Grief is often described in stages – denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross first introduced the Stages of Grief while working with terminally ill patients, but if you’ve ever grieved anything deeply, you already know this truth: Grief rarely follows a set order. Have you noticed how it never fits neatly into the boxes …
What Are the 5 Stages of Grief: What if They’re Not Linear? Read More »
If you’ve recently been feeling emotionally overwhelmed and can’t quite explain why, I want to offer a gentle possibility: could you be experiencing cumulative grief from multiple losses? When loss happens time and again – without enough time, space, or support to fully process each one – grief doesn’t disappear. It accumulates. And over time, that …
Overwhelmed? What if It’s Cumulative Grief From Multiple Losses Read More »
Christmas can stir up a thousand emotions — gratitude, joy, nostalgia — but also deep sorrow for what has changed. If this Christmas feels quieter, heavier, or lonelier, or if you find Christmas hard when grieving, please know this: you’re not alone. I understand, I’ve been there, too. I remember my first Christmas without my …
When Christmas Feels Hard: A Gentle Guide for Grieving Hearts Read More »
“No one warned me that surviving my accident would mean grieving a life that never actually ended, rather an ambiguous loss, lingering quietly beneath the surface.” My traumaversary Today marks my fifth traumaversary – five years since the accident that changed my life in a split second. Five years ago, I was hit by a …
What if You’re Grieving What’s Still Here? Understanding Ambiguous Loss Read More »
Have you ever thought that perhaps grief doesn’t wait for the final goodbye? What if it starts quietly, long before the ending – in those moments when we sense that change, loss, or death is coming? Let me introduce you to a term you might know, even if you didn’t know its name: anticipatory grief. Most …
What if Mourning Begins in Advance? Anticipatory Grief in Invisible Losses Read More »
What if you carry the weight of grief without even realising it? You may know that I’m in the process of writing my book. Today, I want to speak directly to you – my reader. Who is my ideal reader? It’s you. Yes, it’s you whose life once looked familiar, but now feels like a …
As my birthday approached, I couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling growing inside me. Birthday depression crept in slowly at first but then brought with it flood of questions: “Have you done enough?” “Are you where you hoped you’d be?” “What are you even doing with your life?” Have you ever felt sad on your birthday? …
Birthday Blues Are Real: How to Cope With Birthday Depression Read More »
Grief is not a problem to solve. It’s a reality we must live through – sometimes loudly, sometimes quietly, sometimes both at once. When someone you love is grieving, it’s natural to want to support them. And yet when you’re grieving yourself, it can feel impossible to ask for support, let alone accept it. In …
What Grievers Really Need: How to Support Others and Yourself Through Grief Read More »
Mother’s Day can be bittersweet for so many of us. And living in England, where Mothering Sunday comes before Mother’s Day in my country and many others, makes it even harder. I lost my mum over a decade ago, and every year this day brings another wave of grief. Surely, celebrations should be about flowers, …
I don’t believe that our grief diminishes, rather it’s us who grow around it. It may seem that time passes very slowly after the loss of a loved one. I remember my dad, as I call my father-in-law, saying a week after we lost mum, that whilst it was only a week, it seems like …
Understanding Grief, Bereavement, and Mourning: What Is the Difference? Read More »
