11/19(Tue.) Coping with Grief and Loss (Host:Holly)

[hollywang1991]

Today, I would like to discuss the topic of bereavement. I believe this is a difficult journey that many people have already faced or are currently going through.

I am currently going through this journey myself. Just over a month ago, I lost a very close family member. I miss her deeply, and whenever I think about having lost her physically, it fills me with sadness, and a sense of reluctance to let go. But at times, I also think of the joyful memories we shared—the moments when we truly cared for each other and loved each other.

Last Saturday, Christine also touched on a similar topic, which is why today I would like to discuss this subject with all of you—one that may be emotional, but is also important and, at times, even intriguing.

reading material https://www.helpguide.org/mental-health ... f-and-loss

Whatever loss you’ve suffered, there’s no right or wrong way to grieve. But by understanding the types and stages of grief, you can find healthier ways to cope.

Session I
1. The article mentions 'The most common sources of grief.' What are some of the ones you've experienced?

2. Describe the journey of grief you have experienced. You may reflect on the "5 stages of grief" as a reference, but remember, each person's grieving process is personal.

3. Have you noticed any differences or similarities between the way you handle various forms of loss now and how you did when you were younger?

Session II
4. Let's return to the article and discuss disenfranchised grief. This is a very unique form of grief. What are your thoughts on it? If you notice someone around you who might be experiencing this, what would you want to do?

5.I really love this quote from the movie Interstellar: 'Love is the one thing we're capable of perceiving that transcends time and space.' What do you think the relationship between love and loss is? The more we love someone or something, does it make the loss of that person or thing even harder to bear?"

6. When you reflect on past experiences of loss, or the loss you are currently going through, what do you think your future self, five years from now, would want to say to your present self?

Here’s a song I found it related to topic: ================================================================================================
Agenda:
7:00 ~ 7:10 pm Opening Remarks / Newcomer’s Self-introduction / Grouping
(Session I)
7:10 ~ 7:50 pm Discussion Session (40 mins)
7:50 ~ 8:10 pm Summarization (20 mins)
8:10 ~ 8:15 pm Regrouping / Taking a 5 Minutes Break (Intermission)
(Session II)
8:15 ~ 8:45 pm Discussion Session (30 mins)
8:45 ~ 8:55 pm Summarization (10 mins)
8:55 ~ 9:00 pm Concluding Remarks / Announcements

Meeting Date: As shown in the Subject
Meeting Time: 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm

Important Notes:
1. We advise participants to print out the discussion questions and bring them to the meeting for reference. As for the supporting articles, feel free to print them out, as well, according to your preference.
2. We suggest that participants read the articles and think about the questions in advance.
3. Newcomers should prepare a two-to-three-minute self-introduction in English to deliver when called upon by the host before the start of the discussion. The host may also ask you to give brief feedback about the meeting after the meeting.
4. We conduct the entire meeting in English. All participants should have at least moderate English-conversation skills and be able to articulate their ideas for each discussion question.
5. We welcome newcomers and other guests to attend the meetings and join the discussion freely twice (including on-site and online meetings). After that, we hope you will consider becoming a YoYo English Club member. We charge a NT$1,500 (NT$1,000 for students) lifetime membership fee.

[miller]

Move to the top.

[Rock]

Do we really feel sad because of the loss?

I understand if your dog or cat died, you feel the loss because they are kind of like a thing we owned, like a property. But when someone you love died, it's different. Humans are not property. If we never owned them, how can we lose them?

The night my dad passed away, I walked out of the hospital. I knew that he would be gone that night. I was happy for him because his sufferings were not so much and it was ending; I was happy for my family because we had done a great job taking care of him, the myseries and worries were gone; I was happy because in my belief people go away from this world to go to a better place, be it heaven or not.

Yet I felt sad, very sad.

My sadness is not because of the loss. It's about the poignant feeling, about life. My dad used to be a heavy smoker. So I bought a pack of cigarette, lighted up one and smoked, left the rest of the pack on a flower pot for him. It was 1 am.; the moon was bright. I felt like crying but I didn't.

I guess I don't need a therapy session for this sadness. It's something made me want to cry, but it's like a lesson learned from life. Without this feeling, my existence in this world would be incomplete. It's actually not a loss. It's a gain.

[Iris Wu]

Why do we feel a sense of loss? Owning and losing something doesn’t always create the feeling of loss. I think it’s the sense of attachment that causes the feeling of loss. Many religious teachings encourage us to release attachment to avoid the pain of loss, and while that makes sense to me, attachment is often also a source of joy. I’m not sure how we find the right balance between the two.

[Luis Ko]

that's life. if you can understand it, if i may say so, understand grief and loss are part of life then, you will probably be able to get over it more easily.