Widows & Widowers Support Group
This community is dedicated to those who have lost a husband, wife, or partner. Anything is open for discussion here, with the hope that we can focus on grief, bereavement, life after loss, and continuing on after a great loss.
I find it so sad that this site has become almost non-existent. When my husband died suddenly 4 years ago, I came here because I had no real support system in my life to help me. I just read all the posts for several months before I finally joined in. There were so many members back then and the conversations were always going. Any time someone posted, there were immediately replies. Many members were here every day, so we all got to know each other. I was helped so much in those early days. Any time I reached out, I received replies from those who had been here longer, and also from those who were in my same situation. We were like a family. Then the format changed, and most people just left. It affected me greatly. I had nowhere else to go. I fell into a deep depression that is still with me today. I've found another online group, but it is not the same.
I am not doing well. I try, but I suffer so much with depression and anxiety it makes it hard to move forward. I take medication and see a counselor, but I don't get out like I should. I live in a small, rural community where nothing is offered for widows. My friends and family have moved on, as they should have. But I am stuck. I was a strong, independent woman living a good life. I could take on any problem and find a solution. I never realized how much of my strength came from my husband. I was much better in the first years than I am now. I'm rambling. I just had to post one more time here at my old "home". Oh, how I miss the real Daily Strength.
Warm hugs to anyone who reads this,
Linda
I miss the chat function we used to have. It was great fun, especially the first year I was here in England, to sign on and chat with friends in the US or Australia. Someone was always online - regardless of our time zones. I can remember drinking my morning coffee while chatting with an Aussie friend who was winding down the evening with an after dinner glass of wine! It helped prevent me from feeling so isolated.
So I hear you, Linda. I hope your day improves. It's hard when you're fighting depression and anxiety. And I went through the same thing realizing Cliff was a big chunk of my confidence out in the world. He didn't even have to do anything, just be there for me to tell him about what I did that day, etc. We were so much of one mind that we finished each other's sentences or talked in shorthand. I miss that a lot.
I have survived through the last of my significant May dates, so I hope to be around a bit more.
Love and Big Hugs,
Martha
Hugs,
Linda
In another week it will be 6 years for me and Linda I think I understand how you feel. This past year has been a downhill slide for me as well. I'm much older than most of you and maybe that's it. The silence, the aloneness, and the rapidly advancing arthritis are starting to raise havoc with my outlook. So yes Linda, as it turns out, I now realize that not only do I miss my wife for the person she was but she was also my reason for living. I guess we all have our demons to face, and each of ours are different.
Yeah, I dearly miss the old site.
Best Regards, Geo.
It is still a form of support when feeling so lost and overwhelmed by the lost of our spouse. I do find that it is harder to create a good rapport with other posters and with all the scammers we've had, accepting friends requests is not as easy.
It has been 6 years for me but I am in a good place considering the road traveled. It could be better but then again, it could be so much worst.
So I still come and read, share and support in the hopes that something I may have shared might help a tiny bit ...Matter a bit,... It is how I cope.
Rogerxxxx
Actually, I think you're being too kind to the nimrods who run this show. They are so stupid they could forget how to breathe.
It's like Walmart, when they hide everything and expect you to believe that they did it "for your convenience." The Einsteins in charge of DS said they changed it to "make it more compatible with mobile devices." I think that's a load of Bravo Sierra...why can't they leave the desktop site the way it was, and use this format here for the mobile devices, with an interface between?
The old DS used to be a comforting garden, more personal where we could share pictures and private messaging. This thing here is like the grey walls of a prison, that discriminates against anyone who cannot operate computers with the skill of a Microsoft engineer.
The brain-dead commandos who came up with this disaster have not been through what we have...and they don't understand (or give a damn) that the right words from the right person at the right time, could keep a newcomer to this desperate grief from eating a bullet.
Well, we certainly don't have anybody in charge of the I-T who gives a shit, all we have is each other. I for one am sure grateful for that.
Onebrokenheart, don't you ever let yourself believe that you have nothing to contribute. Your compassion has been a lifeline for me in my time of greatest grief. Thank you, and don't ever stop contributing.
In the early days there was such a different vibe here. It was easier to navigate and post your topics, comments and read those of others. Sad that this was changed, why fix something that wasn't broken at the expense of som many broken people who relied on something staying the same while the rest of their lives went through the many changes death brings to them.
I don't come here often, check in once in a while and rarely post or even read many of the posts. Reading those who are newly widowed breaks my heart, brings back those days to my memory. I brush myself off and focus on living. Sometimes it works.
Nearly ten years ago I found DS and the people here. We made a great connection and after several years broke off to a private facebook group where we still remain friends and we have had get togethers meeting in person. We even had a couple of marriages emerge from our friendships. This group and these people were so important in supporting each other through their worst time. I hope those newly here will find that same healing support.