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How the LCBO delivers grief support to 8,000+ employees across Ontario

How the LCBO offers a full year of personalized grief support to 8,000+ employees across Ontario, with three years of steady enrollment and sustained engagement.

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A silhouette of a person sitting quietly by a large window looking out at the ocean, representing the quiet reflection needed when navigating what grief is and coping with loss.

Grief8 min read

What is grief?

Grief is a natural, multidimensional response to loss, not a problem to be solved. Explore what grief actually is, why your brain needs time to process it, and gentle ways to cope when you are simply trying to survive the day.

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Help Texts graphic titled Why text? explaining that receiving texts increases dopamine and boosts motivation and well-being, with a line-drawn brain icon

Grief Support4 min read

Why choosing text was the best decision I could have made for grievers

When I first chose text messaging as the vehicle I'd use to build a global grief support platform, I thought it would be my MVP - something I could fund off the side of my desk while keeping my tech job. Text, I thought, was affordable, scalable, and nearly ubiquitous. Flash forward 10 years and I believe my decision to build a text messaging platform was the best decision I could possibly have made. I've learned a lot about the technology, psychology, neuroscience, and impact of text as a mental health intervention. Other technologies come and go, but everyone still loves text messages. Here's why.

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Holidays2 min read

Halloween and Grief: When a Fun Holiday Feels Hard

Halloween may be an unexpected grief activator for you.

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Grief Coach social graphic over a rocky coastline: "We get it. Grief is scary. Sometimes we worry so much that we end up saying nothing at all."

Grief8 min read

How I learned to help the grieving one text message at a time

On my flight home from my friend's funeral, I thought about the fear and discomfort that had kept people from reaching out when my husband died a decade earlier. Their distance had hurt me, but I now knew that it had hurt them too. For over a decade, people I cared very much about had been carrying around guilt and shame. It all seemed so unnecessary. I knew we could do better.

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Grief2 min read

Suppressing emotions in grief

Grief isn't just an emotional experience—it's a whole-body response. Supporting bereaved individuals means normalizing the full range of physical and emotional reactions they may experience.

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College students smiling while sitting on a bench

Grief Support7 min read

Why does social support drop off when you need it most?

The people in your life didn't stop caring. Here's why social support drops off after a loss, and what you can do when the silence starts to hurt.

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Burnout3 min read

How a physician associate used text messaging to get support for grief and burnout

Tracey Piparo is a Physician Associate (PA) with RWJBarnabas Health in New Jersey. She's one of only 200 PAs in the US who specializes in palliative care. Tracey was happy to discover support from Help Texts in 2023, an innovative text-based service offering accessible, confidential, and convenient support via text message. "I believe that there is awesomeness in the simplicity of texts," she says. "As a PA with not only a demanding career but a hectic home life, I appreciate the ability to receive the info when I am able and also appreciate the succinct suggestions that arrive at just the right time."

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Sample Grief Coach support text: "Tomorrow will mark the 3-month anniversary of Jamie's death, and may be a particularly difficult day for Ally. Reach out to Ally tomorrow if you can, and give her the opportunity to talk about Jamie if she wants to."

Hospice6 min read

How text messages can help hospices — and all of us — support our grieving loved ones

Now hospices can meet the growing demand for bereavement support with regular tips and reminders delivered via text Since launching Grief Coach, I’ve been asked time and time again if I find it depressing doing this work. The answer is always, always no. I don’t find this work depressing — in fact, I’ve never been happier at work than I am today.

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Smartphone screenshot of a sample Grief Coach text message from Hospice of the Western Reserve, offering weekly bereavement support

Hospice4 min read

Hospice of the Western Reserve becomes the first hospice in the US to deliver grief support via text message

Bill Finn, CEO of Hospice of the Western Reserve, announces partnership with Grief Coach. "It is critical that we find innovative new ways to care for people after a loss," says Finn. "I'm proud that our bereavement team will now be working with Grief Coach to deliver personalized, text-based support to the many hospice families we care for each year."

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Bereavement2 min read

The Ones Who Know Us Best: Sibling Losses

When a sibling dies, it's not just the physical separation. It's also the removal of daily moments. The calls, texts, laughs, and reassurances go away. It’s the conversations that only your sibling would understand, that are lost. For adults, losing a sibling means losing a retirement buddy, support taking care of aging parents, and the ability to share childhood memories. For children and adolescents, losing a sibling young can create losing a playmate and someone to read stories and share childhood with.

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A sample text message reading "Hi, Abby. Today would have been Jason's birthday. Take a minute to send a favorite memory or story to Julie. She'll appreciate hearing a happy story, and it will be good for you too."

Death5 min read

Making difficult conversations easier: text messages and card games that help us talk about death

Whether it’s a card game or text messages, I love that there are new ways to take the awkwardness out of the moments in our lives when we most need each other.

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Written by experts

Our writers are advocates or experts in the grief space.

Reviewed for clinical accuracy

Every article goes through clinical review before it publishes.

Updated regularly

Our articles are constantly updated as research changes.

Our editorial team

Writers, editors, and clinicians dedicated to thoughtful mental health and grief content

Blog

Most read blogs

How the LCBO delivers grief support to 8,000+ employees across Ontario

What is grief?

Why choosing text was the best decision I could have made for grievers

Halloween and Grief: When a Fun Holiday Feels Hard

How I learned to help the grieving one text message at a time

Suppressing emotions in grief

Why does social support drop off when you need it most?

How a physician associate used text messaging to get support for grief and burnout

How text messages can help hospices — and all of us — support our grieving loved ones

Hospice of the Western Reserve becomes the first hospice in the US to deliver grief support via text message

The Ones Who Know Us Best: Sibling Losses

Making difficult conversations easier: text messages and card games that help us talk about death

Our clinical review process

Our editorial team

Emma Payne

Melissa Lunardini

Rah Adams

Jessica Correa