Dan Levy, a writer and actor known for acting in and creating the show Schitt’s Creek, has recently shifted gears from comedy into the grief world with his creation of the movie Good Grief. He recently joined the We Can Do Hard Things podcast to share about his grief experiences and the perspectives that shaped this recent creation.
In our first ever interview, we’re talking to Bryan Jung, creator of the grief website This is Why. Bryan created the site after experiencing his own loss, wanting to create a space for people to share their feelings and experiences with grief anonymously. Today he shares about this creation as well as his own story, his journey with grief, and advice for anyone who’s early in their own grief journey.
The experience of losing a cherished person is profoundly difficult, and charting a course for your life in the aftermath can feel overwhelming. Moving onward doesn't mean leaving behind the memory of those you've lost. Here are some small steps to facilitate your journey of healing and help you discover a renewed sense of purpose after loss.
You may have heard the phrase “the body keeps the score” before, referring to the idea that emotional pain can show up in our bodies in unexpected ways, sometimes long after the initial trauma occurred. Grief is similar. When a person is experiencing grief, it can take more than an emotional toll—it can also put the body under stress in the short and long term.
Breathwork is a long-standing practice with ancient roots, and it’s gaining recognition in holistic healing spaces. There are many different approaches to breathwork, but generally it involves manipulating the breath to produce a physiological response in the body, often creating a cathartic emotional release.
When a loved one or friend experiences a loss, it’s natural to want to be there for them. Often, people reach out and say “let me know how I can help.” This is thoughtful in theory but can leave the burden on the bereaved person to reach out when they are already feeling overwhelmed. A better way to be supportive is to take action or provide options your friend can choose from. Here are five concrete ideas for ways you can help a loved one in the middle of grief.
Guest post from Kimberly Hayes
The emotional toll of cleaning out the home of a recently passed family member or friend can be heavy, yet it is an essential part of moving forward. This guide offers you a set of strategies designed to assist you in making informed decisions and reducing stress during this challenging phase of your life. In this article, you’ll discover essential steps to help you tackle this monumental task successfully.
With the rise of AI, we’re seeing many creative uses for this technology. “Grief technology” is one of the latest developments, using people’s digital footprints to bring them back. This article (originally posted on Euronews) goes into a few fascinating examples of how this technology is working and covers what might be a polarizing topic. On the one hand, maybe this can provide a sense of comfort to people grieving — on the other hand, what are the risks?
This content was originally posted on Quora by user Jay Johnson, in response to the question “Have you ever done something useful with your grief?”
My first wife died suddenly early one morning. I chronicled her death in answer to [another Quora Question]…
Getting a tattoo can be a beautiful way to pay homage, but it’s also a big commitment, and a few followers reached out wanting to know if there were any tips or bits of advice to share with someone considering getting inked. Here’s what the community had to say.
Tattoos have become increasingly popular in the past few decades, running the gamut from artistic expression to commemoration of life events big and small. Inspired by this recent Cup of Jo post (a beautiful and short read), here’s a collection of Grief Collective follower stories about tattoos they’ve gotten to honor someone they’ve lost.
Karen Kilgariff, a writer and comedian most recently known for co-hosting the podcast My Favorite Murder, lost her mom to Alzheimers in 2016 after a 12-year battle. In addition to talking about it on the podcast, she also writes about her experience in her book.
On a recent episode of Glennon Doyle’s podcast, We Can Do Hard Things, author and cancer survivor Kate Bowler joined to share her story and helped respond to listener questions about grief. The episode (and the part 1 episode before it) is crying-in-your-car beautiful. One listener question and Kate’s subsequent response really stood out.
Often in our busy world, there is pressure to go nonstop. We pack our schedules, we over-commit, we power through. In a culture that values productivity, taking a break can sometimes feel bad - even wrong - but the truth is that prioritizing rest is vital to our wellbeing.
When people think of yoga, they often think of a practice with lots of flow and movement—and sometimes lots of sweat. For some, that can be a wonderful and healing practice, but if that’s not your thing there’s another type of yoga—Yoga Nidra. Similar to other yoga classes, Yoga Nidra has an instructor to help guide you, but rather than being guided through chaturangas and down dogs, you’re guided through rest.
Thanks to advances in technology, therapy is a lot more accessible these days, so if you can’t get to an in-person therapist or if you prefer connecting with one remotely, there are options. We’ve rounded up a few of the top therapy apps and their costs below.
When someone experiences a loss, a good way to show support is to send a condolence note. It’s a relatively low effort and low cost way of showing someone that you care and acknowledging the loss they’ve experienced. But writing condolence notes isn’t something most of us do on a regular basis - maybe some are totally new to it - and it can be challenging to know what to say or where to begin.
Originally posted on Dear Sugar, an advice column from Cheryl Strayed, at the time going by the pen name Sugar.
For many people dealing with grief and loss, anxiety becomes a prominent new feeling on rotation with the others. There are many reasons why people might feel anxious after a loss—financial strain, changes in relationships and living arrangements, the added stress of having to handle someone’s affairs or estate. Loss also shines a light on the impermanence of life, and that can turn into fear.
You’ve probably heard the advice “take a deep breath” a hundred times. And it’s true—deep breathing is a simple and effective tool to manage stress, anxiety, and depression. But what you may not know is how to actually breathe deeply.
A couple of weekends ago, tucked away in a cabin in the Oregon woods, I read the new Glennon Doyle book, Untamed. I’ve read her other books and enjoyed them, but not like this. This one resonated with me more than any other, and soon I was highlighting and re-reading and jotting down notes.
Mindfulness and meditation are useful practices at any point in life, but they can be especially helpful in processing trauma of loss. To learn more about the benefits of meditation for grief, you can read this post. For some people though, the idea of meditation is off-putting.
“Mindfulness not only makes it possible to survey our internal landscape with compassion and curiosity but can also actively steer us in the right direction for self-care.” — Bessel A. Van der Kolk
It can be vulnerable and even scary to approach someone in the throes of difficult emotions, but it will mean so much to them when you do. Here are some tips for navigating this time.
In seventh grade, my best friend’s mother died. I had been waiting around all afternoon for my friend because we were supposed to go to the park, but she wasn’t answering the phone (land lines at that time). As afternoon turned into evening, I got upset that she hadn’t called back. When she finally did later that night, I answered demanding a good excuse. Then she delivered the news that her mother had a brain aneurism earlier that day and that her family was at her house making funeral arrangements. I didn’t know what to say. I wasn’t even sure it was real, even asking her if she was serious (she was). Later that night, I cried in my bed with my mom. Mostly I was sad for my friend, but I was also afraid. What did I know about grief? I worried I would never be able to talk to her normally again.