GriefSpeak: Loss of Older Loved Ones

RINewsToday

by Mari Dias, contributing writer By: Dr. Mari Dias “And wherever you’ve gone And wherever we might go It don’t seem fair… today just disappeared Your light’s reflected now, reflected from afar We were but stones, your light made us stars” (Pearl Jam, lyrics by Eddie Vedder) I attended two memorials this week. Both mothers…

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GriefSpeak: Life after Life

RINewsToday

By: Dr. Mari Dias “She said, she said I know what it’s like to be dead” (The Beatles, 1966, Revolver) The year 2020 has been difficult for many, and devasting for some. Despite all things COVID, quarantine, and the state of the nation, life and death go on. There is no hiatus or sabbatical on…

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GriefSpeak: Life of (Sighs)*

RINewsToday

By: Dr. Mari Dias “A picture is a secret about a secret, the more it tells you the less you know. “(Diane Arbus) My clients if prone to writing, often use journaling as therapeutic homework, either for their own personal growth and/or to share their story with me.  Below is a journal entry written by…

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GriefSpeak: She’s Come Undone

RINewsToday

By: Dr. Mari Dias She’s come undone She didn’t know what she was headed for And when [she] found what she was headed for It was too late. She’s come undone.” (The Guess Who, Undun,1969) It’s September 2020. Monica’s nativity scene remains on display. Her suitcase from a trip in February sits, unpacked. When she…

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GriefSpeak: The Masks in the Room – by Dr. Mari Dias

RINewsToday

by Dr. Mari Dias Excerpts from “Please hear what I’m not saying” (Charles Finn, 1966) “Don’t be fooled by me. Don’t be fooled by the face I wear For I wear a mask, a thousand masks, Masks that I am afraid to take off, and none of them is me… Beneath lies confusion, and fear,…

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GriefSpeak: Empty Nests

RINewsToday

By: Mari Dias “After all these years, all the smiles and the tears I am on the other side, watching my kids take the ride Like me they’ll be too stubborn I know that they won’t see But All it is I want, for them is to be free Happiness and heartbreak, there will be no compromise…

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GriefSpeak: Missing that human touch

RINewsToday

By: Mari Dias “Tell me in a world without pity Do you think what I’m askin’s too much? I just want something to hold on to And a little of that human touch And a little of that human touch” (Bruce Springsteen,1992) Unfortunately, lack of human touch, also known as ‘touch deprivation” or “skin hunger”…

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GriefSpeak: Zulu Time

RINewsToday

By: Mari Dias In today’s world where extreme political correctness, hate, vitriol, and lack of empathy are rife, I decided to go to a happy place. If we remind ourselves, we all have the capacity to do so. In my search for a happy place I was pleased and surprised that I had so many…

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GriefSpeak: What would you do?

RINewsToday

By: Mari Dias I’m the type of person who is likely to ask for forgiveness rather than permission. Am I always forgiven? No. Does that discourage me? No. There are so many examples of this that I could write the great American novel, but the story below may provide sufficient evidence. I was teaching a…

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GriefSpeak: Resilience

RINewsToday

GriefSpeak: Resilience By: Mari Dias Resilience. This word is usually defined as “ability to bounce back”, “the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties”, “toughness.” This is an admirable trait that lends itself to a successful life, both psychologically and behaviorally. Do you consider yourself resilient? If so, why? If not, why? The bigger question is:…

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