That "is" our 30th anniversary. Sure, he isn't here physically, but that doesn't mean our love story isn't going on...in a different way.

07/31/2026

Widow brain causes much the same reactions. While your mind, spirit, and body heal from the trauma of losing your partner, Stacy Braiuca has some excellent ideas to help you along.

07/30/2026

Finishing up another certification in hypnosis protocol. This one is called Deep Brain Fear Reprogramming. If everything, including hypnosis, isn't working or isn't working completely, this is where you go. I am directing it specifically to widows/widowers

Need two volunteers to do some DBFR with me. It will be 3 sessions, 3 weeks in a row. So please only volunteer if your calendar is open.

This is totally different than any hypnotherapy, ketamine, EMDR, or talk therapy you have gone through.

At the end of each session (briefly) and at the end of it all (about 30 minutes?) I want your honest impressions. You will need to fill out my intake form completely.

At the very end, a Google review if it helped.

http://www.chatwithcatherine.com and get on my calendar, then send me a note here.

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!

Heal from grief, trauma, heartbreak and emotional pain with expert 1-to-1 support. My Inner Resilience helps you rebuild confidence, peace and purpose.

07/26/2026

Six years ago - July 2020.

I just lost Barry, Got a new dog, a corgi named Digby, my emotional support animal. And it is real to have and need an ESA.

Just starting my new life, the life I would never have chosen, the life I got, the opportunity to create something new and wonderful.

07/10/2026

Doing edits on the 2nd edition of Conversations with My Dead Husband. i decided to do some cyber-snooping on the people I mention in the book that abandoned me after promising Barry they would watch out and be my friend forever.

The day after Barry died, one person wrote this, "Rest in peace Barry Cohen knowing that all of us friends will support Catherine Napoli-Cohen and give her lots of love. "

Days before the Christmas Eve dinner tradition I kept she informed me she wasn't coming. It was the end of several months of her, her husband, and other friends tearing me down.

Don't lie to widows. Don't make promises you have no intention of keeping.

06/17/2026

I am working on the 2nd edition of my book, Conversations with My Dead Husband. It will be released on September 1, 2026, what would have been our 30th anniversary.
Barry died on May 16. I thought it was "around the time" we met. As I am completing the edits, I looked at a 1995 calendar and realized the first time we met was Tuesday, May 16, 1995. He died on Saturday, May 16, 2020.

02/24/2026

Smoking isn't about smoking. It is a way to cope, Change the need for a coping mechanism, you won't need to smoke anymore. It is deeply emotional.

02/20/2026

The newsletter is back!

💖 Releasing the Need for Coping Mechanisms 💖
February is the month of Love. And there is no greater Love than Self-Love. Remember what your flight attendant told you, “Put your own oxygen mask on before helping others.”
Catherine
Grief Recovery & Emotional Healing Practitioner | Master Hypnotherapist | NLP Practitioner | Creator of Origin Point Method™
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When Coping Mechanisms Become Chains
Many people turn to smoking not for enjoyment—but for relief. It’s has become a habit. The habit is a result of unconscious mind programming, trying to soothe emotional pain, anxiety, grief, or stress.
The momentary calm that smoking brings can feel like control in the chaos. Really though, it’s just your unconscious mind trying to protect you from emotional discomfort. That coping mechanism—though once helpful—can eventually become a chain that keeps you trapped instead of safe.
Coping mechanisms aren’t the problem.
They’re the unconscious solution your mind created to help you survive.
Healing the Root, Not the Habit
I help clients gently remove the need for the coping mechanism.
You can’t fight the cravings or force willpower, because the unconscious mind—the part that created the pattern in the first placed, created this coping mechanism when you needed it. When the hidden emotional charge behind the habit is released, the need for the behavior simply fades away.
According to one client, “I thought ‘not me’ no one can talk/hypnotize me into stop smoking! Surprisingly it worked and I’ve continued on my smoke free journey. Thank you, Catherine!!”________________________________________
Self-Care That Actually Heals
Self-care isn’t just about a relaxing massage or great reflexology. (That is part of it – see below for my personal recommendations)
It’s about tending to your inner self and feeling safe within your emotions.
Try these three self-care practices this month:
✅ Pause Before You React.
Notice your feelings instead of numbing them. Ask yourself: “What am I really needing right now?”
✅ Acknowledge, Don’t Avoid.
Negative emotions lose their power when seen with compassion. Let yourself feel—without judgment.
✅ Get the Right Kind of Support.
True healing comes when your unconscious mind joins the process, not resists it.
My bodywork healers are Angela Chase, Sacred Wings Reiki and Reflexology (602-622-4416) and Katy Vondy, This Is Bliss Massage ((480) 788-5434) If you are in the Phoenix area, I highly recommend these women.
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Take the Next Step in Healing
If you’re ready to stop smoking—or release any coping mechanism—without endless struggle, I invite you to a Focus Forward Session.
A Focus Forward Session is your dedicated time to pause, breathe, and map out the next version of your life with intention.
🗓️ [Book Your Focus Forward Session Now]
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💌 Stay Connected
Follow along for more healing insights, tools for emotional freedom, and transformative stories from clients walking the path of real change.
🌐www.MyInnerResilience.com
📧 [email protected]
📞 602-295-3411

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