Bereavement Professionals’ Insights

Thoughts on International Overdose Awareness Day 2023

We lead multifaceted lives, and the deaths of those we love who have died by drug poisoning contain multitudes. The death of a loved one can bring intense grief, shock, anger, shame, or guilt. People who use drugs, and those who love them that they leave behind, face stigma in North America’s dominant, settler culture.

Rev. Sky – “Grief is a journey”

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

Chantal – Physical symptoms and grieving

Chantal talks about panic attacks and thinking she was having a heart attack

Maureen – “Unresolved conflicts”

Maureen shares about her Dad, anger, love and some tools to manage unresolved conflicts.

Janice – “Photographs”

Janice explains how photographs can be a doorway to help move forward.

Craig – How men process grief

Craig talks about his personal story of grief and how he learned to process his emotions in a healthy way. He discusses the challenges that men face when grieving, and offers advice on how to find healthy ways to cope with loss.Craig lost his wife, his mother, his job, and his home in a short period of time. He describes how he felt pressured to be stoic and strong for others, and how this made it difficult for him to grieve. He eventually realized that it was important to allow himself to feel his emotions, even the difficult ones.Craig shares some of the things that helped him to process his grief, such as talking to a therapist, writing in a journal, and spending time in nature. He also emphasizes the importance of finding support from friends and family. This video is a powerful and moving story of how one man found healing after experiencing a series of devastating losses. It is an important reminder that grief is a normal and healthy emotion, and that there are healthy ways to cope with it.

Janice – “Pay attention to our feelings”

Janice discuss the importance of being aware of your feelings.

Maureen – “Carrying grief”

Maureen gives an analogy of how hard it is to carry griefMaureen gives an analogy of how hard it is to carry grief.

Janice- “Stay with feelings”

Janice talks about how feelings can be buried and how working through them can help.

Marija – Permission to mourn

Marija discusses the value of being allowing yourself to mourn

Amanda – “The Little Things”

Amanda talks about how little things can be a huge gift during palliative care.

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.