Caregiver & Grief Support
Hi, I'm Suzz!
The kind of spaces that I like the most are the ones you feel so comfortable in that you could kick off your shoes, pour yourself a cup of tea and settle in for some authentic conversation. The spaces where you don’t have to “be on,” and you can take a breath, and be fully yourself.
And maybe in order for you to feel that comfortable, you need to know a little more about me.
My whole life I’ve always been curious, loving and deep! I read a lot of books and I ask a lot of questions and I have lived through a lot of life experiences for one human. I like to really get to know people, myself included. Sometimes getting to know others is done with deep empathy, knowing that I am seeing a side of folks that the world doesn’t always get to see.
I have always had an internal drive for social justice, education, humanitarian efforts, a desire to help others and to be of service to others. I have spent many years as a Counsellor and mental health writer in different capacities, working within different population groups and feel these experiences have taught me how to be a more grounded and compassionate human.
I’ve also done and continue to do my own work. We are people too. Many of our strengths as helping professionals have developed as a result of becoming wounded healers who have known, tragedy, hardships and deep sorrow. When it comes to caregiving and grief, like many of you, I've experienced the overwhelm of caregiving and the pain of loss that brought me to my knees when my husband died a few years ago and although this was not my first grief experience, it was the most profound. I found myself in such a dark, terrifying place and felt incredibly alone. I was trying to recover from caregiver burnout, trauma related to my husband's end of life situation and I felt stuck in a world that tried to bright side me and tell me to just think positive and didn't have time for my sadness. But, being in a field of tending to other people's hearts and souls, I knew I needed to press pause and so I took the time to unpack the many layers of emotions that were part of my story and began to heal from the inside out.
The unprecedented landscape of caregiving or grief can cause so much anxiety and uncertainty. There is a longing for a map that gives direction, destination points and detour options but none are available. While your journey belongs to you only, you don't have to walk this road alone.
In 2022, I felt the call to shift some of my time into caregiver and grief communities where I could say to others with true authenticity, "I know how much this hurts." And so, part of my life after loss journey has been holding space for others while they live as caregivers or learn to move forward in love and grief after loss. I also have been on this really cool adventure of training organizations and other helpers to become more grief literate. I love when others reach out and say "help me to learn how to hold space for those experiencing grief."
Outside of this work, I am a Family Care Manager for a First Responder Mental Health Wellness program and wear MANY hats within that role that includes grief support. When I am not working, you can find me painting, dancing, kickboxing, baking, hanging out with my animals and singing so loud that my friends next door can hear.
❤ Currently I am offering caregiver and grief support virtually❤
