Bereavement Professionals’ Insights

Grief Busting Zine [Downloadable!]

This zine is designed by mental health professionals and contains information about grief, different types of grief we may experience, gentle reminders on how to move through grief, as well as tips for those who may be supporting someone in their life who is grieving.

Janice- “Stay with feelings”

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

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.

Sara – Music and celebration of life

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

Shannon – Enough

Shannon talks about us all doing the very best we can from the perspectives of a licensed clinical counselor and losing her husband to suicide.

Chantal – Anticipatory grief

Chantal defines antipatory grief and the grief before the physical loss

Jean – Be good to yourself

Jean shares about support and not being hard on yourself

Cara – Intellectual disabilities, sharing and expressing about grief

Cara discusses how it’s very important that people living with intellectual disabilities have the opportunity to not only know about the information about the person being ill and dying and having the choice and opportunity to go to after death rituals. It’s also really important that they get the opportunity to share their story in whatever way they communicate. This can be verbally through sign language, through communication books, art, music, going for walks, being in nature

Claudia – Art therapy and costs

Claudia talks about how people may shy away from art therapy because of costs and how training schools can be an option

Adrianna – Triggers and the ball in the box analogy

Adrianna gives some great insights on how to deal with triggers

Jen – “Grief yoga”

Jen talks about how yoga may be beneficial.

Rev. Sky – “What is grief?”

Rev. Sky talks about the universality of grief and how people grieve differently.