Understanding and Managing Grief, February 11 - February 17, 2024

Best selections from Grief Healing's X feed this week:

Milestone dates can catch us off guard and bring us to our knees. Preparing ahead of time can bring sweetness and meaning to the day. Create rituals that honor your loved one's life and legacy. Grieving Through Birthdays and Death Days « Psychology Today

The first wind phone was invented in 2010 by a Japanese architect named Itaru Sasaki, whose cousin had recently died of cancer. Looking for a way to process his grief, Sasaki bought a used pay phone and placed it in his garden. The pay phone was untethered to an electrical system and unable to make calls, but Sasaki would sit there and speak with his dead cousin. In the Booth: Evanston's wind phone provides an outlet for grief « North by Northwestern

We’ve barely made it through the holidays of November, December and January, and now the stores are filled with hearts and flowers and candy, all of it in celebration of the gift of love. But February 14 can be a difficult day for those of us who are grieving, and for some it will be the first Valentine’s Day since our precious Valentine died. For us there is no celebration; there is only grief. Grief Rituals Can Help on Valentine's Day « Grief Healing

Grief and loss are experiences we will inevitably all encounter; and now the state of New Jersey is trying to ensure that more young people are prepared for it. On Jan. 4, N.J. Gov. Phil Murphy signed into law bipartisan legislation requiring the state’s public schools to incorporate instruction on grief into health and physical education classes for students in grades eight to 12. New Jersey is now requiring grief instruction for teens in public schools. Here’s why that matters. « Yahoo! Life

"I’m not really sure how to explain how I feel after losing my ex-spouse a month ago—especially since he died the same day I was having major surgery. Consequently, I’ve had quite a few complications from my surgery since I started taking care of my two teenage boys and their grief the morning after surgery when I got the phone call about their father. " In Grief: When An Ex-Spouse Dies « Grief Healing

It was a Sunday; a regular afternoon spent working in retail. And yet, as I crossed the threshold from the dimly lit carpark into the backseat of the vehicle waiting for me, everything changed. Because on that day, I found out my dad had just died. "Suicide," said my mother. 'When my dad died, all I felt was relief.' « MamaMia 

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