In Grief: When A Counseling Relationship Is Ending

The only person you should ever fear losing in a relationship is you yourself. ~ Miya Yamanouchi

A reader writes: My situation isn't really typical of the reasons most people join your forums, but I am experiencing terrible grief and it's not something I can talk to anyone about because most people don't recognize or understand it. I feel incredibly alone.

I've seen a counselor for coming up to three years and she has helped me through some of the most difficult times of my life. I have a tough life with a long-term illness and I have a disabled child so I feel really isolated. I've been fortunate enough to see my counselor free at an agency and I feel really close to her. I'm not close to my family at all as I had a tough upbringing and I don't see my friends very often. I'm a single parent since my marriage broke down 5 years ago.

My counselor told me 4 weeks ago that she is leaving the agency due to personal circumstances.

Understanding and Managing Grief, April 9 - April 15, 2023

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

Disenfranchised Grief describes a loss you don’t feel entitled to, that no one seems to understand, and that isn’t openly acknowledged, mourned or publicly supported. Many situations can lead to this, and it’s incredibly valid. What Is Disenfranchised Grief? Here's What To Know. « Huff Post

In Grief: Anticipating The Death of My Mother

Goodbyes are only for those who love with their eyes. Because for those who love with heart and soul there is no such thing as separation. ~ Rumi 

A reader writes: I am new to this. My mother is dying. She has breast cancer and now only a few months left. I am falling apart watching her die .... slowly .... I don't know how to do it. I fall apart at work, in the car, all the time now. I don't want to eat or smile or do anything. I just want to cry and sleep.

Caregiving, Hospice & Grief, October 25 - October 31, 2020

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

Advance care planning (ACP) is an ongoing conversation that involves shared decision making to clarify and document – through an advance directive – an individual’s wishes, preferences, and goals regarding future medical care. This comprehensive process is critically important to ensuring patients receive the medical care they want in the event they lose the capacity to make their own decisions.  19 Evidence-Based Benefits of Advance Care Planning « Advance Care Planning (ACP) Decisions

Pet Loss: Feeling Lost, Broken in Wake of Parents’ Euthanasia Decision

[Reviewed and updated July 19, 2020]

The heart will break, but broken live on.  ~ Lord Byron

A reader writes: My cat Susie was put down today by my parents. I had some reversals in my life and at 42 ended up having to live with my mom and her husband. I arrived with 2 cats and my mother immediately did not like the kitten and decided he needed to be sent to the pound. I ended up trying to kill myself that night for not being able to care for something I loved so much. I got good help and good medications and made it through.

Understanding and Managing Grief, July 14- July 20, 2019

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

Grief-Sensitive School Initiative, http://j.mp/2O4OIN7 « New York Life Insurance Company

6 Ways to Support a Grieving Teen, http://j.mp/32yWsKu « Modern Loss

Traveling with Grief, http://j.mp/2O2iNwO « The Artful Caregiver

Pet Loss: Was My Cat Saying Goodbye?

[Reviewed and updated November 2, 2021]

A reader writes: This past weekend, my Puff (14+year-old cat) left this world and went to a better place. The other day she kissed my face all over and then licked my neck--with such gusto too--a contrast to how she became as she got older, blind and not able to stand. I think a 2-day heat wave contributed to her demise--but she hasn't been herself for months. The vet figures it was a neurological problem such as a brain tumor, or stroke--like my late but great grandma would say, "whatever it was, it wasn't good"-- the time had come.

Understanding and Managing Grief, March 10 - March 16, 2019

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

Donna, A Photo Memoir of Love and Loss, http://j.mp/2HBuDJt « Donna The Book

Helping to spread the word: short film tackles children dealing with grief and how imagination might heal a broken heart, http://j.mp/2HCVZPm « IndieGoGo

Setbacks in Grief, http://j.mp/2HvPX37 « Grief Compass

In Grief: Saying Goodbye to A Family Home

We carry our homes within us which enables us to fly.  ~ John Cage

A reader writes: I found out Saturday afternoon on a walk that there are people living in my parents' old house. Intellectually I knew it was going to happen, but emotionally... (I always have this dichotomy: an intellectual grasp of something, and an emotional grasp. There is quite often a significant lag time for the emotional grasp to catch up. I am trying to follow others' advice about letting the emotions lead, but its hard. My basic "default" setting is intellect first, then emotions.)

Caregiving and Hospice, March 4 - March 9, 2019

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

Care–Informal Style, http://j.mp/2Hm2w0T « The Unprepared Caregiver

Most Adults Don’t Have the End-of-Life Care Documents They Need, http://j.mp/2H4I85c « 1-800-HOSPICE™

How to Find the Right Words for Someone in Hospice, http://j.mp/2H7LQuA « Next Avenue

Understanding and Managing Grief, August 12 - August 18, 2018

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

3 Important Tips for Grieving at Work, http://j.mp/2BlN4jQ  « Gary Roe

Heartwarming! The Toymaker, http://j.mp/2OMe5Pw « Bryan C. Taylor

Dude, Where's My Grief? http://j.mp/2OMkwC5 « Modern Loss

Coping with Pet Loss, July 29 - August 4, 2018

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

Killer whale holding dead calf afloat is showing human-like grief, expert says, http://j.mp/2LTvs2R « CBC News

End of Life Photo Session with Cooper, http://j.mp/2M2dAQb « Columbus Ohio Pet and Dog Photography

For dying cats and dogs, a last, loving goodbye, http://j.mp/2M4O39a « MPR News

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.

Voices of Experience: When My Story Ends

Music can touch and heal that secret wound of the soul which nothing else can reach.  ~ Debasish Mridha

The Mammals are an indie-roots trailblazing band founded by Mike + Ruthy (Michael Merenda and Ruth Ungar). In the group’s first incarnation (which featured founding member Tao Rodriguez-Seeger) the band energized audiences in the ‘00s with its “Trad is Rad” folk message. The Washington Post described them as “gleefully aware that the sound barriers separating old-timey music, vintage pop and contemporary folk are as permeable as cotton.”

Coping with Pet Loss, March 18 - March 24, 2018

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

Saying Goodbye to Hedda, Part 3: Creating an End-of-Life Ritual, http://j.mp/2DNgrYA « The Conscious Cat

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, March 11 - March 17, 2018

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

Saying Goodbye to Hedda, Part Two: Making the Euthanasia Decision, http://j.mp/2FHXOH1 « The Conscious Cat

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, March 4 - March 10, 2018

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

Coping With the Private Grief Millions of Us Experience (and Nobody Talks About), http://j.mp/2FyERX9 « Thrive Global

Saying Goodbye to Hedda, Part One: Facing the Possibility of Euthanasia, http://j.mp/2G6h5Dc « The Conscious Cat

Hospice Program Helps End-Of-Life Patients Keep Their Pets, http://j.mp/2FuZ93M « iHeartDogs.com

Caregiving and Hospice, December 17 - December 23, 2017

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

Caregiver Abuse: The Role of Personality and Illness, http://j.mp/2DmXaxS « Stan Goldberg, Ph.D.

The Long Goodbye: Coping With Sadness And Grief Before A Loved One Dies,  http://j.mp/2p7Cxmt « California Healthline

How Will the Story End? http://j.mp/2BbrD4s « HuffPost

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.

Caregiving and Hospice, November 19 - November 25, 2017

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

Care for the dying does not mean obstinately resisting death, pope says, http://j.mp/2jkOcYU « The Tablet

Why Does Earlier Hospice Care Improve the End of Life? http://j.mp/2jkYsAe « Seven Ponds Blog

How Older Patients Can Dodge Pitfalls Entrenched In Health Care System, http://j.mp/2A77lFR « Kaiser Health News

Caregiving and Hospice, October 29 - November 4, 2017

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

November is National Hospice and Palliative Care Month! Let's celebrate the wonderful end of life care that hospice and palliative care can give! http://j.mp/2h1Mx9M « Hospice Action Network

Defining Dignity at End of Life: One Question to Ask Hospice Patients, http://j.mp/2iwEWR4 « Pallimed

Linda Campanella: Why Are We in Denial about Death? http://j.mp/1nMTc7u « Pittsburgh Better Times

Coping with Pet Loss, September 10 - September 16, 2017

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

What does pet care have to do with human hospice? http://j.mp/2fk7GeT « Healthy Waterloo Region

Pet Euthanasia: When Is It Time to Say Goodbye? http://j.mp/2xgDUBI « 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.