Grief Awareness Week takes place 2nd – 8th December 2022.
Our Patient and Family Support Team are a group of St. Michael’s Hospice staff and volunteers offering practical, emotional, spiritual and social support to patients, their families and friends.
This Grief Awareness Week, we’ve put together an article of information and support to help you.
Myths
It’s important to be strong in the face of loss
The pain will go away if you ignore it
Grieving should last about a year
Moving on with your life means forgetting about your loss
Grief means you should cry
These are just some of the myths around grief that can create extra pressure on those already trying to navigate their way through their loss. There is no right or wrong way to grieve – nor a timeframe.
If you’re struggling with your grief, 1-1 counselling provides a confidential space to talk through your experience. Find out more here
Sharing experience
Grief can feel very isolating; a question we often hear is “am I normal”
It can be reassuring to understand the different ways that grief can affect us and comforting to share thoughts and feelings either with others.
Our Bereavement Service offers different opportunities to meet others who have experienced a loss.
Find out more about our Bereavement Support here.
Feedback from attendees:
“being able to open up and talk freely” “finding out there is nothing wrong with the way I am feeling…”
“helpful to have ideas on how to manage grief and ways to remember loved one”
Remembering
When a loved one dies, we can gradually find ways to adjust and redefine the relationship with that person, allowing for a continued bond that’ll continue, even though it’s in different ways and to varying degrees, throughout our lives.
- Create a photo collage
- Make a memory box
- Plant a tree or dedicate a bench in their name
- Make something out of their old clothing
- Organise an event in their honour
- Make a video montage
- Learn to play their favourite song
- Write them a letter
- Visit a place that was special to them
- Make their favourite food
- Watch their favourite film
- Have something of theirs repaired
- Speak to people who knew them
Every year, we hold our Light up a Life and Sunflower events where you can remember and celebrate the lives of loved ones. Find out more about Light up a Life here.
Suggested readings
Here are some readings we recommend;
- Surviving the death of a sibling: living through grief when an adult brother or sister dies. T J Wray
- How to go on living when someone dies. Therese A Rando
- It’s OK that you’re not OK. Megan Devine
- Bearing the Unbearable. Joanne Cacciatore
- The Year of Magical Thinking. Joan Didion
- A Manual for Heartbreak. Cathy Rentzenbrink
- When Breath. Becomes Air Paul Kalanithi
- The Iceberg. Marion Coutts
You can find suggested readings for children here.
To find out more about how we can support you, click here.