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This Is Body Grief: Making Peace with Loss in a Body with Jayne Mattingly

"’I just want a break from my body.’ ‘I feel that my body is just being unfair to me.’ All of that is body grief. The feeling of loss of bodily autonomy is more prevalent than ever right now in this world, for all of us."

In this episode of Grief'd Up, host Rebecca Feinglos welcomes Jayne Mattingly, nationally recognized disability advocate, body image speaker, and author of the new book "This Is Body Grief." Jayne's journey from clinical mental health counselor to disabled advocate offers profound insights into the grief we experience when our bodies change.

At 27, everything suddenly changed for Jayne during a workout class. Facing 19 spine and brain surgeries over six years, she was forced to confront her own ableist beliefs. "I remember lying on my side, getting one of the spinal taps, and just thinking, like, ‘now my body won't do. Where is my worth?’" This revelation led her to recognize that "love your body for what it can do" is deeply ableist—many bodies don't "do" but still have worth.

Jayne and Rebecca explore how body grief touches every human experience, from puberty to aging, menopause to chronic illness. Rebecca shares her own secondary body grief watching her mother navigate brain cancer, and the toll it took on her body. Their conversation reveals how we can grieve both our own bodily changes and those of people we love.

Their conversation also addresses current threats to bodily autonomy and finding hope through grassroots activism, creativity, and small joys. 

Join Rebecca and Jayne as they challenge the perception of body betrayal, explore how community serves as the antidote to body grief, and offer wisdom for navigating the inevitable changes that come with being human in a body.

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