Resources

Resources can change your life.
Information brings knowledge. Knowledge brings understanding. Understanding brings peace.

How to Survive Traumatic Loss

by Jan McDaniel, Way for Hope

Developed originally for those who have lost loved ones to suicide, the materials in this project are also helpful for anyone who is grieving a significant loss. There must be something here for you. For your free download, click on the individual links below.

Helping Children Grieve - Yes, children and teens of all ages feel the loss of someone important in their lives. See how you can model handling grief and provide age-appropriate information. Take back the time you have with your children. Most of these ideas are tech-free. Easy and inexpensive, they will bring healing to the whole family. Download.

Holiday Planner - This year is different. Upcoming special days can be difficult to endue without your precious loved one. This holiday planner will guide you through the year and give you concrete advice. Take your time, and choose what interests you. Rest. You have options. Think about how you felt when you tried these suggestions, and perhaps write in your journal. What helped? What didn’t? Did you think of other things to add that will help you focus on healing? Download.

Dealing with Family and Friends - If you are having a difficult time communicating with family and friends, you are not alone. Everyone is grieving differently, and may not understand what you are going through. They may want you to "get back to normal" or they may even blame you for the death of your loved one. Even if they want to help, they may not know how. When conversation is not easy, print these cards and give them to others. You may want to use these or similar words in an email or letter, if that is more comfortable. If you can, letting others know what you feel can sometimes help calm the situation or bring about the healing you seek in these relationships. Download.

Battling Guilt and Regret is a fact sheet that will help you sort through these extreme emotions. Following significant loss, the mind can try to convince you these things are true. But are they? Use these facts, definitions, resources, actionable steps and journal prompts to find out. Download.

Peaceful Moments is a beautiful ready-to-print journal that will lead you - gently - through the aftermath of grief. These sixty pages can help your grieving heart rebuild a life worth living while honoring the person you lost and the impact their life had on yours. Each person's journey is unique. There is no timetable that is right for everyone. Print each page, and write your own answers to the accompanying journal prompts to find moments of peace, small bits of time that can change everything. Download.

Twelve Months of Journal Prompts can take you through the year. Try these suggestions, and see where they take you. January through December, you are not alone. Download.

~ with much gratitude to Bonnie McClure, without whom this project would not have been possible. ~

Thank you for using resources from Way For Hope.

DISCLAIMER
Way for Hope is intended to provide inspiration and encouragement based on the experience and research of its creator and contributors. The material on Way for Hope and associated platforms is not intended to be or to replace mental health care. Some issues surrounding traumatic grief and loss to suicide are too intense and personal to be addressed by non-professionals. Ask your primary care physician to recommend a mental health care professional near you.

If you are having thoughts of suicide, call the Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or Text “Hello” to 741-74.
Outside the United States, find the number for your location at the International Association of Suicide Prevention: https://www.iasp.info/resources/Crisis_Centres/.
There is help. There is hope.

Life Bracelets

Sometimes it helps to look up, to find something more powerful, to seek God in the deafening silence. Nature has a way of reminding us of life going on all around us, steady, rhythmical, purposed. Yet it doesn't judge us. It lets us just "be." You can even hold a reminder in your hand.

I've always found working with my hands helps when I miss the one I lost, my sweet husband whose idea of fun was looking for arrowheads or fishing, walking in the woods or planting a tree. He liked the different colors of nature, especially the green and blue of tree against sky. One of my favorite projects grew from the many hours we spent together looking at rocks and gemstones. Life Bracelets. I thought of this idea when I was teaching grief workshops, made one for myself (see photo), and wrote these instructions for the class. Since then, I've share them in many places. They are made from memory wire and semi-precious gemstone beads.

In my bracelet, there is a section of stones that is darker than the rest, reflecting my husband's illness, death, and my journey through grief. But there are many beautiful times that these small stones make me recall. Everyone's bracelet is always unique, and you might be surprised to see how much hope and light has been part of your life. These make great gifts, too. They are ways to honor the life of someone who is no longer here physically, but they also make happy reminders to show anyone you know how much they mean to you. They are a way to remember and to include these people in your life. And they are something to hold onto, at work or anywhere you need a moment to look down and touch something that tells you, "You are not alone."