I Am A Griever

Tips for Grieving During the Holidays

The holidays can bring up a lot of feelings, especially when you’re grieving the loss of a loved one. Whether it’s the first holiday season without someone, the holidays mark a time where someone you love died, or it’s just hard to be around celebration when you’re not feeling celebratory, December can feel heavy.

These are a few tips for grieving during the holidays.

Kate – COVID and grieving with my parents

Kate shares about how COVID was stress on top of dealing with the loss of her brother

Betsy – Anticipation

Betsy discusses the anticipation of her adopted son dying of cancer and now or her aging parents

Jim – Humour and grief

Jim talks about how humour can help us cope with grief. “I’m Irish, and we have a saying that ‘laughter is the best medicine.’ I believe that humour can help us to see the lighter side of life, even in the midst of pain. It can help us to connect with others, and it can help us to find hope. I encourage you to find ways to laugh, even when you’re grieving. It might not always be easy, but it can make a big difference.”

John – Lasagna

John talks about the “widower’s meal”… Lasagna, and learning how to cook for his daughters after his wife died

Kate – Getting support

Kate talks about how difficult it is to ask for support

Jim – Triggers

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Jim discusses triggers, how to recognize them and develop coping mechanisms to help deal with the strong emotions that they can cause

John – Foggy Brain

John discusses how difficult it is to concentrate after loss

Craig – How men process grief

Craig talks about his personal story of grief and how he learned to process his emotions in a healthy way. He discusses the challenges that men face when grieving, and offers advice on how to find healthy ways to cope with loss.Craig lost his wife, his mother, his job, and his home in a short period of time. He describes how he felt pressured to be stoic and strong for others, and how this made it difficult for him to grieve. He eventually realized that it was important to allow himself to feel his emotions, even the difficult ones.Craig shares some of the things that helped him to process his grief, such as talking to a therapist, writing in a journal, and spending time in nature. He also emphasizes the importance of finding support from friends and family. This video is a powerful and moving story of how one man found healing after experiencing a series of devastating losses. It is an important reminder that grief is a normal and healthy emotion, and that there are healthy ways to cope with it.

Kate – My story

Kate tells her story of being away when her brother died of an opioid overdose

Scott – Process and lyrics

Scott talks about his process with lyrics and how his song “So far away” was for his mother in law. Find the song at his website www.dotbmusic.ca

John – Being helpful to someone in grief

John shares his thoughts on how to help someone in grief