Welcome to Words On Loss

[Dr. Ken Reed]

A word is a sound that communicates meaning. The person who hears it, recognizes it and attaches a meaning to the sound. Letters and shapes were created so we could describe things to each other by "written word." Of course, that only works if the spoken and written words have the same meaning to everyone.

We all know that most of us don't see or hear things a little bit different than the next person.

We're all unique -- with different families, different educations, and different backgrounds. We don't all share the same meaning of all words. For example, the word loss has twelve different meanings in Webster's College Dictionary! It comes from an old English word "los, losen, lessen, to lose." Loss describes the damage, trouble, disadvantage, and deprivation caused by losing something important to us. Grief is a person's physical, psychological and emotional response to loss. A study by Drs. Holmes and Rahe in 1968 showed that of the six highest causes of stress in life, five of them involved loss or grief. The death of a spouse or significant other, and divorce were the two top causes of stress. These events can put us at a much higher risk for illness, accidents and death. More recent studies show that "loss of a child" is the greatest loss. At Words On Loss, we won't try to say that one loss is greater than any other. When you experience a loss, it's a major event in your life.

Studies also show that people who write about what is troubling them, for example by keeping a diary -- or a blog! -- have less illness and are healthier than those who do not.

This is why we developed Words On Loss. It's a place where people who are dealing with different kinds of loss can write and share with others. It's another way to help yourself, and maybe even help others. We've created a safe place for you to better understand and share the pain, loneliness, fear, anger, guilt and the many mixed emotions we all have on our journey through grief.

My name's Ken Reed. For forty years, I was a United Methodist minister, chaplain, and a licensed psychologist. To run Words On Loss, I've brought together several experts in the field of grief and loss, who are here to share their own personal experiences along with the insight of their professional training.

I hope we can learn from each other and find comfort and hope in the process. Please share with us as we will be sharing with you. Together, we can "learn to live again".