Grief - It Sucks

When we are grieving, it’s hard to know where to begin, what to do, how to grieve, to discover how YOU grieve. This is a heavily subjective guide created by me, Sam, to guide you. There are a few things you should know before diving in. These sections are in no particular order, but if you just don’t know where to begin – just begin on the first tile – the Educational Worksheets. The last thing this is intended to do is make you feel overwhelmed.

 

Another thing to know is that I love movies, especially kids’ movies. I grew up in Florida, and one way to get out of the sun in the summer was to hang out at the movie theater. I had friends who worked there, so I’d sneak in all the time. I found movies to be a way to escape, but also have found that I’ve learned so much from them. I especially love kids’ movies because they usually have some sort of life lesson in them, and they are broken down into “bite-sized” pieces that are easily digestible. Two examples of kids’ movies that address the topic of grief are Up and Inside Out. When someone is going through grief, sponging-in information is sometimes easier by way of movies than an entire book. So you’ll see this preference for movies below in the list of ones that address grief.

 

I also have preferred channels to which I subscribe on YouTube. Not surprisingly, there are a lot that are therapy-related (such as Therapy in a Nutshell, Psych2Go, and Cinema Therapy – the last of which combines my YouTube preferences with my love for cinema). You’ll see some of my go-to videos about grief listed below in the Videos section.

 

Sometimes when we are grieving, we don't want to do much at all - and that's okay. Other times, we want to DO something. Maybe we just don't know where to begin. Some of the activities and worksheets can help with that. If you want to take on more than bite-sized, you can explore the full workbooks section as well. In much the same way as I think about movies, I use worksheets that are intended for children with adult clients often. The reason for this is that it, again, breaks it down into “bite-sized”, easily digestible pieces. However, some of the activity sheets and the workbook listed below that are intended for children below address grief in ways that the adult versions sometimes do not. An example of this is in one of the workbooks that asks children to draw how they remember their loss. This doesn't appear often in adult activities and I think we are missing out on ways to see, hear, smell, taste, and touch our grief. 

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Keep in mind that these resources are not even remotely comprehensive. These are just the ones I've used successfully in the past and they lean heavily towards my preferences (such as movies). If you have other hobbies or things that are a comfort to you, try googling "grief and ____" and filling in the blank with your comforting hobby.

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It is perfectly okay if this list does nothing for you. I'm happy to help you find resources that will. 

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I personally believe that these work best in tandem with talk therapy with me, but some folks might be able to work through their grief without the talking part, and that's perfectly okay. 

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None of this is copyrighted material by me, and I'm the least territorial person when it comes to sharing resources that can help people. So please feel free to do so. Some of the items might be copyrighted by others, so please pay attention if you are using it to duplicate for others.