When Grief and Trauma Collide – Christina Babich, MA

When Christina Babich's partner, Alex, died suddenly from a brain aneurysm while they were visiting his family in Italy, her world shattered in more ways than one . In addition to the grief of losing the person she loved and the future they were building together, Christina was also left to navigate the aftermath of a deeply traumatic event - one that profoundly impacted her nervous system, sense of safety, and identity. In this episode, Christina shares what it was like to grieve a sudden, "out-of-order" death while also navigating the derealization, hypervigilance, and other ways the trauma of his death affected her. She talks about how being a "quasi widow" shaped the care and recognition she received and why platitudes about resilience and post-traumatic growth can sometimes feel alienating rather than supportive. Christina also reflects on how her personal experience shaped her work as a psychologist specializing in grief and trauma, including the role of Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), the pressure placed on people who are grieving to "transform" their pain, and the i mportance of being witnes sed by someone wh o truly understands. We discuss The difference between grief and trauma - and how they often coexist Derealization, PTSD, and nervous system responses after a sudden death What Christina means by "quasi-widow" Why platitudes about strength and growth can feel harmful How Cognitive Processing Therapy was helpful for her Grieving lost identities, futures, and imagined lives Finding connection with others who can relate Living day-to-day when the future feels overwhelming Connect with Christina Website: Substack: christinababich.substack.com

You can listen to When Grief and Trauma Collide – Christina Babich, MA online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

When Grief and Trauma Collide – Christina Babich, MA is an episode from Grief Out Loud by The Dougy Center.

This episode is 51:17 long.

This episode was published on Feb 3, 2026.

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