'Bereavement Programs' posts

When life-changing events happen, it can leave you and your support network at a loss. Whether it is something as joyous as the birth of a child or as devastating as a death or diagnosis, daily routines often go out the window and in the midst of adjusting to a “new normal,” we also have to figure out how to manage the tasks of everyday life. Whether you find yourself at the center of this transition or on the outside looking in, it can be difficult to know how to ask for or offer help.

Learning How to Ask

Asking for help can make you feel vulnerable. Sometimes it is hard to admit that you can’t do everything on your own. Or perhaps you feel like asking for help will burden others. From the other side, asking to help may be daunting because you don’t want your loved ones to feel like you think they can’t do it themselves. The bottom line is that, if the question isn’t asked, no one benefits. So how do you ask for or to help?

For help:

• Make...

Your mental and emotional health are just as important as physical health—it’s difficult to have one without the other. As we here in the Pacific Northwest face a very apparent shift in seasons from summer to fall, the concept of change and adjustment is all around. Learning to adjust to the change in weather offers important lessons in dealing with the continual changes we face in life.

If you’re a native or adopted Washingtonian, seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is probably not a new concept to you. This type of depression occurs during the fall and winter months when there is less natural sunlight. It is a yearly affliction that is slowly creeping up on many of our friends and neighbors. Treatments like light therapy and anti-depression medication can help, but what if your changes in mood isn’t SAD? What if your changes in mood aren’t from changes in season?

As we all know from our own personal life experiences, change happens and whether we know it or not, it’s happening all the time. Some changes are small and we are able to “go with the flow;” other times, change can really throw us for a loop. So how do you deal with life-altering change and make the most out of it?

Change ...