A Grief Concept You Should Care About: Continuing Bonds

Understanding Grief / Understanding Grief : Eleanor Haley



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I’ve always thought of continuing bonds as an ‘a-ha’ grief concept. As in...

 “A-ha! That makes so much sense.”

“A-ha! I knew I wasn’t crazy.”

“A-ha! That’s exactly how I feel.”

Continuing bonds is an idea that brings clarity, normalcy, and understanding to many who hear it. It's one of those concepts that makes so much sense that it feels like you already knew it, except you didn’t know that you knew it until someone put it into words.

[Note: This may not be true for everyone. Many people do not find comfort in continuing a bond with their deceased loved ones for a variety of reasons, and that’s okay.]

Okay, I'm going to back up a little because I know some of you are thinking "What is this grief jargon that you speak of?" If you've never heard of 'Continuing Bonds' (CB), you're not alone. This concept emerged from grief literature which, let's be honest, most people haven't read.

Please allow me to introduce CB by sharing an excerpt from our grief journaling e-course: 

In 1996, Klass, Silverman, and Nickman shed light on an important bereavement concept in the book Continuing Bonds: New Understandings of Grief. Their work questioned linear models of grief that are supposed to lead to things like acceptance, detachment, and new life and which view behaviors that promote a continued bond with deceased loved ones as pathological.

Klass and colleagues disagreed with this notion and suggested a paradigm in which it is normal for the bereaved to continue their bond with the deceased. In their work, they observed many cases in which remaining connected to the deceased provided comfort and support in coping with loss and adjustment.

Sound familiar? If not, that's okay. We've written about CB here, here, here, and here, but with over 500 articles, that a very small fraction of what you will find here on WYG. The same goes for other grief literature. So today I want to make a case for why, if you care about one grief concept and one grief concept only, it should be continuing bonds. Not because we believe this idea is prescriptive, but because it brings such a sense of okay-ness and empowerment to people who want to continue their bond with their loved one but who’ve felt they can’t or shouldn’t. Generally speaking, I have four main reasons.


1. Continuing bonds acknowledges that grief is ongoing.

I’ve run out of metaphors for saying that grief never ends, so I’ll just tell it straight.  Grief never ends.  Grief isn’t something you go through, it’s something that becomes a part of you. It’s forever.

The good news is, you may find that over time, as make room for grief's necessary existence, it becomes a more peaceful and positive presence. One where warm memories and a connection with your loved one can grow.


2. Continuing bonds says that it's normal to stay connected with your loved one.

Not only does CB validate that grief is ongoing, it supports the idea that we, as bereaved people, remain connected with our loved ones, often for our entire lives. We don't detach from them or leave them behind, we carry them with us throughout our lives. Interestingly, Klass and colleagues also found that these relationships are not static. Instead, they evolve and mature right along with us, so that you see and relate to your deceased loved ones through a different lens at 30, 40, 50 and so on.

This is validation that isn’t always found in our broader society, among our friends and family, or even in our own beliefs and attitudes about grief and coping.  So spread the word because if everyone understood this, I think grieving people might feel a little better understood (and a little less crazy).

We don't leave deceased loved ones behind. Rather, we carry them with us throughout our lives.

3. Continuing bonds may describe many of your grief-related behaviors.

Holding onto items, daily habits, private rituals, conversations with your loved one, visiting places where you feel close to them, thinking about them... These are all ways people continue bonds with deceased loved ones. These are the behaviors often come naturally to grieving people, but which may have been seen as pathological by past grief models (and society as a whole).


4. Continuing bonds says that not only are these behaviors normal, but they may help you cope with grief.

Society is making strides, but many people still believe that staying attached to a deceased loved one is pathological. As a result, many people worry about their CB behaviors and wonder - Is this okay? Does this mean I'm not coping well with grief? Should I be worried? Am I stuck?

Fear not, though, Klass et al (1996) found in their research that remaining connected seemed to facilitate the bereaved’s ability to cope with loss and accompanying changes in their lives. So, do more of them!

Yes, this is normal.

Of course, it is important to note that there are instances where continuing a bond with a deceased loved one is not healing. Just as relationships with the living can be complicated, so can relationships with the dead and if the relationship was troubling prior to the death, it may remain so afterward.

Okay, so there you have it. I've made my case; albeit there is so much more to be said on this topic. If you want to learn more about Continuing Bonds, we have a few learning opportunities on the horizon. You can also learn on your own by reading here, here, here, and here.


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72 Comments on "A Grief Concept You Should Care About: Continuing Bonds"

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  1. Susan  February 1, 2024 at 3:41 am Reply

    I can honestly say this article resonated for me & my on going grieving & processing through talking about the ones I’ve lost along the way with family that I thought I could confide in & be respectful. I was told that they didn’t want to hear it, and why do I use them for attention and when iam I ever going to just let them go and move on. I’ve been told I’m dramatic & not to use people for all sorts of reasons to feel sorry for myself. It took so much time and healing alone for I felt like maybe this was true and my grieving was toxic & selfish.
    With the help of therapy, psychologists, physicians, case managers in my mental
    health care as I have been diagnosed with
    bipolar, PTSD, anxiety disorder, depression has allowed me to see myself in a different
    light with my grief. The compassion and respect I was able to get from professionals would help me in tremendous ways in helping others with the kindness, caring and empathy in the most sincerest ways I couldn’t even think I was capable of being able to.
    I lost my sister in 2022 and it’s been a rough road in this new place of grief and trying to find ways to make sure I stay with my mental health, emotional care, physical therapy & all that entails the ways I can self-regulate.
    Thank you for sharing and appreciate how much this article has helped me with my grief.

    Thank you

  2. Patricia Rudell  September 27, 2022 at 10:05 pm Reply

    I lost my son & 2 of his friends in a wrong way car accident 7/13/2017
    I talk to my son & his friends all the time. I give the decedents mothers flowers on their sons birthdays. A parent never gets over the loss of their child. The day we brought our sons into the world will always be a special day, A day that we will always cherish forever.
    Love you! Til we see you again Bryan, Adam & Jeremy

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  3. william conjelko  April 20, 2022 at 2:19 pm Reply

    I lost my wife three years ago after 56 years of marriage. she died of dementia and I miss her and talk to her every day. Any one who says “it gets easier with time” never lost a spouse- I pray for her and kiss her picture each morning and evening; No one will take her place. I miss her so much.
    Bill

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  4. Dal  February 10, 2022 at 3:05 pm Reply

    Studying Thanatology (dying and death) Loving it and reading website as a class assignment. I’ve recently been reflecting on loss of a child early in my wife’s pregnancy thru miscarriage. Recently I gave our child a name, Chris, after another recently deceased family friend who would have adored this little one had life continued. The miscarriage occurred 18 yrs ago. I’ve been feeling more centred recently. Thanks for saying, it’s alright. Little Chris is as real to me as other deceased family and friends.

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  5. Magdalena  November 20, 2021 at 4:34 am Reply

    Thank you so much for these posts! My Mum died two months ago and I’m struggling to find new relationships with her. We were very close, so anything that deviates from what life looked like before seems like a betrayal, but I keep talking to her and journaling in the form of letters to her and dreaming of her. And my prayers turn around seeking forgiveness for the things we may have done to each other and by which we hurt each other and finding this new relationships. In my dreams she’s alive and happy and I often ask her if she knows she had been dead. I’m glad this isn’t hopefully a sign of me going crazy or staying stuck in an unhealthy place, but quite a normal path to an ongoing and evolving bond!

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  6. Viv  September 20, 2021 at 6:36 am Reply

    I’ve just read about continued bonds. It has made me realise how society often still discourages it. I’m a new partner to a widower who has photos of his wife up and talks of her (not excessively). I felt fine about it. However my sister and close friends I know feel uneasy and that I’m seen as only a poor replacement. I don’t think my partner feels that but I’d started feeling insecure and that I should take down her photos and explain how I feel insecure. It’s not me though – it’s other people who love me thinking I should. Now I’m so glad I read about continued bonds. I lost my dad 20 years ago and think of him every day – it doesn’t mean I am stuck just I remember his influence. Great article and great web site. It really has made a difference to how I move forward with my new lovely partner – why should I make him suffer about remembering his late wife and talking about her, he has suffered enough losing her, why can’t I be a part of him feeling happy without him having to cut her out of his thinking.

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    • David Brian Brundy  December 16, 2022 at 10:24 pm Reply

      No doubt, you should never make your spouse choose between the memory of a lost loved one, and yourself. You are not a danger in any way to each other. He is capable of loving you both and should be allowed to do so. That would be totally opposite if his departed spouse was alive, and they had divorced for whatever reason.

      Everyday people get divorced have children and must continue to have a relationship with their ex-spouse, and that too is ok… But there will be no picture in that case, not in my house.

      But to see your spouse loving the memory of his departed life partner is a whole different and I say beautiful thing.

      A wonderful trait in your new husband, a good thing to see and have. It speaks volumes about him. Divorce and death are two totally different things. I’m sure sometimes the loss felt by one in a divorce is similar and can be just as devastating as a loss through death. But one is a choice, the other is not. One is alive and one is not.

      Although we may still love a spouse that divorced us that separation choice must be acknowledged and accepted. Deal with it. Hopefully you can remain amicable to one another after a divorce, especially when children are involved, but even that is not mandatory, but it is beneficial for the kids involved.

      Otherwise, you could very well be endangered by it, they could reconcile, you would be out…

      That does not happen in the death of a spouse. There is no danger there. Know if you had made your spouse choose, you may very well have lost a very loving and perfect man… lets be real!

      I lost my spouse of 23 years a year and a half ago. We had a very special and enduring love, my spouse was 100 % disabled from an inherited disorder at birth called CMT. A lifelong struggle for them and even me too as his spouce.

      We new this is how it would go, but still their loss was detrimental to me. I was a vow keeper, and struggled through those final years, doing everything for us both as he tried so hard (lovingly) to push me away… to protect me. But honestly, that would have been even worse, to think I left someone that I fought that struggle with right at that defining moment. There was no choice, none needed.

      I was there holding that hand and grateful for all the love bestowed upon me. I would have nothing of the kind. We only hurt those we truly love and no one is perfect until you love them.

      I didn’t see the disability, ever. To me he was perfect in every way. This site has transformed how I delt with grief this time around, I am honestly and truly better for it. I got through the devastation of the loss so much quicker.

      I am only 56 years old feel like I’m 30, healthy in every way. So now as I look, and hope I find someone special like you, to share the next portion of my journey with, I often think, it would have to be one of our friends, or at least someone who knew him. Because I will so frequently be doing what your husband is doing, I felt it unfair to a new relationship, that could never understand my enduring commitment and eternal love for them. Or why I would even be mentioning it. One Thing or another will always trigger a thought of a departed loved one especially a spouce. That is ok, we are incapable of a total reboot, we cannot reset ourselves back to manufacturer settings, as if we were brand new again. Thank God for that, that would be awful.

      So I get it, I understand you being, or others like your family or friends thinking it strange. I on the other hand, personally know his exact struggle, and would be much wearier of the actor who lied and said they had no feelings of love for their departed. That would scare me…

      You are in a perfectly healthy and new relationship live, laugh and love… There is no danger in what you describe. I would adore the person who was srong enough, to permit me to have a picture of a departed spouce.

      do not be scared of a very admirable quality in you new spouse, a very loving one. There is room in your relationship for his departed, at least their should be.

      We all carry life’s baggage with us, there is no danger in the love he carries for his departed. It’s ok even to say things like I wish I would have met them… they sound wonderful, share his memory of them with him, that will make you even more loving and good for him.

      It’s ok, really. To me that is a dear sign of a wonderful, loving heart. I would do anything to find that love again.

      So tired already of being alone, I need to share my life again. I found power here, my takeaway…

      Your perfect life, your best life, is not the only life worth living, the one you have right now can be and is pretty awesome too, get to living it don’t waste it!

      — David Brian Brundy

      That is all your spouse is doing, hats off to him, he is doing the best one can imagine is possible after losing a life partner. You have a very special man, indeed know that. And you by attempting to understand, and listening, accommodating; know you are pretty darn special yourself, no judgment necessary or needed!

      Go enjoy your man, make new music together!

      Live, Laugh, LOVE!
      We get but one time …

      Dave

  7. Kathy  May 23, 2021 at 1:12 pm Reply

    I’m so glad I read this all about grief bonds. My husband died 8 months ago and I don’t want to feel like i am not married to him. I want to continue each and every day. After 23 years together, what else can I do.
    My heart goes out to all of you.

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  8. Timothy  May 20, 2021 at 12:10 pm Reply

    As I read the comments to your article, particularly by those who lost their spouse, I can so plainly see the validation of the “Continuing Bonds” theory…. Which I so very much also live myself. My seemingly healthy wife, Penelope, experienced some minor pain in her side, was diagnosed with metastatic gallbladder cancer, and died in my arms only four months later. We were married for more than 40 years and at the threshold of my retirement from law practice which would launch a whole new life for us of travel and grand parenting. I started a journal during her cancer treatment and continue it to this day, nearly 2 years after she died. While my life is, in every respect, fully functional, she is never out of my mind, and seldom out of my sight as I “follow the breadcrumbs” of every trace of our life together left behind: completing her projects, maintaining the large house that we lovingly remodeled over the course of nearly 30 years, and keeping her memory alive in our community. I greet her every morning and close each night with “Good night, Bunny…I love you”

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  9. Ghazala Khan  October 30, 2020 at 6:22 pm Reply

    I continue my bond with my beloved late sister by Thinking of her with me when I go on my walks – we are sitting in the park and she is talking with me about her work in London.

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  10. Chris Howard  March 15, 2020 at 8:16 pm Reply

    Interesting. My Mum (82yo) died the same year I divorced. I’ve found it much easier to move on from her death than from the death of my marriage (22 years). Although, sometimes I wonder if I’m suppressing feelings and responses to her death. And re my ex-wife, I’m still holding onto hope that we can be friendly again.

    I do like the statement that “grief never ends, it becomes part of you”. I certainly feel that regards my divorce. I hurt most days for the future that died. (If I had’ve known this beforehand… I would have made a lot more effort than I did… but the world gives you the idea divorce is easy)

    One day I think Mum’s death will suddenly hit me and I’ll acknowledge that longing for a “continuing bind”. But I don’t think I’ll ever be able to let go of the desire for a “continuing bond” with my ex. So, it is reassuring that the grief is normal and will be a part of me forever.

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  13. Kathleen Glynn  October 7, 2019 at 5:54 pm Reply

    I’ve been living my life this way. My husband was
    So precious. He was my one & only. I still feel his love
    Showering over me & watching over me. He will always be my husband & I will always be his wife.
    I couldn’t live in a world without him. Thank you ♥️

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  14. Lily N.  October 3, 2019 at 11:20 pm Reply

    This answers why I have the desire to drive the Blue Ridge Parkway at the end of October. Not that I expect the fall foliage to be in its glory, but because that drive was made by my late husband and me several times on trips both in the summer and in the fall. On our first anniversary we stayed at one of the lodges. It was the first time I heard birds singing in the morning. I was a city kid and the noise of traffic drowned out the birds. It was magical to me. I sat out on the balcony with a cup of coffee and took it all in! Then years later we went camping there on our way to Williamsburg with our children. Then when the kids were grown we took a couple fall trips there. I think I will feel closer to my late husband as I make that trip. My kids seem to think I should “get over it” being that it’s 4 years since he died, but I will never “get over it.” I have gone forward and I think he would be proud of me. The Blue Ridge Parkway is a happy place.

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  15. Simon B  August 30, 2019 at 8:58 am Reply

    This is something I could have done with in 2017 when my mum died.

    I’m surprised that my bereavement counsellor didn’t mention in 2018.

    Still, it’s better late than never.

    Thank you for sharing this.

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  17. Laura Gushin  August 8, 2019 at 5:50 pm Reply

    My husband and best friend for 43 years died on March 1, 2017. During the first year after he passed I wrote to him in my journal every night about my day. I continue to talk to him every day, and still feel married to him. Some friends have encouraged me to sell our big house, but I feel close to him here as he loved our home. I have not been able to get rid of his library (he was a professor) of 3000+ books. It’s good to know that I am not crazy or ‘stuck’. Your article on continuing bonds truly resonates with my experience of grieving. Thank you.

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    • Stephen  January 1, 2024 at 12:31 pm Reply

      My wife died of cancer 3 months ago. She was my soulmate. I miss her every single minute of the day. I talk to her out loud, I talk to her photographs, I say good morning and goodnight to her photos beside my bed. I talk to her ashes that are awaiting scattering. I wear her wedding ring on a chain around my neck. I never want to forget her. I came across the concept of continuing bonds at the very end of your wonderful book – I only wish it had appeared earlier on. Of all the “grief theories” I have read this one resonates with me and the way I feel about my beautiful wife more than any other. It gives me “permission” to grieve and mourn her in my own way knowing that even so early in my grief journey feeling this way doesn’t mean I am “stuck”.
      Thank you so much for highlighting this concept – I cannot tell you how helpful it has been.

  18. Mike  August 8, 2019 at 2:07 pm Reply

    When I walk in the front door I say “High Honey I’m Home!”.

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  19. Elaine  May 28, 2019 at 11:41 pm Reply

    I had never heard of continuing bonds or seen anything about it until tonight. However, I just told my friend a couple of days ago that I didn’t want to get over it, work through it, or forget anything. My husband died 15 months ago from esophageal cancer. We were married 44 1/2 years. We were each other’s best friends. I am totally and completely lost without him here. However, I talk to him daily. I think of him constantly. I have been lucky enough to have a couple of dreams that he was in. I am living my life the best that I can, visiting with my children, spending time with my grandchildren, helping at their schools, etc. I go to church, I work in my yard. I am going on vacation with my kids. But when I am alone in our house I think of my husband, Doug. I look at his pictures, I listen to his music, I go in his closet and look at his clothes. I want him and the wonderful life we had to be with me always. I have a necklace that says “Forever in my heart” and I wear it when I go to the grandchildren’s ballgames and school events and hold it because it makes me feel he is sharing this event with us. I don’t think I’m crazy or “not living in the real world”. I don’t particularly like my new “real world” without him, but I know he isn’t here. I choose to think of him and remember. I choose to have him in my life. I certainly didn’t choose to have him leave it when he did. We still had so much to do together. I am relieved to know that I am not “losing it”. I am going to continue to keep the wonderful man that I married as much my husband as I can. I don’t feel like a widow, even though I know I am. I feel married and I will as long as I live.

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  20. Alysoun Mahoney  April 27, 2019 at 10:00 pm Reply

    A very belated thank you for this post, which I just found today! My husband died in an apparent accident in October 2015 at age 52, after we had been married 23 years. Before reading this piece, I was not familiar with the term Continuing Bonds — but I do maintain close bonds with my husband in many ways, so the concept is familiar. The most public Continuing Bond I maintain is through a memorial fund in his name, which supports the causes he and I had supported together during his life. The work of the fund allows me to continue to say my husband’s name daily in the context of talking about the causes — and this seems to be socially acceptable, whereas sharing memories of my husband himself seems not to be. Grrrr. I started this fund six months after my husband’s death, and it seemed like such an obvious and natural thing to do — but I’ve found it to be surprisingly rare, and I’m not sure why. Maybe people think they have to be zillionaires to start one? Obviously the more money you have, the better, but you can start a fund for as little as $5,000. And for me, it fills so many needs!

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  21. Chris  April 25, 2019 at 5:07 pm Reply

    My youngest daughter died from SADS 24 Aug 2018. She was 30. My wife found her in the morning after she’d gone to bed as a healthy, happy, beautiful young woman. This loss can never be removed from my life. Part of me died with her on that day. It’s a very Western ideology that wants us to push death aside. Every day is a struggle (as is apparent for all of us who have posted here), but we need our “rituals”, our one sided chats, our just “being” with our loved ones. I don’t want this to change – it’s just one part of expressing my love and that can never change. Knowing other people understand, helps. You’re not alone. I am not alone. Thanks for the article. C

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  22. Kristen  March 12, 2019 at 4:33 pm Reply

    I talk to my 6 year old son all the time. My other sons say good night to the sky at night. We pick his star. He died so suddenly and unexpectedly 5 months ago. I kiss his photo good morning and good night. I chat to him in the car and shower and when I’m home alone. I am currently reading Jurassic Park out loud whilst sitting on his bed. He loved dinosaurs. Once I am finished we will take his bed down and make the most amazing playroom for his brothers, with all things Cruze in it. Dinosaurs, Star Wars, minecraft, avengers. I docthis every day and I always will. I’m glad there is a name for it. Thank you for sharing.

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  23. Bryan  February 7, 2019 at 5:10 pm Reply

    I lost my darling Irish mum Sept, 21, 2017. I lived with her for 59 years. Yes, you could say I was a mammy’s boy. But my dad died 1974, and I just stepped into his role, earning the money and providing for mum. Mum thought of me as a friend and ‘good’ son. My life was good, mum and I got on well. But when she was diagnosed with cancer 2015, I became her primary carer. Well you would, wouldn’t you? She saw me take my first breath, I saw her take her last. I did the right thing. Fed, washed and cared for her. In every way. My doctor said, now she’s dead, a huge weight will lift from me. What nonsense, a huge void of nothingness entered my life. She left me the house we always lived in, all her personal items, from her wedding plates, photos, perfumes, clothes everything I see and smell daily. At her – our – breakfast table I talk to her. She insists I eat, even though I feel shaky and sick. I sleep in her bed at night, the main bedroom of the house, she’d want me to have it. I see her in the morning all the things in her bedroom that she must have seen for the past 50 years. I can’t change anything, why should I? My sister and brothers – who were no support – think I should change the room and move to another house. NO WAY! This house, my house, is a shrine to mum. I’ll die in it. But not yet. Mum would not want that, she’d thought I’d just carry on – happily without her. Not so. Which makes me feel guilty that I can’t move on just happily along without her. I wish could, I wish I could feel happy again. Don’t we all? Did I love her too much! Well, maybe I did, and this is the price I now pay. Do I regret my deep love for my mum? NO WAY! I’d do it all over again. Continuing bonds resonates deeply with me. My mum’s presence in my life is stronger than ever. I live today but am blessed to still have her very much in my life. Phew! What a relief I’m not mad.

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    • Hugh  March 12, 2019 at 4:09 pm Reply

      Bryan, I’m very much in the same mode over my wife who passed away 1st March 2017. We lived in this house for 40 years, she died in this house and I will never move. I saw her take her last breath after only 8 months of being diagnosed with cancer. Why would I want to move? To rebuild my life? That’s never going to happen as she was my life and always will be. I have not nor will I ever get rid of her belongings, they are my comfort. I talk to her all day long and I answer myself, secretly believing the answers are coming from her. I used to think I was going crazy but my sisters assured me that I wasn’t and this article, your comments and other grieving participants have confirmed that. I will continue to talk to her and tell her all that is going on within the family. I will still embrace her belongings and sense that she is still here with me. After being together for over 55 years there is no future left and I am just going through the motions until it’s my time to leave this earth. I’ve always had my doubts about an afterlife but that is the only thing left that keeps me going, hoping that one day our spirits will once again be together.

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  24. Vartan Agnerian  January 16, 2019 at 12:17 pm Reply

    Very helpful and well explained ‘ as you mention it is an individual way of feeling and is not for everybody and all cases… As I read in one grief site’ ” The depth of grief’ measures the height of love and closeness” …
    Being a recent widow’ after 44 years of contented and loving marriage’ … Through tears and sobbing ‘for me it truly is a coping mechanism’ of keeping my sanity and logic and manage to go from one day to the next …

    Thank you for my therapy of the day ….

    Laura

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  25. Kimberly  October 5, 2018 at 2:51 am Reply

    Since my mom passed, I’ve continued taking care of her one thing left in life, Emmie, her West Highland Terrier. Emmie and my Mom lived with my family for 8 years before she died. August this year, at the age of 16, I made the hardest decision, to let Emmie go after a year of declining health.
    My daily care for her, carrying her to go outside, bathing her daily, adjusting her food…all was my last connection to my Mom.. perhaps my idea that I NEEDED to fix Emmie since I could NOT fix my mom. I am lost , even more now, without that connection to my Mom. ?

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    • Trinity  September 15, 2021 at 10:36 am Reply

      Hi Kimberly,

      I feel like I understand what you mean about the last connection. I have found a “living memorial” tree has been helpful to me to connect with my loved one and a way to continue to care in his memory. I thought to share that idea in case it might help you at all. The connection is always there but I know it can feel so lacking in heavy moments of grief. The tree gives me somewhere to go when that happens and brings some joy as the seasons change its growth.

      Take care!

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  26. Nikki  October 4, 2018 at 5:13 pm Reply

    I’m so glad it’s not just me, my 23 year old son passed away suddenly without being ill on 31 July 2018, I speak with him every night before bed, i visit his grave at least once every day and chat to him, I kiss his picture as i pass them, I also go in his bedroom and tell him off for leaving his clothes out!

    3
  27. Jennifer  August 17, 2018 at 3:15 pm Reply

    I just lost my Grandma one week ago tonight (6 pm on August 10th 2018). She was almost 92 and lost a courageous battle with dementia, coronary artery disease, and renal failure among other things. I knew my Grandma for 34 years. As she had helped raise me (like a second mother), we were very close. The last few years I had spent less time with her while pursuing a relationship that I thought would end in marriage. It never did, and now I have lost my Grandma and am losing my almost 5 year relationship at the very same time. I feel horribly guilty for the time I hadn’t spent with her while thinking I was building my own life, just to watch those efforts fail as well. However, I was able to spend the final weeks visiting her and was there less than 24 hours before she passed. We shared some very special moments during her last visit on Thursday 8/9. I held her face as she held back tears, held her hand, kissed her temple, spoke of our memories. She grabbed my wrist and said I had no idea what I meant to her, and I couldn’t even acknowledge it or I would’ve crumbled before her, and I regret that because her lip quivered with sadness. I just said I loved her and placed photos of us all above her bed. I remember everything we said and even the way she looked at me the last time we spoke. I left. All the signs were there, but I guess I couldn’t accept that she was leaving us. Less than a day later, I arrived 40 minutes after she had passed. Her stuffed bear that she loved in life lay beside her in bed, so very quickly I scooped him up and cried almost inconsolably through the night into his soft little head. I had cried into that sweet little bear and spoke aloud to her for days by the time I had found this article. It made me feel a little more normal for my overwhelming grief. Now as I pass her photo in the hallway, I stop and speak to her, because it is the closest thing I can get to looking upon her face again. She was cremated 8/13 and her ashes spread 8/14. It is so hard to comprehend she is not physically with us. The only thing granting me any serenity is the concept that if I speak to her she will hear me. I love you Grandma. I miss you terribly.

    2
  28. Laura  April 28, 2018 at 4:41 pm Reply

    Things I have done since my best friend, lover and husband died 6 years ago……
    – regularly smelled his worn clothes (that I kept unwashed) for more than a year
    – did a home burial and funeral in a home made coffin and interred him in our backyard with a view of the river ( no stranger hands ever touched his body; we washed and prepared him for his last journey)
    – clipped his long beautiful lush hair which I keep under my mattress and part of it in my handbag ( just writing this floods my mind with so many memories…… )
    – worn his winter wool underwear
    – kept his clothes and and personal things pretty much where he left them before he passed
    – re – watched his favorite movies again with our child (who also wears her fathers clothes on occasion – her favorite a pair of boxer with hearts on them)
    – gone to the vault where his body is (in our backyard) to ask for help or advice or just to have a word
    – ask him for forgiveness when I remember a transgression I feel guilty about from the past
    – cherish his personal belongings and music collection, which always brings back memories when handling these items or listening to it.
    – re- reading his personal letters to me
    – will take his remains with us, when or if we ever move from our house
    (I have never divulged these things until here and now)

    Cultures of antiquity would actually have loved ones mummies in sarcophagus in their homes ( above and below ground in their living quarters) and lived around their ancestors this way. As well as Indonesia’s Toraja who honor their dead loved ones by digging them up each year at the Ma’nene festival, cleaning, grooming and dressing them in new clothes. I can completely understand and empathize with this custom. Now that I know there is actually a scientific term for it I feel much better about it, but would NEVER admit this to family and friends. But still glad I am not alone in this behavior. Thanks for yet another excellent article.

    4
  29. Laura  April 28, 2018 at 4:41 pm Reply

    Things I have done since my best friend, lover and husband died 6 years ago……
    – regularly smelled his worn clothes (that I kept unwashed) for more than a year
    – did a home burial and funeral in a home made coffin and interred him in our backyard with a view of the river ( no stranger hands ever touched his body; we washed and prepared him for his last journey)
    – clipped his long beautiful lush hair which I keep under my mattress and part of it in my handbag ( just writing this floods my mind with so many memories…… )
    – worn his winter wool underwear
    – kept his clothes and and personal things pretty much where he left them before he passed
    – re – watched his favorite movies again with our child (who also wears her fathers clothes on occasion – her favorite a pair of boxer with hearts on them)
    – gone to the vault where his body is (in our backyard) to ask for help or advice or just to have a word
    – ask him for forgiveness when I remember a transgression I feel guilty about from the past
    – cherish his personal belongings and music collection, which always brings back memories when handling these items or listening to it.
    – re- reading his personal letters to me
    – will take his remains with us, when or if we ever move from our house
    (I have never divulged these things until here and now)

    Cultures of antiquity would actually have loved ones mummies in sarcophagus in their homes ( above and below ground in their living quarters) and lived around their ancestors this way. As well as Indonesia’s Toraja who honor their dead loved ones by digging them up each year at the Ma’nene festival, cleaning, grooming and dressing them in new clothes. I can completely understand and empathize with this custom. Now that I know there is actually a scientific term for it I feel much better about it, but would NEVER admit this to family and friends. But still glad I am not alone in this behavior. Thanks for yet another excellent article.

    1
  30. Scott  April 17, 2018 at 2:54 pm Reply

    Mom passed unexpectedlt friday, the funeral is tomorrow. And I dont know if dad and I will make it. Mom was 92 and my best friend. She had always been energetic and smiling and as sweet as could be. I moved home 3 years ago and feel like I never spent enough time with her. I lost my job at the end of last year, for which I am now so gratefull for because it meant I got alot more time with her. Dad is taking it pretty well but he cried today for the first time. They were married 64 years and he says they had both talked about it, knew it was coming and he chooses to remember the joy they had together. Dad is 91 and had a small stroke end of october last year. The way I see it its my mission in life now to take care of him and get him through this.
    Sorry, Since ive been living home everything here reminds of her and even tho I know shes gone I see everyday things of hers and its like shes still here. Dad is keeping her dressing table intact and since she always loved the flowers in the backyard and was awesome at flower arranging we will continue have her vase at the dinner table with fresh flowers, she would like that. I know she is in a better place and is in no pain but I have no clue if she sees us or hears us or knows we miss her. She would scold us for being heartbroken but I tbh dont know how not to be. One of the very few people who is a part of me and always will be, my best friend and confidante and my security has been torn from me. I will always hold her close and remember her. Love you Mom

    3
  31. Scott  April 17, 2018 at 2:54 pm Reply

    Mom passed unexpectedlt friday, the funeral is tomorrow. And I dont know if dad and I will make it. Mom was 92 and my best friend. She had always been energetic and smiling and as sweet as could be. I moved home 3 years ago and feel like I never spent enough time with her. I lost my job at the end of last year, for which I am now so gratefull for because it meant I got alot more time with her. Dad is taking it pretty well but he cried today for the first time. They were married 64 years and he says they had both talked about it, knew it was coming and he chooses to remember the joy they had together. Dad is 91 and had a small stroke end of october last year. The way I see it its my mission in life now to take care of him and get him through this.
    Sorry, Since ive been living home everything here reminds of her and even tho I know shes gone I see everyday things of hers and its like shes still here. Dad is keeping her dressing table intact and since she always loved the flowers in the backyard and was awesome at flower arranging we will continue have her vase at the dinner table with fresh flowers, she would like that. I know she is in a better place and is in no pain but I have no clue if she sees us or hears us or knows we miss her. She would scold us for being heartbroken but I tbh dont know how not to be. One of the very few people who is a part of me and always will be, my best friend and confidante and my security has been torn from me. I will always hold her close and remember her. Love you Mom

  32. Kirsty  April 11, 2018 at 5:42 am Reply

    thank you for this interesting piece. It gave me something to reflect on and mull over as I sob. I like to think I straddle both grief approaches. I love to play with and explore the continued bond approach (I have a space for my dad – his clothes that I sit and cradle and howl with) I sit amongst some of his things – whatever I have of his – I put his clothes in a drawer and write with his pens. Photos of his are kissed good night – I chat with him and I love to see and feel him all around me. He is indeed with me and always will be. At the same time he is gone – I cannot call him (well at least his phone is about to be disconnected – he died 25.1.18). He cannot give me that lovely and always valued (ok most of it) life advice and wisdom. He is no longer struggling in his relationships – he is no longer suffering in body – he no longer has to fix anything or anyone – I do need to let him go – so that he can be at peace. On some level I have to let something go (perhaps the older version of myself) shed a skin so that I may move forward. We can’t go back – that is the single hardest thing for me about grief. We just can’t. He comes with me – but in a different way. I move forward – and trust I will find the courage to love the version of myself I am today – even as I grieve and feel this huge pain. thank you.

    3
  33. Kirsty  April 11, 2018 at 5:42 am Reply

    thank you for this interesting piece. It gave me something to reflect on and mull over as I sob. I like to think I straddle both grief approaches. I love to play with and explore the continued bond approach (I have a space for my dad – his clothes that I sit and cradle and howl with) I sit amongst some of his things – whatever I have of his – I put his clothes in a drawer and write with his pens. Photos of his are kissed good night – I chat with him and I love to see and feel him all around me. He is indeed with me and always will be. At the same time he is gone – I cannot call him (well at least his phone is about to be disconnected – he died 25.1.18). He cannot give me that lovely and always valued (ok most of it) life advice and wisdom. He is no longer struggling in his relationships – he is no longer suffering in body – he no longer has to fix anything or anyone – I do need to let him go – so that he can be at peace. On some level I have to let something go (perhaps the older version of myself) shed a skin so that I may move forward. We can’t go back – that is the single hardest thing for me about grief. We just can’t. He comes with me – but in a different way. I move forward – and trust I will find the courage to love the version of myself I am today – even as I grieve and feel this huge pain. thank you.

    1
    • Walter G.  February 11, 2022 at 10:03 am Reply

      Kristy,
      Thank you for sharing your clear and concise description of how you are coping with your loss.
      It is beneficial to see what I seek spelled out.

  34. julie  April 10, 2018 at 10:30 am Reply

    Thank you so much for introducing this well known concept! I am writing a book about grief right now and realized after reading this article that I speak about the idea of continuing bonds all the time but wasn’t calling it that. What a relief….I am not alone after all! Thank you for the inspiration to keep writing.
    Thanks again!

  35. julie  April 10, 2018 at 10:30 am Reply

    Thank you so much for introducing this well known concept! I am writing a book about grief right now and realized after reading this article that I speak about the idea of continuing bonds all the time but wasn’t calling it that. What a relief….I am not alone after all! Thank you for the inspiration to keep writing.
    Thanks again!

  36. julie  April 10, 2018 at 10:20 am Reply

    k y

  37. julie  April 10, 2018 at 10:20 am Reply

    k y

  38. Tracy  March 4, 2018 at 5:39 am Reply

    I have just found this today .Today is the first year of losing my mum as a result of a heart operation she was advised to have .She agreed , she was 83 but looked so much younger and acted so much younger. She was my friend , my confidante and I just liked being with her. I took her to the hospital , I left her there , she said if I told her not to have it she wouldn’t , I told her to trust the doctors and that she would have many more years with us
    She died 4 days after the operation , she struggled through those days , was put in intensive care and went onto life support . We had to make the decision to allow it to be switched off .
    We lost her and this last year I have been consumed with grief and guilt. If I had not listened to the doctors , they said it was a catastrophe believing that she was too weak to have the operation ..a concern we had before it happened. I feel that I took my mum to her death , it’s a feeling that never goes away ..I have had counselling for more than 6 months but today it has hit hard.I miss her , she was my home and I do feel so lost . I am not sure why I am even writing this , I think from reading all the posts I can see the pain so many people feel .Pain that is not talked about and pain that can only be shared with those that know.It is belonging to a club / group that you really don,t want to belong to.I can see my mum so clearly , she is in my head every day , I need to hear her voice for her to tell me she is ok.

    2
  39. Tracy  March 4, 2018 at 5:39 am Reply

    I have just found this today .Today is the first year of losing my mum as a result of a heart operation she was advised to have .She agreed , she was 83 but looked so much younger and acted so much younger. She was my friend , my confidante and I just liked being with her. I took her to the hospital , I left her there , she said if I told her not to have it she wouldn’t , I told her to trust the doctors and that she would have many more years with us
    She died 4 days after the operation , she struggled through those days , was put in intensive care and went onto life support . We had to make the decision to allow it to be switched off .
    We lost her and this last year I have been consumed with grief and guilt. If I had not listened to the doctors , they said it was a catastrophe believing that she was too weak to have the operation ..a concern we had before it happened. I feel that I took my mum to her death , it’s a feeling that never goes away ..I have had counselling for more than 6 months but today it has hit hard.I miss her , she was my home and I do feel so lost . I am not sure why I am even writing this , I think from reading all the posts I can see the pain so many people feel .Pain that is not talked about and pain that can only be shared with those that know.It is belonging to a club / group that you really don,t want to belong to.I can see my mum so clearly , she is in my head every day , I need to hear her voice for her to tell me she is ok.

    1
  40. Lorraine Barba  February 24, 2018 at 2:27 pm Reply

    My son died on January 16, 2018, eleven weeks after being diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumor. I am so sad and cry so much because he was such a good son to me. He was 48 years old. I was so happy to read your article and see that I’m not alone in my grief. I am celebrating 50 years as a registered nurse this year and am thankful I could apply all my knowledge and caring toward my wonderful son. I miss him so terribly.

    2
  41. Lorraine Barba  February 24, 2018 at 2:27 pm Reply

    My son died on January 16, 2018, eleven weeks after being diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumor. I am so sad and cry so much because he was such a good son to me. He was 48 years old. I was so happy to read your article and see that I’m not alone in my grief. I am celebrating 50 years as a registered nurse this year and am thankful I could apply all my knowledge and caring toward my wonderful son. I miss him so terribly.

  42. Elizabeth Valera  February 16, 2018 at 8:54 am Reply

    I am really glad to see this post, because I am a big proponent of continuing bonds! And, I appreciate hearing everyone’s experiences that shared. The first time I recognized the concept of continuing bonds was when I was sharing about my grandmother (who died when I was a 12) and was feeling the loss so strongly, even years later! Through processing my experiences with others, I came to realize that after she died I had learned to cook Black Beans and Rice the way she always did and that I still knit and crochet which she taught me. Through that I started to see myself as having her hands, so our continuing bond is really with me at all times. When I have difficult times, I can imagine her/me/us stirring a big pot of black beans and I can look at things from her perspective and have more confidence because I know how much she believed in me!

    Also, I think Lorraine Hedtke’s work is a great resource on this topic, though she doesn’t use the term continuing bonds, she is talking about the same process. http://www.rememberingpractices.com/

    1
  43. Elizabeth Valera  February 16, 2018 at 8:54 am Reply

    I am really glad to see this post, because I am a big proponent of continuing bonds! And, I appreciate hearing everyone’s experiences that shared. The first time I recognized the concept of continuing bonds was when I was sharing about my grandmother (who died when I was a 12) and was feeling the loss so strongly, even years later! Through processing my experiences with others, I came to realize that after she died I had learned to cook Black Beans and Rice the way she always did and that I still knit and crochet which she taught me. Through that I started to see myself as having her hands, so our continuing bond is really with me at all times. When I have difficult times, I can imagine her/me/us stirring a big pot of black beans and I can look at things from her perspective and have more confidence because I know how much she believed in me!

    Also, I think Lorraine Hedtke’s work is a great resource on this topic, though she doesn’t use the term continuing bonds, she is talking about the same process. https://www.rememberingpractices.com/

    1
  44. Rowana Naidoo  February 15, 2018 at 1:42 am Reply

    Hi,

    I find it very coincidental to having received this post via email at this given time…..
    A Grief Concept You Should Care About: Continuing Bonds

    My husband has passed on in October 2017 and I have been keeping a brave front all this time. I feel that I have to be the strong one at home for my daughter and in-laws.

    But the past few weeks have been a bit emotional where I find myself talking to him and end up crying. I keep these emotional episodes well-hidden as I do not want to distress my daughter.

    On the morning of 13/02/2018- I was feeling exceptionally low due to the fact that the next day was Valentine’s Day and it would also have been our 23rd wedding anniversary. To make matters worse the evening of 13/02/2018 was an auspicious day in our Hindu calendar…. Every year I would get really excited and with the assistance of my late husband I would plan an extravagant prayer service on this day. So suffice to say that I was in severe depression mode.

    On this morning, like every morning……. I was ‘talking’ to my late husband about my ‘spiritual lethargy’…. Anyways as I as chatting with MR this morning I vented all my pent up emotions about him leaving me and I cried. I also vented my gripes and insecurities about Shivarathri and how I am sooo not excited this year. Well I told him to give me a sign that I should believe in Lord Shiva, etc, etc.

    Anyways after that I went upstairs and started to get dressed for work and as I was about to apply lotion on my hands I noticed something stuck to my hand, near my elbow and it was a piece of shiny paper which looked like this ? What a coincidence about the shape!

    Do I take it….
    – as a sign to continue in my belief of Lord Shiva
    – as a token of love for valentine’s day/anniversary

    The below excerpt from your article sums up exactly what I was going through
    Society is making strides, but many people still believe that staying attached to a deceased loved one is pathological. As a result, many people worry about their CB behaviors and wonder – Is this okay? Does this mean I’m not coping well with grief? Should I be worried? Am I stuck?

    But after reading this article I feel quite relieved to know that I am still ‘normal’
    And I will continue to have my morning conversations with my hubby.

    Thank you for your informative articles which gives me much better insight into the grieving process and these help me to help my family in their grief also,

    Kind regards

    Rowana Naidoo
    South Africa

  45. Rowana Naidoo  February 15, 2018 at 1:42 am Reply

    Hi,

    I find it very coincidental to having received this post via email at this given time…..
    A Grief Concept You Should Care About: Continuing Bonds

    My husband has passed on in October 2017 and I have been keeping a brave front all this time. I feel that I have to be the strong one at home for my daughter and in-laws.

    But the past few weeks have been a bit emotional where I find myself talking to him and end up crying. I keep these emotional episodes well-hidden as I do not want to distress my daughter.

    On the morning of 13/02/2018- I was feeling exceptionally low due to the fact that the next day was Valentine’s Day and it would also have been our 23rd wedding anniversary. To make matters worse the evening of 13/02/2018 was an auspicious day in our Hindu calendar…. Every year I would get really excited and with the assistance of my late husband I would plan an extravagant prayer service on this day. So suffice to say that I was in severe depression mode.

    On this morning, like every morning……. I was ‘talking’ to my late husband about my ‘spiritual lethargy’…. Anyways as I as chatting with MR this morning I vented all my pent up emotions about him leaving me and I cried. I also vented my gripes and insecurities about Shivarathri and how I am sooo not excited this year. Well I told him to give me a sign that I should believe in Lord Shiva, etc, etc.

    Anyways after that I went upstairs and started to get dressed for work and as I was about to apply lotion on my hands I noticed something stuck to my hand, near my elbow and it was a piece of shiny paper which looked like this ? What a coincidence about the shape!

    Do I take it….
    – as a sign to continue in my belief of Lord Shiva
    – as a token of love for valentine’s day/anniversary

    The below excerpt from your article sums up exactly what I was going through
    Society is making strides, but many people still believe that staying attached to a deceased loved one is pathological. As a result, many people worry about their CB behaviors and wonder – Is this okay? Does this mean I’m not coping well with grief? Should I be worried? Am I stuck?

    But after reading this article I feel quite relieved to know that I am still ‘normal’
    And I will continue to have my morning conversations with my hubby.

    Thank you for your informative articles which gives me much better insight into the grieving process and these help me to help my family in their grief also,

    Kind regards

    Rowana Naidoo
    South Africa

    2
  46. Gwen  February 14, 2018 at 9:51 pm Reply

    My son died 8/27/2017 and it was so unexpected and sudden I feel as if it happened yesterday. We were not called by the police and I had to find his body and it was all so horrible. I dont know if it is a coping mechanism because of my unbearable grief or what but I talk with my son several times a day and I have told a few people that it is just my crazy mind trying to get thru this and they say but you don’t know.. So I choose to think it is him. He always tells me he is fine, that he would not come back even if he could, that one day I will understand and to stay focused on my faith. He tells me his dad and younger brother need me, that I need to take care of them because he doesn’t need me now and they do. So many things he says but I still cry. I still miss him like crazy and I still wish I could be with him. But I go on somehow and it is NOT easy. I feel I died with him but with our talks I try to believe I am REALLY needed here. And he would tell me that if he could call me one more time. It’s all so very, very gut wrenching but I do believe he is helping me to go on.

    2
  47. Gwen  February 14, 2018 at 9:51 pm Reply

    My son died 8/27/2017 and it was so unexpected and sudden I feel as if it happened yesterday. We were not called by the police and I had to find his body and it was all so horrible. I dont know if it is a coping mechanism because of my unbearable grief or what but I talk with my son several times a day and I have told a few people that it is just my crazy mind trying to get thru this and they say but you don’t know.. So I choose to think it is him. He always tells me he is fine, that he would not come back even if he could, that one day I will understand and to stay focused on my faith. He tells me his dad and younger brother need me, that I need to take care of them because he doesn’t need me now and they do. So many things he says but I still cry. I still miss him like crazy and I still wish I could be with him. But I go on somehow and it is NOT easy. I feel I died with him but with our talks I try to believe I am REALLY needed here. And he would tell me that if he could call me one more time. It’s all so very, very gut wrenching but I do believe he is helping me to go on.

    • Letha  February 16, 2018 at 8:54 am Reply

      My son died the very same day as yours. ? I also have the same feelings. Talk, cry and sometimes yell at him.

      • Gwen  February 17, 2018 at 5:09 pm

        I haven ‘t yelled at him yet, maybe got a bit angry, but most of my yelling has been at God. Our son had overcome so much and to be taken so suddenly and unexpectedly I will always question why God took him at that time in his life. I think the treatment by law enforcement made it much worse and I can’t even say how that makes me feel. On the other hand I have to believe that God will take care of all the people who treated our son and my family like trash. Each day is a struggle to not lash out but one day at a time. I am sorry for your loss and thank you for writing.

      • Elaine  February 21, 2018 at 1:34 pm

        My 29 year old daughter died on 8/27/2017 also.

  48. Steve  February 14, 2018 at 3:44 pm Reply

    I have my own little weird behaviors. One is that my son’s family has this grouchy old cat, and when my wife (now deceased) would take a nap, she and the cat would cuddle up on the sofa. Now the cat would claw you if you stopped petting her. Often, I would see my wife asleep with the cat with her left hand surround the cat’s right leg, and her right hand surround the left leg. It was sort of like keeping the cat in leg irons as they slept face-to-face. Now I doze on the sofa with the old cat, and it has the same grouchy behaviors, but I look at the cat as an old friend who knew my wife. I realize that someday this 15 year-old cat will be another significant loss to me. My second weirdness is that I have a 2002 Ford pickup with 170,000 miles on it. I remember the day my wife and I bought it with only 7,000 miles on it from a car dealer that had taken the vehicle back and was reselling it to help a military soldier who was deployed overseas. We made many trips over the years in that vehicle, and I am emotionally attached to it, because we enjoyed traveling with each other. That vehicle made many trips to hospitals, dialysis treatments, and also vacations and visiting family. My finances are such that I could easily buy a new vehicle, but I am not ready to let it go.

    2
  49. Steve  February 14, 2018 at 3:44 pm Reply

    I have my own little weird behaviors. One is that my son’s family has this grouchy old cat, and when my wife (now deceased) would take a nap, she and the cat would cuddle up on the sofa. Now the cat would claw you if you stopped petting her. Often, I would see my wife asleep with the cat with her left hand surround the cat’s right leg, and her right hand surround the left leg. It was sort of like keeping the cat in leg irons as they slept face-to-face. Now I doze on the sofa with the old cat, and it has the same grouchy behaviors, but I look at the cat as an old friend who knew my wife. I realize that someday this 15 year-old cat will be another significant loss to me. My second weirdness is that I have a 2002 Ford pickup with 170,000 miles on it. I remember the day my wife and I bought it with only 7,000 miles on it from a car dealer that had taken the vehicle back and was reselling it to help a military soldier who was deployed overseas. We made many trips over the years in that vehicle, and I am emotionally attached to it, because we enjoyed traveling with each other. That vehicle made many trips to hospitals, dialysis treatments, and also vacations and visiting family. My finances are such that I could easily buy a new vehicle, but I am not ready to let it go.

    1
  50. Debbie Sanchez  February 14, 2018 at 3:30 pm Reply

    Thank you for this I feel the same way…I am not going mad…it all makes sense!

    1
  51. Debbie Sanchez  February 14, 2018 at 3:30 pm Reply

    Thank you for this I feel the same way…I am not going mad…it all makes sense!

  52. Sharon Johnson  February 14, 2018 at 12:05 pm Reply

    What if it’s so painful thinking about them?
    When you start to look at a picture or remember them you cry?
    I’d dearly love my two daughters to know this – but like me, it hurts when realising the great loss. The youngest not even wanting to talk about her dad and the oldest already suffering in her grief (now taking meds & also tried to end her own life recently)
    Not only are we a smaller family but very broken. I’m finding it hard to stop feeling so angry with him at the same time!
    How can you apply this connection bond when feeling all of this ?

    • Eleanor  February 14, 2018 at 12:57 pm Reply

      Hey Sharon, I’m so sorry for the pain your entire family is experiencing. I’m not sure when your loved one’s death was, but many people do struggle to continue their bond in the early months because the pain is just too intense. Theoretically, in time as people find effective ways to cope with their intense emotions (and not avoid them), it will be easier to remain present with these items, memories, reminders, etc. If you have found that this isn’t the case over a long period of time, for you or for your daughters, you may want to consider seeking a little extra support from a mental health professional.

  53. Sharon Johnson  February 14, 2018 at 12:05 pm Reply

    What if it’s so painful thinking about them?
    When you start to look at a picture or remember them you cry?
    I’d dearly love my two daughters to know this – but like me, it hurts when realising the great loss. The youngest not even wanting to talk about her dad and the oldest already suffering in her grief (now taking meds & also tried to end her own life recently)
    Not only are we a smaller family but very broken. I’m finding it hard to stop feeling so angry with him at the same time!
    How can you apply this connection bond when feeling all of this ?

    • Eleanor  February 14, 2018 at 12:57 pm Reply

      Hey Sharon, I’m so sorry for the pain your entire family is experiencing. I’m not sure when your loved one’s death was, but many people do struggle to continue their bond in the early months because the pain is just too intense. Theoretically, in time as people find effective ways to cope with their intense emotions (and not avoid them), it will be easier to remain present with these items, memories, reminders, etc. If you have found that this isn’t the case over a long period of time, for you or for your daughters, you may want to consider seeking a little extra support from a mental health professional.

    • Wendy  February 15, 2018 at 3:32 pm Reply

      Sharon, my heart goes out to you and your daughters.
      I still feel like my heart’s been ripped out when I think of my mom, hear her voice or see
      a picture of her. But in time it has gotten better. Now I wish others would talk of her more, like
      it keeps her memory alive, which is what continued bonds is all about.
      My daughter took her grandmothers death like your older daughter. There was so much guilt she felt
      towards her relationship with our deceased that she developed an eating disorder to cope and was a cutter.
      She is healed and doing so great now-5 years later. To go through this is to become stronger.
      Our faith and friends have been key. And being honest and open, which is what you are doing by being here.
      Having lost the man in your family who I assumed was the stronghold of the family, has to be difficult because you feel
      like a different family. But still a family that needs each other.
      I think there is nothing wrong with being mad at him and telling him so. If you don’t tell him now it will fester.
      WYG has so many great ideas to help.
      These girls are awesome!!

  54. Katherine  February 14, 2018 at 11:46 am Reply

    Hurray, I’m not going mad then!

  55. Katherine  February 14, 2018 at 11:46 am Reply

    Hurray, I’m not going mad then!

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