In Grief: Feeling Inspired to Write

[Reviewed and updated November 6, 2022]

We write to taste life twice, in the moment and in retrospect. ~ Anaïs Nin

A reader writes: I'm not sure what I'm writing here..but felt compelled to say something.  I have been on a horrendous journey since my husband died 4 yrs ago.  Every trauma has hit the children and me.....tonight my son aged 13 who is very ill came to my bed.....he couldn't sleep and was in terrible pain...I don't know how or why..but for the second time over the past few years I did hands-on healing on his stomach....which was an incredible experience for him and me...and that resulted in our best chat together in four years, and he fell asleep.....all I realized was that I had not protected myself from taking his pain....and I became acutely aware of some "talents" that I have........I rushed downstairs and searched the Net, to find information on healing....and then psychic surgery...and then somehow I got to your site!!!

Helping Another in Grief: Suggested Resources

[Reviewed and updated May 27, 2024]

Why do we keep looking for support in all the wrong places? It's like shopping for milk in a hardware store!  ~ David Kessler

The ability to reach out to others, empathize with their pain and give hope in the face of the most devastating of circumstances is a rare and precious gift ~ and not always easy to find. Unless they've encountered death in a very personal way, most people really don't know what grief feels like and they may not know what, if anything, they can say or do to help us.

Caregiving and Hospice, November 11 - November 17, 2018

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

How Does Educating People About the Dying Process Reduce Fear? http://j.mp/2K9DfWY
« Seven Ponds Blog

What Hospice Does and Doesn't Do, http://j.mp/2K7ra4O « Next Avenue

BIRTH BACKWARDS, A Daughter's Death, http://j.mp/2B606zO « BK Books

Understanding and Managing Grief, November 11 - November 17, 2018

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

Updated today: Resources for Service Members and Their Families, http://bit.ly/2INmK5v « Grief Healing

10 Ways to Manage Tantrums After Loss, http://j.mp/2B1D7Gn « Modern Loss

ALERT! It's STILL HAPPENING! Curious Cats Get Killed in Clothes Dryers, http://bit.ly/2xRAUdR « Grief Healing

Voices of Experience: Four-Footed Healers Support The Team

by Michael Shannon O’Keefe

Isolation is a natural reaction to depression and grief. If you’re in the depths of depression, it can be hard to pick up the phone and call a friend. If you’ve lost of a loved one, lost your good health, or lost a relationship, you may pull inward and grieve alone.

But just because isolation is natural doesn’t mean it’s good for you. Isolation can create a spiral of despair. Depression and grief cause people to cut themselves off from friends and family, which in turn causes more depression and grief, and so on.

Talk therapy and medications are the standard treatments for these states of mind. Recent research, however, points to another way to help people escape that spiral. It’s been called the pet effect. Simply put, being around animals helps people feel less isolated, depressed, and grief-stricken.

Understanding and Managing Grief, November 4 - November 10, 2018

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

Why do we give dogs a better death than we give ourselves? http://j.mp/2ATheZJ « Aeon Essays

The Existential Crisis of Grief, http://j.mp/2JM38vS « Grief Compass

Finding H O P E at Camp Widow, http://j.mp/2APf50R « Soaring Spirits International

Coping with The Holidays: Suggested Resources 2018

[Updated February 15, 2019]

We enjoy warmth because we have been cold. We appreciate light because we have been in darkness. By the same token, we can experience joy because we have known sadness.  ~ David Weatherford

For those who are anticipating or coping with the loss of a loved one, the holidays can be a most challenging time. We may feel exhausted, drowning in sorrow, and  totally out of sync with the rest of the world, wishing that we could find a way to skip entirely these days, along with all those expectations of celebrating, giving thanks, shopping, preparing special meals, decorating, gifting, visiting, and entertaining guests.

Fortunately ~ and especially at this time of year ~ the Internet holds an abundance of information, comfort and support to help us get through these difficult days.

Veterans Day 2018

Honor to the soldier and sailor everywhere, who bravely bears his country’s cause. Honor, also, to the citizen who cares for his brother in the field and serves, as best he can, the same cause.
~ Abraham Lincoln

2018 marks the Centennial Commemoration of the end of World War I on November 11, 1918. The theme for the 2018 Veterans Day Poster is: “The War to End All Wars” and features a poppy and barbed wire.

Veterans Day was established by our country to honor the men and women who have worn the uniform of the United States. Unlike Memorial Day (the day we set aside to remember and honor military personnel who died in the service of our country), Veterans Day is intended to thank and honor all those who served honorably in the military, in wartime or peacetime, as well as those who died in battle or as a result of wounds sustained in battle. Veterans Day is our opportunity to thank Veterans and their families for their service, to acknowledge that their contributions to our national security are appreciated, and to underscore the fact that all those who served ~ not only those who died ~ have sacrificed and done their duty.

Caregiving and Hospice, October 28 - November 3, 2018

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

Documentary Review: "Passing On" produced by Arizona Public Media, http://j.mp/2EZOMcG « Seven Ponds Blog

Ten Reasons Why I Want to Talk About Death, http://j.mp/2ETKnId « After Talk

NEW Clinical Practice Guidelines for Quality Palliative Care Released!! http://j.mp/2AFI2w8 « Pallimed

Understanding and Managing Grief, October 28 - November 3, 2018

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

If You Grieve in Private, Science Says You’re Doing It Right,  http://j.mp/2EXlAmB « Healthline

A statement from my family about my late father, Charles Krauthammer,
http://j.mp/2F99Hd8 « Daniel Krauthammer on Twitter

Moved me to tears: "I can assure you you have never seen the Star-Spangled Banner performed like this before," http://j.mp/2EX1uJb « Timothy Burke on Twitter