Bereavement Professionals’ Insights

Maureen – “Your experience of loss is unique”

Maureen explains how your experience of grief is your own.

Rev. Sky – “It’s OK to cry”

Rev. Sky talks about loss due to gun violence, that it’s OK to cry and finding an outlet.

Claudia – Waterlillies

Claudia talks about how she painted on panels big enough to hug to help her with her grief

Amanda – “It’s a gift to love someone”

Amanda talks about grief and it’s connection to love.

Cara – Grief and intellectual disabilities is a topic that needs to “get out there”

Cara shares some information from a participant in her research on intellectual disabilities and the bereaved. A person with an intellectual disability said… “Grief: It’s a topic that needs to get out there” Grief is something that so many people are hesitant to talk about, to display, to show, because there’s so many social rules around how we grieve. This is particularily challenging for the intellectually disabled.

Michele – Covid and virtual support

MIchele discuss support and how COVID has affected our grief in so many waysort

Jenn – The difference between expressive and creative arts

Jenn explains the difference between expressive and creative arts. You don’t have to limit yourself to art making to help you through your grief process. Expressive arts encompasses a wide variety of approaches including drama, dance, movement, writing and music

Adrianna – Death doulas and grief

Adrianna explains what a death doula is

Janice – “Feelings”

Janice talks about the importance of allowing our feelings as that’s the only way to get through them.

Jean – My Story

Jean talks about isolation and grieving during a pandemic

Jessica M – Legacy

Jessica explains legacy and gives examples including her own.

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.