What is Grief?
Grief is what happens inside of us when we experience loss. This is not the outward mourning, but rather something that is wholly ours.
​
Grief does not have a timeline, and there is no singular 'right' way to grieve. We do have to feel our pain in order to heal it, and this pain is very real as our love is also real.
​
You may have heard someone say that you should talk to someone, and that is good advice. Our pain, our grief, must be witnessed.
​
Our relationship with our loved one does not end when they die, but it does change. You are not alone as you navigate the changes to come.
What is a Certified Grief Educator?
A Certified Grief Educator is committed to providing the highest level of grief support through education, experience, and insights into the often unacknowledged rocky terrain of grief.
​
Certified Grief Educators completed a certificate program designed by world-renowned grief expert, David Kessler. They bring his unique methodology, tools, and decades of experience to help people navigate the challenges of grief.
When Does Grief End?
The impact of loss is a statement on how we loved; how we held others dear to us. If you have heard 'Why don't you just get over it?', you are not alone.
We do not just get over the loss of a longtime partner, the tragic death of a child, or a death by suicide. The aftermath of death lasts a lifetime.
​
We grieve as long as we need to.
How Do I Navigate the 5 Stages of Grief? Is There a Timeline?
Grief has no timeline, and it also has no rules. There are actually 6 stages of grief identified by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, M.D and David Kessler: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance, and meaning. These stages are not prescriptive nor are they linear. Individuals may go through all of them or only some of them. Grief is so personal and individual.
Can I Avoid Grief?
Grief is not the problem. The problem is we are in very real pain--and that is what we would like to avoid. Grieving gets us closer to healing.
What is Denial?
Denial is actually a very useful survival technique that works to protect us in the early days of loss.
​
In the early days of grief, we may feel numb and lost. The world has ceased to make sense and all we can do is put one foot in front of the other. Denial and shock allows us to filter our grief rather than to experience all the feelings that are to come.
What is Anticipatory Grief?
Anticipatory grief is what happens when we begin to prepare ourselves for life without our loved one.
​
As we see our loved one(s) prepare for death, we also begin to quietly prepare for life without them.
Do Children Experience Grief?
Absolutely. If a child is old enough to love, they are old enough to grieve. This often gets forgotten as children appear to be resilient. While they are resilient, they are also able to pick up on the sadness surrounding them. They do not know how to express what they are feeling.
Children tend to do well in bereavement support groups so they are supported by other children experiencing grief.