Global Grief Network · Self-Care Education

Nervous System Regulation While Grieving

Everyday self-care for the stressed, tired, grieving body

A Global Grief Network program

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A Welcome from the Global Grief Network

Grief is often described as a feeling, but anyone who has lived through a loss knows it is also physical. The heart races at a phone call. Sleep breaks into pieces. Food tastes like nothing. The shoulders climb toward the ears and stay there. Some days feel like running on an engine that will not idle; others feel like moving through deep water.

The Global Grief Network (GGN) was founded by Tony Lynch so that no one has to grieve alone. Through the GGN app, the Memory Wall, our streaming and broadcasting channels, Grief Talk Magazine, the Grief First Aid course, the GGN Practitioner Directory, and the GGN Educator Directory, we connect grieving people with community, information, and care.

Nervous System Regulation While Grieving is a self-care education program for grieving people and the public. It explains, in everyday language, how stress shows up in a grieving body, and it offers simple, original GGN practices for steadying, breathing, sleeping, moving, and noticing what your body needs. Just as importantly, it is clear about where self-care ends and medical care begins.

An important note before you begin. This program is general education about stress and self-care. It is not medical advice, mental health care, or treatment, and it cannot tell you what is causing any symptom. New, severe, or worsening physical symptoms always deserve medical attention. Chest pain, trouble breathing, fainting, or sudden weakness are emergencies: call 911. If you are in emotional crisis in the United States, call or text 988.

Modules

About this program

Program Overview

Program name

Nervous System Regulation While Grieving. A GGN self-care education program with a Certificate of Completion.

What this program is

A short, self-paced course of about 8 hours for anyone who is grieving, or who wants to understand the grieving body. Participants learn to:

Recognize common ways stress shows up in the body during grief.
Use quick, portable practices to feel a little steadier in difficult moments.
Use comfortable breathing without pressure or forcing.
Protect sleep and rest during a season when both are often disrupted.
Build gentle movement, nourishment, and daily rhythm back into life.
Know clearly when to call 911, when to see a doctor, and when to reach out to 988.

What this program is not

It is not medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. It cannot replace a visit with a doctor or other licensed health professional.
It is not mental health treatment or counseling.
It is not the GGN Certified Somatic Grief Support Practitioner program, which is a separate professional training for people who support others. This program is for your own self-care and uses its own practices.
It is not a crisis service.

How we talk about the nervous system

You will hear the phrase "nervous system regulation" in many places. In this program we use it simply to mean helping your body move from a state of high alarm, or from a heavy shut-down state, toward feeling a bit more steady. We avoid big promises. No practice here will "reset" your nervous system or cure anything. These are small, practical tools that many people find helpful, and you are always free to skip any of them.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this program, participants will be able to:

Describe, in everyday language, how the body's stress responses can show up during grief.
Use the GGN Grief Weather idea to notice their own state without judgment.
Use at least two quick steadying practices that work for them.
Practice comfortable breathing safely, and know when to stop or choose a different anchor.
Apply practical sleep and rest habits, and recognize sleep problems that need a doctor.
Rebuild gentle movement and daily rhythms in a way that respects grief and physical limits.
Name the warning signs that require 911, the signs that call for a doctor's visit, and when to contact 988.
Create a personal Steadiness Plan.

Who This Program Is For

Anyone who is grieving a death or another significant loss.
Family members and friends who want to understand what a grieving loved one may be feeling in their body.
Members of the public interested in stress and self-care during hard times.
GGN app users and community members.

No background is needed. All practices can be done seated, and every practice includes options. If you have a heart, lung, or other health condition, are pregnant, or have had fainting or panic attacks, check with your healthcare provider about what is right for you.

Format and Time

Module	Title	Time
1	Your Body Is Grieving Too	1.25 hours
2	Steadying in the Moment	1.25 hours
3	Breathing Without Pressure	1.25 hours
4	Sleep and Rest in Grief	1.25 hours
5	Moving, Nourishing, and Daily Rhythm	1.25 hours
6	Knowing Your Limits: When to See a Doctor or Get Help	1.25 hours
	Final assessment	0.5 hours
	Total	About 8 hours

How to Use This Handbook

Each module includes objectives, a lesson, a GGN practice, a fictional story, reflection prompts, and a quiz. Answers with explanations appear in the appendix. The online course site has the same content, interactive quizzes, and a progress tracker saved on your device.

Your rules for every practice. You can stop at any time. Eyes can stay open. You can do a smaller version, or simply imagine it. If anything makes you feel dizzy, panicky, faint, or in pain, stop, return to your normal breathing, look around the room, and rest. If symptoms do not settle, seek medical help.