Coping with the Holidays: Suggested Resources 2025

[Updated January 18, 2026]

Self-care is how you take your power back. ~ Lalah Delia

When someone dearly loved has died, we grieve not only for that individual, but also for the life we used to have, the love that special someone gave us and all the memorable times we spent together. Perhaps there is no time of the year when we're more aware of the empty space our beloved has left behind than during the holiday season.

In Grief: On Writing Sympathy Thank-You Notes

Appreciation can make a day, even change a life.  Your willingness to put it into words is all that is necessary.  ~ Margaret Cousins

Upon the death of a loved one, it is customary to send written thank you notes as soon as possible, usually within two weeks of receiving a gift. But if ever there is a time when you’re entitled to ignore the rules of etiquette, or a time when immediate thanks is neither expected nor required, it is when you are in mourning. 

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) 

Caregiving and Hospice, April 15 - April 21, 2018

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

What to Say: Compassionate Cancer Etiquette, http://j.mp/2HRSvqA « Seven Ponds Blog

Got volunteers? Association of hospice use of volunteers with bereaved family members' overall rating of the quality of end-of-life care, http://j.mp/2HNG0MF « PubMed - NCBI

Where Do I Turn When I'm Unfixable? https://youtu.be/usy5oRIpIoE « YouTube

Understanding and Managing Grief, August 28 - September 3, 2016

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

Your Grief is Terrifying to Those Around You, http://j.mp/2bHW7hL « Grief In Common

Powerful piece on child loss: No Longer the Victim: Emerging From Loss, http://j.mp/2bUONLV « Open to Hope

Pets Grieve Too, http://j.mp/2ci4dxG « Journey Care

Understanding and Managing Grief, Sept. 19 - Sept. 25

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

• Unique Nature of Sibling Loss – A Personal Perspective http://bit.ly/9OtN7Y via @Joannefunch

• Is social media changing the way we grieve? http://huff.to/bhM9IK via @OneLifeTherapy

• Widow's powerful story: Live like tomorrow is your last day by @hylamolander http://bit.ly/9KGCsy @scribd

• On healing grief and loss with gardening http://bit.ly/aJ2xOt via @Tabitha_Jayne

• Teleconversation on Monday, September 27 with author @lovinggrief, How Can We Grow through Grief? http://bit.ly/c2bRby

• New book by hospice nurse shares stories of life after death http://bit.ly/9uRFD0 via @hospicepharmacy

• Online suicide grief support, http://bit.ly/avzNrS via @aftersuicide

• Griefabet book officially launched! See press release here, http://bit.ly/96sw9A via @EveryDayGrief

• After Spouse Loss: No Thank You: New Rules About Thank You Notes After the Death of a Loved One, by Widow Chick, http://bit.ly/bjiasW

• Thought to ponder: What Good Has Come From Your Pain? http://bit.ly/cHbsKx

• How to Choose a Therapist, by M J Hurley Brant http://bit.ly/cXdFqQ

• Lessons learned from my sister's death 10 years on, http://bit.ly/aeds6z by @DoyleDiana

• Palliative physician shares tears with grieving mom, http://bit.ly/bBYBZ9

• Finding Meaning: Hamilton fatal crash victim's mom wants to get road safety message out, http://ow.ly/194nmM via @GriefHelp

• Grieving mother wonders "Who You'd Be Today," wp.me/pGeGX-FL #grief via @oh2bnMT

• Guided Imagery Helps in Grieving Process, http://bit.ly/aaajjR via @HealthJourneys