Grief Digest Articles

Some people will never understand the pain of losing a beloved pet. For those who feel the emotional depths of this type of loss, it can be confusing and frustrating to interact with people who for a variety of reasons, don’t get it. When I experienced pet death through natural causes or euthanasia, it was an emotionally difficult time because my pets are my children. I learned about pet grief through my own experiences and work as a psychotherapist, which I will share in this article.A disenfra …

Over my varied nursing career that has spanned 39 years; I often describe the topic of death and grief as a professional companion of mine. It has walked with me while I was at countless bedsides of those who have died and for the past 15 years as I have facilitated a grief support group and published a monthly grief newsletter. It has been a sacred privilege to be a fellow companion with those who have started on the journey called grief and for those that continue on this journey.On a personal …

They say when you lose someone that it creates a hole in your heart, but I think it is more like a splintering in your soul. Prior to the first time you lose a loved one, your soul is a smooth path. There are twists and turns, ups and downs. You carry on in that vulnerable optimism that we associate with youth. The world is full of opportunity. Then a fracture occurs. Sometimes you lose someone quickly. There is no reason for this type of loss. A life cut short. It is impossible to make …

Never apologize for love. Because that’s what grief is: love.Love is defined as: strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties; unselfish loyal and benevolent concern for the good of another (Merriam-Webster Dictionary). Love is an idea, an intangible thing that we put into play consistently every day to make it tangible. We make it real, palpable, important. It’s a staple of human thriving. When it’s threatened or gone we…..we react.Although expressed differently, grief i …

As I got up from by desk to head downstairs from my office, from the balcony above I saw him walking into the mail room below. He looked as he always did, a fifty-something professor, the same colleague I had known for 20 some years. I reached the last stair step and glanced at him as he spoke with the building secretary. There was absolutely nothing in his demeanor that would indicate his 50-year-old wife had died the day before. My first thought was. “Oh no, he’s going to be finishing up with …