grief

Losing a family member is one of the most traumatic life events; Families must support one another to endure the five stages of grief and get through it together.

Why I Joined a Grief Counseling Group, and Why You Should Too
About a year after my mother's passing, I started reading a book by Cheryl Strayed, an author whose mother also died when she was younger. Her two-page account of that event made me cry six times that night. I cried more times in one evening than I had over the entire first year of my mother being gone.
By Aspen Drake9 years ago in Families
I Always Wanted to Be Funny
I always wanted to be funny. When I was a small child, I would do my best to entertain my mother. It was more than just a job or a hobby or anything like that. It was who I was meant to be. Since then, it has taken on its own form.
By Ronny Pascale9 years ago in Families
In Which I Address the Passing of My Mother
When I was little and the world was quiet, I would lie in bed and think about the earth and how big it was. Then my mind would shift to the solar system, and how we are constantly floating around amongst other planets and countless stars. Then I would think about how there was even more beyond that, perhaps beyond anything a single person could imagine. I would begin to feel dizzy, and would have to roll over and consider something on a smaller scale. That’s how I would describe losing my mother. It’s something that I know happened, but it’s not something I take time to regularly consider. And when I do, it’s weird as f@#k. And despite how big the world is, with all its winding roads and hidden places I haven’t visited, and how many launches we are making into space, my mom isn’t there. I wont find her anywhere. Not around the corner of a noisy street market like in some art film, and not on another planet that we’ll eventually colonize like some sci-fi twist. She’s gone.
By Aspen Drake9 years ago in Families
Matters of Life and Death
There have been a number of high-profile cases involving end-of-life care, and the “right-to-die” (or to live). Medical professionals are bound in their duty by their training and the law, and must do what is in the patient’s best interests. Unfortunately the relatives of the patient are not always willing to accept the medical verdict, and we run into conflict. When this is discussed in the media, the conversation tends to focus on science vs. religion, emotion vs. reason; portraying distressed relatives as selfish and delusional. Taking a detached and dispassionate stance, we look upon the situation “rationally” and side with the facts, but we’re not reviewing all of the evidence.
By Katy Preen9 years ago in Families
He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother
The first person i had ever lost in life was my Great Grandmother. I remember being around 4 years old and asking my Mom what happened when you died. She would always say you float to Heaven and watch over your loved ones.. told me "see that really bright star in the sky!? Thats great grandma shining down." I took comfort in knowing there was more to life than just earth.
By Aseetnahc9 years ago in Families
Teach Me How
How do you learn to leave someone in the past while keeping them in the future with you when you know they can't be here, no matter how much you wish they could? What happens when you lose someone? There was nothing that could be done. No way we could save him. He was so young — only a child. Now he's gone.He's not coming back. We wish he would. We wish he could but he's in a better place now. A place where he no longer hurts, his eyes work again, he can speak and be understood. But what happens when a mother never stops grieving and you wish you could be there for her in a way that you don't know how? What happens when she breaks down, the dam breaks loose, and your heart shatters because you feel the same way, yet you could never feel it as much as she? She was his mother, and he her baby. He was a bright child. What happens when she's crying years after he's gone? How do you help her? How do you let her know you will always be there? How do you compare to the love of her child? What do you do when you know if he was here, he'd be the one to comfort her, to know exactly what she needs, to help ease the burden and heal the pain.
By Susan K9 years ago in Families
The 96 Hours that Changed My Life
The Day Before I nearly didn't go. I had a headache and really just wanted to lie down in a dark room. We bumped into Auntie Alison on the way in as she was just leaving. She had driven up from somewhere further down south, Manchester or Nottingham I think. She asked me and Danielle if now was a good time to be going on holiday, as we both had things booked for the upcoming week. We brushed it off as no big deal, from what we knew Mum was recovering and would be home soon.
By Chloe McClements9 years ago in Families
The End of a Family
I wrote this in an old diary on 11th March 2003 at 6:35am, some seven months after my mum died. It was the first time I could put pen to paper and recount what happened.
By Richard Douglas9 years ago in Families
Pal Joey. Top Story - August 2017.
Looking at the screen of the CAT scan I think, ‘Now this in authentic Reality TV.’ I am blinking fast and furious faucets of tears as if I think I can lift off and out of this cramped, over-heated office fueled solely by eyelash power. The young oncologist is calm. The scene, like his job, is a re-run, scripted with words like “cancer,” “Stage 4,” “8 months to a year,” “so sorry,” “do what we can.”
By Dr. Ronda9 years ago in Families
This Is Not the End
The room is dark, save for one fluorescent light turned on in the corner. My heart races, my palms are sweaty, and I feel the familiar sting of tears for probably the thousandth time that morning. Something isn't right, and I know it. There's no way the doctor is going to have good news. You don't bleed that much, have that much pain, and not have it end in the worst way possible.
By Emilie Dowty9 years ago in Families
Distractions
I didn't look for them. God knew what I needed so he sent me distractions. And yes they helped me deal. I had so much to deal with, parents dying, nowhere to live, sad all the time, empty inside. I was depressed, sad and lonely. I felt like an orphan. My life as I had known it was gone, replaced by this weird existence. I wasn't living life, I was merely going through the motions. You know, wake up, get dressed (maybe), eat (maybe), brush teeth, cry, go on computer look for something, anything to distract me from the pain, the anguish I was feeling. Strangely enough, social media did help. I spent a lot of time looking at my computer screen trying to lose myself in other people's dull and boring lives.
By Edwina A. Lewis9 years ago in Families
Grief: Not Something You Just Get Over
Our friends, family, colleagues, and perhaps even random strangers tell us that time heals all wounds, and that you need to suck it up and get over it. But grief, as I have come to know for a fact, is a process. You don't just get over it.
By Jessie B9 years ago in Families