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Your Rights in Grief

I  know that grief is a difficult topic and we don’t discuss it much in the open. Yet, there isn’t one person not affected by grief in some way. What’s so sad and even shameful in western culture (or any other culture perpetuating this shame and secrecy)  is that we aren’t allowed to show our sadness from loss in public. At least not comfortably. Ever! And that needs to change. Because it isn’t only sadness we feel in grief. It’s a host of other emotions and difficulties we experience that can and do end up ruining people’s relationships, careers, finances and even families.

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7 Tips to Manage the Holidays

Most grievers will attest to the difficulty that many, if not all holidays, present after the loss of a loved one. With Christmas just around the corner (and all other celebrations taking place around the world at this time), for many bereaved individuals, coping with major holidays can present a huge challenge, no matter how long ago their loss. Trying to survive the endless parties and celebrations looking happy and feeling festive is hard.

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PTSD IN GRIEF

In 2005, I lost my twenty-two-year-old daughter to suicide. I was diagnosed in 2014 with PTSD as a result of that trauma. Though I suspected I may have PTSD as far back as 2007, this remained only a suspicion until my medical diagnosis. Up to that point, I didn’t understand the toll that PTSD was taking on my body. The diagnosis brought me incredible relief and was a critical turning point in my grief that led me to make the most positive changes I’ve been able to in my healing so far.

HOW DO YOU KNOW IF YOU HAVE PTSD?

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Getting Grounded in Grief

As a bereaved mom of a beautiful daughter who died by suicide in 2005 at the age of twenty-two, I certainly know pain and suffering. Just like a lot of other people know pain and suffering who have lost someone to suicide, sudden and/or traumatic death. I have done a lot of work to heal from my pain over the years and have had tremendous success to this point, but it’s an ongoing journey.

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Understanding Limitations in Grief

From a purely physical perspective, I dislike the word “limitation”. It goes against every spiritual cell in my body. From the spiritual perspective, we are all perfect. Pain is an illusion. But as physical beings too, we experience a host of issues that seem totally contrary to one’s spiritual essence.

Until recently, I had a really hard time coming to terms with my obvious limitations that began immediately following my daughter’s suicide in 2005 and grew increasingly disruptive to my life over the years. Because we hear the phrase “return to normal” all the time after tragic loss and are conditioned to believe this is the best remedy to overcome grief, a great many limitations – both physical and mental – arise from any griever striving to reach a sense of “normalcy” again that is simply not possible. Especially for those dealing with complicated grief. Continue reading “Understanding Limitations in Grief”

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Kindness in Grief

Being kind and respectful to one another. Wow, what a concept. In general, we have a really difficult time with this. In grief, both are painfully absent in many relationships, but this is most obvious in the intimate ones we share with a partner or other close family member. There are a host of reasons for this, but mainly, because no one in a partnership or other family relationship experiences the many symptoms of grief in the same way or time, conflict between loved ones is never far away. Striving for personal balance in all things can seem like an endless search and struggle. It can feel like there’s always something out of whack.

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Angels are 4 Real!

Today, I want to talk about angels. I love angels. I found them in 2005, just a few months before my twenty-two-year old daughter died by suicide. Today, I can truly say the angels are what saved me from myself in my horrendous suffering from my grief, and the big bad world, until I could stand more firmly on my feet. Initially, I studied with a mentor who has now gone on to other things. But I want to be clear, the angels have made an indelible impact on me, to the point I cannot imagine ever abandoning them from my personal life or the work that I publicly do. I am proud to claim angels as a huge part of my daily living and can honestly admit that without them, I don’t know where I’d be today, if even alive.

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Finding Gratitude in Grief

Feeling grateful for anything is not easy when we are in pain, but peace cannot come to us without the ability to truly feel grateful for who we are and all that we experience. In order to heal, we must be able to find meaning in every experience and value each person’s contribution to our journey. We must be able to recognize and appreciate the love, support and opportunities that come along that can aid our growth and healing without feeling resentment, mistrust, anger and fear.

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Mastering Fear in Grief

Universal laws teach that everything in life is orchestrated in divine and right timing. I know it doesn’t always feel this way when we are suffering. It can be difficult to trust that we’re going to be okay when faced with challenge after challenge, which is how it often feels in grief.

Whatever difficulty you may be facing right now, if you are feeling anxious and fearful because doors aren’t opening fast enough or in the way you think they should, do not despair. Here are a couple of things to consider: Continue reading “Mastering Fear in Grief”

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So, you’re a griever…now what?

This past weekend there was a horrific limo crash in upstate New York that killed all 20 people, 18 of them inside the vehicle. Reading past the headlines, I discovered one family alone lost four daughters aged 30 to 35. That stopped my breath for few seconds, trying to imagine my own loss and subsequent pain times four. I couldn’t do it. I’m not sure I could survive that level of human devastation.

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