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Losses can be understood and processed more effectively when they are placed in a meaningful theoretical framework. Here are some examples: 1. Normal (expected) losses versus abnormal (unexpected) losses. 2. Universal losses versus special losses. 3. Chronic losses versus acute losses. 4. Mild losses versus severe losses. 5. Replaceable losses versus irreplaceable losses. Unexpected losses, by definition cannot be anticipated or prepared for, and therefore impact people with a "rapid"...

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I was with my daddy when he died. Excuse me, I was with my daddy when his spirit left his body. I drove him to the emergency room because he was having chest pains. He said that they weren't too bad, and his color was good. He was still walking. In fact, Daddy walked into the cubicle in the ER and hopped up on the gurney. Almost as quickly, he hopped off saying, "Whew, doggie! Feels like somebody's got a knife in my back, right between my shoulder blades." Daddy said it with a great big grin on his face....

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My dearest Grandma, I will never forget you & sorry that I was not there with you when you passed. Grandma...I can't believe The last kiss, The last "goodbye" was yesterday... Your death was a shock, I know that you are gone for now I really just do not believe how. I called you all that week You told me that you were not weak. I called you before you died just before an hours and you are okay my dear!! I came to you and held your hand. I saw your angel face like an angle sleep in the bed, the kiss Good bye was so hard for me....

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Suicide strikes...AGAIN! This may wind up being the most important article some have ever read. I hope it will not only help a few readers, but that it will open the eyes of others, aiding in their understanding, motivating them to help. I trust there will be those who will actually clip it, mailing it to someone for whom they are concerned, or posting it in the breakroom. I've written quite a bit about suicide over the past few weeks and have received some remarkable feedback. I wrote on the subject because there have been so many suicides lately and folks wanted answers....

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If we were to organize a list of the thorniest problems for the bereaved, certainly somewhere near the top would be the question of miracles. Everybody has heard anecdotal stories of certain people who have suffered incredible, life-threatening injuries or illness, but who have somehow recovered against all odds. A woman who has been in a coma for two years suddenly hears her husband's voice and awakens. A teenage victim of an automobile accident who was reportedly given no hope of recovery finally responds to the unwavering faith and persistent attention of a loving mother....

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("He" in this text - to mean "He" or "She"). We react to serious mishaps, life altering setbacks, disasters, abuse, and death by going through the phases of grieving. Traumas are the complex outcomes of psychodynamic and biochemical processes. But the particulars of traumas depend heavily on the interaction between the victim and his social milieu. It would seem that while the victim progresses from denial to helplessness, rage, depression and thence to acceptance of the traumatizing events - society demonstrates a diametrically opposed progression....

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Death: No thank you. Dying: Gives me a panic attack. Burial: Not today, please. Of all the subjects I could write about, this one is my least favorite. It, in fact, could easily send me into the mother of all anxiety fits. Nevertheless, it is necessary to visit the subject since I now live in another country. Death is a topic that I managed to avoid most of my life until January 2003, when my mother passed away. No more than seven months later, my youngest brother died of undetermined causes. Easter Sunday 2004, my best friend died of kidney cancer....

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Earlier this month I learned a dear friend had been diagnosed with terminal cancer. She has been given less than six months to live as the cancer has fully permeated her liver and pancreas. Since the diagnosis, her health has rapidly declined and the hope of realizing several more months of life is quickly waning. The fear of death holds a mighty grip because what lies beyond our physical existence is basically unknown and fear of the unknown can be debilitating and torturous. Our spiritual beliefs play a major role in how we view death and how we respond when we are faced with it....

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Pippin needed assistance from his owner to get to his feet. He slowly walked to the door, then needed help once again to step down onto the back porch. With a slight groan, he squatted to relieve himself and came back towards the house. There was no twinkle in his eye, and this time he needed to be carried all the way back to his bed. He'd used up his energy for that day. I got a call from Pippin's owner that day asking me, "Do you think it's time for me to put him down?" This wasn't the first time Pippin's owner had asked me this question, nor was it the first time I'd faced this dilemma with others....

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When I was born in 1962 I thought life was good. I had two parents, a twin sister, and an older brother. We lived in an apartment until my sister and I were eleven, and then we moved into a house. My brother was twenty-one years old so he moved onto his own apartment. I was the luckiest girl in the world. We were the normal family with chaos and the antics of being a family. I was blessed to have my parents around in my life. At the age of thirty my parents were still together. Of course their marriage went through their ups and downs, but all marriages develop this kind of turmoil....

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