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Sorting the Belongings of a Loved One Who Has Died

Posted on September 28, 2015 - by Anne Jennings

Before you begin sorting, remember that your life has been turned upside down, so it is important to give yourself time to grieve first. Going through your loved one’s belongings is emotionally demanding. After the loss of a loved one and while you are grieving, you may need to have around you the belongings, smell and clothes of the person. Everyday tasks can remind you they are gone. The focus when sorting belongings is on only keeping the items that recall happy events, and getting rid of items that remind you of unhappy events. Some people go to bereavement therapy but if they return […]

Fred Luskin: The Importance of Forgiveness in Grief

Posted on September 27, 2015 - by Fred Luskin

Dr. Fred Luskin talks with Drs. Gloria and Heidi Horsley about forgiveness, and how necessary it is for healing. Depending on the circumstances surrounding a death, forgiveness can seem impossible at first (such as in the case of a murder). However, it’s important to note that forgiveness does not require two people. You don’t need to tell the person you’ve forgiven them—that’s reconciliation. Dr. Luskin lost his daughter in a car crash, and his wife died several years ago. He specializes in forgiveness, and says it’s key to healing from your grief. “Forgiveness seems to be a place where people […]

Death of a Parent: Healing Mind, Body and Spirit

Posted on September 26, 2015 - by Cori Bussolari

The death of a parent can be one of the most devastating of losses, no matter what your age. Drs. Gloria and Heidi Horsley talk with Dr. Cori Bussolari and Antonio Sausys about this unique loss and how to heal the mind, body and spirit. Dr. Bussolari specializes in grief and loss, especially when it comes to losing your parents. Sausys is a yoga instructor who discovered how physical symptoms pop up during grief, and how yoga/meditation can be a great tool to heal. Dr. Heidi Horsley has known Dr. Bussolari for several years, meeting her during the first day […]

Spousal Loss: Spiritual and Physical Aspects of Loss

Posted on September 25, 2015 - by Lyn Prashant

Body work expert Dr. Lyn Prashant joins Drs. Gloria and Heidi Horsley on this special episode of The Grief Relief show. Prashant lost her husband at a young age—they were both in their mid-30s when he passed away. She had worked in the grief field for years, and says that “talk therapy” was the standard place for grieving people to handle their grief. When she lost her husband in 1984, she found that she really needed physical ways to relieve the grief. “Talking alone does not allow the body to release the accumulation of grief,” she says. Physical symptoms of […]

AmyJo Mattheis: Loss of Identity

Posted on September 25, 2015 - by Dr. Gloria and Dr. Heidi Horsley

Drs. Gloria and Heidi Horsley talked with AmyJo Mattheis about losing your identity in grief. When Mattheis’ father died, she kept getting the feeling that “he’ll come back.” A former pastor and teacher at Pacific University in California, Mattheis blends her theological background with her professorship. She’s the author of Religion Made Me Fat, and is also a life coach. She walked down grief paths with numerous people as a pastor, but when it became her turn, it seemed like everything was new. “It was all my own,” she recalls, and had no map to get through it. She was […]

Diane Dettmann: Sudden Death of a Husband

Posted on September 24, 2015 - by Diane Dettmann

Drs. Gloria and Heidi Horsley welcome Diane Dettmann to The Open to Hope show. Dettmann lost her husband and literally wrote the book on it. She’s the author of Twenty-Eight Snow Angels: A Widow’s Story of Love, Loss and Renewal. It’s a memoir about the unexpected death of her husband, who was 54 when he passed away. Dettmann also contributes pieces to “Women’s Voices for Change,” and has had her work featured on numerous blogs, online media outlets and in print publications. Dettmann’s husband’s death was somewhat expected since he was born with a chronic lung condition, but he lived […]

Dear Dad: Anger and Apologies

Posted on September 24, 2015 - by Katie Adams

Dear Dad, I miss you and I’m so embarrassed. I’m embarrassed that I’ve spent seven years and $150,000 on not one, but two, creative writing degrees, and I still can’t come up with a more descriptive and involved way to say it. And I suppose there’s a difference between being concise, and being at a total and complete loss for words. I don’t know which one I am yet. When I think of my dad, I think of all the 4am rides to the rink in your Buick, which Grandpa gave you. Every single day was the same: you drove […]

Grief Music with Singer Larry Stevens

Posted on September 23, 2015 - by Larry Barber

Singer and songwriter Larry Stevens performs an acoustic set for The Open to Hope show. Music, art and other creative endeavors are fantastic tools for healing, but they can be difficult to incorporate into the grieving process. Music, whether performing or listening, can help address challenging emotions, but can also quickly become overwhelming. It’s just like when you’re falling in love; hearing a certain song on the radio can trigger overwhelming emotions. Fortunately, there are specific “grief songs” and “grief music” that are designed to help with the healing process at a steady pace. Stevens is one of many performers […]

Healing With Art and Humor

Posted on September 22, 2015 - by Basia Mosinski

Drs. Gloria and Heidi Horsley host episode 25 of The Open to Hope show, which features art therapist Barbara ‘Basia’ Mosinski and comedic author Carol Scibelli. These experts offer insight into using art and humor to help with the grieving process of a death of a loved one—and both women have used these techniques themselves. Losing a spouse, parent and step-son collectively meant tapping into their expertise and training to find a method of grief management that worked for them. Scibelli is the author of Poor Widow Me, which is a tool used by many to tackle the healing process […]

Vanessa McGannon: Drugs, Alcohol and Suicide

Posted on September 21, 2015 - by Dr. Gloria and Dr. Heidi Horsley

Drs. Gloria and Heidi Horsley welcome Vanessa McGann to the Open to Hope show. McGann works with the American Association of Suicidology, and is an expert on deaths related to drug and alcohol use. Suicide is a behavior, not a disease, which is a fact that many people struggle to face. This episode features clips of numerous people talking about loved ones they’ve lost to suicide. Thomas Joiner says, “With suicide, you can’t physically attack it,” like you can with other types of threats. Suicide can be prevented, particularly when it involves drug and alcohol use. Plus, loved ones who […]