Jodie Atkinson - Loss And Grief Support

It has been an amazing day of training with Grief First Aid.

This has been something I have been wanting to do for a really long time, provide training in workplaces and community organisations to help people support grievers returning to work or roles after experiencing loss.

I am so excited to be completing the training to become a Licenced Instructor of Grief First Aid Training here in Adelaide!

Grief First Aid is about creating grief literacy throughout communities and workplaces to build supportive, psychologically safe environments for individuals navigating loss.

By stepping into this role, I am so looking forward to helping shift how grief is understood and supported in workplaces and communities—bringing it into the open with care and compassion, something I am deeply passionate about.

This is about building knowledge and confidence, creating spaces where people feel seen and supported through loss. This work helps shape more compassionate organisational and community cultures.

I cannot wait for our next training session on Monday!

My cup

Apt for my second "Helping Children With Loss" zoom session. Up early, like really early, again.

A wonderful turnout at Centennial Park today for my presentation.

Talking about Loss and the Space it Leaves Behind, navigating it is a lot of things, and so unique and individual for every person experiencing it.

Thank you to Beccie and Jodie at Centennial Park Cemetery for their assistance bringing this to life, and Derrick McManus for capturing the great photos and video from today..

Please reach out if you would like to learn more about this presentation and how we might collaborate in future.

Looking forward to this tomorrow!

After the Ending: Navigating Loss and the Space it Leaves Behind An author talk with Jodie Atkinson

2:30am and I am on a live zoom training with the UK.

"Helping Children With Loss", a program under the Grief Recovery Method.

Looking forward to assisting parents, adult family members, caregivers, teachers and other adults working with children who might be experiencing loss.

After the Ending: Navigating Loss and the Space it Leaves Behind

Date: 13 June 2026

This Saturday, and there is still a little bit of time left to secure your spot!

Has life thrown a curve ball and you are blind-sided by the fallout?

Have you ever felt lost, uncertain and like a stranger in your own life?

Have ever wondered how to navigate this space and what to do with it?

Do you exist in survival mode and wonder if you'll ever get to live mindfully and present again?

These are some of the things we will cover.

Link below for tickets.

Books for sale on the day.

And of course, available for a chat afterwards.

After the Ending: Navigating Loss and the Space it Leaves Behind An author talk with Jodie Atkinson

Talking business - how we do what we do and what drives us to do it.

Everybody has unique skills and experience to provide the services to their community. It is always interesting to see how the same information translates to each person from their perspective.

Loss and change create space, time and a whole lot of emotions. There are layers upon layers and it feels like stepping into a whole new world.

Come along, let's make some time and space to really look at it, and learn from it.

I look forward to seeing you there.

After the Ending: Navigating Loss and the Space it Leaves Behind An author talk with Jodie Atkinson

This is something that has come up recently, I want to share here because I think everyone might be able to take something away from this...

It is how family connections can change and how family members behave unusually distant and rude after your spouse dies.

It is unfortunately, incredibly common. I have spoken to so many widowed people and the majority have experienced estrangement from family after the death of their spouse. Some in-laws have even pulled away from grandchildren.

It sucks. No way you will ever hear me say it doesn't and I wish, like you probably do, that it could be different.

I have a number of reasons I can share why this might occur...and believe me none of them really make up for sh*tty behavior. However, this is more about trying to help you wrap your head around it rather than justifying the behavior.

The spouse was the glue that connected the family. They died and the dynamic changed. Everyone around that person is grieving the loss of a son/daughter, sibling, cousin, aunt/uncle etc. They are all grieving in their own way, as are we.

We cannot be responsible for the emotions of others, only the ones that are inside us. That is why it is so hard, because we have no control over how they grieve, whether we think they are acting appropriately or not. It would be so nice if everyone could hold space for each other's loss and share the load, supporting one another, but this is a time when some will believe their grief is more, harder, worse than others around them. It is not a competition, but some people did not get that memo.

I feel for all of you going through this, and I share a similar experience.

I have come to terms with the fact that in my case, I am part of a story that holds a painful memory. They behaved like they lost someone and no one else could possibly understand how they feel.
Like me, you may have reasons for believing the 'why' behind this happening. Deep, long-term, complicated family dynamics can have much to do with it. Even though there may have been many a holiday, Christmas, Easter, and other times spent together. You may have great memories. But somehow it all changed after someone died.

But you know what I realized - while it felt like it might have been directed at me, it wasn't ACTUALLY about me.

For you to move forward and not be shredded to pieces by these types of interactions I want you to consider:

They are processing emotions and rightly or wrongly, they feel how they feel and you are probably not going to change that.

You can only be responsible for your own emotions and healing journey.

You are not their opinion of you. You are not their whipping post. You are not there to carry the burden of their pain.

You do not need them to feel connected to your person - you have a whole relationship of your own with your spouse, you had your own stuff together. It is not your cross to bear - to be subjected to this behavior in the hope of maintaining a connection to your spouse. No one needs that toxicity in their life.

Your spouse chose you. They were part of a package that came with that, remember this. Your spouse loved you.

Sometimes we are let go, and sometimes we have let people go, too. I know I have removed myself from relationships no longer serving me. Maybe this is what they feel they have to do. Do the emotional work to let them go - you will find it incredibly empowering and freeing.

Healing is an inside job. If you want to move forward carrying the love and loss of your person, you can, and no one can take that away from you.

No one should have the power to hold you in an emotionally painful prison. Please do not be the one doing that to yourself.

From my heart to yours

Jodie ❤️

Excited to be joining Dave Hearn on 88.7 Adelaide's Coast FM this morning to have a conversation on loss, change, and identity.

We’ll be talking about the different types of loss that can impact identity, the versions of ourselves we outgrow, and how we rebuild and become someone new after change.

A meaningful conversation I can’t wait to share. Tune in around 11am.