Recent Stories
Dear Dr Neimeyer, I am in a state of parental distress, anticipatory grief, and I’m not sure what to do. I’m 68 and my eldest son (whom I’ll call “Tom”—not his real name) is now 38. The bottom line is this: Tom has a drug habit that is killing him, and I am experiencing anticipatory […]
Continue ReadingDear Dr. Neimeyer, My 17 year old son took his own life not even a month ago. I find I can’t even type the details. He used a shotgun in our basement. Our whole family found him shortly afterwards. I recently read about “atypical depression” which very well described Edward’s condition. He was doing well. […]
Continue ReadingDear Dr. Neimeyer, As a counselor with a good deal of experience in working with grief, I have been hired to present at a senior retirement community in my city. The audience will be potential patrons who are looking to move their widowed parents from their homes into a facility. The topic of the presentation […]
Continue ReadingDear Dr. Neimeyer, Firstly, thank you for providing your expertise online. It has helped me since losing one of my twin sons in his late 20s in a motorcycle accident not long ago. This time has been filled with not only grief for the loss of my very close son, but also worry for his twin brother who witnessed […]
Continue ReadingDear Dr. Neimeyer, My teenage daughter Daniella died in a car accident almost two years ago, and even though I have been able to go on raising my other two children and working in my office job, I continue to feel a great deal of grief and also some irrational guilt about her death, because […]
Continue ReadingMourning a Former Spouse: Disenfranchised Grief: Reader Comments Editor’s Note: This is a rarely discussed topic, but in a country where 40-50% of couples file for divorce, it is an inevitability. Since Dr. Neimeyer addressed this in a post several years ago, we have received many comments. Here is a link to the original article: […]
Continue ReadingDear Dr. Neimeyer, My ex-husband and I were married for 25 years, together 28. We raised four children together. He was charming, sociable, affectionate, intelligent and silly. We enjoyed numerous good times. Toward the end, however, he became abusive and I made excuses to stay. After he took out his anger on one of the […]
Continue ReadingEditor’s Note: we thought this repost would be especially helpful for those who struggle to get through Valentine’s Day Dear Dr. Neimeyer– My husband died just over a year ago, so now begins my second year without him, and I am not looking forward to it. It’s not that I am immobilized by grief, as […]
Continue ReadingDear Dr. Neimeyer, Why do I feel guilty when I laugh or have fun, knowing my daughter isn’t here, and I shouldn’t be having fun? Dolores Dear Dolores– There is an unwritten code in our culture–one that is an explicit prescription in many world cultures–that presumes that we honor the dead when we wear our […]
Continue ReadingHi Dr. Neimeyer, My husband died unexpectedly five years ago at the age of 54. We were together for 33 years. He dropped dead in front of me with no warning. They said that he was gone before he hit the floor. We had a very good marriage and I am thankful for the time […]
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