Seeking Professional Help During Bereavement: What Recent Studies Have to Say

By Jacob S. Sawyer, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Psychology at Penn State Mont Alto Many wonder if they are grieving the “right” way. This can be especially true for those who believe in a linear, stage model of grief. The most well known example of this is likely the Kübler-Ross model, which begins with denial […]

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Grief and Suicide

by Rebecca Hensler [Content notes: The following entry involves discussion of suicidal ideation, suicide prevention, and a death by suicide, all in the context of grief. As always at Grief Beyond Belief, please keep comments free of religious or spiritual content.] The following is entirely the personal thoughts of the author, except where cited through […]

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Atheist Grief Research

By Jacob Sawyer, Ph.D. Most know the phrase that nothing can be certain except death and taxes. However, despite the universal experience of loss, death, and grief, relatively little is known about specific factors that influence one’s experience during bereavement, at least from a scientific lens. Research around death and dying (or thanatology, as it […]

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Coming Through: Good Grief, Again?

Going through the archives of GBB, I frequently find comments where people ask why their brains insist on not just remembering that someone is gone, but reminding them they’re gone. We forget for a few precious seconds and have our minds to ourselves, then bam, we’re hit again. We see a show and laugh, reaching […]

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Comfort Without Lies for Small Children

A member of our community wrote to the Grief Beyond Belief Facebook page: My mother has been diagnosed with terminal cancer. I have a three year old son who is very close to her. Does anyone know of any non-religious resources to help small children deal with grief? It isn’t easy, and sometimes even people […]

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