At the annual ADEC (Association of Death Education and Counseling), I spoke with Jeffrey Kauffman about shame after grief and how complicated grief can be the result of the shame.

Jeffrey is the author of a book called “The Shame Of Death, Grief, and Trauma.”

Shame is a topic a lot of people shy away from, but the truth is there’s a lot of shame involved in grief. In the video below, Jeffrey explains how we can move through the shame and heal.

Here are some key takeaways from the video:

• Shame is the biggest hidden emotional factor is people’s experience with grief. Since the shame is so hidden, it can really complicate the grieving process.
• Peoples’ inability to recognize their feelings in grief, and inability to be in touch with themselves, has a lot to do with the shame they feel about their grief emotions.
• As a parent feeling the grief of a child who died, there’s a certain vulnerability because you feel responsible for protecting your child. No matter what happens, there’s always a tendency to feel like you should have been able to do something different.
• Shame is different from the other emotions from grief we have in that it has to do with ourselves. We may feel ashamed of something, but it always comes back to feeling ashamed of ourselves.
• One of the reasons why it’s so important for us to understand shame, Jeffrey says, is because the tendency in our culture to deny death has everything to do with the feeling of shame that comes with death.
• If death were out in the open and treated like a regular part of life, then Jeffrey believes the tendency to feel shame would be significantly reduced.
• Being able to bring the feelings that you’re feeling ashamed about out in the open really helps to reduce the amount of shame you feel.
• Jeffrey recommends talking to someone who ‘gets it’, somebody who can validate your experience and is accepting of what you feel. A person like that will help you come to terms with the fact that what you’re feeling is OK, which is what matters most when dealing with the shame that comes with grief.

For more video interviews, please see the Open To Hope YouTube channel.