We’re back this October with a packed programme of 30 free events. Our ‘virtual festival of love and loss’ will explore the universal human experience of grief through panel discussions, conversations and workshops. Over 20,000 people have attended our events over the past year and we're super excited to announce that bookings are now open for October's Good Grief Festival! Join 70+ speakers including Ruby Wax, Robert Mcfarlane, Julia Samuel MBE, Sarfraz Manzoor, Richard Holloway, Raynor Winn and many more and they share their personal stories and wisdom with us. https://goodgrieffest.com There will be a series of short Grief Chats, curated by The Grief Gang host Amber Jeffrey, bringing together two people with a shared experience of grief to tell their stories. Plus, for the first time, this year's festival will also feature a wellbeing area with workshops for those who are going through grief, including breathwork, mindfulness, yoga and sound healing. Booking is NOW OPEN! Make sure your secure your free place for each live event through our website. And if you can't make the live event? Sign up to The Grief Channel for on-demand access for one year for just £20. https://goodgrieffest.com/
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Often, people will talk about the ‘different stages of grief’, suggesting that everyone’s grief follows the same path through the stages of grief and that their grief will get smaller over time. We know from our experience that it’s not that simple and we prefer to look at it another way, the idea of ‘growing around grief’. Growing around grief You’ll have heard people say something like ‘time heals’, suggesting that grief gets smaller. However, bereaved people’s experiences suggest that, actually, grief doesn’t go way, it doesn’t even grow smaller – we grow larger around it. This way of looking at grieving was developed by Lois Tonkin. To begin with, grief feels as if it takes up everything and there’s no room inside us for anything else. Earlier models of grief suggest that over time grief grows smaller. Grief shown as circles with the grief circle getting smaller In fact, our grief stays the same size but in time we grow around the grief so we have space for other thoughts, experiences and emotions. Grief illustrated as circles with the grief circle staying the same size but the circles around it getting bigger This isn’t a straightforward linear process. Some days, grief takes up all the space and some days you have room for other feelings and experiences. Over time, these may become more frequent. But the grief hasn’t shrunk – you’ve grown round the grief. Grief illustrated with circles, in some the circle around grief is large, in others the circle is the same size as the grief circle Download activity sheets Explaining grief to younger children Explaining grief to young people Puddle jumping There is no linear journey of grief, bereaved children and young people can experience different thought and feelings at different times. In fact, children often jump in and out of their grief – we call this ‘puddle jumping’. Children, particularly young children, may jump from feeling very upset and distressed one moment to wanting to know what’s for tea or whether they can play football, for example, the next. The reason for this is that children need a break from the powerful emotions that accompany their grief and so are able to jump out of them for a while in order that they are not overwhelmed. This can be very confusing for children and they will need time and understanding to help them to process their loss. To read the full article please click here |
Hello, my name is Barry Jess
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