On October 28, a workshop called “Prioritize your Life: Grief and Loss” was held to discuss dealing with the passing of a loved one.
The workshop lasted an hour from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m.
The host speaker, Daisy Cook, introduced the topic by presenting a pre-workshop survey, some slideshows and exercises about grief.
Cook described the shift in mood as “colors of the rainbow.”
Cook reiterated the importance of expressing all emotions and to know there is nothing wrong with being human.
The workshop went over the meaning of grief, the stages of grief, and how to cope with grief.
Cook suggested, “Talking to someone else. Talking with your loved one, talking with a friend, talking with someone you trust, and maybe you’re talking to a therapist, or some kind of religious leader.”
Many guests volunteered to share their stories.
Monet Pedrazzini came to the workshop on her father’s birthday.
Pedrazzini had lost her father due to a heart attack, and she went into a depression as a result.
Pedrazzini described her depression as, “A kind of detachment. It was very up and down. Some days I would feel neutral, and then randomly something would trigger me. I would break down and it’d fade away in every five minutes at a time.”
In order to cope with her loss, Pedrazzini began writing in a journal about the rollercoaster of emotions she was going through, and jotted down all the things she wanted to say to her father.
Pedrazzini said, “I started a journal that I would just write to him. As if I was just talking to him.”
Pedrazzini said the hardest part of dealing with her loss was the lack of emotional support from other peers to help cope with her struggles.
“My community and my family, they didn’t know what it was like to experience a loss. It feels like time is betraying you constantly. It was difficult to remind people about how it feels. I felt really neglected and abandoned at that time,” Pedrazzini said.
The workshop concluded with a brief meditation exercise to help ease the mind into a state of relaxation and inner peace. Cook spoke about the importance of feeling your body relax itself to tap into a deep state of meditation.
Cook said, “Notice how you feel now, any emotions, any sensations that are present in your body. Know that you can come back to this space any time that you need.”
