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The home for VPR's coverage of health and health industry issues affecting the state of Vermont.

How To Talk About Loss During The Holidays

Two people holding hands in comfort.
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Feelings of loss can be exacerbated by stress, travel and other pressures many feel during the holidays at the end of the year.

The holidays can be stressful as we juggle work, family, money concerns and travel. But it can be an especially difficult time for those experiencing loss.

How do we talk about loss at this time of year? How can we remember our lost loved ones at a time when we're often surrounded by family and friends? How can we can accommodate — if not accept — a sense of loss that, for many, goes hand in hand with the holidays?

On this Vermont Edition, we talk about loss during this time of year, strategies we can employ to support friends and family experiencing grief and sadness, and how to approach these conversations with children.

Joining the discussion is Donna Soltura, a social worker focused on palliative care and bereavement support at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, and Laura Basili, a clinical psychologist and visiting assistant professor at Middlebury College working in private practice in Middlebury.

Resources are available if you need immediate help:

Post your experiences with or strategies for addressing loss at the holidays below, or email us at vermontedition@vpr.net.

Broadcast live Thursday, Dec. 14 at noon; rebroadcast at 7 p.m.

Jane Lindholm is the host, executive producer and creator of But Why: A Podcast For Curious Kids. In addition to her work on our international kids show, she produces special projects for Vermont Public. Until March 2021, she was host and editor of the award-winning Vermont Public program Vermont Edition.
Matt Smith worked for Vermont Public from 2017 to 2023 as managing editor and senior producer of Vermont Edition.
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