Resources

Understanding the Grief Process: Click here to download.
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Crisis and Support Lines

The Support Line:  519.601.8055  OR  1.844.360.8055 (24/7)

https://cmhatv.ca/programs-services/

For distress, a recent diagnosis, loneliness, grief, stress, or just needing a supportive ear. Also offers emotional support, family/caregiver support, community referrals, amd tramsfer to crisis services if needed.

Reach Out:  519.433.2023  OR  1.866.933.2023 (24/7 crisis assistance)

www.reachout247.ca
For crisis support, mental health or addictions appointments, or community service information.

2-1-1 Ontario: Dial 211 (24/7)

A free helpline for community, health and social services across Ontario.
Dial the three-digit phone number to reach us 24/7.

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Reading & Listening

Journey Through Loss – Book List

Please feel free to listen to some of the recommended podcasts:

Good Mourning with Sally Douglas
The Mindfulness and Grief Podcast by Heather Strang

All There Is with Anderson Cooper – Podcast on CNN Audio

Kate Bowler: Everything Happens

Coping with Grief and Loss, Support for Grieving by Dr. Robert Neimeyer, PhD
(Professor of Psychology, University of Memphis)
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Guided Practice

G.R.A.C.E for Grief – Roshi Joan Halifax’s model of compassionate care, adapted for those experiencing grief. To download, click here.

Breathing Peace and Goodwill – a short Metta (Loving-kindness) meditation for moments of overwhelm.

Breathing in, I fill the body with bright awareness;
Breathing out, I release and invite the body to calm. 
Breathing into the heart, I receive kindness and goodwill towards myself;
Breathing out from the heart, I offer kindness and goodwill to others.
Breathing into the heart, I receive compassion for myself and my own suffering;
Breathing out from the heart, I hold the suffering of others in a compassionate space.
Breathing into the heart, I feel joy and gladness for my good qualities and actions;
Breathing out from the heart, I feel joy and gladness at the good qualities and actions of others.
Breathing into the heart, I invite the body to relax completely in peace and equanimity;
Breathing out from the heart, I radiate peace and equanimity into the world.

[General Suggestions: any one of these phrases can be a complete meditation on its own.  You could try repeating the first two lines until you feel quite calm and relaxed, before proceeding to the next.  With practice, you can spend 3-5 minutes on each of the stanzas—or much longer—to make for a very complete and wholesome period of meditation.  Over time, the phrasing can be abbreviated to a single word, like inhaling peace, for example.  With even more experience, language can be dropped altogether and you just inhale and exhale the embodied sense of kindness, compassion, joy and peace.]
Brad Hunter
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For more information or an intake interview, call: 519.782.5515 or email: interview@journeythroughloss.ca