Death By Overdose

Sarah K – Complicated feelings

Sarah discusses the complicated emotions after her husband’s death like feeling sad, distraught, overwhelmed , relieved and guilty

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.

Kristal – Attending Memorials as a Support Worker

Kristal discusses the importance of finding ways to honour people that have been lost and how they have impacted you. She speaks to how she often chooses not to attend public memorials for those she has lost as a support worker as they are often very overwhelming. Instead, she has her own personal rituals or ways of honouring those she has lost personally including opening a window. She discusses how this practice was used when she worked in palliative care.

Nicole – Stigma Surrounding Drug Use

Nicole discusses how the stigma around drug use has an impact on how people feel able to grieve when those in their community are lost.

Sarah K – Be gentle

Sarah shares what what she has learned to help someone going through what she has been through

Sarah K – Coping

Sarah discusses how she copes with this unbelievably painful loss

Nicole – Pandemic’s Effect on Grieving as a Community

Nicole discusses the ways the pandemic has affected the way people grieve as a community.

Krista’s Story

Krista tells her story and talks about getting the call that no parent wants to get.

Christian – “Stigma of opioid death”

Christian talks about the social acceptance of an opioid overdose.

Beauty found at the edges: a portrait of community support

I’d sent a text saying “Hello friends, I’m putting out a call for flowers. I went to public school with Kory, the young man who died in downtown Cobourg this week, and though I hadn’t seen him in recent years, I feel the loss of him on a community level, as I imagine you do, too. Some of Kory’s people are gathering tonight in vigil at the bank where he died, and I’m gathering flowers from those of us who have gardens to share with this grieving community. Do you have some blooms in your garden that you’d be willing to share?”

Krista – “They are not trying to kill themselves”

Krista explains they are not trying to kill themselves. Krista continues to grieve the death of her son from opioid overdose.

Kate – Things I do that help

Kate talks about how art, hiking and visiting the cemetery can be very therapeutic