GriefSpeak: Mercy’s Musings – Mari Nardolillo Dias

A black and white puppy sitting on a hardwood floor.

By: Mari Nardolillo Dias (Written by Mari as told by Mercy) Most of you know me as the grief therapy dog at GracePointe Grief Center. Many of you know through social media that I just had my first birthday, which I like to think makes me wiser. I am getting the gist of this grief…

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GriefSpeak: No GPS for Grief – Mari Nardolillo Dias

A starry sky over a grassy field and mountains.

By Mari Nardolillo Dias “I never knew grief felt so much like fear” (CS Lewis) The term “uncharted territory” is often used to describe grief. Oftentimes the phrase is thrown around as a cliché. We need to describe how it feels to be in a place that we have never been before. For those of…

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GriefSpeak: Work through Trauma, PTSD with a professional – Mari Nardolillo Dias

A purple and blue wave pattern on a black background.

By: Mari Nardolillo Dias The term “trauma” is often used in thanatology (study of death and dying). Deaths are often categorized as “traumatic” if caused or associated with homicide or suicide, accidental or sudden/unexpected. Thus, the loss may be defined as traumatic loss, and grievers may be diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). In…

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GriefSpeak: What color is your sadness? – Mari Nardolillo Dias

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by Mari Nardolillo Dias, EdD, contributing writer “Privilege:  Having the rare opportunity to do something that brings particular pleasure.” Grief has no color. Grief has no ethnicity, race, or culture. Nor does grief belong to a social or educational class or gender. Albeit there are different beliefs, values and funereal practices associated with death, death…

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GriefSpeak: Mediums – Truth or Fiction – Mari Nardolillo Dias

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by Mari Nardolillo Dias Angela has been meeting with a medium since her husband passed. He (Charlie) often “comes through” and speaks of memories and experiences that the medium could not possibly be aware of. Last week, Angela’s medium said Charles was asking about their twins, now adults. The medium was not aware that Angela…

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GriefSpeak: A Conundrum at Death: The “Rally” – Mari Nardolillo Dias

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by Mari Nardolillo Dias, contributing writer The Rally is sometimes referred to as “the last hurrah”, “the final goodbye” or the “end of life rally”. Today it is usually referred to as “terminal lucidity”, a term coined by Michael Nahm (Psychology Today). Whatever term you prefer, it refers to a loved one who has been…

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GriefSpeak: Loss of Pet Reprise – Mari Nardolillo Dias

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By: Mari Nardolillo Dias I spent a good part of an evening this week sitting in the waiting room at a Veterinary Trauma Hospital. Waiting. For 5 hours. As a keen student of observation, I sat close to the front door, which opened directly in front of the reception area. This allowed me to watch…

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GriefSpeak: Grateful – A Thank-You note to my clients, past, present and future – Mari Nardolillo Dias

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By: Mari Nardolillo Dias “When two people really “meet” it is like contact between two chemical substances- both are transformed” (Carl Jung) I am constantly reminded of Jung’s quote above when working with clients. After reading Kottler’s and Carlson’s book “The Client Who Changed Me”, my work is understood and reinforced. Both my clients and…

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GriefSpeak: Acute grief and numb reality – Mari Nardolillo-Dias

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By: Mari Nardolillo-Dias “Life changes in an instant. The ordinary instant” (Joan Didion) Many of you may be familiar with the Schrodinger’s Cat paradox, which posits a thought question: Can a cat in a sealed steel box be both alive and dead simultaneously? Although a question posed in quantum mechanics, many feel like the cat…

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