The Reflection Room® project: How storytelling supports processing grief

Nicole – Stigma Surrounding Drug Use

March 25, 2023

Nicole discusses how the stigma around drug use has an impact on how people feel able to grieve when those in their community are lost.

Kate – Triggers

March 11, 2023

Kate discusses how she deals with her emotions when something triggers her grief

Kate – Miracle baby

March 11, 2023

Kate shares about her brothers daughter being born after he had died

Kristal – Professional Experience and Work

April 23, 2023

Kristal discusses being a peer support woker, working on a one on one level with community members to help them with their goals related to substance abuse. She supports those in the community dealing with loss and grief. She speaks to everyone’s experience with loss and grief being very individual.

Krista – “Exercise to get it out”

November 11, 2019

Krista tells how she releases stress through kickboxing. Krista continues to grieve the death of her son from opioid overdose.

Sarah K – Talking about the cause of death

February 8, 2022

Sarah talks about husbands death to a heroin overdose and stigmatized death.

Krista – “Strength”

November 11, 2019

Krista talks about how she sees strength and sucking it up. Krista continues to grieve the death of her son from opioid overdose.

Kristal – Lack of Memorials During Pandemic

April 23, 2023

Kristal talks about how memorials can offer closure to people who are grieving, find a community, and share stories. With the absence of this during the pandemic, many people turned inward to grieve or isolated, which can create safety issues and have an impact on mental health. She speaks to how this leads to depression, physical pain, and it compounds upon itself.

Christian – My process in grieving

April 23, 2023

Christian explains his grieving process and how it’s important to let people in, the power of community, and having a team that makes him feel loved and cared for

Sarah K – Finding my people

February 7, 2022

Sarah talks about how finding other people that are going through the same grief experience has been very helpful to her.

Kristal – Attending Memorials as a Support Worker

April 23, 2023

Kristal discusses the importance of finding ways to honour people that have been lost and how they have impacted you. She speaks to how she often chooses not to attend public memorials for those she has lost as a support worker as they are often very overwhelming. Instead, she has her own personal rituals or ways of honouring those she has lost personally including opening a window. She discusses how this practice was used when she worked in palliative care.