Firstly, we are incredibly sorry to hear that you have lost someone special in your life. Although there are multiple stages to grief, you may choose to honour a loved one who has passed at any point during your grieving process. There are ways that you can celebrate their life and the memories you shared and carry on their legacy for generations to come. We understand that it may be difficult, so we have compiled five beautiful ways to show your love for that person and honour the beautiful life they led.

Just before we dive in, please read this post about talking about death and who can help if you are mentally struggling with the loss of your loved one.

5 Ways to Honour a Loved One who has Passed

1.   Donate to Their Favourite Charity

If you received some money from this person in their will or have the finances yourself, you may wish to make a donation to a specific non-profit organisation that was close to their heart.

Sometimes charities can also find a way to help commemorate your loved one when the money is put to good use. Donating to charity is a thoughtful way to continue someone’s legacy and carry on the person’s passions while helping others.

2.   Wear Memorial Jewellery in their Honour

Wearing a personalised piece of memory jewellery is a unique way to celebrate someone who has passed away. You can think of your loved one when you put on the jewellery or hold it when you miss them.

Choose something you like so you always have something on your person that reminds you of the person you lost. For example, you may choose a memorial necklace, bracelet or ring. For inspiration on which personalised piece to choose, visit our website and browse or contact us for some advice.

3.   Plant a Tree

Planting a tree for a loved one that has passed away gives people who are grieving something to keep for many years. You can plant the tree in a place where you can visit often and remember the fond memories you shared with this person. This is a beautiful way to carry on someone’s legacy while also adding natural beauty to the local area.

4.   Frame Something in Their Handwriting

If you are looking through a memory box or old files and come across some words you wish to use in a piece of handwriting jewellery, you could also frame the original piece of writing to keep as a decoration for your home. You can choose something that meant a lot to you, such as a signature, kind words or a poem they have written, and proudly display it for everyone entering your home to admire.

5.   Make a Memory Jar

Making a memory jar for a person that has passed away can be a wonderful personal or communal way to honour a lost loved one. Write down stories and add photographs to a jar to open when you miss them and wish to reminisce. If you are able, you can also share these memories with others.

Sending Love and Hugs from the Inscripture Team

There are many beautiful ways to honour a loved one that has passed away. This list is only the start of those possibilities. Depending on your loved one’s interests and passions, you may want to do something that honours them in a more unique and personal way.

If you liked this post, you might also find our previous blog posts on ways to celebrate memories of a lost loved one and pet memorial ideas helpful for more ideas on how to commemorate a lost loved one.

Anticipatory grief is one of the many types of grief a person can experience. Although the exact feelings of anticipatory grief will vary between individuals, the symptoms are often similar to other forms of grief and present both physically and psychologically. Understanding what anticipatory grief is and how to recognise it within yourself or others can help you seek help before you are overwhelmed.

In this post, we will help you understand anticipatory grief, the signs that you or a loved one may be experiencing this suffering and how to cope with this type of grief.

Understanding Anticipatory Grief

If you are expecting to lose someone close to you or another significant life change, you may experience feelings of grief before the event. Your body and mind can start to suffer from the symptoms of grief when you are preparing for a life-altering event. There are many causes of anticipatory grief, and not everyone experiencing the same loss or change will respond the same.

Common reasons for experiencing anticipatory grief include:

●      Recognising someone is reaching old age, showing signs of a serious illness or chronic disease or receiving end-of-life care

●      Preparing for the loss of a pet

Your loved one or yourself receive a terminal diagnosis, such as Alzheimer’s disease or Parkinson’s disease

●      You are anticipating a relationship breakdown

●      Job loss or bankruptcy

●      Loss of limb

●      A family member has plans to move abroad or out of the same residents as you (for example, a child is moving to university or into their first home)

●      Experiencing a significant injury or sickness, such as cancer or major surgery, which could mean you are unable to live your life as usual until recovery

Noticing the Signs of Anticipatory Grief

Learning about the possible symptoms of grief can help you recognise this within yourself or others. Therefore, allowing you to seek help from close friends and family or reach out for professional support before the event occurs.

Common anticipatory symptoms of grief include:

●      Anger

●      Anxiety, depression and other mental health problems

●      Denial

●      Guilt

●      Not being able to think about anything other than the expected loss

●      Lack of energy and motivation

●      Sadness

●      Changes in appetite

●      Changes in sleep

●      Withdrawing from social activities and ignoring others’ messages and calls

●      Unusually positive or happy

How to Cope With Anticipatory Grief

Although grief is often spoken about when someone has experienced a loss, anticipatory grief can be just as hard to deal with. As a memorial jewellery brand, we have spoken to many people during their grieving process. We have found that many people recommend treating yourself kindly, maintaining your relationships and finding out who can help if you are anticipating or preparing for a loss.

You may also find it useful to wear a piece of memory jewellery, such as a memorial necklace or paw print jewellery, fitting to the loss you are preparing for. Many people say that holding an item of jewellery helps them ground themselves during emotional unrest or can help them bring up the subject of their anticipatory loss with people they trust.

Unfortunately, there are many different ways that people experience grief and grief can occur immediately due to a life-altering event or later on. Grief can impact a person mentally and emotionally and may take years to process. Grief often happens when someone experiences a loss of a loved one. However, this is not the only cause.

In this post, we will explore what grief looks and feels like, various reasons you may be experiencing grief and how to help yourself or a loved one through grief.

Symptoms of Grief

Hopefully, recognising the symptoms can help you identify grief within yourself and your loved ones, so you know when to seek help and offer extra support to others.

According to the NHS and Marie Curie, physical and psychological symptoms of grief can include:

●      Feeling hazy or numb

●      Extreme sadness, often accompanied by lots of crying

●      Overtired, sleeping less/more than usual or lack of energy

●      Anger

●      Guilt

●      Tight chest or breathing difficulties

●      Hypersensitivity to external stimuli such as noises or lights

●      Unexplained aches or pains

●      Changes in appetite

●      Dry mouth

For more information, please read our previous post on what grief feels like.

Possible Causes of Grief

●      Bereavement

●      Loss of a pet

●      Feeling like you have failed or are not leading the life you expected for yourself

●      Anniversary or event-triggered grief, such as grief that resurfaces during Christmas time

●      Receiving a diagnosis for a terminal illness

●      Receiving a late diagnosis for a learning disability, such as ADHD, autism, or dyslexia

●      Finding out you can’t have children, miscarriage, loss of surrogate baby, or a rejected adoption application

●      Grief due to a resurfacing old or repressed memory

●      Anticipatory grief of losing a loved one or dying

●      Loss of your favourite place

●      Absence grief, such as the loss of a relationship or an important friendship

●      Collective grief occurs when a whole community experiences huge change or significant loss (this is very common in people who were heavily affected by the lockdowns in 2020 and 2021)

Comforting Your Loved Ones During Grief

If you recognise any symptoms of grief in a loved one or are notified of them experiencing one of the possible causes of grief, you may want to help through their grieving process.

Many people turn to close friends or family members when they need help, but often people struggle to reach out for help when they need it most. Depending on your relationship with the person who is struggling, you may wish to reach out to them and ask how you can best help them.

As a Memorial Jewellery brand, we have spoken to several people about what helps them and comforts them during the different stages of grief. You may also find our previous posts on the Inscripture blog helpful during your initial grieving.

Experiencing Grief Yourself

The process becomes easier to work through when you have a good support system and know where to get help.

Summary

There are many different ways that grief can occur and many different ways that you can help someone deal with it. No matter the situation, grief is not easy to overcome, but support from friends, family and professionals can make it more manageable.

If you are looking for ways to celebrate memories of a lost loved one and pet memorial ideas check out our older blog posts or contact our friendly and understanding team to discuss how to commission some memory jewellery in honour of your loved one. For example, we created our Robin Jewellery to remind you or your family that when robins are near, your loved one may be checking in on you and offering a sign of comfort

Anyone can experience grief, the feelings of overwhelming emotion or deep sorrow that a loss can cause. Grief is usually thought of regarding the loss of someone close to you. However, disenfranchised grief can be a lesser-acknowledged form of grief that is still deeply upsetting for the person experiencing a loss and can be challenging to overcome.

In this post, we will explore the meaning of disenfranchised grief, the possible causes and what to do if you are experiencing it.

Understanding Disenfranchised Grief

Although general society still acts like specific topics, such as mental health, are a little taboo, grief is generally a well-accepted feeling. However, there is still a way to go as some forms of grief or experiences are still seen as ‘less than’ and go unacknowledged by others.

Disenfranchised grief occurs when a person is experiencing the symptoms of grief, yet others around them in their close circle of friends or colleagues do not recognise the grief.

The lack of acknowledgement can, therefore, cause the person experiencing grief to receive a lack of support or even have their feelings invalidated. Therefore, knowing the causes of disenfranchised grief and the symptoms of any type of grief is important so you can recognise these feelings within yourself or others and seek appropriate personal support or professional help.

Possible Causes of Disenfranchised Grief

• Breakdown in relationship both romantic and friendship.
• Seeing a loved one experiencing addiction.
• Witnessing a loved one who has dementia.
• Death of someone where your relationship is not recognised as ‘legitimate’ or ‘personal’ by society. For example, the death of a patient or customer, abuser, old friend, or ex-partner.
• Death of pets.
• Being diagnosed with infertility.
• Undergoing an abortion.
• Moving abroad and being around an unfamiliar culture and away from friends and family.
• Job loss.

Symptoms of Disenfranchised Grief

As expressed in our blog post about what grief feels like, many people feel guilt, depression, pain or sickness, and shock, among other feelings. There is no one size fits all way to experience grief, so please familiarise yourself with the NHS list of emotional and physical symptoms of grief if you have time. Learning the signs can help you recognise, seek help and cope with this form of distress.

How to Cope With Disenfranchised Grief

Disenfranchised grief can be complicated and hard to manage. If you feel like you are dealing with this emotion or know someone going through it, please research where to get help in times of need, reach out to friends and family for support or join the Inscripture support group on Facebook to connect with others experiencing loss.

As a brand that creates beautiful Memorial Jewellery pieces such as Fingerprint Jewellery, or Handwriting Jewellery, we also have an article on our website about the stages of grief as this is often a commonly recognised cause of disenfranchised grief, especially when your workplace doesn’t identify this as a reason for taking sudden leave.

After creating Paw Print Jewellery for a number of years, we have noticed that pet loss isn’t discussed in the media or between friends nearly as much as it should. Losing your pet can be one of the most excruciatingly painful experiences and is likely to bring up similar feelings of grief that you may expect if you were to lose a friend or family member.

Here is why you should take pet loss more seriously and allow yourself time to grieve the loss of your furry friend and some unique ways to commemorate your pet’s life.

Why You Should Take Pet Loss Seriously

Pet Loss Disrupts Your Routine

Having a pet is a massive part of your world and a significant part of your daily routine. Therefore, when your pet no longer needs you to feed, walk or cuddle them, you can feel at a loss about how to structure your day. Pet loss is as significant as losing a member of your family that you lived with and should therefore be treated as such.

Pet Loss Isn’t Different From Other Forms of Loss

Pet loss isn’t something we naturally wish to talk about with friends, colleagues or family or even think about in our own minds. Losing a family member and somebody you have shared unconditional love with for a long time is significant no matter how many legs they have. Pet loss is as severe as losing a person, and therefore it’s essential to be kind to yourself during this grieving process.

How To Celebrate Your Pet’s Life

Memorial Jewellery

Creating a piece of jewellery to remember your pet can be powerful. Many people note that jewellery can help significantly during their grieving process as they can physically hold something that reminds them of their pet when they are feeling low. For example, you may wish to choose Ashes Jewellery or wear a Photo Necklace with your favourite picture of your pet so you can hold it when you feel sad. Similarly to Fingerprint Jewellery, you may also wish to commission Paw Print Jewellery if you think your pet’s time is near and want to organise a personalised piece.

Create a Photo Album

Just like turning your pet’s ashes into jewellery to keep forever, you could also create an album to hold the snapshots of your memories together.

If you are anything like most pet owners, your phone memory is probably bursting with pictures of your animals being silly, playing with their favourite toys or posing for the camera (or rather looking at the treat behind the camera). Although it may feel too painful to look at the photos, it can help you have them printed in a book that you can reach for when you wish to look back and reminisce over the good times you shared. You could also gift a pet album to your friend experiencing loss, so they don’t have to create the book themselves.

Make a Donation in Their Name

Continue your pet’s legacy by donating to an animal charity or organising a memorial bench in their favourite spot. For example, if your dog or cat was a rescue, you could contribute to the organisation that saved them so the charity can continue to save more pets. Donating in their honour is a lovely way to remember them.

How to Grieve Pet Loss

Everyone deals with loss differently, and there is no right or wrong way to go about your grieving process.

If you wish to learn more about how to grieve the loss of a pet or seek support for your pet bereavement feel free to read the previous articles on the Inscripture blog. Additionally, you may also wish to visit our website to see the range of Photo Jewellery available for you or your loved one.

The time following the loss of a pet is highly challenging and emotional. Pets are a huge part of our daily routine and our family, and the loss of their presence can be overwhelming. If you are feeling emotional due to pet bereavement, you may be searching for some support beyond that of your family and friends.

It is worth speaking to your local GP about the counselling services available in your local area or where you can self refer for therapy. However, in the meantime, these pet bereavement support services can provide resources, helplines and instant messaging services to help.

As a Memorial Jewellery brand that provides Paw Print Jewellery to many grieving pet owners, we are thinking of you during this time.

Pet Bereavement Support Options

Blue Cross

The Blue Cross is one of the largest organisations in the UK offering free support for anyone who has lost a pet. The confidential service is run by volunteers who can provide listening services on the phone when you are distressed or feel lonely. Although the volunteers won’t share their personal experiences with pet grief, many of them have experience pet loss themselves and can, therefore, offer an empathetic ear.

How to contact Blue Cross:

●      0800 096 6606 (between 8:30am to 8:30pm every day)
●      pbssmail@bluecross.org.uk
●      Live chat feature
●      Online form
●      Facebook community

Cats Protection

The Paws to Listen Grief Support run by Cats Protection are another helpline you may wish to use if you are specifically dealing with the loss of a cat. Cats Protection set up the initiative to allow grieving cat owners a friendly chat with trained volunteers who can sympathise with their grief. They also have a list of resources and guides for you to read when the helpline is not available.

How to contact Cats Protection:

●      0800 024 94 94 (Monday-Friday 9am to 5pm)
●      Support form

Samaritans

If you seek support after hours, the Samaritans offer a non-judgmental support helpline for anyone experiencing feelings of distress or sorrow. Although anyone feeling this way can call the Samaritans, the volunteers are certainly used to listening to those suffering from the grief of pet loss.

How to contact Samaritans:

●      0845 790 9090 (24 hours)

Cruse Bereavement Care

Cruse work with anyone experiencing grief, including pet bereavement. They specialise in bereavement support and offer an instant messaging service if you don’t wish to talk over the phone.

How to contact Cruse:

●      0808 808 1677 (daytime helpline every day, see schedule for more information)
●      helpline@cruse.org.uk
●      Online chat

EASE (Resources Only)

If you are seeking support information on behalf of your loved one, are not ready to speak to someone or are already seeking talking therapy for your loss, you may prefer to gather some useful support information to help you in your grief.

EASE offers a podcast and support information on pet loss written by a pet bereavement support specialist. These guides can help you prepare for pet loss via euthanasia, support a friend in their grief, etc. If you are seeking information for your friend or family member in their loss, you may also wish to gift them a sentimental piece of photo jewellery to give them something to hold in moments of sadness.

Sending Hugs!

Losing a pet is a complex, emotional, and stressful time and you may feel utterly alone in your grieving as the rest of the world carries on as before. However, there are support services available for grieving pet parents to help. Hopefully, these resources can support your grieving process and help you feel less alone during this awful time.

For more information, read our Memorial Jewellery blog on how to grieve the loss of a pet or ​​join the Inscripture bereavement support community on Facebook to seek support from others who are experiencing loss.

Talking about death with your loved ones can be one of the hardest things to do. No matter the context, talking about someone who has died, talking about someone dying, or talking about yourself in that way it’s always going to be an emotional conversation. No one likes to talk about death and there is no right way to go about it. In any scenario, death is an extremely sensitive topic and should be treated as such.

As a Memorial Jewellery brand, we have listened to many stories from our customers who are experiencing bereavement and have decided to share a few tips on talking about death and where to seek help if you are experiencing grief.

Tips for Talking About Death

Be honest with the other person.

The context in which this conversation is held can be extremely difficult and you may want to hold back a bit. But it is important that if you are having an open conversation about it, then it is completely open about your or their wishes surrounding death. These conversations are often seen between siblings. You may not know the right things to say in these conversations but as long as you are being honest and communicative with the other person, that is all you need.

Don’t hold back your feelings.

These conversations can be extremely emotional and there may be tears involved. There could also be anger depending on the situation. It is important to stay calm but also to not hold back emotions during this time. Communication is key and sharing these feelings may help other people process their grief during this time.

Reassure the person.

The person that is talking about the subject of death is going through a lot. It is important to reassure them that you are there for them if they need you at any time to talk about what their emotional feelings are.

Who Can Help

There are many people available to talk to you about the death of a loved one. Sometimes you may feel alone but it is important to know that there is support out there when you need it.

Family and friends

Call on your closest friends and family to meet for a chat. Even if they don’t want to talk about your grief because it’s too close to home, they can offer other forms of support. Even though people may want to be supportive of you through this, it may be hard for them to start talking about death while they deal with their own grieving. You may find it easier to talk to people that are not directly impacted by the same loss or you may wish to share in your feelings of grief. You may also find it useful to wear an item of our Ashes Jewellery, Handwriting Jewellery or Fingerprint Jewellery to symbolise your loss without having to vocalise it to your peers. When your friends see you wearing a piece of symbolic Memorial Jewellery they will know to be sensitive to you and offer support.

Therapists

Therapists are a great asset for people that are dealing with death in any form. They can help you talk about your feelings and aid the healing process. Grief is hard to deal with, but therapists are specially trained to assist you on the path to healing from the death of a loved one or other loss.

Helplines

●      Mind
●      Local Minds
●      Side by Side
●      AtaLoss
●      Blue Cross help specifically for pet loss or sickness. (You may also find our paw print jewellery comforting if you are seeking help for the loss of your fur baby.)

Visit Mind for a list of additional helplines that offer specific assistance with talking about death and loss.

Having to help your child through grief is one of the hardest things a parent or guardian has to do. No one wishes that experience on anyone, and no one dreams that they would have to deal with such a sensitive matter with their children. It is even more complex because child bereavement may happen concurrently with parent bereavement. Child bereavement is a fundamentally different experience, especially for younger children, as they have not fully developed emotionally. Therefore, they may not know what is going on, and it may take a longer time to come to terms with their grief and understand their feelings.

As a Memorial Jewellery brand, we have shared a few things you may wish to know about child bereavement.

The whole process is different

In adults, there is a series of stages of grief that they go through as they deal with grieving. But in children, there is no established way to go through this suffering, and they may jump back and forth through the stages as they go through the process.

The emotional process is different

Some children may express their emotions differently than the way adults may expect. They may be sad one minute and then a normal kid the next. It is all a part of the grieving process that they go through. One customer has told us that they gave their child a piece of our Photo Jewellery for their child to show to them when they felt sadness or other emotions associated with the grief. This Photo Necklace allowed the child an easier way to communicate their feelings without using words.

Tell them honestly about the loss

It is important to be open and transparent about a loss. If you try to hide something from your child, they can sense that. Opening up about feelings is one of the most important things you can do as you navigate the bereavement process. One of the most common shared experiences between parents and children is the loss of a pet. No matter how old your child is, you must be honest with them about what has happened to their furry family member so they can process their grief accordingly. You may even wish to gift them an item of Paw Print Jewellery to allow them to have something to hold when they would usually go to cuddle their pet.

Support Your Child Through Bereavement

As you deal with your bereavement process, it is important to help your child with theirs. It is important to remember that they may experience things differently than you do and that it is okay and normal. Children can become easily confused if you talk about the fact that someone that they love is not coming back. But as they deal with their own emotions, encourage them to talk about them with you by sharing your feelings. If they can see the adults in their life talk about it, they will feel more comfortable sharing their feelings too. The best thing you can do is to approach the situation with care.

Creating a will is important to ensure your possessions and wealth are distributed amongst your loved ones as you intended and make your wishes known. But it may feel like too complex a topic to bring up with your family members. No one likes to think about losing their loved ones. However, it’s a good idea to talk to your family about your will so they can anticipate its contents and your desires. Although it’s difficult to talk about your will and its general contents can help prevent confusion later down the line.

As a Memorial Jewellery brand that helps many people create memorabilia for their lost loved ones, we understand that talking about death within your family can be heart-wrenching. Therefore we have compiled our tips on how to broach the subject with your kin and ensure they have an opportunity to ask any sensitive questions they have.

Talking To Your Family About Your Will

Be Honest

Be honest and cautious to not overpromise to your family or give them false information about the contents of your will. However, we also don’t recommend that you tell your loved ones the exact content of your will as this may cause problems should you ever wish to make amendments in the future.

Bring Up The Topic More Than Once

You may wish to hire will services every 5-10 years to ensure your will is up to date. Therefore, it is vital that you talk about your will frequently, or at least whenever you have made significant changes you wish to notify your family.

Be Empathetic and Welcome Questions

Of course, talking about your death to your children or other loved ones may trigger them to feel sad and panicked. Therefore, you must approach the subject with empathy and understanding. You may also wish to suggest that if your family are interested in commissioning some personalised Handwriting Jewellery, you will enclose a letter in the will for them to use in their keepsake. Alternatively, you could leave them a print of your fingerprints for some Fingerprint Jewellery. This is a thoughtful way to allow them an opportunity to honour you after you pass and keep something to remind them of you always.

Discuss Your Living Wishes

Another thing you may wish to discuss with your family is your wishes for eldery care, such as your viewpoints ongoing into a care home or moving into assisted living centres. Again, talking about your living wishes with your children or family can help reassure them they are making the decisions you are comfortable with when they need to decide things on your behalf.

Talk About Funeral Plans

Finally, discuss your funeral wishes. Of course, one of the will services you can choose is dictating your funeral plans. However, you can prepare your family for this event by reminding them of your intentions, such as where you wish for your ashes to be scattered.

Open Up The Conversation

Discussing your will is a strange topic of conversation for any family dinner but doesn’t need to be awkward or upsetting. If you go into the conversation with the mindset that it’s necessary to discuss, your loved ones should reciprocate. You may also suggest that your family keep a few ashes to create Ashes Jewellery. Inscripture is happy to help you turn your Ashes into Jewellery or create a bespoke piece of Photo Jewellery so your loved ones can hold a piece of you close to them forever.

There are many ways to celebrate someone you have lost and remember the memories of those lost loved ones because it can be extremely emotional. It is important to be able to find a way to cope with such an event. At Inscripture, we work with many people to bring them Memorial Jewellery and other bereavement memorabilia to celebrate their loved ones. Here are a few ideas to help you fill in the void and make the process even just 1% easier.

How To Celebrate Memories of a Lost Loved One

Hold onto something of theirs

If there was something that the two of you shared that has significant meaning to the both of you, hold onto it. There is no reason to get rid of it and if it makes you feel like they’re with you, keep their items for your comfort. This can be anything from a hat, a piece of clothing that reminds you of them, or a piece of sentimental jewellery.

Frame something that signifies their life

If you have something of theirs that they have accomplished or written, it may bring happy memories to your mind when you see it. Maybe you could frame one of their best recipes, a photo of a shared happy memory, or a certificate of their achievements. Frame it, put it on the wall in your home and then you can view it every day and think of them. If you travel a lot, you may also find a Photo Necklace useful as well, to keep your treasured memories with you at all times.

Memorial spot

If they had a favourite spot they liked to visit, inquire with the council if you can put up a memorial in their honour, such as a bench or tree in their favourite park. Get creative and bring your family to visit the spot so you can remember your loved one together. This memorial spot should be different from their burial site and offer a relaxing space to sit and reminisce on your memories together.

Create a personalised piece of jewellery

You can get very creative and organise for a Handwriting Bracelet engraved with their very own handwriting, capture their Ashes into Jewellery or use a copy of their prints to create Fingerprint Jewellery or Paw Print Jewellery, in the case of furry family members. The jewellery becomes a beautiful way to remember them as you can hold onto a piece of them.

Celebrate Memories of a Lost Loved One in Your Own Way

It does not have to be one of the above ways of celebrating a loved one that you lost but come up with some way to do so. However, it can be the first step in healing from this grief that you are dealing with.

The important part of this is that it celebrates that person’s life and the relationship you shared. It should provide you with comfort and healing as you deal with the process of coping with grief.