“The first year following a grief event is the worst.” That’s what everyone says, right? The first birthday, the first holiday, the first new year spent without the person you miss. And there’s no denying that it’s difficult, in an intense, overwhelming kind of way. Every family gathering or yearly tradition for that first year […]
Grief rarely looks the same from one parent to another. One parent may need to talk often about their child, while another may grieve more quietly. One may find comfort in keeping traditions alive, while another struggles just to get through the day. Neither response is right or wrong. Grief is deeply personal because love […]
At the Heart of It Stigma and shame reinforce the idea that there is something fundamentally wrong with who we are. The LGBTQ+ community is a stigmatized group, and its members commonly experience the effects of stigma and shame, which negatively impact their mental health and wellbeing. Coping with shame involves strategies like practicing self-compassion, […]
Ask any parent of an autistic child, and they will tell you: raising a child with autism is one of the most rewarding, eye-opening, and joy-filled experiences life can offer. There are as many reasons to celebrate autism as there are ways that it presents itself. But good things often come in complicated packages, and […]
For her kids, it was magic. For her, it was a turning point. She was the youngest one in the room, and everyone knew it the moment she walked in. Hearts of Hope’s Moving Forward Bereavement Group met once a week for eight weeks, a small circle of a dozen or so people gathered to […]
At the Heart of It Caregivers often feel exhausted, isolated, and unrecognized. It’s normal to feel anger, resentment, and guilt as a result of the stress of caring for another. There is no such thing as “perfection” in caregiving. This is a unique experience that can be challenging, but meaningful. Your best is good enough […]
At the Heart of It Emotional stress like grief or overwhelm can manifest itself as physical symptoms. Those symptoms can create more stress and lead to something called the “Pain-Stress-Pain” cycle. Working through physical pain with a professional can help create the space needed to process our emotional stress and break the cycle. I […]
Can one form of grief be less significant than another? Here, we’ll explore how non-person losses, while sometimes perceived as “less-than” other forms of grief, can still feel the same. At the Heart of It Homesickness shares many similarities with grief in how we experience it when a loved one dies. Moving forward from homesickness […]
Interview by Terry Becker; article by Amy Roberts At the Heart of It When witnessing or assisting with a grief experience, professionals often set aside their own feelings in order to be there for their clients. Society doesn’t always offer validation for pet loss. The connection between pets and their families is real, important, and […]
From therapeutic art workshops with cancer patients to podcast interviews with athletic coaches, I’ve seen how different the effects of grief are in different people. We can feel it emotionally, we can watch it manifest itself physically, and we can see it reflected in our behaviors. But at the very center of the grief experience is the heart. The […]
