New South Wales

As grieving people we are rarely prepared for the avalanche of emotions that overtake us on the death of our beloved – some of these emotions are extreme sadness, numbness, paralysis, confusion, fear, guilt and hopelessness. Other responses include insomnia, loss of appetite, withdrawal from society, depression and thoughts of wanting to be with our departed loved one.

We at Solace NSW, encourage those with severe and complicated grief to initially seek professional counselling through their GP. Solace is available to be an additional support through this difficult time.

Our Solace Support Groups are essentially self-help programmes consisting of widowed people who are led by a trained facilitator, who is also widowed.

We are all at varying stages of our grief, and through the platform of personal sharing and listening we often experience a sense of oneness, a feeling of acceptance and being understood.

Our Solace Support Groups are at Penrith, Toongabbie, Burwood, Miranda, Roseville and Port Macquarie. We also have a NSW Zoom Group for those not close to these suburbs or with mobility difficulties.

Initially we have no inclination to smile or laugh, but as time goes on we start to see small increments of humour in life again, and eventually feel comfortable to socialise in activities with Solace friends such as morning or afternoon tea, lunch or dinner. Some groups have billiards or trivia. It’s about taking one day at a time and travelling the grief journey at our own pace!