Positivity Note ~ Grief Awareness Day Edition (8/30)

[Caption: The image above shows deep blue waves in the forefront, the white splashes show the force of the waves crashing back into the water. In the background, there are some mountains and a bright but cloudy sky. At the top of the image, there is a quote that reads "Grief is like the ocean. It comes on waves ebbing and flowing. Sometimes the water is calm, and sometimes it is overwhelming. All we can do is learn to swim." ]

August 30th is Grief Awareness Day:
Grief Awareness Day seeks to raise awareness about the impact and prevalence of Grief. 
When grief impacts us in the workplace, it can feel like the elephant in the room- for the bereaved, that elephant sits on their chest. The hope is to create a culture of care that supports the bereaved the way they need support. 
There are tools and resources for the Bereaved as well as for Colleagues and Leadership - Whether grief is impacting you or your team now, or not, take the time to review and save these tools. 

For the Bereaved:

Write:

• In Loving Memory Of: This journal offers journaling prompts that will encourage the you to remember the experiences, fond memories, and characteristics of loved ones who have passed away.  [If you'd like a printed copy, please email eap@binghamton.edu, and we're happy to mail it your way! ] 
• Everlasting Memories: Writing has long been acknowledged as a powerful healing tool.  This page offers a guide with some prompts and phrases to get you started
• Sleepy Sue's Postal Service for the Dead: When a loved one is lost, we can be left with so much to say, and feel there's no one to say it to. Postal Service for the Dead is an ongoing project that embraces the healing power of writing, with the physical act of mailing. 

Listen: (Find more Here)

• Grief Out Loud: Hosted by Jana DeCristofaro, a licensed clinical social worker, Grief Out Loud seeks to open up often avoided conversations surrounding grief. This podcast “brings you a mix of personal stories, tips for supporting children, teens, and yourself, and interviews with bereavement professionals."
  • This episode regarding Navigating Grief at Work
• Grief/Relief: Moe, who is not a mental health professional but rather an audio engineer and musician, seeks to share the stores of “authentic people sharing pieces of their core” to help those grieving to grow closer to one another. According to Spotify, the Grief/Relief podcast hopes to normalize conversation around the often painful and taboo topic of grief, to explore how change can be beautiful, and how loss affects our lives in unexpected ways.
• Shapes of Grief: Liz and guests discuss grief in all of its many facets, exploring the impact of different losses, the impact of bereavement, non-death losses, when death is sudden or traumatic, and most importantly, learning from each other about how to stretch and grow in order to adapt and adjust to life without our loved one.
• The Mindfulness & Grief Podcast: Host, Heather Stang, holds a masters degree in thanatology (death, dying, and bereavement). According to Spotify, episodes are designed for bereaved people and grief professionals, where you will learn how a mindful approach to grief can help you deal with difficult emotions, cultivate self-care and self-compassion, and honor the relationship that remains.
• Coming Back: Life After Loss: There are many examples of loss, such as the death of a dear friend or relative, a relationship, a job, a pet, or even a dream. Shelby Forsythia explores the “ideas, resources, and stories that help us ‘come back’ to life after death, divorce, illness and more.”

Get Support:

• Grief Support Guide: Sometimes the people who want to support us don't know how, and sometimes we don't know how we want to be supported. This tool will create a guide for you to share with others, after you generally identify preferences of how you want to be supported (ie: help with practical tasks, respect for privacy, quality time, talking about your loved one) and what you'd like people to avoid (ie: bright-side perspectives, end of life logistics, other people's experience of loss, etc)
• Empathy App: The Empathy App is an individualized care plan that will help navigate the logistical and support needs around death and grief. Through this app you would be connected to a case manager to walk you through everything from contacting a funeral home, closing social media and subscription accounts, navigating the will, all the way to finding individual and group counseling. (If you would like to subscribe, please reach out to EAP, as we may be able to coordinate this for you free of charge)
• Counseling / Therapy & Grief Support Groups:
  Connect with your EAP, we will help you find individualized providers who accept your insurance. 
• HOPE for the Bereaved: Offers virtual and in-person (*Syracuse) Support Groups, free one-on-one Grief Counseling, and offers workshops
  (Keep an eye out for HOPE’s Lunch and Learns)
• Central Baptist Church: Support groups meet every Tuesday in-person from 6:30-8:00pm- beginning September 10th through December 10th. 

For Colleagues and Leadership:

Read:

• 21 Ways to Help Someone you love through Grief:  This article shares 10 Don’t Do and 11 Do’s for helping someone through grief. These are a little more in depth and unique than some of the others that have been found online, and even the most well-intended individuals can miss the mark. Although we can’t be perfect, being mindful is a helpful first step in supporting the bereaved. 

• The Manager’s Guide to Grief: This is a go-to guide for leaders who are responsible for managing a team while an employee navigates the death of a loved one. This guide includes first steps in responding to the death of an employee’s loved one, how to offer meaningful support that goes beyond a checkbox, managing a team to step up while the bereaved colleague is out, and helping bereaved employees transition back to work. 

• Supporting a colleague who is grieving: It’s natural to feel uncertain about how to support a colleague or friend who is grieving- This quick guide gives you an idea of what to expect, what to say, do’s and don’t’s (while keeping in mind that everyone grieves differently), and how to navigate moments of vulnerability in affirming ways. 

• Supporting a grieving employee: Similar to the article above, this offers a quick guide of what to expect, and how to make space for the employee to heal while staying aware of when that employee may need additional external supports.  

• Grief at Work:   This guide provides insights around how to support colleagues and employees who are grieving, as well as tackling some common assumptions about grief, how to communicate supportive intentions to the beareaved, and a brief look as logistical ways to support through adjusted schedules and workload.

Watch/Listen:

• How to help a grieving friend: How do you help a grieving friend? It's hard to know what to do when someone is going through a difficult time. The thing is, you can't cheer someone up by telling them to look on the bright side, or by giving them advice. It just doesn't work.

EAP is available as a resource for all employees and their family members, and we are available to work with and provide resources for those who are mourning. 

~ Warmest Regards from EAP ~