Open to Hope Articles

Do you want to read stories of others who have been where you are? Are you looking for bereavement help, and advice? Look no further. We offer over 7,000 articles written by our Open to Hope authors.

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Is Climate Grief Real?

Posted on October 7, 2024 - by Linda Goldman

Is Climate Grief Real? Although research on climate grief is in its infancy, researchers have begun to substantiate the impact of climate change on young people and their mental health. […]

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Re-imagining Hope After Trauma

Posted on October 6, 2024 - by Lori Grande

Re-imagining Hope The silent voice of trauma lies idle in the body. Years of dormancy may be followed by its unexpected impact, often on the precipice of healing.  As I […]

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Widower Reflects on Grief Thirty Years Later

Posted on September 23, 2024 - by Mike Bernhardt

Widower Reflects on Grief One evening in my bereavement support group, a couple of months after my wife Susan died, a woman spoke about how comforting it had been to […]

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Widower Shares Emotional Journey

Posted on September 23, 2024 - by Mike Bernhardt

Someone Died Today No matter how prepared or unprepared we are for death, no matter how old or young we are, no matter how much we say, “I love you,” […]

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Widower Finds Poetry Healing

Posted on September 23, 2024 - by Mike Bernhardt

Widower Experiences Consuming Grief My wife Susan died unexpectedly in April 1991, the Sunday after Easter. I could never have imagined beforehand how transformative an experience that would be. Nothing […]

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Longing for a Child Who has Died

Posted on September 23, 2024 - by Janice Bell Meisenhelder

Longing for a Child Who has Died The intense longing for your deceased child causes difficult emotional pain and unremitting agony. Our bodies and minds cry out deep from our […]

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Young People Grieving Over Multiple Losses

Posted on September 23, 2024 - by Linda Goldman

Young People Grieving Over Multiple Losses  A “new normal” has invaded old paradigms and left kids missing a past world, uncertain of the present, and anxious of what tomorrow will […]

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Young People Grieve Through Creativity

Posted on September 23, 2024 - by Linda Goldman

Young People Grieve Through Creativity During the pandemic, the resilience of many girls and boys soared to new levels as they courageously rose to the occasion. The following are two […]

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Young People’s Grief during the Pandemic

Posted on September 22, 2024 - by Linda Goldman

Young People’s Grief during the Pandemic The pandemic has produced a myriad of loss issues impossible to have imagined just a few years ago. Young people cannot go to school, […]

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Self-Punishment During Grief

Posted on September 16, 2024 - by Bob Baugher

Self-Punishment During Grief A behavior that may accompany guilt is self-punishment. This often comes from the grieving person’s need to somehow “balance the scale” of life events. When we were […]

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