New Grief Support Group: Navigating Grief
Hospice of St. Lawrence Valley’s Community Bereavement Services is offering a new 6-week grief support group starting in September.
The Navigating Grief group will meet on Tuesdays at 2:00PM via Zoom from Sept. 14th to Oct. 19th and will be facilitated by Hospice’s Bereavement Coordinator, Kate Favaro, CRPA.
The group will help participants develop healthy develop healthy coping skills and provide peer support to foster growth and healing. The sessions are structured to build upon each other and attendance to all 6 sessions is essential.
Navigating Grief is open to anyone 18 and older who has had a loved one pass away in the last 6-12 months. (The deceased individual did not have to be served by Hospice.)
Ideally, interested individuals will have already begun working on their grief and will be comfortable sharing their story and feelings with a small group.
To determine if the group will be beneficial, a screening process will occur at time of registration to ensure the interested individual equipped and ready to participate.
For more information and to register, contact Kate Favaro at 315-265-3105 or email kfavaro@hospiceslv.org.
*Please note: Due to COVID concerns and restrictions, this group will be held exclusively via Zoom. Participants must have a valid email address and access to a computer with a webcam, smartphone, or tablet. Zoom link will be emailed to those who register by Sept. 14th.
NEW Virtual Grief Support Group
Hospice of St. Lawrence Valley’s Bereavement Services presents Coping with Grief During a Pandemic: A Virtual Support Group.
This 6-week support group is intended for anyone who is dealing with the death of a loved one during the COVID-19 health crisis. This group offers participants a safe, non-judgmental space to share and explore the dynamics of their grief during this time of uncertainty.
The group will discuss the loss of grieving rituals, such as wakes and funerals, and discuss healthy ways to cope with their grief.
The group meets virtually via Zoom Meetings on Tuesday evenings (6/23-7/28) from 5:00 – 6:00PM. Participants must have a valid email address and access to a computer, tablet or smartphone to connect.
For more information and to register, contact our Bereavement Coordinator at (315) 265-3105.
New Video: Using Mindfulness Meditation as a Coping Tool
How Mindfulness can Help us cope with grief, anxiety, fear and more.
By Elizabeth (Liz) Scarlett, Hospice Outreach Committee Member
My father died in 1969 at age 59. I was in my mid-twenties, married and had just started a career in teaching. I was able to spend a month with him a few months before he died. He had pancreatic cancer and was approaching end of life.
At that time, end of life issues were not generally openly discussed. In one of our conversations, my father asked me if there was anything he could give to me; I replied, “peace of mind.” His response was, “I can’t give that to you. You have to do that for yourself.”
He planted the seed that while I couldn’t always control what was happening around me, I could, in fact, determine and control my responses to what happens to me and I have carried his words with me throughout my life.
Slowly, I acquired mindfulness/meditation skills to work with my mind to create a sense of being calm and grounded. Mindfulness is a mental state achieved by focusing one’s awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one’s feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations. Being mindful is what it sounds like. Taking time to focus on the present, being intentional and thoughtful about where you are and how you are feeling. Trying to center your thoughts and be in the moment.
These skills have carried me through many difficult times over the years. I am now using them to work with the fear and anxiety that stems from the COVID-19 health crisis and the many uncertainties that come from it. We don’t know what will happen, how long it will last or what things will be like when it’s over. One thing we do know, however, is that worrying about it won’t change the outcome. Learning how to tolerate the uncertainty is a huge part of building healthy coping skills
I am sharing some of these skills in the hopes that they help others navigate their way through this new and unknown territory.
Find Resources on Mindfulness Here:
Mindfulness resource list
Welcome to Holland: A Rest Stop Presentation from The Travelers Guide to Life
We have all faced many challenges, and perhaps discovered a few joys, while sheltering in place over the last six weeks. The COVID-19 virus has forced us to create new routines, accept limitations, learn how to be socially connected while physically distant, and seek ways to cope with the anxiety and fear that arise.
The pandemic has and will continue to change nearly every assumption we’ve had about daily living. It has forced us into uncharted territory and we must find a way to navigate this evolving landscape.
Connect with us for a special Lunch & Learn presentation where we will address the Now Normal. We will explore how to not only survive, but thrive in the present moment, even with an uncertain future, by sharing and brainstorming tools for navigating the Now Normal.
This Lunch and Learn will take place via
Zoom at 2 p.m., Tuesday, May 19.
Register online to receive the meeting link. You can submit questions ahead of time by contacting Samantha Jones at samj@hospiceslv.org.
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