Articles

by Maria Kubitzhttps://www.aliveinmemory.org Sometimes I feel like I’m stuck somewhere between living and dead. To be more specific, when my 4-year-old daughter died, a part of me died with her. For over a decade I’ve dealt with the pain of my grief. During that time, I’ve continually been learning how to reinvest in living a meaningful life. Yet the part of me that died is tethered to the realm of the dead. A realm that contains my daughter, the world...

by Kelly Farleyhttps://grievingdads.com I talk to a lot of grieving dads that experience severe psychological impacts after the loss of their child.  I too experienced many of the same impacts after the death of my children and it scared the hell out of me. Not long after the death of my son Noah I noticed that I had lost my drive, focus, confidence and hope.  I also started to feel things that I had never experienced before, including despair, fear...

by Eleanor Haleyhttps://whatsyourgrief.com I want to be upfront with you. This post is about giving the benefit of the doubt to people who have said the wrong thing(s) to you in your grief. I feel the need to preface this because I know many of our readers have been treated poorly by friends and family since the death of their loved one. If this is you, I assure you I don't want to minimize your experience. I know people can be...

by Nancy Bernshttps://www.nancyberns.com When Christina was a teenager, her mother and several younger siblings died in a car accident. During the first week after her mom died, Christina and her remaining siblings would go through their mom’s closet and smell the familiar perfume on her clothes. Christina recalled, “She was a nurse and worked evenings so she had a robe that she always got ready in. It smelled like her perfume and it always smelled like that. So right after...

By Molly Allen   There is so much excitement that comes from planning your wedding, from choosing your venue and décor to selecting pretty blooms and delicious food. At the same time, if there are loved ones who have passed away and won’t be present for your special day, it can also feel tough. Saying "I do" without someone special present is difficult. "Feeling the absence of a loved one on such a monumental day can definitely add to the weight of an already emotional...

by Hava How do you plan a wedding without your parents? That is one of the toughest questions I’ve had to face when planning our wedding. My mother died of breast cancer a decade ago, and my father died of a brain tumor last year. I knew that I wanted to honor them in some way, and the only way to do that was to integrate them into the wedding: the ceremony, in speeches, and in my mother’s wedding dress. Planning a...

by Team Mindsumhttps://www.mindsum.app Disney has been entertaining us for generations with its family-friendly animations that people of all ages can enjoy. Many of its films pull on our heartstrings and teach us important messages but one film at the top of that list is their 2015 animated, instant classic, Inside Out. Inside Out follows the story of a young girl, Riley and her parents as they move away from their hometown due to their father's work. They move to a...

by Caitlin Harperhttps://mywellbeing.com/ask-a-therapist/toxic-positivity-and-mental-health As wonderful as looking on the bright side twenty-four hours a day might sound, toxic positivity is actually detrimental to our mental health. While hope and positivity are important, like everything else, there must be a balance. Here is some insight from our community of practitioners about toxic positivity, its impact on our mental health, and what we can do instead. I still remember when, sharing a bad experience with a friend, she cut me off and...

by Michael Schmid originally published on https://adaddyblog.com/i-miss-you-dad/ That pretty much sums it up. Please forgive a personal and less than jolly holiday season blog, but my dad has been on my mind recently. Year upon year now have slipped quietly past since I last held him… last told him I loved him…. said a final goodbye. They say that time heals all wounds, but I’m not so sure. Perhaps it does apply a soft lens and some sepia tones to ones...

by Litsa Williamshttps://whatsyourgrief.com It seems hard to talk about grieving a father without first reminding you of this: before the day that your parent died, you’d never lived a single day on this planet without them. You might not have seen your parent every day or talked with them every day, but the only way you ever knew and understood this world was with them living in it. For better or worse, they were part of your reality for as...

by James Blunt Oh, before they turn off all the lightsI won't read you your wrongs or your rightsThe time has goneI'll tell you goodnight, close the doorTell you I love you once moreThe time has goneSo here it isI'm not your son, you're not my fatherWe're just two grown men saying goodbyeNo need to forgive, no need to forgetI know your mistakes and you know mineAnd while you're sleeping I'll try to make you proudSo, daddy, won't you just...

borrowed from www.rememberingalife.com Keeping memories alive can play an important role in relieving grief following the death of a loved one. There are unlimited ways you can honor the memory of your loved one. Watch your loved one’s favorite movie, whether by yourself or with your family and friends. Frame and display an item written by your loved one, such as a letter, poem, recipe, etc. Read his or her favorite book. Create and wear a custom jewelry piece featuring his...