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What to Say to a Family After Suicide

Posted on July 5, 2023 - by Donna Berger

What to Say to a Family After Suicide The death of a loved one is a catastrophic loss, but when a loved one has taken his or her own life, that loss presents a unique set of grief challenges for those left behind. The “complicated grief” of suicide can leave family and friends feeling weakened and even incapacitated for long periods of time. Some are never able to come to terms with that loved one’s death. The greatest barrier to healing for survivors is guilt. The enemy’s favorite weapon is imposing guilt on mankind, and those who have lost a […]

Helping Co-workers After a Loss

Posted on July 3, 2023 - by Dr. Beth Hewett

Helping Co-workers After a Loss Grief is a major workplace challenge—even without pandemic conditions. Bereavement experts (see Bento, 1994, for example) have seen workplace grief as “disenfranchised” insofar as the loss may be ignored or unacknowledged, not socially sanctioned or publicly shared (see Doka, 1989, pp. 4-7), and “stifled” insofar as “recognized grief [is] denied its full course” (Eyetsemitan, 1998, p. 471). It might at first seem that we can take care of our grief at home, away from work. Yet grief unacknowledged and unaddressed—even at work—is grief carried. There are remedies, however. A workplace that offers a culture of […]

Suicide Leaves Question of Why

Posted on July 3, 2023 - by Donna Berger

Suicide Leaves Question of Why Five years ago, my nephew – my brother’s son – died by suicide. He left behind his wife, three precious young children, his mom, dad, and brother as well as extended family members, friends, and business acquaintances. The shock was palpable. Thoughts were confused, words were hard to come by, and “why?” was the question of the day. Suicide is one of the leading causes of death in the US and its incidence has increased approximately 30% since the year 2000. In 2021, there were over 48,000 deaths by suicide among 1.7 million suicide attempts. […]

First Responder Grief: Moral Injury

Posted on June 29, 2023 - by Dr. Beth Hewett

First Responder Grief: Moral Injury One of the least noticed griefs that first responders experience is what is known as moral injury, the broken trust with a worldview that includes emotional safety. Moral injuries include learning that you can’t stop crime, you can’t make a dent in war, and you can’t save everyone who needs saving. They include the knowledge that people who die—whether in house fires and earthquakes and from anything else—had their own hopes, dreams, aspirations, and even plans for dinner that night. Moral injuries include grieving your own humanity and humanness, as well as your regrets for […]

First Responder Grief: The Importance of Hope

Posted on June 28, 2023 - by Dr. Beth Hewett

First Responder Grief is Common When a critical incident occurs for a first responder, it’s become common to hear, “Thoughts and prayers!” These kind words help because they convey caring about the work of critical incident response. Yet, as first responders, you know that action and courage and other values also are essential to giving people hope. These values must go beyond thoughts and prayers. First response is all about hope. People who are hurting and scared take their hope from first responders. People hope that: ● those who intend to harm them won’t succeed, ● […]

Even After Death, He’s ‘Still With Us’

Posted on June 24, 2023 - by Brandi Reyna

Still With Us As I walked across the stage to get my degree, I told myself “You are still with me.” As I begin the start of a new year, I tell myself, “You are watching over me.” As I accomplish goals, I tell myself, “You are cheering me on.” As I go from one milestone to the next, I tell myself, “You are proud of me.” As I go through seasons of storms, and when I struggle, I tell myself words of encouragement that you used to tell me. I have so many memories to share with you. I […]

Is Grieving a Denial of God?

Posted on June 23, 2023 - by Brandi Reyna

Grieving the loss of your loved one does not mean that you have lost your faith or gone astray. Deep grief means you loved deeply, and that is not a denial of your faith or belief in God or a higher power. Grieving is our human way of trying to understand something out of our control. Mourning is an outward expression of grief. It is an external expression of internal pain. How we mourn is unique to who we are as a person. Excerpted from Life Amongst the Darkness: https://www.amazon.com/Light-Amongst-Darkness-Joyfilled-Journey-ebook/dp/B0C62GX5NR/ Website: https://linktr.ee/brandireyna

Father’s Day After a Daughter Has Died

Posted on June 18, 2023 - by Lo Anne Mayer

Father’s Day After a Daughter Has Died Father’s Day in our house is a mixed blessing. Even though some of our six children and 13 grandchildren will come to celebrate, my husband, Ray, is still very conscious of the empty chair that would have been occupied by our daughter, Cyndi, who died tragically almost 18 years ago. The hole is Ray’s heart comes up in conversations only once in a while these days. His eyes grow sad but there are no obvious tears. Just a quiet faraway look in his eyes. All of our conversations are divided into two sections […]

When a Couple Grieves Differently: After a Child Dies

Posted on June 15, 2023 - by Sherry Cassedy

Mom and Dad Grieve Differently The death of a child is a devastating loss for anyone; it is even more difficult for a marriage. For the marriage to survive, both partners need to work through their own grief while, at the same time, allowing space for the other to grieve. If the partners blame themselves or the other for the loss, grief becomes not only isolating but conflicted. Other complications surrounding the death—an accident, illness, or suicide—can make it even more difficult for the couple to find compassion for one another. Some limited research and plenty of anecdotal evidence tells […]

Prayer for an Empty Chair

Posted on June 13, 2023 - by Brandi Reyna

Dear Empty Chair, We hold a place for you, Where you used to be, As we glance over and remember what used to be. The memories we cherish fondly and sometimes we remember with our tears, Tears because we miss you after all these years. We remember fondly the celebrations, the holidays, and the meals together as a family. While we still celebrate and have meals together, there are others in our lives now who haven’t met you, and we wish you could have been here to meet them. But God had other plans for you, And over time, we […]