Bereavement Professionals’ Insights

Janice – “Go into feelings”

Janice explains how important it is to pay attention to your feelings.

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.

Madelyn – Rituals and the Chinese grieving process

Madelyn talks about expressing your grief in Chinese cultures and how rituals are a war of grieving providing comfort

Claudia – Working with an art therapist

Claudia how all art making is theraputic and working with an art therapist amplifies the process in a positive way

Maureen – “Pregnancy and infant loss”

Maureen explains how pregnancy and infant loss is often misunderstood or underestimated.

Weathering the Intense Emotions of Grief

Grief often comes with powerful, unpredictable emotional shifts that can be painful to experience. While it’s important to find ways to sit with these feelings, to acknowledge the pain of grief and accept loss, it’s also necessary to find ways to ease and manage the pain. There are several simple activities that you can explore to help.

Janice – “Grieving alone”

Janice discusses grieving alone and when its important to have people around you that can listen and understand what you are feeling.

Adrianna – Triggers and the ball in the box analogy

Adrianna gives some great insights on how to deal with triggers

Claudia – Materials in art therapy

Claudia discusses all of the wonderful options of materials to use in art therapy. Art, markers, clay, pencils, water collours, cutting, tearing. They physical engagment with the materials is like alchemy.

Cheryl – “What is grief”

Cheryl defines grief and talks about how we all grieve differently.

Chantal – Anticipatory grief

Chantal defines antipatory grief and the grief before the physical loss

Michele – Advice to younger grieving self

Michele tells what advice she would give to her younger grieving self