Grief is part of the human condition, and no one can escape it. Whether you grieve for a lost parent, child, pet, or companion the time that we spend with our loved ones can never truly be replaced. The important thing to realize is that you are not alone. Even if your friends or family cannot truly understand what you are going through there are other people in the world who have gone through a similar process of grieving before.
Enter grieving support groups that you can find online. You don’t have to find someone in your area who has been shattered by the loss of a loved one. Instead you can find people anywhere who can empathize with you.
In general, I believe you should find online support groups who have professional counselors on staff. Many websites are non-profit and these professionals donate their time. Many other websites are places for people to talk about their feelings. Here is a guide to some of the most well-known websites that have bereavement or grief as a support network that you can latch onto.
GriefNet
GriefNet.org is an online support group has over 50 email support groups, all run by Cendra Lynn, PhD. She is a clinical psychologist supported by volunteers who help with the website. They also support kidsaid.com, a site geared towards grieving children and their families.
GriefNet runs on donations but one is not required to be a part of the site. A ten dollar donation per month is suggested to help keep the site running but it is not required. There are sections for support groups, kids, and even researchers. There are places for people to leave their memorials too.
Daily Strength
Daily Strength has online support groups and forums for just about any topic you can think of including bereavement. While the website isn’t necessarily run by licensed professionals there is a section called “ask an expert” that includes a section for health professionals including physicians and counselors. One expert on the website is Lisa Oz, bestselling author and radio host.
Experts in the bereavement section include two family therapists. There is a place for recent discussions, latest activity on the site, and list of “top treatments” for grieving. There are members groups such as For Moms Only and Motherless Daughters.
GROWW
GROWW online is a grief support group that is a non-profit organization called Grief Recovery Online. The website is a member of the Association for Death Education and Counseling as well as the Health on the Net Foundation.
GROWW includes chat rooms, discussion forums, news articles, and memorial pages. You can discuss anything you like except religion which is reserved for a certain time in a certain chat room. There are several different sub-groups such as loss of a loved one to suicide, widowed, siblings, and a place for kids under the age of 18.
