Top Resources for Grief Support: Your Grief Resources Guide

Grief is lonely. It's disorienting. It makes you feel like you're the only person in the world who's ever felt this way.

You're not.

And there are actual resources that can help. Not the kind that tell you to "think positive" or "they're in a better place." Real support. Real tools. Real people who get it.

You Don't Have to Figure This Out Alone

Here's the truth: grief is personal, but it doesn't have to be solitary. There are people trained to help. There are communities built for this. There are resources designed specifically for the kind of loss you're carrying.

And you get to pick what works for you. Not what someone else thinks you should do. What actually helps you.

Professional Help Isn't Weakness

A grief therapist isn't a luxury. It's a lifeline.

Someone trained in grief understands the specific pain you're in. They know that anger isn't "bad." They know that guilt doesn't mean you did something wrong. They know that some days you'll be fine and some days you'll fall apart — and both are normal.

How to find one:

• •Ask your doctor for a referral
• •Call your local hospice (they often have grief counselors)
• •Search for "grief counselor" or "grief therapist" in your area
• •Check if they're licensed and have experience with your specific type of loss

And it's okay to try someone and then try someone else. Therapy is a relationship. You need to feel safe.

Support Groups: You're Not Alone

The moment you walk into a room and see other people carrying the same weight? Everything shifts.

You don't have to explain yourself. You don't have to pretend you're fine. You don't have to worry about saying the "wrong thing" because everyone there has said it too.

Where to find them:

• •Local hospices and hospitals
• •Religious or spiritual communities
• •Nonprofit organizations focused on grief
• •Online communities (like The Naked Grief)
• •Your workplace (some employers offer grief support groups)

Virtual groups work just as well as in-person. Sometimes better, because you can show up in your pajamas and nobody cares.

Books That Actually Get It

Sometimes you need to read someone else's story to understand your own.

Books worth reading:

• •On Grief and Grieving by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross and David Kessler
• •Healing After Loss by Martha Whitmore Hickman
• •The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion
• •The Grief Garden Series by Karen Bulinski Mathison (that's me — and yeah, I wrote them because I've lived them)

Reading about grief validates what you're feeling. It shows you that what you're experiencing isn't weird or broken. It's human.

Online Resources and Communities

The internet can be a wasteland of toxic positivity and bad advice. But there are also spaces built specifically for grief — where people tell the truth.

The Naked Grief has articles, resources, community forums, and real people who understand. No flowery language. No "silver linings." Just honest support.

Creative Expression: When Words Aren't Enough

Sometimes grief doesn't come out in words. Sometimes it comes out sideways.

Try:

• •Journaling: Write letters to your person. Write angry rants. Write whatever comes.
• •Art: Draw, paint, sculpt. It doesn't have to be good. It just has to be honest.
• •Music: Listen to songs that make you cry. Make playlists. Sing badly in your car.
• •Memory projects: Scrapbooks, photo albums, memory boxes. Tangible ways to honor them.
• •Movement: Yoga, dancing, walking. Sometimes your body needs to process what your mind can't.

These aren't "healing activities." They're just ways to let the grief out instead of keeping it locked inside.

Immediate Help When You're in Crisis

If you're having thoughts of harming yourself, this is not the time to be brave.

Your Next Step

You don't have to do everything at once. Pick one thing. Call a therapist. Join a group. Read a book. Start journaling. Whatever feels like the smallest, most doable step.

Then take it.

Grief is a journey you shouldn't walk alone. And there are people and resources ready to walk it with you.

You're not broken. You're grieving. And that's what these resources are for.