Legacy burdens— when not properly addressed- can manifest out of loyalty to our family members and the feeling that there is a wrong we now have the responsibility to right. While this is a form of love in and of itself, it perpetuates intergenerational grief.
Read MoreWe often think of hope as an emotion, something like sadness or disappointment or joy that comes and goes, ebbs and flows, with our lived experiences. This warm sense of possibility and optimism can kind of feel like an emotion because we often experience it in sporadic intervals rather than having it embedded in our cognitive processes as a useful coping tool.
But did you know that hope is actually a learned skill? While it does have affective (a.k.a. emotional) elements, too, it is largely motivated by cognition.
Read MoreGrief feelings aren’t always graceful and poised. They can get messy and overbearing and complicated, and yes— expressing those feelings might make you feel bothersome, annoying or even selfish. But you aren’t. While it is possible to ruminate or get stuck in your grief, you are embarking on a natural process that seeks to honor the memory of a significant loss, and you can do so by engaging in healthy expressions of grief.
Read MoreAs I prayed over what to address in this week’s blog post, my heart came to those of you who are currently walking through the difficult wilderness of disenfranchised grief. Disenfranchised grief occurs when a person’s society, culture, or immediate social circles fail to acknowledge the loss either because the death is stigmatized, or the relationship between the bereaved and deceased is seen as insignificant. Disenfranchised grief can even occur in instances where a death isn’t experienced, but a significant loss absolutely is.
Read MoreWhat does it mean to ‘hold space’ for yourself and for others?
Those of us who work in the mental health profession tend to have our own language of sorts, which thankfully, is becoming more “mainstream” as— slowly but surely— the wellness community grows.
Even still, as I was writing some of my social media content this last week, I found myself caught on two words: “hold space.” How often I use it but how little I truly reflect on the power within these two words!
Read MoreOne of the most frequent questions I get from friends and family of grieving individuals: “What do I say? What do I do?”
Even if you say and do all of the “right” things, it doesn’t necessarily mean it will bode well. Because of the uniqueness of the grief journey specific to different people at different times, there’s no way to know if what is right and helpful for one person is right and helpful for another, but you can show up for the grieving individual in healthier, more helpful ways.
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