I received a letter that had the following concern and I want to address it, “My father-in-law died a few months ago. I’m not thinking about him as much as I am thinking about my mother and brother who died years before.” When we experience the death of someone we know, that death opens the ... Read More >>
Posts by Barbara Karnes
Barbara Karnes, RN, is an internationally respected speaker, educator, author and thought leader on matters of end of life. She is a renowned authority to explain the dying process to families, healthcare professionals and the community at large. Barbara has held both clinical and leadership positions, including staff nurse, clinical supervisor and executive director at Hospice Care of Mid America in Kansas City, Missouri, as well as Olathe Medical Center Hospice and Home Health in Olathe, Kansas. An award-winning nurse and end of life educator, Barbara received THE HEART OF HEALTH CARE AWARD from Kansas University Nursing, THE HORIZON AWARD for Education from Nebraska Methodist College and THE INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN WOMAN OF THE YEAR 2015 from the World Humanitarian Awards. She is the expert that hospice and other healthcare professionals count on to teach them how to explain the dying process to families.
How Do You Let Go and Stop Feeling Guilty?
Guilt seems to come with loss. We burden ourselves with questions we can never answer, with “what if ” and “why didn’t I”. We repeatedly berate ourselves with “I should have” thoughts. Every time we ask ourselves one of these questions guilt is piled upon more guilt until we are buried (pardon the use of ... Read More >>
“That is what grieving is like.”
I’m going to talk about normal, natural grief in about 25 words or less. Well actually a few more than that. Visualize a table in front of an open window. There are stacks of paper on the table, tidy, organized stacks. A slight breeze comes through the window and rustles the papers, now a strong wind comes through and scatters the ... Read More >>