Understanding and Managing Grief, December 17 - December 30, 2023

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

Much about growing older involves loss: of physical strength, mental acuity, and social relevance. Learning to view death as a prelude to something larger is a skill we can begin while still alive. As we learn to drop away the extraneous, the essential can shine through more clearly. The Grief of Growing Older « Psychology Today

My Wish for You This Christmas

Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love. ~ Hamilton Wright Mabie

Every time a hand 
reaches out
to help another ~
that is Christmas.

In Grief: Struggling With Thoughts of Suicide

[Reviewed and updated February 27, 2026]

When it is darkest, we can see the stars.  ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

A reader writes: My beloved died earlier this month, and I can't stop thinking about ending this hell. I know I should stay here for my kids - they don't deserve to lose yet another parent and would be devastated. But I can't see going on like this. Even for one more week. It's just impossible. I'm on antidepressants and sedatives, but I still feel frantic with pain, grief and loneliness. Is this normal? Will I make it? Should I even make it? Or would it be easier to just quit now? I can't even bring myself to pick up the phone and talk to anyone.

Understanding and Managing Grief, December 10 - December 16, 2023

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

Grief is a process that we must engage with in order to heal and ultimately experience joy. Grief can be more severe or prevalent during the holidays; it's important to make space for your grief. Everyone grieves; no one escapes this universal experience of being human. What Anderson Cooper Gets So Right About Grief « P ychology Today

Finding Support in A Grief Group

Exploring the unknown requires tolerating uncertainty.  ~ Brian Greene

A reader writes: I am going to go to my first grief group meeting tomorrow afternoon. I have to admit, I have never been to any kind of support group meeting like this before, and I'm feeing pretty uncertain about it. Any thoughts you'd be willing to share with me?

My response: I applaud your decision to participate in a support group. It takes great courage to acknowledge your need for the support of others, and I respect and admire you for taking this important step in your own healing. Remember too that you are not alone in feeling as you do ~ I'm sure you'll meet others in your group who are just as reluctant to be there as you are. 

Understanding and Managing Grief, December 3 - December 9, 2023

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

It’s now widely accepted that the lingering residue of unprocessed shame, grief and trauma remains in the body and can lead to depression, persistent pain and even death. What is often diagnosed as depression is actually low-level, chronic grief, shame and despair. When we avoid feeling and fully expressing our pain, we resign ourselves to a life lived in this dimmed existence. And we don’t even realise that we’re doing it. How Our Grief Opens Us Up to Life « The Good Men Project

In Grief: Sorting a Loved One's Personal Belongings

[Reviewed and updated May 22, 2026]

If the future seems overwhelming, remember that it comes one moment at a time.  ~ Beth Mende Conny

A reader writes:  When you have a bajillion things that have to be done, but you can't do anything because grief has taken control of you, what gets you going again? I've been doing pretty well, two months into my journey. But I haven't done much with my husband's personal belongings. So far, I've been telling myself to wait to tackle all this until I feel stronger. But now I'm getting anxious that these tasks are piling up around me. I'm confused about what to do first, and my inner parent is telling me, 'These things won't go away, slacker. You have to do something about them, ASAP.'

Understanding and Managing Grief, November 26 - December 2, 2023

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

After experiencing a loss, the first year can be one of the most challenging times in the grieving process. Whether it’s a holiday, birthday, or anniversary, those firsts without your loved one present can trigger complicated feelings. Though the firsts aren’t easy, there are things you can do to help make them a little more tolerable. Tips on how to cope with grief during year of firsts « Clarksville Now

In Grief: Mourning The Loss of A Dream

[Reviewed and updated November 4, 2025]

A reader writes: Seven years ago I fell in love with a wonderful man I met at work. Although we never dated, we spent many wonderful hours together talking about everything and nothing. We spent a year getting to know each other, and I fell more in love every day. After I was transferred to another department, I was sure we would spend a wonderful summer getting to know each other in a more romantic atmosphere. That never happened. He didn't return my calls or emails, and never spoke to me again. I was heartbroken and never understood why he dumped my like that. Since then I have married a wonderful man, who has been a great stepfather to my children and a wonderful husband. He loves me and supports me in all I do. 

          Last month I found out that my co-worker "love" of seven years ago had died in a one-car accident earlier this year. I feel like I'm going crazy!

Understanding and Managing Grief, November 19 - November 25, 2023

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

Knowing how to respond sensitively to someone else’s bad news is the last missing piece in the jigsaw of adulthood, the life skill most of us only realise, to our dismay, we are lacking in that particular sniper’s alley of the late 40s and 50s, when everyone is seemingly running from something and it suddenly feels very important indeed to be a good friend. These are the years of losing elderly parents, but also of early heart attacks, cancer diagnoses, of friends blindsided by now-the-kids-are-grown-and-gone divorces. Lately I’ve found myself struggling too often for the right words. There’s no right thing to say to people who are grieving, but the worst thing is fearing to speak at all « The Guardian