Using Movies to Move Through Grief

 

[Reviewed and updated October 28, 2024]

I've got plenty of people I can do something with -- just none I can do nothing with.  ~ Widower Joe Warr (Clive Owen) in The Boys Are Back

Movies and DVD rentals that dramatize others coming to terms with their pain may serve as a valuable tool to help you and your family members better understand and move through the grieving process.

Getting in touch with the painful feelings of grief and releasing blocked or pent-up emotions by having a good cry can be cleansing and stress-reducing. Movies can be an effective tool in addressing certain grief issues, especially when your selections are made consciously and deliberately.

Caregiving and Hospice, May 19 - May 25, 2019

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

Insightful and informative: Caregiver Recovery versus Bereavement, http://j.mp/2VVSBHT « The Artful Caregiver

How to Plan for Weddings AND Funerals, http://j.mp/2VRCKKz « A Good Goodbye ~ Funeral Planning for Those Who Don't Plan to Die

3 things about psychiatry that don't focus on pathology, http://j.mp/2VVjFa8 « Kevin MD

Understanding and Managing Grief, May 19 - May 25, 2019

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

Kelli Auerbach on becoming an orphan in her 20s: "I’d never understood how much my identity was entwined with being someone’s child." http://j.mp/2I7Z5tF « The New York Times

Things to Consider When Parenting Grieving Children, http://j.mp/2W3sMWe « Heal Grief

Loss, Grief, and Post-traumatic Growth, http://j.mp/2W2HDk2 « The Compassionate Friends

Voices of Experience: How to Survive Caring for Aging Parents

By Jacqueline Marcell

I want to tell you how much I miss my mother. Bits of her are still there. I miss her most when I am sitting across from her.  ~ Candy Crowley

Jacqueline Marcell is a former television executive who gave up her career to take care of her challenging elderly father and sweet mother, both with undiagnosed Alzheimer’s. The experience was so shocking that it compelled her to write her first book, Elder Rage, or Take My Father, Please!, to help caregivers avoid all the pitfalls she experienced and to prevent their frustrations from escalating to any form of elder abuse. Here she offers a glimpse of her caregiving journey:

Understanding and Managing Grief, May 12 - May 18, 2019

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

Working while mourning: How to grieve when you're on the job, http://j.mp/2HCEMUz « NBC News

Am I Going Crazy or Grieving? http://bit.ly/2HuIi3C « Shine On Counseling

Why we need to talk about grief, http://j.mp/2HI9wUz « Harper's Bazaar

Pet Loss: Death of A Service Dog

[Reviewed and updated July 30, 2024]

A service dog can mean a whole new way of life for the handicapped. The activities that able-bodied people take for granted now can be routine for the disabled also, with the help of a four-footed therapist.  ~ Janet Ruckert, EdD

A reader writes: I have been looking at your websites and the materials that you offer for pet loss. I'm wondering if any of it would be of help to me. I lost my dear sweet black Lab Service Dog to malignant melanoma just a few weeks ago. She was not a pet ~ she was my assistant and helper and light of my life for nine and a half years. She was my constant companion and went with me everywhere. She helped me every day both physically and emotionally. I use a wheelchair and a specially converted rampvan for mobility. If I fell my dog would go find help for me. Her loss has left an unbelievably huge hole in my heart. I let her go because I could not and would not let her continue to hurt like I know that she was. I need her so much and just can't seem to let myself get on with the things I need to do in my life without her.

Understanding and Managing Grief, May 5 - May 11, 2019

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

Forget the Flowers and Skip the Brunch. I Hate Mother’s Day. http://j.mp/2VrUfAF « Medium

Parents Who Lost A Child Need A Day Like Mother's And Father's Day, http://j.mp/2HnstvB « The Federalist

Writing a Book With My Mom Kept Her Memory Alive, http://j.mp/2Vjl4qO  « Modern Loss

Parent Loss: Grieving An Elderly Mother

Find the latest version of this post here:

In Grief: Mourning An Elderly Parent

 
A reader writes: Yesterday was the 4th month anniversary of my Mom's death. I still feel that after this time I have not fully grieved over her, or that if I do, I will not emerge from the pit of despair. I have been beset by material problems that have distracted me from grief, problems that are connected with her death. I feel that my mind is fracturing, that I am being hemmed in and trapped by everything, and there will be no end to this suffering. It is a constant companion that seems to not ever want to leave.

Understanding and Managing Grief, April 28 - May 4, 2019

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

Hospice Journey, http://j.mp/2GTYZoG « Widower's Grief

‘My Death Stories Are My Birth Stories’ http://j.mp/2GUJJI3 « Modern Loss

We All Have A Grief Secret, http://j.mp/2H0tUjh « What's Your Grief?