MSI Press Blog

  Chronic Grief How We can Help Ourselves and Others                                                                                                      Sponsored by Widowed Person Outreach – Helping and Healing, Washington, DC With Julie Potter, LCSW, Thursday, March 23 rd  - 7:00pm on zoom Julie Potter will discuss the clinical manifestations of chronic grief, the danger signs to watch for, and ways you can help yourself and others. In addition, there are other grieving processes that we may see as chronic but are still part of the journey: returning grief, traumatic grief, ambiguous grief, grief as we age, and global grief. In whatever form it takes for you (and it may sometimes be chronic grief), grief is natural to all o...

  Grief becomes heavier when it’s vague. When we say only “I’m sad” or “I miss them,” our minds don’t know what to do with the ache. It floats, shapeless, and therefore endless. Naming the exact thing you lost—the role you played, the future you imagined, the daily rhythm that disappeared—helps your mind understand what it’s trying to heal. Often the grief isn’t only about the event; it’s about the identity tied to it. Maybe you lost the person who made you feel capable. Maybe you lost the version of yourself who believed life would unfold a certain way. Maybe you lost the ordinary morning routine that once anchored your days. Each of those is a distinct loss. Each deserves to be named. When you name the loss clearly, you give your heart a map. You begin to see what changed, what remains, and what might be rebuilt. You stop fighting shadows and start tending to something real. Grief is not a single wound—it’s a landscape. Naming the loss is how you find your footing in it. And on...

  Readers' Favorite recently reviewed Julie Potter's book, Harnessing the Power of Grief . Here are some excerpts:  - informative and inspiring  - I loved the format.  - If you are grieving from any kind of loss, like a family member's death or a divorce, then I highly recommend this book.   Read the full review HERE . To see more posts about Julie Potter and this book, click HERE .

  Harnessing the Power of Grief . Get it HERE . In this book, Julie Potter traces back decades the research on understanding and coping with grief, which she describes as a natural human response to loss. Pulling from the work of Worden, the author prescribes four tasks for those in grief to use in managing their grief. She also walks the reader through special situations like tragic loss without warning. A book for those who are grieving and those who are walking with grievers. Read more about Julie Potter and this book HERE .

Grief is not just emotional. It’s physical. When loss enters your life, it doesn’t stay confined to the mind or heart — it moves through the body, reshaping breath, posture, and energy. You may notice: A tight chest that feels like it’s holding back tears. Shallow breathing that mirrors the way grief steals air. Exhaustion that no amount of sleep seems to cure. Restlessness that keeps you pacing, cleaning, or unable to sit still. A strange sense of being “unplugged” from your own life — as if you’re watching yourself from a distance. These sensations aren’t signs of weakness. They’re the body’s way of processing what the mind can’t yet articulate. Grief is a full‑body experience, and healing begins when you allow your body to participate. Movement as Medicine Gentle movement helps metabolize sorrow. Long walks, slow stretching, gardening, or even cleaning a room can create small rhythms of release. Each motion reminds your body that life continues — that breath and muscle and heartbeat...

Released this week: Harnessing the Power of Grief (Potter). In this book, Julie Potter traces back decades the research on understanding and coping with grief, which she describes as a natural human response to loss. Pulling from the work of Worden, the author prescribes four tasks for those in grief to use in managing their grief. She also walks the reader through special situations like tragic loss without warning. A book for those who are grieving and those who are walking with grievers. See other MSI Press books on grief .

  Grief needs form. It’s one of the few human experiences that arrives without instructions, without edges, without any sense of where you are in the process. Rituals give it shape. They don’t have to be elaborate or ceremonial; they simply need to be intentional. Rituals work because they create a moment in time that acknowledges what your heart already knows: something has changed, and you are learning how to live inside that change. You might choose something small: Lighting a candle at the same time each evening Writing a letter you’ll never send Planting something that grows in its own quiet way Setting aside a weekly “grief hour” where you let yourself feel without rushing Praying the rosary at the gravesite These acts aren’t about “moving on.” They’re about making space. They mark the loss in a way the world often forgets to. They remind you that grief is a process , not a failure—an unfolding, not a collapse. Rituals help you return to yourself, again and again, with gentle...

  Grief arrives in many costumes. Sometimes it looks like the death of someone we love. Sometimes it’s the quiet ending of a friendship, the loss of a dream, the collapse of a season of life, or the slow erosion of a version of ourselves we thought would last forever. Whatever form it takes, grief is a universal human experience—and yet it never feels universal when you’re inside it. It feels personal, disorienting, and strangely private. Healing from grief isn’t about “getting over” anything. It’s about learning to live with what changed, and discovering who you are now. Here are some ways people can begin that process, no matter the type of loss. 1. Name the Loss Clearly Grief becomes heavier when it’s vague. Naming the exact thing you lost— the role you played, the future you imagined, the daily rhythm that disappeared —helps your mind understand what it’s trying to heal. Often the grief isn’t only about the event; it’s about the identity tied to it. 2. Let Your Body Participate...