For many people, Christmas brings lights, gatherings, and a sense of celebration. For those carrying the weight of suicide loss, this time of year can feel very different. It can feel quiet, heavy, or simply confusing, especially when the world around you seems to be moving in a direction that is so different to your own.
At Suicide Grief Support, we want you to know that you do not have to navigate that feeling on your own. Our REBUILD community is open throughout the season and you are welcome to join us for free for a month. Sometimes just knowing you have somewhere to be with others who understand can make a difficult time feel a little more manageable.
When Christmas Feels Anything but Festive
Many people tell us that December brings old memories to the surface and in fact, neuroscience shows that your nervous system is trying to survive in a world of activations. The adverts on the TV, the lights in the shopping center. It can feel like you can’t escape and there can be pressure to feel cheerful or hold everything together. You might also feel the need to protect those around you, even when your own heart feels tired.
If this sounds familiar, please know that nothing about your experience is wrong. Dr Sue Egan, who founded Suicide Grief Support after her own personal journey through loss, understands how isolating this season can feel. Her work has always centred on creating gentle, trauma-informed support where people can be honest about what they are holding without judgement.
REBUILD. A Community That Walks Beside You
Our online REBUILD space was created for anyone navigating suicide loss and looking for grounded, compassionate company. You can read more about it, and join us, through this link and our wider suicide grief support UK website.
Inside REBUILD, you will find a mixture of learning at your own pace, shared conversations, and body-based practices that help you reconnect with your own inner peace and calm your nervous system. Every month includes a gentle topic video with Dr Sue exploring themes such as guilt, identity, parenting, meaning, and navigating life after loss. You can join live Tea Club chats, take part in movement and meditation sessions, or simply stay in the private community space where honest check-ins happen all week.
You never need to turn your camera on. You never need to explain why something feels hard. You can show up exactly as you are and be met with love.
Preparing for the New Year Together
As we move into a new year, you may notice a mix of emotions. Hope, fear, exhaustion, tenderness. REBUILD offers ways to move gently through this transition by giving you steady rhythms of support. The community is also growing, with new workshops, guest practitioners, and upcoming small groups based on who you have lost. Our intention is always the same. To create a place where you feel understood and safe.
We also have a full programme of retreats and intensives coming in the months ahead. These include women’s EMDR retreats in beautiful natural settings, family or individual EMDR intensives, and training opportunities for professionals who support people affected by suicide loss. Every part of our work holds the same heart. To bring compassion, understanding, and real connection into the spaces where silence often lives due to the stigma of suicide and the shame that can build.
Looking Back at the Year with Gratitude
This year has been one of deep growth for our community. A found group of wonderful people have joined REBUILD at Suicide Grief Support. Our podcast continues to reach listeners around the world. Our workshops, events, and intensives have supported many individuals who needed a safe place to pause and breathe.
If you are reading this and wondering whether you belong, listen to your intuition. Your story matters. Your pace matters. You matter.
If this season feels heavy, you do not need to carry it by yourself. You can join REBUILD for free for your first month and explore it at your own pace. No pressure, no expectations, just a community that understands and stays present with you.
We are here with you, not only at Christmas but for as long as you need us.