Best Resources for Self Care Amidst Grief

We pulled together our favorite resources for self care amidst grief — resources for getting good sleep, resources for eating foods that nourish and replenish your depleted body, and resources to help you move your body in a way that is healing.

These resources are meant to provide a bit of tangible support as you move towards taking good care of yourself in this season.

Have you tried any of these resources? If so, what’s your favorite?

For your sleep

Weighted Blanket / Throw

Why We Love It:
“The pressure of weighted blankets puts your autonomic nervous system into “rest” mode, reducing some of the symptoms of anxiety, such as a quickened heart rate or breathing. This can provide an overall sense of calm.” Penn Medicine
We love anything that will help provide an overall sense of calm.
Choose a weighted blanket that is approximately 10% of your body weight.
We recommend one that has a removable cover.

Meditation / Breathing Apps (recommended by our community members)

Live From Rest (free)
Calm (Calm is free to download. If you choose to sign up for a 7-day trial. Calm Premium costs $69.99 a year or $14.99 a month)
Headspace (Headspace is free to download, with free trials and limited free features. Upgrade to get full access, you can get Headspace Plus for $12.99 per month with a free 7-day trial, or $69.99 a year.)
Why We Love It:
An objective tool (aka you don’t have to do the work) to help you breathe and rest deeply — even amidst grief.

Tea

Bedtime Tea, Yogi or in bulk here
Nighty Night Extra (with Valerian - helps with anxiety) or in bulk here
Why We Love It:
I swear by these teas. They are magic. I drink a cup every.single.night. And I promise it will help provide a more restful, peaceful sleep. Good Sleep Hack: Read a few pages of a book while sipping your tea before bed, no phone scrolling allowed here.

For moving your body

Swork it

Why We Love It:
You can set a timer for any amount of time (literally as low as 1 min)! You just choose how much time you want to exercise!
Move your body at home with little to no equipment or experience necessary.
Several different programs and plans available.
No previous work out experience necessary, workouts include video tutorials / demonstrations of each move.
Cost Info: annual subscription: $59.99 USD, monthly subscription for $9.99 USD

Sweat

Why We Love It:
A variety of programs to choose from: yoga, postpartum, pilates, low intensity, high intensity, strength training, etc.
Many plans are at-home workouts requiring little to no equipment or preparation.
You choose a program and just open the app each day to see what you need to do that day — it takes all the decision making away from you, making moving your body a little easier .
A ‘sweat bubble’ fills up after each workout to show what you’ve accomplished so far, giving motivation to keep going.
No previous work out experience necessary, workouts include video tutorials / demonstrations of each move.
Cost Info: annual subscription: $120.00 USD, monthly subscription for $20.00 USD *currently you can get 25% off at this link

For food

Plan to Eat

Why We Love It:
I have been using this meal planning app for years. It saves time and helps our family make healthy choices. I think this is a great tool for a grieving mom because it simplifies a, what can be, very overwhelming part of everyday life. We know that even the most mundane tasks can feel overwhelming after loss and amidst grief and this helps to make one such task easier — lighter.
You can create ‘Menus’ for recurring weekly meals such as breakfasts or lunches or plan an entire month of dinners at once (but only shop for that week’s ingredients).
How it Works:
Import your favorite recipes from your favorite food bloggers or manually add in your favorites.
Drag and drop into the calendar.
Plan to Eat will then auto populate your grocery list.
I order my groceries online using the list it populates meaning I’m never short a recipe ingredient. The total time involved is about an hour from start to finish (planning meals and getting groceries).

Hello Fresh

Why We Love It:
Healthy, simple meals delivered to your doorstep (created by professional chefs and nutritionists).
Simplifies an overwhelming chore, especially helpful for a grieving mom.
Gives you options that will nourish your body.
Gives you an opportunity to rest (instead of worrying about meal planning or grocery shopping).

For overall health & Comfort

Water Bottle:

Why We Love It:
Studies have shown a decrease in anxiety symptoms just by drinking 8 ounces of water — this is a simple (and pretty) way to have water available all the time.
If you drink two of these it's 8 glasses of water a day!

Grief Journal

Why We Love It:

It gives space to process your loss and your grief and space to share your story.
The actual act of writing is very therapeutic.
Getting words out of your head typically helps give a sense of relief and calm.