Grieving a best friend carries a particular invisibility. You aren’t the spouse, the parent, or the child — but you’ve lost someone who knew you completely. Here are 7 ways to grieve a best friend’s death and honor a friendship the world may not fully understand.
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My wife, Bonnie, passed away in 2020, and she was the one person who might have loved fall even more than I do. She had a childlike excitement about the weather changing and the fall color. She would run out and buy yellow, orange, and maroon mums to plant in the front yard. She’d happily start pulling the fall decorations out of the boxes. Hanging the strings of orange leaves, putting out the pumpkins and setting up the scarecrows and bales of hay. Fall has always been my favorite season too, and honestly, it’s not even close. I know plenty […]
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The first anniversary of a death is one of the hardest days of the entire grief journey. The body remembers what the mind tries to brace for. Here’s what to expect on the first anniversary of a death, and 8 compassionate ways to cope with the day they died.
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Birthday grief is one of the most underestimated parts of bereavement. The world keeps the date on the calendar but the person is gone. Here are 8 meaningful ways to honor your loved one on their birthday and turn a day of loss into a day of remembrance.
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Grief and anger are uncomfortable companions. Many bereaved people are blindsided by the rage that comes with loss. Here’s why grief produces anger, who that anger often targets, and 7 compassionate ways to work with it instead of being run by it.
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Prolonged grief disorder is a diagnosable condition in which intense grief persists and disrupts daily life more than a year after a loss. Here’s how it differs from typical grief, who is most at risk, and the treatments that genuinely help.
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Grief brain is the very real fog, forgetfulness, and trouble concentrating that follow a major loss. Here’s the science behind why your mind feels broken after grief, and how to be gentle with yourself while it heals.
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Grief isn’t only emotional — it takes a measurable toll on the body, from the heart to the immune system. Here’s what research reveals about grief’s physical effects and how to protect your health while you mourn.
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Anticipatory grief is the mourning that begins before a loss has happened, often during a loved one’s serious illness. Here’s why it’s normal, what it feels like, and how caregivers can carry it with more self-compassion.
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The widowhood effect is the measurable rise in a surviving spouse’s own risk of dying in the months after their partner’s death. Here’s what the research shows, why it happens, and how to protect your health while you grieve.
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Open to Hope is an online community offering inspirational stories of loss, hope and recovery. We believe hope is the bridge between loss and recovery.
