I have been a Hospice volunteer for many years; coming to this calling after my dear mother, Joan, died in a nursing home from Alzheimer’s complications. I find supporting individuals and their families through both the dying and the grief process to be extremely rewarding.
I have had extensive experience with providing both personal care-giving and bereavement counseling. I also co-facilitate grief groups for people coping with personal losses.
Recently I collaborated with other local Hospice staff to bring Gifts of Grief to Point Reyes Station. This amazing documentary is a powerful statement to the transformative opportunities that can come out of tragic loss and deep grief. Please visit Nancee Sobonya's website, www.giftsofgrief.com.
Currently, I am striving to create more opportunities for people in my small town to gather together and support each other in their grief. Every year, over the Holidays, I offer (in conjunction with Hospice of Petaluma) a drop-in support group. This group, Holiday Blues, is for people who are dealing with grief around the Holidays. 'Holiday Blues' Guest Column is a article written by me in 2010 and published in the West Marin Citizen. I discuss the power of community to help support us through our grief process. Please click here to download the article as a PDF file.
Stages of Grief:
Denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance. These are not linear, but circular. There is no way around them. We must just go through it, many times over.
Self Care Tips:
• Journaling
• Feel your feelings
• Call a friend who can "just listen"
• Do something nice for yourself
• Get outside into nature
There is an old Irish saying:
“How can I be with you if I'm not sad?” Being fully with our grief is one of the most authentic human experiences. And sharing this process with others is a natural and integral part of being human.
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