The past few weeks have presented a significant level of stress for all of us to navigate. We're grateful to the Town of Estes Park for initiating this series of presentations to equip us to lead from the inside out - at work, at home and in our heads.

Thanks to our presenters:

Crystal Givens is an Advanced Grief Recovery Specialist, who helps people recover from any type of loss. Crystal was trained and mentored by one of the founding members of the Grief Recovery Institute in 2007. She teaches an evidence-based program called the Grief Recovery Method. This Program provides specific tools and action steps on how to recover from the emotional pain caused by any type of loss. Contact Crystal: 719-641-6959 Here are a few articles she suggests.

• Debunking the stages of Grief
• Definitions of Grief
• The Grief Recovery Method Guide for Loss
• The Myths of Grief

Rachel Foster is a Health Services Coordinator for the Boulder Valley School District.

She provided slides that are a high-quality resource to use in talking through the physical aspects of what is happening right now. Great to share with your staff, church or your own family. She also has a slide that shows how our brain processes stress.

• Here's an article from Psychology Today on how we store stress in our body.
• Here's the Brene Brown podcast with grief researcher David Koessler

Hannah Knox, is a Mental Health Clinician with Estes Park School District R-3 equipped us on talking to children about COVID-19, self-care as a tool to help others and a special focus on parents and teachers. She'll share about ten minutes and then we'll open for questions again. Homework help and more from the Estes Valley Library.

Melissa Westover, has been a part of the Estes Park community for 32 years. During that time she has served the community as a mental health practitioner, Restorative Justice Manager, mediator and non-profit volunteer. She now works as a restorative justice consultant and practitioner and maintains her counseling license. She has a B.S. in Education and a Master of Arts in Counseling from Denver Seminary. Contact Melissa if you need to strategize healthy conflict resolution: Mamw1962@gmail.com.

Conflict is bound to happen where we have conflicting values and priorities. Be patient with one another as you would have them be patient with you. Remember that we are all grieving the loss of normal even if we haven't lost a loved one.

To recap some of our key points, grief shows up in a number of ways. Here are a few things you can watch for:

Feeling depressed

Unable to concentrate

Numbness

Change in eating or sleeping patterns

Rollercoaster of emotions

Lack of energy

Unexpected anger

Feeling emotionally isolated

Overreacting

Six myths about grieving that help us understand how to respond:

• Don't feel bad, sad - this implies it's wrong to feel your feelings
• You'll get a new dog, boyfriend, job… - replacing the loss doesn't change the need to grieve
• Let her/him be alone for now - grieving alone doesn't solve anything for many people, in fact it makes them feel more isolated than ever
• Stay busy - distracting yourself with busyness does not heal the emotion of grief
• Time heals all wounds - leaving grief unattended does not heal it
• Just be strong - this forces us to bottle up our emotions

What do we do when we realize we are grieving?

• Be aware of what you are telling yourself.
• Emotions come from nowhere, know your triggers, feel the emotion and make the decision that your actions will be positive.
• Be a safe place for others, listen without judging or interrupting with solutions.
• Journal your thoughts. Writing it down helps the brain process emotions.
• Connect on zoom with friends, create safe places to share.
• Ask yourself if this is going to drain me or energize me before you…
  • Turn on the TV
  • Pour a drink
  • Medicate in whatever way
  • Yell at someone because you're frustrated
• Instead
  • Go for a run or walk
  • Turn on an online yoga class
  • Download a meditation app (here's Google's top 12)
  • Play a game with the kids
  • Do something or make something to cheer up someone else

If you feel unable to cope on your own, feel free to contact any of our speakers. You may also contact Ryan Hale with Summit Stone Health, ryan.hale@summitstonehealth.org

970-215-4030. ¿Tienes una pregunta? Escríbalo aquí y nuestro traductor lo preguntará por usted, escribe motazua@estes.org.

If you would like to share the resources about John Maxwell's Failing Forward, you can find a lot of resources on the internet. Start here.

We're in this together. Be kind to yourself. Remember your smile shows in your eyes and in your voice, even if we can't see it on your face. As the saying goes, "Be the change you wish to see in the world."