Brian Smith

I am a Grief Guide, Life Purpose Coach, and Small Business Consultant. My mission is to help people rediscover who they are and why they are here. In those two questions lie the secrets to not only surviving this life but thriving. If you're feeling "stuck", it's most likely because you have forgotten the answer to one or both of these questions. My vision is to create a world where everyone has a sense of purpose and fulfillment. If we know the "why", we can endure any "how'. I want to remind everyone of their true nature and their reason for being. I became well acquainted with grief in 2015 after the sudden passing of my fifteen-year-old daughter Shayna. After Shayna's passing, I felt my life was over. I had to learn to survive for the sake of my wife, Tywana, and my daughter, Kayla. I have studied the nature of life and death and how to progress through grief of all kinds from a job loss, divorce, illness, or the death of a loved one. I speak from experience of all of the above. I provide a safe space where you can safely share what you are experiencing. I share techniques that I discovered and developed after my devastating loss. Perhaps most importantly, I can help you understand that death is not goodbye and that your relationship with your loved one can continue. Any ending is a new beginning. My understanding is not a religious-based belief, but a position arrived at based on reason and evidence. Shortly after Shayna transitioned, I discovered Helping Parents Heal, a non-profit peer-to-peer support group for parents of children who have passed. I volunteer with Helping Parents Heal and I am on the Board of Directors. I have worked with hundreds of parents who have lost children. I am also a volunteer and Vice President of the SoulPhone Foundation. I am the author of "Grief 2 Growth: Planted. Not Buried." I am the host and creator of the Grief 2 Growth podcast.

Articles:

When to Seek Grief Counseling

When to Seek Grief Counseling Grief is an inevitable part of life. Some think there is a cure for grief and they treat grief like a disease. Grief counseling may or may not be beneficial to you. Most people are able to deal with most grief with their social network of family and friends. If you’re functioning normally, able to get out of bed, sleep, work, etc., you might not need grief counseling. However, if you’re having suicidal thoughts, can’t sleep, can’t eat, you require medical intervention. If there is any doubt, get to your doctor. Some red flags are: […]

Is Grief a Natural State?

Consider this. If we didn’t love, we wouldn’t grieve. Your grief is a sign of your love. Your love didn’t die when your loved one’s body died. Love endures. The evidence of the survival of love is grief. Be grateful for the love that continues even though that love means you are now in pain. Love is a Gamble I have a pair of sneakers with a graphic saying “Love is a gamble.” I bought them years ago. I had no idea of the depth of meaning of that phrase until Shayna passed. My love for her was a tremendous […]

Will I Ever Feel Again? Numbness and Suicide

During the early stages of grief, you might notice that you can’t feel, and you may ask yourself: Will I ever feel again? This emotional numbness is normal and will pass. This emotional anesthesia is a protection provided by shock because you cannot handle everything at once. You probably have responsibilities like funeral arrangements to get through. You very well might go on auto-pilot and continue to function “normally’ until you can’t anymore. You might not cry at the funeral and wonder what is wrong with you. In these early stages, you may even feel guilty because you don’t think […]

Why We Grieve

Why do we grieve? If loss is a part of life; if death is normal, why do we mourn? I’ve heard grief described as being similar to withdrawal from drugs. We physically crave the person we are missing. Our brains have gotten used to their feel, their smell, everything about them. There is something their physical presence does for us that we become addicted to. When we lack that, it triggers a reaction not unlike drug withdrawal. I believe there is something to this theory, but it doesn’t explain everything associated with grief. Grief and Hope are Linked We don’t […]

How Holidays Have Changed Since My Daughter Died

This Christmas will be the eighth Christmas since my daughter Shayna passed away at the age of just fifteen years old. While Shayna was (and is) special in many ways, she was a typical kid because she loved Christmas. In our family, the holidays and birthdays were all bundled together. Our wedding anniversary was in early November, followed closely by my older daughter’s birthday in late November, Thanksgiving, Christmas, then Shayna’s birthday in early January. She couldn’t get enough of the late fall and early winter celebrations. When Shayna passed away, it changed everything about our lives. Holidays and birthdays […]

Crisis is a Chance to Address the Big Questions in Life

“Who am I?” and “Why am I here?” These are the big questions of life. We call these existential questions because, without the answers, we suffer from an existential crisis. We think of a crisis as a bad thing, as something to be avoided. But, the origin of the word crisis is the Greek words krisis” and “krino,” ancient Greek words meaning “to decide” and “turning point.” A crisis can be an opportunity. The Problem I believe the biggest problem facing humanity today is that we have forgotten who we are and why we are here. For most of our […]