Recognizing The Vital Role of Hospice Volunteers

The solution to each problem that confronts us begins with an individual that steps forward and says 'I can help.'  ~ President H. W. Bush

As noted in Healing through the Gift of Volunteering, at some point in the course of your own grief journey you may find yourself thinking about becoming a hospice volunteer.  The agency with which I was affiliated for 17 years, Hospice of the Valley in Phoenix, AZ, was founded by volunteers, and to this day, volunteers at Hospice of the Valley are considered vital members of the team, supporting dying patients and their families and offering respite care.  As part of HOV's Bereavement Services, they assist staff members with office tasks, special projects, sending condolence cards and preparing bulk mailings.  Through periodic telephone calls over a 13-month period following the death, volunteers offer compassion, understanding and support, as well as referral to appropriate resources, to bereaved individuals whose family members were Hospice of the Valley patients.

Caregiving and Hospice, April 8 - April 14, 2018

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

Arthur Kleinman on the societal and medical ramifications of caregiving, http://j.mp/2HzU4cE « Harvard Magazine

You Only Die Once, So Do It Right (w/ Tim Boon), http://j.mp/2HCCBQR « ZDoggMD

Hospices are Among America’s Most Important Care Providers, http://j.mp/2Hq46gd « NHPCO Updater

Understanding and Managing Grief, April 8 - April 14, 2018

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

After the Funeral, There's the Quiet, http://j.mp/2HwpO25 « Widower's Grief

On sudden upsurges of grief: Riptide, http://j.mp/2GYpOqK « Bryan C. Taylor

Picking a Fight with God: The Positives of Anger, http://j.mp/2HwjlEo « Crossroads Hospice and Palliative Care

Mourning The Death of A Love Relationship: Suggested Resources

When it hurts to stand still next to someone and the only thing you have in common is the past, sometimes the best thing you can do for each other is walk separately towards a future and it’s there you’ll find someone who stays. ~ Kirsten Corley

Whenever there is a loss of something significant in our lives, we suffer grief. When an intimate love relationship ends – whether we were married, living together with a partner or significant other, or committed to another as part of a couple – the separation can be overwhelmingly painful. Usually for a death there is a set ritual with a funeral or memorial service, and some understanding in our culture that mourning is important. But for the death of a love relationship, there is no prescribed ritual of mourning, and the accompanying grief that is part of the divorce / breaking-up process is seldom acknowledged or accepted. The ending of a love relationship is yet another kind of death, and it is just as worthy of our understanding and support. Gathered here are a number of resources that can help.

Caregiving and Hospice, April 1 - April 7, 2018

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

Priceless: What happens when a patient says, 'Doc, help me die,' http://j.mp/2Hjfk6i « CNN

The Gift of Hospicare Support for Patients and Families,  http://j.mp/2HjmpU4 « Hospicare

The Five Wishes Living Will Makes End of Life Easier, http://j.mp/2HdQsNc « DailyCaring

Understanding and Managing Grief, April 1 - April 7, 2018

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

Grief Dialogues, http://j.mp/2EnpejY « The Grief Dialogues

Dealing with Unresolved Trauma, http://j.mp/2HaXiDc « PsychAlive

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.

Coping with Pet Loss, April 1 - April 7, 2018

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

In Home Euthanasia: A Better End of Life Experience, http://j.mp/2Hfsota The Conscious Cat

How a Pet Hospice Vet Can Help Your Senior Dog, http://bit.ly/2otGHR9 « Dogster

Pet Loss: Helping A Friend with Unresolved Grief, http://j.mp/2uHIx8c « 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.

Pet Loss: Helping A Friend with Unresolved Grief

It comes with experience as we go along with our life. The more we realize on who to give our love, care and time, the more we understand ourselves for the better.  ~ Alcuizar Barredo

A reader writes: I was just surfing the net looking for info regarding pet loss in trying to help a friend of mine. I noticed your article about unhealthy bonding, and it so happens my friend is in just that situation. She called her pet her "child" and was overly attached to it during its life, excluding relationships at the expense of the pet and turning down invitations that did not include the pet as you said in the article. The pet died two years ago and she is still grieving heavily and is unwilling to move from a home that she is unhappy with due to not wanting to move away from the grave. Basically, your article describes her to a tee. I am at a loss as to how to help my friend. Can you give my any suggestions?

Caregiving and Hospice, March 25 - March 31, 2018

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

Behind that computer in your doctor’s office, there is a war going on, http://j.mp/2GhKvO5 « Kevin MD

Sometimes Denial Is a Useful Tool, http://j.mp/2DWA5kH « Seven Ponds Blog

Clenched Teeth, http://bit.ly/2DSXovJ « HOPEspot

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, March 25 - March 31, 2018

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

My Easter Admission on Gratitude, Grief, and Ambivalence — and How Faith Factors in Consoling Friends, http://j.mp/2Gr9nag « What to Say When Someone Dies

Thanks For The Offer, But I Don't Know What I Need! http://j.mp/2GjaBnK « What's Your Grief?

How to Use Grief Dosing to Get Through the Day, http://j.mp/2DZxPsZ « Grieve Well