I just lost an old friend and one -time girl friend and I'm sad. She had cancer and it was difficult for her, but I knew my sadness has more to do with my having lost her and know she's gone forever. I also neither grieved for my parents nor my first wife. Their deaths were a relief, actually, and my first wife was bipolar and had tried suicide three times while we were married. She succeeded about three years after we divorced. I knew she'd 'succeed' one day, and I even knew how I would be be informed. Her sister and her brother-in-law called me one morning and I knew exactly what they would say. I supposed I'd already done what grieving I could, and then I was simply a matter of time. I still love her, and remember fondly the good times we had together, but I guess I'd accepted the inevitable for a while. I'd also seen death several times, and even sat with her mother when she died in the hospital. I'd also just dealt with the death of my father, who'd also taken a long time to die. So neither death was unexpected and actually both were rather anti-climatic. They were also peaceful. Death is a natural state. The process of dying over a long time is what's painful, and it comes as a relief. And as long as I have memories of them, they still live in my mind and my emotions. I've only lost the physical entity, not my feelings about them and my memories of how they enriched my life, which is all we ever have any way.

thank you

My youngest brother died two years ago. His wife says repeatedly that she’s not sad because she KNOWS he’s in heaven. I have always thought of religion as a delusion...this confirmed it. I’ll check this group out; thanks for sharing!

I lost my mom in 2015, my dad in 2016, my son in 2017 and my 12 year old dog a few days ago. I am a secular Buddhist and realize that this is part of life. I am grieving though.

A wonderful support group there.

I have been grieving the loss of my mom for over 10 years, I will look into it.

Yeah, I’m in on GBB and PGBB. Fucking sucks to be in that, but at least it’s there.

Thanks for the resource