What you should know about being upset This is an excerpt from a booklet by Roy Masters that Bob wanted to share with you about what you should know about… Continue reading Feeling Hurt by Others
Author: MomofMandJ
Why Did My Loved One Do This?
Asking the Question Why?By Tracy T. Dean Asking “Why did my loved one do this?” is the question that haunts most survivors [family members or close friends who have lost… Continue reading Why Did My Loved One Do This?
Mental Health GPS
Our friend Clemen recently shared with us an article she had read from the New York Times about mental health crisis lines and GPS services for navigating mental health support. CLICK… Continue reading Mental Health GPS
What is Acceptance?
Acceptance does not mean you like, want, or are happy with a situation. It simply means you are aware that the situation happened and that you are not in a… Continue reading What is Acceptance?
Where to start when you feel lost
After a traumatic loss like losing a loved one to suicide, we can feel lost, detached from our former selves, lacking motivation and the essential life force that powered us… Continue reading Where to start when you feel lost
Grief Rewires our Brain
Grieving is learning as our brains adjust to profound change. “Thinking of grieving as a form of learning makes [grief] a little more familiar and helps us to understand,” said psychologist Mary-Frances O’Connor
Being Honest about your Grief
Replacing "I'm sorry" statements with "thank you."
Boundaries
While grieving — and at all other times — it is important to be aware of, protect, and set clear boundaries with others. If you are like many of us, you may have some difficulty saying no to people. If saying NO to others is difficult for you, below are some other ways that you can say NO that may work for you.
Honoring our loved one’s qualities
There are many ways we move forward after losing someone we love to suicide. One way survivors have found they could move forward while remaining connected to their loved ones is to remember their loved one's character strengths and to emulate them.
“Pain is Inevitable – Suffering is Optional.”
Pain and suffering are not the same things. This graphic shows how emotional pain (not physical pain) is a natural response to an emotionally disturbing event. Suffering is our response to the event with negative self-talk and actions intended to avoid or numb the pain we feel. We can keep filling that suffering portion of the graphic up with unhealthy coping mechanisms and negative self-talk, but none of them ever address the actual feelings that have caused our pain. In fact, negative self-talk may be another way we avoid feeling the actual pain.