Understanding and Managing Grief, July 14 - July 27, 2024

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

Yes, it is normal to feel crazy after a shattering loss. What I invite you to consider is that it is actually the loss that’s not normal. This loss came along uninvited and turned your life upside-down. Human beings are born to live and love. That’s why we are here. When a life ends, we’re simply not prepared. We can’t be fully prepared, even when a death is anticipated. Why? Because it’s human nature to want and expect life and love to continue. We’re just not made to easily welcome death into our daily lives. You’re Not Crazy – You’re Grieving Pt. 1 « AfterTalk

Understanding and Managing Grief & Pet Loss, February 5 - February 11, 2023

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

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 (Or Any Special Day) « Grief Healing

Understanding and Managing Grief, November 13 - November 19, 2022

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

The definition of paying it forward in grief can vary significantly. But it all comes down to one basic idea: you use what you’ve learned during your experience with grief to help others. It provides new meaning and purpose to your shattered life. Paying It Forward in Grief « Alive in Memory

Understanding and Managing Grief, November 6 - November 12, 2022

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

More than a million Americans have lost their lives to COVID-19, leading to what some have called a second epidemic of grief. Lockdowns and other factors meant that many people couldn’t process their losses in normal ways with funerals and other gatherings. Prolonged and unaddressed grief can lead to significant mental health problems. Rep. Joe Morelle (D-New York) introduced the Grief Resilience Investment and Education Fund (GRIEF) Act to help combat some of these issues, especially in marginalized communities.  Better Support for Grieving Americans « Home Care

Voices of Experience: Beyond Loss in a Pandemic

The time of COVID-19 has been characterized as an ongoing traumatic event that has exacerbated the grief process and made it more complicated.  ~ Linda Donovan  

Having experienced the loss of loved ones both before and during the pandemic, author Linda Donovan has developed compassionate and practical ways to help guide people through these challenging times and beyond. Her book Beyond Loss in a Pandemic: Find Hope and Move Through Grief After Someone Close to You Dies provides a comprehensive road map for healing after loss. Donovan has helped countless people through her volunteer work with hospice, where she provides grief support services. She shares how she was able to overcome her own grief, along with stories about how people can deal with a wide range of difficult, complex situations and yet emerge from loss with resilience and insight.

Understanding and Managing Grief, July 24 - July 30, 2022

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

The language of closure can often create confusion and false hope for those experiencing loss. Individuals who are grieving feel more supported when they are allowed time to learn to live with their loss and not pushed to find closure. Pushing 'closure' after trauma can be harmful to people grieving – here's what you can do instead « The Conversation

Understanding and Managing Grief, July 10 - July 16, 2022

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

The key to overcoming sorrow and sadness is to remember that you will get past it in time — even though you can’t possibly see how at the present. Overcoming Sorrow « PsychCentral

Understanding and Managing Grief & Pet Loss, May 29 - June 4, 2022

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

The addition of this new disorder is intended to help clinicians and patients recognize what ‘normal grief’ looks like versus ‘a long-term problem’. Opinion: There is now a disorder for ‘prolonged’ grief. But what does ‘normal’ grief look like? « The Globe and Mail 

Our dying and grieving processes have been disrupted during COVID. The Loss of a 'Good' Death « MedPage Today 

Understanding and Managing Grief, May 8 - May 14, 2022

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

New research identifies key determinants of bereavement intensity. Understanding Grief in the Shadow of COVID-19 « Psychology Today 

If someone you love has died during the novel coronavirus pandemic, you have come to grief in an exceptionally challenging moment in history . . . These and other pandemic-related barriers to the cultural grief rituals we rely on may be making your grief journey especially painful. Ten Freedoms for Using Ceremony During The Pandemic « AfterTalk

Understanding and Managing Grief, April 17 - April 23, 2022

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

Bioethicist Arthur Caplan discusses the tragedy of people dying alone, especially during COVID, and how we should change that. COVID-19: The Sadness of Dying Alone -- What Can We Do? « Medscape

Understanding and Managing Grief, March 6 - March 12, 2022

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

Loss during a pandemic can be complicated, especially when people haven't been able to gather as usual after a death, or to carry on traditions they normally would. Psychologist says pandemic complicates loss and grief « CBC News 

Understanding and Managing Grief, February 20 - February 26, 2022

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

Talk of death is often avoided around children, unless the loss must be confronted. Approaching the subject, even when necessary, can leave caregivers uncertain about how to address it and what to say.  When a loved one is lost: Working through grief with a child « Columbia Missourian

Understanding and Managing Grief & Pet Loss, January 23 - January 29, 2022

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

We call them unspeakable losses because we do not have the vocabulary to speak about them. My partner died. Then my brother. Here’s what not to say to someone who is grieving « The Guardian

Understanding and Managing Grief, December 12 - December 18, 2021

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

Pets become close members of our families. When they are gone, the grief of their passing can be immense. Here's how to show up for someone going through this loss. What Not To Say To People Grieving A Sick, Lost Or Dead Pet « HuffPost Life 

The latest installment of Sex and the City has unleashed a mini-controversy — but for some, the drama has the power to stir up painful real-life memories.  Spoiler alert: Grief is never over 'Just Like That' « The Hill

Understanding and Managing Grief, November 28 - December 4, 2021

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

The number of U.S. deaths from COVID-19 has surpassed 775,000. But left behind are tens of thousands of children — some orphaned entirely — after their parents or a grandparent who cared for them died. How unresolved grief could haunt children who lost a parent or caregiver to COVID « PBS News Hour

Understanding and Managing Grief, November 21 - November 27, 2021

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

The number of American kids whose caregivers have died in the pandemic has surpassed 140,000. Natasha’s story provides a glimpse at how institutions such as schools, hospitals, and governments have struggled to respond to the needs of children and families left bereft by the pandemic. Children who lost parents to Covid-19 are facing a crisis of grief « Vox

Understanding and Managing Grief, November 14 - November 20, 2021

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

How young people who lost parents and siblings to COVID cope with holidays Coping With Grief During the Holidays After Losing Family Members to COVID-19 « Teen Vogue 

This video with Dr. Alan Wolfelt provides some practical counsel to assist you in maintaining mental health wellness during the holidays.  Acknowledging Potential of Holiday Blues: Practical Tips « YouTube

Understanding and Managing Grief & Pet Loss, October 31 - November 6, 2021

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

“But for a small but significant group of people, grief doesn’t resolve. It is ongoing, pervasive, intense and debilitating,” said Katherine Shear, professor of psychiatry at the School of Social Work and founding director of the Center for Complicated Grief at Columbia University. “This is what we call prolonged grief disorder.”  Prolonged grief disorder is now in the DSM. Here’s what you need to know. « The Washington Post

Coping with The Holidays: Suggested Resources, 2021

[Updated February 6, 2022]

The holidays can be difficult enough already, but for those impacted by significant loss, they can be a real challenge. Fortunately help is available, both online and in person, as individuals and communities rally to offer information, comfort and support to the bereaved and those who care for them. 

As I've done in years past, I will be searching throughout the season for helpful articles and reliable resources that I can recommend and share with my readers.

Below are links to those resources I’ve gathered so far this year, which I hope you will find informative and useful. Over the next several weeks I’ll be building upon this list each day, so I encourage you to check back often to see what’s been added.

Understanding and Managing Grief and Pet Loss, October 24 - October 30, 2021

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

When COVID-19 began to spread throughout the U.S., our team felt a strong call of action in response to the overwhelming mental health crisis we saw unfolding before us. We began to explore online resources that could help bereaved people address their grief, manage their painful emotions, build resilience, and improve their mental health and well-being. COVID-Internet Resource Guide « Stony Brook University (pdf)