Crisis Support

It’s almost six years and the pain never goes away. The punishment just did not fit the crime. The sense of loss and grief has now given way to a sense of hopelessness. It will just never get better! My…
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Losing a child is one of the most difficult things to deal with. It can be a heart wrenching event that can many leave many emotional scars for years to come. During a time like that, a person needs as…
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When I talk about grief and loss to anyone, I can only think of my son who I lost tragically nearly six years ago. Although I have not escaped the pain and suffering over the last few years, I have…
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Death. Even the word sends a shiver down your spine, doesn’t it? Death can be sudden, expected or in some parts of the world planned down to the last detail in euthanasia clinics. But at the end of the day,…
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These festive days of The Holiday Season are the hardest to endure because it is at this time every year that we suffer from our losses the most. No matter how long ago it has been, the pain and grief…
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I know suggesting that it be mandatory for terminally ill people to choose funeral rites would be definitely going too far. I do however believe that this area, inclusive of all the issues surrounding a persons impending passing, needs to…
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For many terminal patients, planning their own funerals provides a peaceful sense of closure and finality. Many patients feel relieved that they can lessen the stress on their grieving loved ones by having funeral arrangements already handled prior to their…
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How could I have thought that dealing with my grandma’s death would be any easier since she hadn’t really been “grandma” in a number of years? Alzheimer’s stole a lot from her, and from us: at first she just seemed…
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Grief is an emotion that does not limit itself in any way. It does not discriminate, and no one is immune or protected against it’s existence. People tend to associate grief purely with the feelings that occur following the death…
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Over the course of my life I have experienced with friends the loss of a child. Having almost lost my own child some years ago to a rare pediatric disease, it is without a doubt the most painful of life’s…
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It took me longer to find the perfect burial dress than it did my wedding dress. I could see it in my mind, white cotton, soft and loose-fitting. As silly as it sounded when I said it out loud, it…
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My 74 year old grandfather’s first surgery of his life was his last. I watched my grandfather lie in the hospital dying for a month because my family was too selfish to let him go. He was having so much…
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We define being humane by taking the life of a suffering animal when a creature is beyond help, a horse with a broken leg, an old cherished family pet that can not longer see, hear, taste, or have any type…
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Should people who are grieving be expected to make financial decisions? I believe that they will have to because life does go on and business decisions still have to be made. That is not a cold unfeeling statement, but it…
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Justification is a subjective phenomenon. Before we debate on the justification of suicide, let us first be clear as to what is justified and what is not. JUSTIFICATION vs. RATIONALIZATION There is a only a thin line that differentiates ‘justification’…
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My oldest daughter was sick in the hospital and I was pregnant with out third child. This was my first pregnancy since I’d had surgery during my youngest daughter’s gestation. I had known for about one month and my daughter…
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No matter what age you are, or what the circumstances are, when you lose a friend it can have a devastating impact. The longer you knew your friend and the closer you were, the harder it will be to cope…
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When a woman discovers she is pregnant, she invariably visualizes the new human being who will be the end product of the process. When miscarriage shatters that possibility, she may be devastated or relieved, but her life will never be…
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Depending on the circumstances the best thing to do for a grieving co-worker is to keep your distance until the co-worker asks for your support. Of course you will want to acknowledge their loss and let them know they are…
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Suffering the death of a close friend is one of the most difficult events that anyone will ever experience. Grieving for your loss is natural process as well as experiencing a high level of stress. Time won’t heal the wound,…
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“The past is our definition. We may strive, with good reason, to escape it, or to escape what is bad in it, but we will escape it only by adding something better to it.” – Wendell Berry The past can…
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Although my mother had two daughters and two sons, I was her only child. I never married. And never quite grew up. When I got the call from my brother Jack that her cancer had recurred and she would die…
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You support your friend who is grieving by being there for them. You take care of them when they cannot, or will not take care of themselves. You must find ways to be helpful and to listen to whatever they…
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Giving up your life for a relationship. Sounds pretty crazy huh? Well it’s not. So many people make this mistake. Love is something we all crave for. Sometimes we don’t see that we are giving up ourselves in relationships. We…
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The right to choose funeral rites providing the person is mentally competent should be the choice of the dying person. Family should be supportive of this and make sure where possible the rites of the dying person is honored. There…
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Dealing with a friend who is grieving poses the same challenge as supporting someone struggling with a debilitating illness, a divorce, or any other difficulty. The key is striking a balance between being insensitive and being overly solicitous. You’re bound…
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Grief when written on paper and spoke out loud in normal conversation is not a threatening word but when it describes the emotions a friend is suffering the meaning of the word takes on more emphasis. A friend, like a…
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Having been in the depths of grief during the process of my life, the inability of people I love to understand and support astounded me. Faced with the inevitable that touches all of our lives, human beings turn away from…
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When my mom died, well-over 40 years ago, I didn’t really have a chance to say goodbye; it happened so fast! She suffered a cerebral hemorrhage around noon and by 8:30 p.m. she had passed away. I am the youngest…
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RELATIONSHIPS – Breaking up and the “big fix” In my life coach practice, I have heard so many people, after a breakup, say that they will be able to get over it as soon as they meet a new lover….
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