A Space to Breathe and Grieve
A grief and bereavement network for University staff
Welcome
Discover a safe space to breathe, grieve and find solace with our staff grief and bereavement network.
At our compassionate healing community, you'll find the support to navigate through life's challenges together. Our dedicated group offers the benefits of sharing experiences, learning from each other, and finding comfort in knowing that you're not alone on this journey.
Experience the power of meditation and mindfulness as we guide you towards peaceful healing and resilient renewal. Through these ancient practices, we will empower your spirit with soothing wisdom to honour your loss while finding deep inner peace. Join us on this transformative path towards embraceable growth and heart-centred connection.
Take a step forward into a space where healing begins, grief is shared, compassion blossoms, and hope ignites.
Our aim
In our staff grief and bereavement network, we provide a safe space for you to breathe and grieve. We understand the deep pain of loss and offer meditation and mindfulness practices to help heal your heart. Our compassionate healing approach is supported by guest speakers who share their own experiences, as well as peer-to-peer support from others who have walked a similar path. You are not alone in this journey, and we are here to support you every step of the way.
Meditation and mindfulness for loss
Feeling lost in the waves of grief? You're not alone. Learn how meditation and mindfulness can be your guiding light in the darkest moments. Losing a loved one can leave us overwhelmed with pain and confusion, but incorporating these powerful practices into your routine can provide comfort and strength as you navigate through difficult emotions.
Uncover an oasis of peace within yourself as you embrace the soothing power of meditation. Discover how mindfulness can help you acknowledge your feelings without being overwhelmed by them. By bringing awareness to the present moment, you'll find solace in honouring the memory of those we've lost while nurturing your own emotional well-being.
Join our community as we walk together on this transformative journey towards healing. Let's breathe through the pain and awaken to a brighter tomorrow. Embrace love, release sorrow, and find grace within yourself with meditation and mindfulness.
Grief and Bereavement Toolkit
The grief and bereavement toolkit provides information on bereavement, where to go for relevant support and advice, as well as suggestions for helping yourself and others through grief.
The Good Grief Trust
The Good Grief Trust aim to normalise conversations around grief and show that it is a natural – and even transformative – part of life, instead of something to be feared and avoided.
The Trust have hosted over 150 free events including talks, interviews, webinars and workshops. These events aim to bring people together to gain insight, hear stories they can hopefully relate to and hopefully find support and healing as part of the Good Grief Community.
The Trust have also launched The Grief Channel on YouTube where you can access over 120 talks from previous events, for free.
Grief support classes
The national bereavement charity Sue Ryder, in association with GOOD, have launched Grief Kind Classes containing advice from bereavement experts to help people better support each other when they are grieving. These classes have been specially designed as part of Sue Ryder’s national Grief Kind campaign, launched in 2021.
Grief Kind has helped over 100,000 people since launching and these classes form the next stage in the campaign. The classes are 25 minutes of content, divided into five videos structured around frequently asked questions about how to support someone who is grieving.
Local support groups and resources
- WAY (Widowed and Young) – the only national charity in the UK for people aged 50 or under when their partner died. It's a peer-to-peer support group operating with a network of volunteers who have been bereaved at a young age themselves, so they understand exactly what other members are going through. This website also has a fantastic useful links section.
- Cruse Bereavement Care – Cruse's vision is that all bereaved people have somewhere to turn when someone dies.
- BCS Plymouth – the Bereavement Counselling Service (BCS) is a charity which offers specialist bereavement counselling in response to complicated grief and traumatic loss.
- Survivors of Bereavement by Suicide – exist to meet the needs and break the isolation experienced by those bereaved by suicide. They are a self-help organisation and aim to provide a safe, confidential environment in which bereaved people can share their experiences and feelings, so giving and gaining support from each other.
- Bereavement Advice Centre – there are many practical issues to manage when someone dies; Bereavement Advice Centre supports and advises people on what they need to do after a death.
- The Miscarriage Association – if you have been affected by miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy or molar pregnancy, we hope you will find here the information and support that you need to help you through.
- Sands – supports anyone who has been affected by the death of a baby before, during or shortly after birth. We offer emotional support and information for parents, grandparents, siblings, children, families and friends, health professionals and others.
- Marie Curie – provides care and support through terminal illness. Every day of your life matters – from the first to the last. That's why the right care at the end of your life is so important.
- NHS Choices – bereavement resources.
- Mind – Provides information on the effects of bereavement, where to go for support and suggestions for helping yourself and others through grief.
- Royal College of Psychiatrists – information is for anyone who has been bereaved, their family and friends, and anyone else who wants to learn more.
Togetherall
Togetherall is a safe, online, peer-to-peer community where people support each other anonymously to improve mental health and wellbeing. Togetherall is designed to help you take control of your mental health and start to feel better. You will have access to a 24/7 online community and professional support from trained counsellors. Togetherall provides a safe space online to get things off your chest, explore your feelings, get creative and learn how to self-manage your mental health and wellbeing.
Togetherall is free and totally anonymous, so no one will know you’ve chosen to use it unless you tell them!