Tag Archives: bereaved mother

5 unique self-care ideas to navigate grief

When you’re grieving, doing anything to care for yourself can seem an effort, and even cause you more stress. I’ve shared five ways I found to look after myself in the early years of grief.

Halloween – Trauma or treat?

I no longer buy into the commercialisation of the celebration of evil, horror and fear. Stick a bit of sparkle on a witch’s costume and it makes everything OK, right? It’s only fake. But I have seen blood pouring from my dying child’s mouth. I have seen the death behind the glassy eyes. I haveContinueContinue reading “Halloween – Trauma or treat?”

Should I take antidepressants for my grief?

Dear grieving mum, I’m sorry you’ve found my blog by searching with the keywords ‘antidepressants’ ‘grief’ ‘death of my child’… I’m truly sorry. Behind each of my posts, I see parents read my blog searching for the answer to this question because they are looking for some respite from the strain of coping with grief whileContinueContinue reading “Should I take antidepressants for my grief?”

You don’t have to ‘get over’ your grief just because it’s Christmas

It’s no surprise that Christmas is a difficult time for the grieving. For us, the period begins with Abi’s birthday at the end of November, we then have the four weeks until Christmas and then New Year, followed not long afterwards by the anniversary of the time we lost her. Next February will be fourContinueContinue reading “You don’t have to ‘get over’ your grief just because it’s Christmas”

Fight or flight – coping with illness as a bereaved family

My personal anxiety is much better these days although I’m still on a minute dose of anti-anxiety drugs just to help me through the first months of having a newborn should it suddenly increase with my hormone surges. It seemed sensible to do this, keeping any risks to baby to a minimum but allowing me theContinueContinue reading “Fight or flight – coping with illness as a bereaved family”

Guest post: Born sleeping – 10 years of missing Amy

I’m sharing this post on behalf of a lovely friend, Louise, who lost her first child, Amy, 10 years ago. Louise has offered me much emotional support since my own loss and I have been inspired by her strength. Please read and appreciate the years of love and loss in these words and images. Thursday,ContinueContinue reading “Guest post: Born sleeping – 10 years of missing Amy”

Loving my children after losing my child

While, of course, I loved my children before Abi died, that love has changed quite dramatically since. I gave birth to Abi, back in 2000, and it wasn’t long before my second child was on her way. She arrived when Abi was 22 months old. Back then, I worked 4 days a week and my husbandContinueContinue reading “Loving my children after losing my child”

In pursuit of happiness (while grieving)

As I was waiting for my son, I stood next to another mum with a young boy. She laughed and smiled as she tickled her toddler’s tummy and said cheerfully to me, ‘Doesn’t this good weather make you feel so much better!?’ I gave one of my template smiles in response. She was a lovelyContinueContinue reading “In pursuit of happiness (while grieving)”