Kenzie's Gift’s Post

Grief is an inevitable part of life, but having a robust support system can make all the difference. In our latest blog post, we explore the critical role that support systems play during a grieving period. Discover effective strategies for building and maintaining strong connections that can positively impact your mental health and overall well-being. To bring these insights to life, one of our leaders at Centered Health shares their personal journey through grief, offering hope and guidance to those finding their way through loss. 📖 Read the full blog: https://lnkd.in/g-mSXtPa Whether you’re personally navigating grief or supporting a loved one, these insights could be invaluable. #MentalHealth #GriefSupport

Sadly, today is 9/11. Condolences to all impacted by such a tragic day. Anniversaries of tragic events can serve as triggers for grief. Mental health experts share insights and tips for handling grief — and describe the "five stages of grief. #mentalhealth #grief #september11 https://lnkd.in/eraQwyQ9

When grief goes unacknowledged, individuals can endure similar negative emotions as those who openly grieve, but without the support or recognition of their loss from others. This can leave them feeling isolated as they struggle to manage their emotions alone. The pressure to conceal their grief can cause them to internalize these negative feelings, potentially leading to more harmful impacts on their mental health. Explore the effects of unacknowledged grief in the workplace: https://hubs.la/Q02Drlpv0 #wpocares #grief #employeewellbeing #mentalhealth

99.9999% of grief advice I see doesn't address: - The isolating nature of grief and how it can push loved ones away - Coping with guilt, regret and questioning if you could have done more - Long-term effects on mental health like depression, anxiety and PTSD Way too much emphasis on unrealistic timelines and "moving on." Not enough discussion on healthily processing the complex tangle of emotions that arise - sadness, anger, relief and everything in between. Grief is not a linear journey with a clear endpoint. It's a fundamental reshaping of your inner world and relationships. Simply telling someone to "let go" or "stay strong" is dismissive of the transformative work required. We need more resources that validate grief as a struggle requiring sustained self-compassion and support. Quick placations only reinforce the idea that these feelings aren't meant to be experienced fully. But repressing grief doesn't make it disappear - it festers. True healing involves wading through the discomfort to reach acceptance. Only then can loss become something that redefines you, rather than unravels you entirely.

6 book recommendations from our team of mental health professionals about coping with serious illness and grief 👇 1. That’s Me Loving You by Amy Krouse Rosenthal (Kids) A heart-warming story that will comfort tamariki / children with separation anxiety, it captures parents' desire to be ever-present in this simple and touching poem offering reassurance of their aroha / love.   2. Michael Rosen’s Sad Book (Adults) Michael Rosen’s Sad Book chronicles Michael's grief at the death of his son Eddie from meningitis at the age of 19. A moving combination of sincerity and simplicity, it acknowledges that sadness is not always avoidable or reasonable and perfects the art of making complicated feelings plain. It’s a heartbreakingly honest account of a father’s grief for his son. 3. Always and Forever by Alan Duran (Kids) When Fox dies the rest of his whānau are absolutely distraught. How will Mole, Otter and Hare go on without their beloved friend? But, months later, Squirrel reminds them all of how funny Fox used to be, and they realise that Fox is still there in their hearts and memories. 4. Lifetimes: The Beautiful Way to Explain Death to Children by Bryan Mellonie and Robert Ingpen (Older Kids) When the death of a relative, a friend, or a pet happens or is about to happen, how can we help a taitamaiti / child to understand? Lifetimes is a moving book for tamariki / children of all ages, even mātua / parents and caregivers too. It lets us explain life and death in a sensitive, caring, beautiful way. It tells us that dying is as much a part of living as being born. It explains beautifully that all living things have their own special Lifetimes. 5. Straight Talk about Death for Teenagers: How to Cope with Losing Someone You Love by Earl A. Grollman (Teens) This book was written for teenagers whose friend or relative has died. Earl A. Grollman, the award-winning author of Living When a Loved One Has Died, explains what to expect when you lose someone you love. 6. Only One of Me: A love letter from Mum by Lisa Wells and Michelle Robinson (Older Kids) Most of us can't imagine having the time we spend with our tamariki / children or loved ones cut short, but this was the reality being faced by māmā / mum of two Lisa Wells, who was diagnosed with terminal bowel and liver mate pukupuku / cancer in December 2017 at the age of 31. This tender and moving rhyming poem is both a love letter to Lisa's own daughters and a testament to the unwavering strength of parental love, a timeless message for families facing the challenges of bereavement. Read the full article here 💙 https://lnkd.in/gm_ZF_Mw

For National Grief Awareness Week we have updated the grief section of our Mental Health Awareness Resources page and consider why we may avoid having conversations about grief at work. #InEquilibrium #WorkplaceWellbeing #NGAW23

Discovering that a loved one is suffering from a terminal illness triggers feelings of anger, grief, and helplessness. Whether you are a caregiver for that person or are dealing with the idea of their loss, the mental and emotional strain is overwhelming. To help cope with your stress, counseling can provide a safe place to discuss your grief and develop coping skills.  #counseling #terminalillness

Today is the 30th November 2023. It's the last day of Men's Mental Health Awareness Month. It's also 614 days since I lost my husband to suicide. 1 year, 8 months and 4 days. I used to fear talking about this topic. But fear of talking is part of the problem. So, on this day, I wanted to do something useful for the people who will unfortunately experience the same devastation that I did 614 days ago - or loss of any kind. I want to talk about managing grief at work. When someone in your team or business is grieving, it doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll be showing up to work every day in floods of tears. In fact, most of the time, sadness is one of the emotions or external visual representations of grief you’ll come into contact with the *least*. (People don’t like to cry at work.🙃) Instead, when someone is grieving at work, be prepared for: 🧠Brain fog - even from people who are usually 100% on it. If you’re asking questions in meetings or putting us on the spot for responses, our usual quick-fire response time might be swapped out for a blank stare and “sorry, what did you say again?” or “my mind’s gone blank”. Give us time and just be patient while we find our feet again. 🐘Forgetting stuff or appearing scatty and disorganised. We might be a bit slower, we might have to change the way we structure our days and we might have to ask you to repeat something or ask for clarity on things more often than usual. We want to do a great job, we just need your support to make sure we do. 🥞Frequent “flat” days. Grieving is physically heavy. It weighs down on you even when you don’t think it does. Even if you’re not “sad”, you’re still grieving, and picking yourself up to be Mr or Mrs Motivator can almost be physically impossible. We’re still trying but we might just be more pancake than panettone for a while. We’ll be back soon, just give it time. 😵💫Overwhelm. Small things that we used to deal with become big things. We can doubt our abilities and feel like we’re not built for the same environment we used to thrive in. This is why many people move jobs after a loss, but it doesn’t have to be like that if employers are understanding and willing to adapt with us. For example: managing a lot of face to face meetings can be exceptionally draining when you’re masking grief. 😴Exhaustion. “You look tired” isn’t helpful here. We are tired. Constantly. Grief is tiring. Being told we’re tired doesn’t make us less tired. We don’t want to look tired, we want our old selves back. When you lose someone, you lose a little bit of yourself too. Please don’t keep reminding us. 🐊Erratic moods or being snappier than usual. Everyone knows that stress causes shorter tempers. Hurt people hurt people, as they say. There’s no excuse for rudeness or making people feel uncomfortable, but please consider that we might just be having a particularly tough day emotionally and we really didn’t mean the tone in which we said something. I hope this helps.❤️

Today is National Grief Awareness Day! “We grieve because we loved”. So, when we are told to “move on from or get over” our grief it can seem an impossible task. Tonkin’s Model of Grief (1996) offers a shift in perspective. His theory states that grief remains unchanged, but the individual grows around grief minimising the impact the loss has in the individual’s everyday life. This means you are not grieving less for your loved one, instead you are creating more room through growth to be able to re-accommodate your everyday life. If you find yourself struggling to cope due to grief; reach out to one of our brilliant Babylon Mental Health Practitioners (MHPs). This is our team of experienced mental health nurses who take a non-judgemental, holistic and individualised approach to help you navigate the process with practical advice and signposting to available services.

Death is still a taboo topic in our culture, but sometimes the “living losses” can be even harder to talk about 🤫 Whether it’s a parent’s dementia, a friend's addiction, or a new medical diagnosis, living losses - also known as ambiguous loss - can take a toll on our mental health. Read more about ambiguous loss and some of the other common forms of grief in my latest blog post, and share with a friend who might benefit 🗣 https://lnkd.in/evxCSQNQ