Understanding and Managing Grief, December 24 - December 30, 2017

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

Holiday Break: A Lesson from the Animals, http://j.mp/2E0sCST « Grief Healing

The Gift of Presence, The Perils of Advice, http://j.mp/2pU1XEw « On Being

What My Dog Taught Me About End of Life, http://j.mp/2pCNk8v « Care Dimensions - Voices of Care

Once Again It's Christmas

Like snowflakes
floating gently,
unexpectedly to earth, 

small kindnesses touch our lives. 

First one and then another and another,

until at last the world is bright and shining with goodwill.

And once again it's Christmas.

Caregiving and Hospice, December 17 - December 23, 2017

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

Caregiver Abuse: The Role of Personality and Illness, http://j.mp/2DmXaxS « Stan Goldberg, Ph.D.

The Long Goodbye: Coping With Sadness And Grief Before A Loved One Dies,  http://j.mp/2p7Cxmt « California Healthline

How Will the Story End? http://j.mp/2BbrD4s « HuffPost

Your feedback is welcome! Please feel free to leave a comment or a question, or share a tip, a related article or a resource of your own in the Comments section below. If you’d like Grief Healing Blog updates delivered right to your inbox, you’re cordially invited to subscribe to our weekly Grief Healing Newsletter. Sign up here.

Understanding and Managing Grief, December 17 - December 23, 2017

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

Coping with The Holidays: Suggested Resources, http://j.mp/2iRxyQr « Grief Healing

How this doctor deals with loss, http://j.mp/2DmzxFH « Kevin MD

What About the Body? http://j.mp/2DpuC78 « GriefPerspectives

In Grief: When the Pain of Loss Won’t Go Away

[Reviewed and updated August 10, 2023]

It has been said, 'time heals all wounds.' I do not agree. The wounds remain. In time, the mind, protecting its sanity, covers them with scar tissue and the pain lessens. But it is never gone.  ~ Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy

A reader writes: I wrote to you some time ago regarding a friend who had died by suicide. It's been two years now, and the pain is still just as strong now as it was when I first wrote to you. I've tried talking to family and friends. I've heard that talking about it will help ease the pain. Well, it doesn't. It makes me hurt that much more.

Caregiving and Hospice, December 10 - December 16, 2017

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

Loneliness Can Be Deadly for Elders; Friends Are the Antidote, http://j.mp/2yuGtgv « The New York Times

Death Without Duality: Three Both/Ands at the End of Life, http://j.mp/2yuBVXu « On Being

Do the Russians Always Cheat? http://j.mp/2AHZLoI « Medpage Today

Understanding and Managing Grief, December 10 - December 16, 2017

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

Coping with grief during the holidays, http://j.mp/2yE1Uvu « Fox 10 News

The grief chronicles: Reflections from those who loved and lost during the past year, http://j.mp/2yF0Bwd « The Washington Post

A Millennial's Guide to Grief in a Digital World, http://j.mp/2yvcHYO « Crossroads Hospice and Palliative Care

Voices of Experience: A Butterfly

Perhaps they are not stars, but rather openings in heaven where the love of our lost ones pours through and shines down upon us to let us know they are happy.  ~ Eskimo Proverb

Anne Bardsley believes in angels. She is the author of Angel Bumps, Hello From Heaven, a collection of tender stories from those who've received signs from their departed loved ones, reassuring them that they are still near in spirit. In this excerpt, Anne describes the signs she's received from her own mom that inspired her to gather similar stories from others, all demonstrating her firm belief that while people die, love is eternal.

A week after my mom passed, I was driving to work in tears. The reality of her death sank in that morning. I felt like an orphan. All of the tears that I’d held inside to be strong at the funeral, let loose. I just needed to know she was in Heaven and at peace, without pain. I asked her for a sign to assure me. I felt a hand rest ever so lightly on my right cheek, and I smiled and said: “What the heck was that, Mom?”

Caregiving and Hospice, December 3 - December 9, 2017

Best selection from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

Pets, peace of mind, and the end of life, http://j.mp/2jdYOd0 « WRVO Public Media

Your feedback is welcome! Please feel free to leave a comment or a question, or share a tip, a related article or a resource of your own in the Comments section below. If you’d like Grief Healing Blog updates delivered right to your inbox, you’re cordially invited to subscribe to our weekly Grief Healing Newsletter. Sign up here.

Understanding and Managing Grief, December 3 - December 9, 2017

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

Gratitude Amid Grief, http://j.mp/2BYJfgV « Grieve Well

A Very Brady Christmas (But Way More Complicated), http://j.mp/2BRjcHo « Modern Loss

Feeling Lonely and Isolated in Grief, http://j.mp/2BPgNgq « The Grief Toolbox

In Grief: Grandsons Affected by Traumatic Loss

Anything that’s human is mentionable, and anything that is mentionable can be more manageable. When we can talk about our feelings, they become less overwhelming, less upsetting, and less scary. The people we trust with that important talk can help us know that we are not alone.  ~ Fred Rogers

A reader writes: My grandsons ages 4 and 7 lost their mom in a tragic single-car accident in which she had been drinking. The night of the accident the babies stayed with a friend of theirs while their mommy went to a friend’s birthday party and when they woke up they had no mom. They were never allowed back in their home, and life as they knew it had simply vanished. The 4-year-old is now 5 and is acting so badly in kindergarten they are talking medication for ADHD—he told us how his mom died and is so-matter-of -fact that you can feel the anger in his voice. A year prior to her death her father (their best friend) died of a heart attack while the younger boy (then age 3) was with him. The 8-year-old acts as the caregiver and basically seems to have shut down. They have had two therapists now and they've both quit on them. Please help. They are so young to experience so much trauma.

Caregiving and Hospice, November 26 - December 2, 2017

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

The Emotions of the Dying, http://j.mp/2j7CcdP « Pallimed

Giving permission–the final gift – A "Dummies" Guide To Learning To Live As A Patient Instead Of A Nurse, http://j.mp/2j4BdLr « Autonomic RN

4 Tips for Caregivers of Someone with Serious Illness, http://bit.ly/2jvJO9F « Care Dimensions

Understanding and Managing Grief, November 26 - December 2, 2017

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

Grieving The Living: When your “lost” loved one is still alive, http://j.mp/2BDqIXe « HuffPost

What to Keep When Someone Dies, http://j.mp/2BlOFl5 « Modern Loss

Why does God let bad things happen to us? http://bit.ly/2Ae7EjZ « Terri Daniel on YouTube