The Open to Hope Community

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Articles:

Grief – Why Do We Grieve?

A young boy is close to his mother. He is five years old and she is thirty years old. She is in contact with her everyday of his life. He experiences her love in many forms. The way she calls him, the way she gives him shower, the way she feeds him conditions the boy to expect a certain kind of response from his mother. His senses of touch, smell, hearing and vision give input to his nervous system that

Child Bereavement: Words of Comfort for a Child

Young people need as much time to grieve after the death of someone close, whether they show it or not. The most common issue for a parent is that the child doesn?t ?seem? to be distressed so they don?t want to upset them. Children are in a world where they are used to not having control over things and therefore often accept things quicker that doesn?t mean that it is ok with them though. Their feelings can be

Surviving Loss and Life’s Challenges: Just Keep Breathing

He had given up on killing himself yet he had lost all hope of ever being found. The only thing he had left was this uncontrollable innate will to survive. Days turned into months and months, years, as he detached more and more from civilized thinking and took on the persistent wildness of his surroundings. Until one day, quite unexpectedly, the tide brought him a sail.

Helping Children Cope with Grief

Age is not a prerequisite to grief. Not unlike their parents, child must be allowed to experience the stages of grief. Denial of opportunity to “release” feelings, participate in family loss, and share in recovery can be very damaging to the health and well being of the child. You do not have to be a psychologist or therapist to understand and use basic tools to address the needs of a grieving child. It does require recognition that “kids are people too,” and acceptance that their process of mending is no different than adults. Whether death or divorce,

December 14 2006: My Brother, My Best Friend – Alison Smith

HEALING THE GRIEVING HEART My Brother, My Best Friend Hosts:? Dr. Gloria Horsley and Dr. Heidi Horsley With guest:? Alison Smith December 14, 2006 G:?Hello.? I?m Dr. Gloria Horsley with my co-host H:?Dr. Heidi Horsley. G:?Each week we welcome you to Healing the Grieving Heart, a show of hope and conversation with those who have suffered the loss of a loved one and for health care professionals who work in this difficult field.? As always the message is others have been there before you and you can make it.? You do not walk alone.? If you?re listening to our Thursday […]

December 14, 2006: My Brother, My Best Friend – Alison Smith

DECEMBER 14, 2006 – ?MY BROTHER, MY BEST FRIEND?: ALISON SMITH.? In 1984, when Alison Smith was only 15 years old, her adored, older brother Roy died in a car accident.? The two were so close that they shared the nickname ?Alroy.?? Alison went on to write the memoir ?Name All the Animals? which was a New York Times Notable Book and was named one of the top ten books of 2004 by People magazine.? Alison talks with Gloria and Heidi about how she worked through her grief and continues to honor the memory of her brother, her best friend. […]

Dear Gloria and Heidi

Dear Gloria and Heidi, My name is Millie. I have been listening to your show for the last eight weeks. I enjoy it very much. I have attended two Compassionate Friends meetings. I was in a local wholesale club and the woman behind me in line was my high school librarian who had lost her daughter in a drowning accident 27 years ago. She had started going to Compassionate friends for the last year. She was so excited about telling me about Compassioante Friends that after meeting her in the store. I thought, “why not?” and went to the very […]

Grief and the Holidays

The holidays bring grief to an all new height for those who are suffering from losses or struggle with depression, anxiety, chronic illness or other such disorders. This newsletter is for those who suffer and for those who love them. If it’s a merry Christmas for you, please take a moment to forward this, or print it off the article and give to a friend or family member in need.

Grief: Factors That Delay Closure

In my other articles I have described the process of grief and how and why do we grieve over a loss. In this article I describe the factors that delay or disallow a person to bring the issue of a loss to a closure. When the closure does not happen, the person is pre-occupied with the departed person. This prevents the person from moving on in life. So the grief of this person may persist indefinitely.

December 7, 2006 Challenges of Being a Bereaved Stepparent – Babe Muro

HEALING THE GRIEVING HEART Challenges of Being a Bereaved Stepparent Hosts:? Dr. Gloria Horsley and Dr. Heidi Horsley With guest:? Babe Muro December 7, 2006 G:?Hello.? I?m Dr. Gloria Horsley with my co-host H:?Dr. Heidi Horsley. G:?Each week we welcome you to Healing the Grieving Heart, a show of hope and conversation with those who?ve suffered the loss of a loved one and for health care professionals who work in this difficult field.? As always the message is that others have been there before you and made it and you can, too.? You need not walk alone.? If you?re listening […]

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.