(818) 788-HOPE (4673)
Grief Support Groups Serving West Los Angeles, Encino and Agoura Hills
HomeBlogHOPE Connection

Posts by HOPE Connection

Eve – A Short Film by Susan Bay Nimoy

You’re invited!

Leo Baeck Temple, 1300 N. Sepulveda Blvd, Los Angeles 90049. 

9:30 a.m. Coffee & Pastries. 10:00 a.m. Film Presentation of Eve

Please join us on Wednesday, March 13 at Leo Baeck Temple for a screening of the short film, Eve, followed by a discussion with filmmaker Susan Bay Nimoy and HOPE Connection’s Executive Director, Dr. Jo Christner.

Members of the HOPE community may be especially interested in Eve because the filmmaker, Susan Bay Nimoy, found inspiration to create the film following the death of her husband, renowned actor Leonard Nimoy. “It was a profound loss for me,” says Nimoy, “I sunk into a deep dark hole, and I didn’t want to live. I wanted to die. And I actually kind of did.”

From Loneliness Blooms Connectedness

As both a HOPE Connection Therapist and an alumna of HOPE’s support groups, Evelyn has a unique and insightful perspective on grieving, healing and the upcoming holidays, which she shares here. Grief and loneliness brings a feeling of a “hole in my heart’” that cannot easily be bandaged. The connection of loneliness to grief is strong and indeed a profound feeling. It’s…

Grieving Through The Holidays

By Fern Lippert, Licensed Marriage Family Therapist Holidays are normally a time of rejoicing, sharing meals with loved ones, and carrying out the family traditions. Unfortunately, this year for many that has changed. A loved one is no longer there and now holidays can be a time of tremendous sadness. It reminds us of what we no longer have. We often wonder, “How…

Parent Loss Group FAQs

Q: How is it possible to replace the unconditional love of my parent? A: It is not replaceable. There are no other relationships that provide us that kind of unconditional love, or the boundless love of a parent. However, after a parent has died, there are ways that we can build our self esteem and confidence, learn to love ourselves and have self compassion.…

Becoming Home: The Movie

Losing a parent is a loss like no other. The loss of a parent and how it impacts our lives can be compared to skipping a stone over water: there are ripples, many of them, and each ripple impacts our lives in a very profound and often discounted way. When we lose a parent we are faced with our own mortality for…

How To Heal

Scream and shout and flail about, it’s all part of feeling the self doubt. Get into bed and stay there all day, every thing will still go on just as they say. Try to hold on to the pain you feel so well, as death’s door must always keep ringing its bell. Look upon the photos, cards, and videos of long, long ago,…

The Blindfold

The children tied a blindfold around his head. He was spun around and around, his sense of direction befuddled. He didn’t know which way to turn. Come and play, they call to him. But how? The blindfold obscures all, forcing him to encounter a world infused with uncertainty. So too for me, the loss of my spouse spun my world around leaving…

Surviving Grief Through Self Care, Self Compassion & Self Love

When you’re living your life, you go about your normal routine as usual. Then when someone you love dies, surviving grief can feel like you’ve been transported onto a Ferris wheel in the middle of a lake. When you’re up high, you feel like you’re on top of things and have some measure of control. As you descend, your view and perspective changes. So do your emotions and your coping strategies. As you gain momentum plunging downward, you can feel an unraveling dread and a rise in panic. Suddenly, you’re totally submerged  in deep water, much longer than you care to be, struggling for your very breath. Then the realization hits you. You’re drowning and you don’t know what to do. You don’t even know how to breathe anymore…  You are at a total loss.

Los Angeles Grief Support Group

Initially in grief, you can have many people around you such as family, friends, neighbors and coworkers.  If you join a bereavement group, you may also have the understanding and support of the members. However, during times of intense pain, it’s necessary to learn to rely on yourself.

The following are three “Self” resources that can help you during this difficult time of grieving:

The Path Ahead

It has been said we observe life as if walking backwards, a vision of our past in clear focus while our future remains an enigma.   Yet, on a path through a forest glen all of our senses are aware. Sunlight warms our skin, sounds and smells emanating from throughout our sphere fill our senses.   If we but look we see everything…