Understanding and Managing Grief, June 2 - June 15, 2024

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

The hardest part of growing up? For me, it has to be watching my parents grow older. There’s this sudden realization that all things are finite and there’s an end to everything. Every time I think about this, the reality hits even harder. Coping With Grief: The Sight Of Parents Growing Old « Her Campus

Every grief is unique and effective grief support will look different based on the needs of the individual. This is especially true when it comes to supporting people with neurodivergent conditions like Autism Spectrum Disorder, ADHD, sensory processing disorders, and Down syndrome, among others. Here are a few resources that can help you offer meaningful support. Supporting Grieving People of All Abilities « Speaking Grief

As the travel industry continues to cater to niche interests, more programs are launching specifically for people dealing with major loss — so much so that "grief-related wellness" was one of Condé Nast Traveler's top wellness travel trends of 2024. Grief Retreats Are the Year's Most Cathartic Travel Trend « PopSugar

For practical suggestions on how to cope with grief and loss on Father’s Day ~ or on how to better understand and support a father in grief ~ I invite you to read one or more of the articles listed. Coping with Grief on Father'sDay: Selected Resources  « Grief Healing

I don’t want to let grief rob me of my favorite holiday, the holiest day of the year. I want to be able to sit in those joyful, playful memories and celebrate my kids. And I still want to be in the lives of my friends who are dads and to celebrate their kids. I won't let grief rob me of my favorite holiday « WBUR

Couldn’t we call any of these people and invite them to go out for a coffee or beer with us? Why didn’t they call us? Couldn’t we sign up for social, sports, hobby, or arts activities that would get us out there and make us feel less lonely? But for both of us, the loss of our wives was something different. There was a Grief Wall that inserted itself between us and all our former friends and acquaintances. This grief wall emerges the moment our wife passes, it is the pure pain and sense of loss that comes with having half of your very being torn away. Why Are We So Damned Lonely? « National Widowers' Organization

"My mother is 73 and struggling - she grieved for [my father] and then seeemed to be coming out the other side, however her personality has changed - she has these huge temper flares, is very angry at everything and bitter (in a way, I feel it's almost like she's become him) - she was never like this. If she sees someone getting something - anything, a new car or going away on vacation - she is bitter/angry about it and resentful. She drinks and takes anti-depressants." In Grief: Widowed Mom's Drinking Alienates Family « Grief Healing

Dear Ones, Though I don’t know you, my heart breaks for the loss of your child. It doesn’t matter how old he or she was, or how he or she died, or whether death was sudden or long in coming. Your son or daughter is gone forever. There is no pain like the one you’re feeling. You are now in the club no one wants to be a member of: that of parents whose children have died. Letter To Newly-Bereaved Parents « Grief Watch

Despite how painful losing a sibling is, this kind of loss is something people don't talk about often. After her brother died, Annie tried to look for resources to help her understand what she was feeling and to find tools to cope with it all. Coping with the loss of a sibling « NPR

"I got a 7 days break from college. But it's so hard to keep going when mom's not with me. I know they are all trying to help me but it gets annoying sometime. I owe my triumphs to my mom, I had the ability to do or win anything when she was with me. Without her I'm nothing. I have lost all my confidence. I don't feel like doing it." Mother Loss: Colllege Student Feels Like Quitting « Grief Healing

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.