Breanne Cook - Grief Guide and Educator

What Is Grief Work?

Grief work is all about honouring grief and embracing life. It's the process of actively engaging with grief instead of avoiding or suppressing it. When we suppress or avoid grief, we're not actually keeping it away as we think; it's growing stronger and can show up in unexpected ways.

Grief work is about making room for grief, understanding how it affects you, and finding meaningful and sustainable ways to carry it.

What Does Grief Work Look Like?

Grief work is different for everyone, but it often includes:

Understanding Your Grief - Naming and recognising the different types of grief you're experiencing, whether it's the loss of a person, identity, future, or relationship.
Processing Emotions - Recognising and acknowledging the different emotions in the body as well as the thoughts and beliefs you're holding. Learning to find ways to manage them .
Learning to Carry Grief - Finding ways to integrate loss into your life, living alongside your grief instead of being stuck in grief alone.
Exploring Meaning and Purpose - Reconnecting with what gives your life meaning and explore how to create a future that honours both your grief and how you want to live.
Exploring Continuing Bonds - Maintaining a meaningful connection with the person that has died in a way that is special to you.
Building Resilience - Developing tools and strategies to help you navigate grief in the long terms and build skills to cope with difficult moments.

Why Does Grief Work Matter?

Avoiding grief doesn't make it go away-it just forces it to come out in other ways, often through stress, physical symptoms, burnout. Grief work helps you to honour grief and embrace life. It doesn't mean the pain goes away-there are always going to be difficult moments-but it does mean you can learn to carry it and find ways to re-engage with life in a way that feels right for you. There's no right or wrong way to grieve, and there's no timeline. But if you're feeling stuck, overwhelmed, or unsure how to move forward, intentionally engaging with your grief can help.