Loss Through Music: Westlife's "I'll See You Again"

My mother loved and enjoyed all kinds of music throughout her life: Classical, Rock-and-roll, Euro-pop, Broadway musicals, to name a few.  During the last few years of her earthly life, she started developing a fascination with a lot of the famous Boy Bands!  One group she enjoyed in particular was Westlife.  Mom -- I'm giving this one for you: "I'll See You Again":

 

 

Articles Worth Reading: Grief and Isolation

Over on her website griefandmourning.com, author Jade has a good article on the pitfalls of becoming isolated while we are grieving the loss of our loved ones.  I personally know all too well that this is a trap that is all too easy to fall into.  Jade writes:

"One of the most painful parts of the grief process is the experience of grief isolation. It’s bad enough that your loss already left you feeling alone and singled out from the rest of the world, but now, with no way of knowing how to respond to such tragedy, most grievers tend to go further into the isolation of pain and profound loneliness. While this is a common course people find themselves going toward, it doesn’t mean that it’s the best course to follow."

Lots of good suggestions here on how to combat "grief isolation", as well as many of the psychological traps we can fall into while we're dealing with our loss, and what we can do to correct them.

Videos That Have Helped: When You Miss Someone

YouTuber Einzelgänger has a great channel devoted to philosophy, mostly devoted to Taoism, Buddhism, and Stoicism.  For those of you who struggle with grief, he has a very good video, "When You Miss Someone."  What I love about this video is that it can apply to people in a variety of situations, including those of us who had close friends move away, or are going through a break-up, as well as those of us who have lost loved ones to death.  Two quotes from the video that really struck me: "The reality is that everything comes and goes, and so do people.  The thing is that impermanence is what makes life possible, and, also, appealing."  And: "When we spend large amounts of time and energy on missing someone, we hand over the power over our mood to past memories....If we can't let go and long for something that isn't there, our present will appear gray and lifeless, often full of despair."  Definitely worth a full watch:

Videos That Have Helped: Relieving Anxiety

Anxiety can be a major component of our grief.  Sometimes I feel like I've experienced more anxiety in the last seven months than I have at any other point in life.  For me, it mostly has to do with worrying about friends and remaining family, or about where my future is heading.  Dr. Ali Mattu has another really great video to help out: "10 Quick Anxiety Relief Techniques".