Still Grieving After Years? It’s Okay If You Are

05/21/25 • 3 min

2 Listeners

It’s Okay If… Permission Slips for Mental Health, Self-Acceptance, and Growth

Grief doesn’t follow neat timelines – and it doesn’t mean something’s wrong with you if it still shows up years later.

Whether it’s been a decade or just a season, grief can return in a song, a memory, a smell, or even a YouTube clip that catches you off guard. That ache isn’t a sign of weakness. It’s a sign of what mattered.

In this short reflection, we explore why grief that lingers is part of love that lasts. You’ll hear a gentle reminder that:

“Grief isn’t a problem to solve. It’s part of a love that stays.”

If you’ve ever thought, “I should be over this by now,” this is your permission slip to stop trying to fix it.

It’s okay if it still aches.

It’s okay if you’re still carrying it.

Grief doesn’t follow neat timelines – and it doesn’t mean something’s wrong with you if it still shows up years later.

In this short reflection, we explore why grief that lingers is part of love that lasts. You’ll hear a gentle reminder that:

“Grief isn’t a problem to solve. It’s part of a love that stays.”

If you’ve ever thought, “I should be over this by now,” this is your permission slip to stop trying to fix it.

It’s okay if it still aches.

It’s okay if you’re still carrying it.

Previous Episode

Welcome to It’s Okay If… Your bite-sized permission slip for real life

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I’ve spent the last few years hosting The Life Shift Podcast, having deep conversations about the moments that change us.

But sometimes, we don’t need a full conversation. We just need a moment.

That’s what It’s Okay If... is for.

Each week, I’ll share a short reflection, usually under 3 minutes, as a kind of permission slip.

To feel what you feel.
To let something go.
To remember that being human is hard and beautiful and worth slowing down for.

I made It’s Okay If... for me.

I was grieving. I needed quiet. I needed space to feel what I’d been avoiding. And in that space, this idea showed up.

What if I could record small, honest reminders that it’s okay to be human?

So I did. I wrote and recorded 54 short episodes – each one under 3 minutes – as part of my healing journey.

And now, I want to share them with you.

New episodes drop every Wednesday at noon.

I hope they meet you where you are, like they met me where I was.

Matt

Follow the show to catch the first three episodes when they go live.

💻 https://feeds.captivate.fm/its-okay-if/

Next Episode

Feel Like a Beginner Again? It’s Okay If You Do

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Starting over is never easy. Whether you're in a new job, a new city, a new relationship, or simply facing a new season of life, there's a part of us that resists feeling new.

It whispers things like, "I should have figured this out by now," or "I shouldn't feel this lost."

But feeling like a beginner isn't failure – it's growth in disguise.

This short reflection offers a gentle reminder that the discomfort of starting over is also an invitation:

"You’re not behind – you’re becoming."

If you're fumbling your way through something unfamiliar right now, you're not alone. You don't have to have it all figured out. It's okay to be new at this.

It’s Okay If… Permission Slips for Mental Health, Self-Acceptance, and Growth - Still Grieving After Years? It’s Okay If You Are

Transcript

00:07

Hey, welcome to It's Okay If, bite-sized permission slips. I'm Maculhuli, and if no one's told you yet today, it's okay if you're still carrying grief from years ago. For me, grief has been this long-time companion. When I was eight years old, I lost my mom in a motorcycle accident. And that moment, that loss, shaped so much of who I became. In my mid-30s, I lost my grandmother, who was really just like a best friend to me.

00:37

Losing her was another layer of grief