Recent Stories
Dear Dr. Neimeyer, I have a question please. I lost my sixteen year old son in an accident only fifteen months ago. I can hardly walk through this house of memories, so I stay isolated in one room. I do not want to be bothered. My mom lives here and has taken over for a […]
Continue ReadingDear Dr. Neimeyer, Why is it so hard? I lost my sister in the spring of 2013, then my husband a month later, then my son two months later 2013. It’s been a losing battle I just don’t know how to handle this. Paulette Dear Paulette, When a person has a litany of losses in […]
Continue ReadingDear Dr. Neimeyer, I didn’t want to post this because I don’t want my loved ones to know the guilt I feel about my mother’s passing. But before my mom passed last year I avoided her calls as my sister said she was drinking a lot. We lived in different states. And she was drunk […]
Continue ReadingDear Dr. Neimeyer, I have read and heard you speak about the need to revisit and retell the story of the tragic death of a loved one in order to find meaning in the event. What stands out in your comments is obvious, but should be underlined, in my view: the profound Truth about the need […]
Continue ReadingDear Dr. Neimeyer, I am a new therapist who is just beginning to work with grieving people, but wonder if I’ve chosen the right career. I’ve always known I was an empathic person, someone who could feel genuinely for others who were hurting, and this made me a good listener for friends when I was […]
Continue ReadingDear Dr. Neimeyer, I have been working intermittently for many years with a woman named Pam who was divorced when her adult children were adolescents, as a result of the father’s unpredictable and violent behavior and alcoholism. Likewise, two of her four children have had long histories of drug and alcohol use, despite her funding […]
Continue Reading[Editor: Today is World Suicide Prevention Day] Dear Dr. Neimeyer, I lost my oldest son nearly 8 years ago to suicide at the age of 24. He shot himself in our home. Friends and people from church were very kind to us after it happened. We have three other sons. They are all grown now, but one […]
Continue ReadingDear Dr. Neimeyer, I lost my daughter, a 12-year-old, Melissa three weeks ago today. Earlier this summer she was diagnosed with a rare autoimmune disorder but was in good health—at least we thought. But when she got her first treatment, within a week she was in the CVICU and then we had to make the […]
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 […]
Continue ReadingDear Dr. Neimeyer, My husband of over 30 years killed himself over two years ago. I went through survival mode the first year, and now have my life “working” in a sense, but still ruminate too much about “why,” and what I could have done to change it. I want peace, to accept that this […]
Continue Reading