by Carol Clum, Medford, OR I stand beneath a sky of blue, the August sun warming my back. Apple perfume is in the air, and my grandchildren cannot resist plucking the golden globes from my backyard tree. It is one of those "firsts" that children of 3 and 5 eagerly share with us older folks.… Continue reading Apple Trees and Memories
Author: MomofMandJ
All Grief is Experienced at 100%
Excerpt from Grief Recovery We frequently cite the ancient proverb, “I was unhappy about having no shoes until I met the man who had no feet,” to introduce the dangerous issue of comparison as it relates to grief. Using the proverb as a guide, if you have 10 people in a room, and you start… Continue reading All Grief is Experienced at 100%
Words that guide you forward…
When you lose a loved one to suicide, you can feel completely lost in your pain and grief. You may feel you are completely alone with no roadmap to guide you out of your pain. If you remain open, the guide will appear and the words you need to get you through that next moment, that next day show up when you need them most.
Where are they?
When we lose a loved one to suicide, one of the many questions we grapple with is where are they? Some survivors have found comfort and understanding through listening to stories from people who died and had a near-death experience (NDE) before they were revived. Their experiences share hope and understanding that our loved ones and the love we shared here on earth continues.
The connection remains once the pain subsides
It will always be painful, you will always miss and love the person you lost. But the intensity of the pain and the overwhelming preoccupation changes. And that isn't really your choice. It's a natural organic process that you're not in charge of. The only thing you can do is find ways of supporting yourself to navigate that process as it comes through your system. It’s important to allow that to happen.
Grief is like carrying a rock in your pocket
The best way I can describe grieving over a child as the years go by is to say it’s similar to carrying a stone in your pocket.
Healing through Service
Our group member Ted Robbins lost his sixteen-year-old son Christian to suicide this past April. Ted shares that as part of his family's healing they have decided to try and save other kids from losing their life by way of suicide and mental illness.
Facing the Holidays
Holidays are difficult for all who have lost a loved one to suicide but especially hard for the newly bereaved survivor. The tendency is to remember happier holidays spent with all family members present. As the years go by, our loved one's absence is still difficult, but it becomes less overwhelming. Having a plan for… Continue reading Facing the Holidays
Self-Care Makes us Stronger
We have all heard the instructions of an airline attendant reminding us to put on our own oxygen mask before we help anyone else with theirs. The advice is often cited as a metaphor for self-care because it so accurately expresses why it is important. It seems to say, ironically, that if you can’t take… Continue reading Self-Care Makes us Stronger
What it Feels Like to Lose the Will to Live
From The Mighty: Losing the will to live is not always standing on a ledge. It’s not always being in crisis mode (for me anyway). It’s a dull ache in my chest that weighs me down constantly. I might laugh or appear normal, but that ache to disappear is there, underneath. Click below to read more.… Continue reading What it Feels Like to Lose the Will to Live