Healing Your Grieving Heart: 100 Practical Ideas

Healing Your Grieving Heart: 100 Practical Ideas

With sensitivity and insight, this series offers suggestions for healing activities that can help survivors learn to express their grief and mourn naturally. Acknowledging that death is a painful, ongoing part of life, it explains how people need to slow down, turn inward, embrace their feelings of loss, and seek and accept support when a loved one dies. Each book, geared for mourning adults, teens, or children, provides ideas and action-oriented tips that teach the basic principles of grief and healing. These ideas and activities are aimed at reducing the confusion, anxiety, and huge personal void so that living their lives can begin again. Alan D. Wolfelt, PhD, is an internationally known teacher, a grief counselor, and the author of The Journey Through Grief and The Understanding Your Grief Journal . He is director of the Center for Loss and Life Transition and faculty member at the University of Colorado Medical School’s department of family medicine. He is the “Children and Grief” columnist for Bereavement magazine and has appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Larry King Live , and NBC’s Today . He lives in Fort Collins, Colorado. Healing Your Grieving Heart 100 Practical Ideas By Alan D. Wolfelt Center for Loss and Life Transition Copyright © 2001 Alan Wolfelt, Ph.D. All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-1-879651-25-8 Contents Also by Alan Wolfelt:, Dedication, Title Page, Copyright Page, Dedication, Epigraph, INTRODUCTION, 1. - UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GRIEF AND MOURNING., 2. - BE COMPASSIONATE WITH YOURSELF., 3. - UNDERSTAND THE SIX NEEDS OF MOURNING, 4. - UNDERSTAND THE SIX NEEDS OF MOURNING, 5. - UNDERSTAND THE SIX NEEDS OF MOURNING, 6. - UNDERSTAND THE SIX NEEDS OF MOURNING, 7. - UNDERSTAND THE SIX NEEDS OF MOURNING, 8. - UNDERSTAND THE SIX NEEDS OF MOURNING, 9. - ALLOW FOR NUMBNESS., 10. - PLAN OR PARTICIPATE IN A MEANINGFUL CEREMONY FOR THE PERSON WHO DIED., 11. - BE AWARE THAT YOUR GRIEF AFFECTS YOUR BODY, HEART, SOCIAL SELF AND SPIRIT., 12. - USE THE NAME OF THE PERSON WHO DIED., 13. - CRY., 14. - REACH OUT AND TOUCH., 15. - WRITE A LETTER., 16. - CREATE A SANCTUARY JUST FOR YOU., 17. - EXPRESS YOUR FAITH., 18. - EXPECT TO HAVE A MULTITUDE OF FEELINGS., 19. - KEEP A JOURNAL., 20. - TAKE GOOD CARE OF YOURSELF., 21. - EAT COMFORT FOOD., 22. - DRINK LOTS OF WATER., 23. - SLEEP TIGHT., 24. - GO BUY THE BOOK., 25. - PET A PET., 26. - CLEAN OUT YOUR CLOSETS., 27. - UNDERSTAND THE ROLE OF "LINKING OBJECTS.", 28. - SIMPLIFY YOUR LIFE., 29. - TAKE YOUR PHONE OFF THE HOOK., 30. - REACH OUT TO OTHERS FOR HELP., 31. - FIND A GRIEF "BUDDY.", 32. - IGNORE HURTFUL ADVICE.., 33. - REMEMBER OTHERS WHO HAD A SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP WITH THE PERSON WHO DIED., 34. - LOOK INTO SUPPORT GROUPS., 35. - TALK TO A COUNSELOR., 36. - DO SOMETHING YOU'RE GOOD AT., 37. - BE SILLY., 38. - TAKE A MINI-VACATION., 39. - SAY NO., 40. - BE MINDFUL OF ANNIVERSARIES., 41. - SET ASIDE THE ANNIVERSARY OF THE DEATH AS A HOLIDAY., 42. - PREPARE YOURSELF FOR THE HOLIDAYS., 43. - GO SHOPPING., 44. - KNOW THAT GRIEF DOES NOT PROCEED IN ORDERLY, PREDICTABLE "STAGES.", 45. - TALK OUT LOUD TO THE PERSON WHO DIED., 46. - MAKE A LIST OF GOALS., 47. - MAKE SOMETHING FROM SCRATCH., 48. - PLANT SEEDS OF HOPE., 49. - GO TO A FARMER'S MARKET., 50. - SUBSCRIBE TO HEALING., 51. - IDENTITY THREE PEOPLE YOU CAN TURN TO ANYTIME YOU NEED A FRIEND., 52. - TAKE A RISK., 53. - PICTURE THIS., 54 - LAUGH., 55. - PRACTICE PATIENCE., 56. - MOVE TOWARD YOUR GRIEF, NOT AWAY FROM IT., 57. - DON'T EXPECT YOURSELF TO MOURN OR HEAL IN A CERTAIN WAY OR IN A CERTAIN TIME., 58. - TELL THE STORY, OVER AND OVER AGAIN IF NECESSARY., 59. - GET AWAY FROM IT ALL., 60. - ESTABLISH A MEMORIAL FUND IN THE NAME OF THE PERSON WHO DIED., 61. - BRIGHTEN UP YOUR ENVIRONMENT., 62. - SURF THE WEB., 63. - FOLLOW YOUR NOSE., 64. - LISTEN TO THE MUSIC., 65. - THINK YOUNG., 66. - PRAY., 67. - TAKE A BUBBLE BATH., 68. - VISIT THE CEMETERY., 69. - PUBLISH A VERSE IN YOUR LOCAL NEWSPAPER., 70. - ORGANIZE A TREE PLANTING., 71. - GET UP WITH THE BIRDS., 72. - REASSESS YOUR PRIORITIES., 73. - TAKE SOME TIME OFF WORK., 74. - DON'T BE CAUGHT OFF GUARD BY "GRIEFBURSTS.", 75. - GET A NEW HAIRCUT, HIGHLIGHT OR COLOR., 76. - TURN TO YOUR FAMILY., 77. - SPEND TIME ALONE., 78. - LEARN TO MEDITATE., 79. - PAY SOMEONE TO CLEAN YOUR HOUSE., 80. - DESIGNATE A TIME TO MOURN EACH DAY., 81. - SCHEDULE SOMETHING THAT GIVES YOU PLEASURE EACH AND EVERY DAY., 82. - JOIN THE CLUB., 83. - GO TO THE MOVIES., 84. - RECONNECT WITH SOMEONE SPECIAL., 85. - LET GO OF DESTRUCTIVE MYTHS ABOUT GRIEF AND MOURNING., 86. - WATCH FOR WARNING SIGNS., 87. - LEARN SOMETHING NEW., 88. - VOLUNTEER., 89. - PLAN A CEREMONY., 90. - ORGANIZE A MEMORY BOOK., 91. - VISIT THE GREAT OUTDOORS., 92. - MAKE A LIST OF YOUR LOSSES., 93. - ALLOW FOR FEELINGS OF UNFINISHED BUSINESS., 94. - HELP OTHERS., 95. - TEACH OTHERS ABOUT