Grief Changed Me — In Every Way That Mattered

In 2011, I lost both my father and my stepfather within three months of each other. And nothing has ever looked the same since.

Grief didn’t knock gently. It stormed in, tore through everything I thought I knew, and left me staring at pieces of a life that didn’t fit anymore. I had to show up for my family, for my kids, for my clients — while quietly carrying a pain I didn’t have words for.

One death was complicated.
One was crushing.
Both left me gutted.

When you experience that kind of loss — back to back — it shakes you to your core. You find yourself standing in the middle of it all: the sadness, the anger, the confusion, the exhaustion. And it forces you to ask the hard questions: What actually matters? What do I need to let go of? What am I no longer willing to carry?

It’s impossible to keep living the same way after a loss like that.
Grief cracked me open. It made me braver — because suddenly I didn’t have the energy to live a life that didn’t feel honest.

It gave me the courage to walk away from things that weren’t aligned.
To tell the truth.
To speak up.
To stop performing.
To finally take care of myself.

There’s something about grief that strips everything down to the bone. You stop caring what people think. You stop pretending. You stop delaying your own healing. You start living like your time is precious — because now you know it is.

If you’ve been there — if you’re there now — I see you.

You’re not broken. You’re becoming. Grief might change you. But that doesn’t mean you’re lost. It means you’re waking up.

And that version of you? The one who’s been to hell and back?
She’s strong as hell — and she’s just getting started.

❤️ Jamie
Truth-teller. Firestarter. Survivor.

STG Wellness was founded by licensed clinical social worker Jamie Codispoti.

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