Part 1: Diandra on Grief, Burnout, and the Mother Who Saved Her Life

Welcome to Season 19 of Sh!t That Goes On In Our Heads. We’re opening the season with a powerful two-part conversation about grief, survival, workplace burnout, and what it takes to rebuild your life after everything changes without your permission. In Part 1, G-Rex and Dirty Skittles sit down with author Diandra Ford-Wing for a raw conversation about surviving a suicide attempt, losing her mother, stepping away from burnout, and learning that grief is love with nowhere to go. Trigger Notice + 988 Crisis Reminder This episode includes an open discussion of depression, suicide, hospitalization, grief, and the loss of a parent. Please listen with care. If you or someone you know is struggling or experiencing a mental health crisis, call or text 988 in the United States and Canada to connect with the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. You are not weak, broken, or alone, and you deserve support. 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: https://988lifeline.org/ Global crisis resources: https://findahelpline.com/ Awards & Downloads Sh!t That Goes On In Our Heads is a 2024 People’s Choice Podcast Award Winner (Best Health), 2024 Women in Podcasting Award Winner (Best Mental Health Podcast), 2026 Podcast Tonight Award Winner (Best Mental Health Podcast), and 2026 NYC Podcast Award Audience Choice Winner (Best Hosts), with over 4.5 million downloads and listened to in over 160 countries. Feedback We’d love to hear your thoughts! Leave us written or voice feedback here: https://castfeedback.com/67521f0bde0b101c7b10442a Mental Health Quote “Grief is just love with nowhere to go.” — Diandra Ford-Wing Episode Description Burnout does not always arrive with a dramatic breakdown. Sometimes, it looks like showing up, hitting your numbers, answering messages, and quietly disappearing inside yourself. In Part 1 of our Season 19 opener, author Diandra Ford-Wing joins G-Rex and Dirty Skittles to share what happened when grief, depression, and workplace exhaustion became too heavy to carry. After the sudden death of her mother, Diandra stepped away from a successful career and gave herself something corporate life rarely offers: time to stop, feel, and heal. Diandra also speaks openly about surviving a suicide attempt at 24. She remembers the depression she could not name, the friend who found her, and the mother who made the difficult decision to place her in professional care. That choice saved Diandra’s life and began a relationship with therapy that continues today. The conversation explores what it means to lose the person who made you feel safe, why three to five bereavement days are nowhere near enough, and how support systems can keep us standing when grief knocks the air out of us. Diandra explains the therapy exercise that helped her understand grief as love searching for somewhere to land. She also shares how writing her debut novel, Red Bird, became a love letter to her mother and Aunt Audrey—and a safe harbor for others navigating loss. This episode is honest as hell, but it is also filled with hope. You can survive the thing you believed would destroy you. You can ask for help. You can honor the people you have lost by choosing to keep living. Keywords: Diandra Ford-Wing, grief recovery, workplace burnout, suicide prevention, depression recovery, losing a parent, grief and mental health, therapy, bereavement support, healing after loss, maternal loss, emotional resilience, Red Bird novel, storytelling as healing, mental health podcast Meet Our Guest — Diandra Ford-Wing Diandra Ford-Wing is an author, speaker, and accomplished Sales Director whose experiences with grief, depression, career burnout, and healing inspired her to use storytelling as a source of connection. Her debut novel, Red Bird, is a heartfelt tribute to her mother and Aunt Audrey and an exploration of love, loss, resilience, and the complicated beauty of being human. Website: http://booksbydiandra.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/diandrafordwing LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/diandrafordwing Book: Red Bird by Diandra Ford-Wing Key Takeaways Burnout can build quietly until your mind and body have nothing left