If you're struggling with loss, this new, free program could be for you

If you’ve lost someone close to you, you know it changes your life forever.

A new program from the Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District (ISLHD) is here to help grief become a little easier to bear.

The Grief Gardening Group is a pilot program open to anyone who has experienced loss, whether it was years ago or just last week.

If you’re picturing American movie-style group therapy, Bianka Eifler, ISLHD bereavement coordinator, said nothing could be more different from the program.

“We know connecting with nature helps with depression, anxiety and grief,” she said.

“We want to get people out in the dirt, to feel the sun on their skin and be in a nice, peaceful surrounding.

“Most people don’t need specialist counselling to cope with grief, they need connection.

“It’s companionable to work in the garden together and know that everyone there gets it and has been through something similar.

“There’s no pressure to say anything, it can be six weeks of sitting in nature in silence.”

The program will be run over six weeks in the Green Connect Friendship Garden.

Each session will begin with a half-hour informal talk about different aspects of grief, including how it affects the nervous system and how to develop coping strategies.

The talk will be followed by an hour or so to garden as you please, sit quietly and listen to the birds, or wander about and say ”hi” to the goats.

Bianka said underpinning the program was the understanding that there is no cure for grief.

“One of the biggest challenges people share is the silence that surrounds grief,” she said.

“After the first six or eight weeks, there is the assumption that life goes back to normal, but for the person who is grieving, it’s the rest of their life.

“This group is a place where it’s OK to break down that pressure to get on with things, in an environment where everyone knows that distress is really normal.

“It’s a place to know you’re not alone, and begin to adjust to life without the person who died.

“Part of that is finding a way to continue your connection with them, and for a lot of people, nature represents that.”

The ISLHD bereavement service is open to anyone who has experienced grief.

The team provides counselling services and connections to programs such as the Grief Gardening Group.

You do not need a referral to access the free service – just get in touch.

The Grief Gardening Group will run on Mondays from 1 pm – 3 pm, beginning on 14 October, for six weeks until 18 November.

To register, find out more, or access ISLHD’s bereavement services, call 1300 068 458 or email [email protected].