Bereavement Professionals’ Insights

Adrianna – Triggers and the ball in the box analogy

Adrianna gives some great insights on how to deal with triggers

Rev. Sky – “Grief is a journey”

Rev. Sky talks about her personal loss and the positive changes that happen as we journey through grief.

Adrianna – Metabolizing grief

Adrianna explains metabolizing grief and grief literacy training

Janice – “Pay attention to our feelings”

Janice discuss the importance of being aware of your feelings.

Maureen – “Group therapy vs individual therapy”

Maureen talks about what kind of counselling may work for you.

Amanda – “Ministry of Presence”

Amanda discusses how being present with someone can be helpful.

There One Day and Gone the Next : Art Therapy and Grief

This blog post contains information about using art therapy to process grief, including specific examples.

Calls to Care, Calls to Action: Bearing Witness to Global Catastrophic Loss of Life and Traumatic Events

We bear witness to stories of mass loss of lives, stories of families in Gaza being forced from their land, loss of culture and traditions, and countless other ways systems of colonization and oppression can contribute to other non-death losses those who are directly affected currently and have historically faced. As we discussed in a previous article, we can also experience collective grief following natural disasters, accidents, international conflict, and acts of violence that have resulted in catastrophic loss of lives.

Michele – My Story

MIchele talks about her multiple losses starting from when she was very young

Sara – Music and celebration of life

Sara explains how music can play an importand and significant role in celebrations of life.

Caileigh – Advice to my younger self about grief

Caileigh talks about things that you can do to balance out feelings that it’s okay to experience all of the big feelings that you have, to find joy in little moments, and to find ways that you can cope with those big feelings.

A Million Other Things: Grieving a Drug Poisoning Death

Sister, father, son, niece, best friend – some of these words might be how you would describe your loved one who has died of an overdose or drug poisoning. People Who Use Drugs (PWUD) are not defined by their substance use – they are a million other things to those who love and miss them dearly. Drug poisoning and overdose deaths are stigmatized in our society. The focus is on how the person died, not who they are. Society still holds onto old notions and beliefs about drugs which come with a value judgment about people who use drugs, which further contributes to stigma. Not everyone who uses drugs is an addict and not all drug use is inherently problematic. People who use drugs deserve dignity and respect when we are remembering and honouring those who have died by overdose or drug poisoning.