the joy of speedcubing
π celebrating national strawberry day π
examining the complexities behind suicide
bowser takes over
Try grief support emails
Back in October, I posted a link for free daily grief support emails. I have just found another such service I want to share with you as well. The difference is, each of these comes with a little 'homework' to help if you're feeling stuck. Here's the day 1 example:
Grief is a journey; a most-difficult, heart-wrenching, gut-churning journey. It's not a place you would ask to go, but everyone who has ever loved someone will make this journey at some point in their life.
There is no preparation for this journey. We all enter into it the first time completely unprepared emotionally, spiritually and mentally. Even when we've spent months or years watching a loved one's health deteriorate and tell ourselves to believe we are ready for the finality of their death ... we're not.
Activity: Find a pad of paper, a blank journal, or simply a notebook and a pen you love to use β something that writes smoothly and effortlessly. Take time and write a letter to the loved one who has died, tell them all that you love and appreciate about your experience of them sharing all the positive memories you can remember.
What youβll learn from this exercise is the recognition of your resiliency and the gift the person was in your life β you are strong and you will survive this latest loss. Embrace the process, donβt resist it. You will discover that sorrow moves into joy and love will keep your memories alive forever.
MHA: 110 years of lifesaving advocacy
the uselessness of "call me if you need anything"
some impressive multitasking
1-800-273-8255
on our instagram: pirate portrait
Mario Monday: dominoes!
wondering what remains
Here's another piece of my writing from January a year ago when I first participated in the writing course from Refuge In Grief. The prompt for this one was about wondering what remains when the death of a loved one takes so much away.
"I don't want to write about whether not counting days means I should worry that I'm forgetting him. I don't want to let the thoughts in of whether I'm grieving 'right' or falling apart enough or whatever the fact that I'm going on living might mean about my love or my fitness for parenting or the coldness of my heart. Unbreakable? I don't want to write about those things or think about those things. They're always dancing around the shadowy edges, just out of sight. Terrifying things that want to devour me. ..."
Read the rest, and other essays and poems, on the "writing my griefβ page.
vote for seize the awkward to win shorty award
Seize the Awkward is a campaign that helps you figure out how to push through to have that awkward conversation with someone when you're concerned about their mental health. It's a partnership among the Ad Council, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, and The Jed Foundation - JED.
Do you know what you would say in such a situation? If not, check out seizetheawkward.org, and then vote below. They deserve this Shorty Award!
try this easy online mental health screening
read all about it: mental health america
I was excited this morning to meet with Mental Health America of Greenville County! They're doing important work in our community and I look forward to figuring out how the foundation and I can help. I'll share more about them soon, but in the meantime, here's where you can learn more.
MHAGC's website: http://www.mhagc.org/
Twitter: @MHAGreenville
Instagram: @mentalhealthamerica_greenville
Facebook: MHAGreenvilleCounty
The national organization's website:
http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/
Twitter: @MentalHealthAm
Instagram: @mentalhealthamerica
Facebook: Mental Health America