Grief is best served when witnessed by a loving presence. This is the ointment needed to soothe the wounds of a grieving person, according to renowned grief specialist, David Kessler. Very often, those around the grieving person struggle to find the right words or offer the perfect condolence, in hopes … Read More
“The Bridge Between Suicide and Life”
When someone you know decides to end their life, it is often one of the most painful and mysterious events. Beyond the range of internal responses, such as anger and sadness, there remain so many questions: “Why would they do this?” “How could they abandon their family and friends?” “What … Read More
Emotional Pain: Obstacle or Opportunity?
A natural response to emotional pain for many people (myself included) is to resist or avoid it. This makes sense because emotional pain can feel overwhelming. Predictably, many view emotional pain as an obstacle. For some, exploring difficult painful emotions can feel like a trap. Often with physical pain, we … Read More
Kids Leaving for College Can Feel Like Grief
I was always the Mom who couldn’t wait for summer and more time with my kids. I loved long days of kids running through sprinklers, endless crafts, and baseball games. Melancholy would set in around the purchase of school supplies, realizing our unlimited time budget was about to be drastically … Read More
The Complicated Process of Mourning Your Divorce
Mourning the death of a spouse can be incredibly difficult. The loss of a partner, friend, companion, and confidant is so universal that expressions of mourning are expected, and responses of sympathy are instinctive. Neither the surviving spouse, nor the people around them question the need to mourn, nor the … Read More
What’s So Relatable About Batman?
If for some reason you haven’t noticed, there are a lot of superhero movies being made these days. Before superhero movies became so popular, the most iconic and successful superhero movies were the Batman films. Also, Batman is my favorite character and I have seen the movies more times that … Read More
Talking to Young Kids About Difficult Things They See in the Media
As a parent, one of your main goals is to try to protect your kids from all of the bad things that happen in the world. This may feel hard to do with the recent school shooting in Parkland, Florida, and other tragedies playing out in the media. It can … Read More
Comfort, Presence and Grief
Responding to another person’s grief can be incredibly difficult, not because we don’t care, but because we simply don’t know what to do. Often, that’s because there isn’t much that we actually can do. We can’t change the death of a loved one or alter a devastating medical diagnosis. Given … Read More
Learning to Grieve Your Loss
By the age of forty, most people have experienced some form of loss at least fifteen times. The journey takes courage. Grief is not an easy path to negotiate and simply taking the next step forward is often fraught with overwhelming feelings. Is recovery from loss possible? Yes – although the definition of recovery may need some explanation.
