Why Your Body Feels Different After Loss
Author: Cami Thelander If you’ve ever experienced a profound loss, you may have wondered why grief affects so much more than your emotions. Perhaps you’ve struggled to sleep, felt constantly on edge, forgotten simple things, lost your appetite, or noticed headaches, muscle tension, or digestive issues that seemed to appear out of nowhere. Many grieving […]
Opening My Heart to Love Means Opening My Heart to Grief
By: Cami Thelander, Certified Grief Coach, Community Engagement Leader, Confident Grief Coach School Father’s Day has always been a time when I feel especially connected to my dad. He died when I was 11 years old, yet I still carry a deep belief that he continues to “parent” me. His death has shaped the way […]
Mother’s Day: A National Holiday or a Daily Reminder?
Do you know the history of Mother’s Day? I love to research the history of holidays and wondered how Mother’s Day and Father’s Day and all those “… Days” came into existence. Apparently in the United States, Anna Jarvis organized the first official Mother’s Day celebration in 1908 to honor her late mother, Ann Reeves […]
The Grieving Brain: You’re Not Crazy – You Are Grieving
By: Cami Thelander, Certified Grief Coach If you’ve lost someone you love, you know how disorienting grief can be. Have you ever felt crazy for thinking your person might walk through the door, even when you know they’re not physically here? Or you went to call them and then felt crushed when you remembered that […]
Caregiver Grief, Invisible Loss and Why Self-Care Is Not Optional
Caregiving is one of the most common and least acknowledged roles in the United States today. More than 60 million Americans are currently providing unpaid care to a loved one who is aging, ill, disabled or living with cognitive or medical challenges. That’s nearly one in four adults. Yet despite how widespread caregiving is, many […]
The Medicine of a Grief Retreat: Sacred Space, Shared Humanity, and Healing in Community
There’s something powerful that happens when you step away from your everyday life and into a space that says, you don’t have to be okay here. Grief retreats aren’t about fixing anything. They’re about creating room… room to breathe, to soften and to let your guard down. They offer a pause from the world that […]
New Year, New Grief
In my grief group this month, one member shared that she is feeling some anxiety as she thinks about the new year approaching, because 2025 was the last year she got to spend with her partner. She expressed that she feels like she’s leaving them behind, knowing they will not be here as she steps […]
Honoring Our Loved Ones During the Holidays: Remembering and Reconnecting
By Pat Sheveland, Founder & Lead Faculty, The Confident Grief Coach School The holidays have a way of stirring up emotions that may have been quietly residing in the deepest recesses of our hearts. The bright lights, the familiar songs and the rituals we’ve carried for years can feel like a soft, warm blanket one […]
When the Holidays Feel Lonely: Understanding Isolation Through the Lens of Grief
For many, the holidays are painted as a season of togetherness — gatherings, traditions, shared meals, sparkling lights and cheerful music. But for anyone carrying grief, this time of year can feel like living behind a glass wall. Life keeps moving on the other side while you stand still, unsure how to re-enter a world […]
Holding Space for the Smallest Grievers: Honoring Children’s Grief Awareness Month
By: Cami Thelander, Certified Grief Coach, Community Engagement Leader, Confident Grief Coach School November is more than just the turn of the calendar. It’s National Children’s Grief Awareness Month — a time to pause, listen, and lean in to the truth that children do grieve, and that their grief deserves our attention, compassion, and care. […]