The Loneliest Part of Grief? When Everyone Else Moves On
A MentorWell Perspective
When my daughter Maddie died by suicide, the news spread fast.
Our North Toronto community was shaken. Through school, sports, and friendships, our lives had intersected with so many others. And when people heard, they showed up in droves.
There was a massive outpouring of support.
Friends and family brought meals, took care of carpooling, and did everything possible to make life easier. The funeral home told us they had never seen so many people come through as when Maddie passed. At her celebration of life, people traveled from around the world just to be there.
And then, they left.
The house got quiet. The texts slowed. The check-ins became less frequent. Everyone else moved forward.
But we were stuck in neutral.
And I kept thinking: what if someone had stayed close before?
The Loneliness Nobody Talks About
Grief feels like something you carry together in the immediate aftermath of loss. You're surrounded by people who want to help, ease the pain, and remind you that you're not alone.
But then life keeps going, for everyone but you.
People return to their routines, their jobs, their families. They assume that time has helped, that if you're not bringing it up, you must be okay.
But grief doesn't fade on a schedule. It lingers in the quiet moments when the house is empty, when no one asks how you're holding up anymore, when the world has moved forward, and you feel like you're still standing in the same spot.
This is exactly what happens to parents before loss too.
You notice something's off with your teen. You mention it to a friend. They say, "All teens are moody." You bring it up at work. Your colleague says, "Mine was the same at that age."
So you stop mentioning it. You carry it alone.
And in that isolation, things escalate.
That's the gap MentorWell closes.
Why People Move On (and Why It Hurts So Much)
Most people don't stop checking in because they don't know what to say.
They don't want to bring up painful memories. They assume if you wanted to talk, you would. They worry about saying the wrong thing, so they say nothing.
And in their silence, grief becomes even heavier.
The same thing happens when your teen is struggling.
Your friends don't ask because they assume you'd tell them if it was serious. Your colleagues don't check in because they don't want to pry. Your family doesn't push because they think you're handling it.
But you're not handling it. You're drowning in uncertainty. You're second-guessing everything you see.
When Something Feels Off Parent Support Group exists because no parent should carry this alone.
Tools. Resources. Training. Workshops. And a parent community that understands your world. Where you can talk freely. No shame. No judgment.
Because when you're isolated, you minimize. You wait. You tell yourself it'll pass.
That's how we lose teens.
Stuck in Neutral While the World Keeps Turning
Grief changes your relationship with the world.
Everything feels different, even small things, like walking into a coffee shop where you used to go with them or hearing a song that reminds you of what you lost. It hits often and hard.
Meanwhile, everyone else is living; laughing, planning, moving forward.
But what if we changed when support shows up?
What if parents didn't have to wait until after loss to find community?
What if the moment you thought, "Something feels off with my kid," you had somewhere to go?
Lifeline Parent Workshops teach you what to notice. Three sessions addressing the questions I've been asked by more than 2,000 parents:
Is my teen struggling or just being a teenager?
How can I communicate with my teen without shutting them down?
Where can I access vital mental health resources?
You stop second-guessing yourself. You act sooner. You don't carry it alone.
What Actually Helps
The grand gestures of support in the beginning are meaningful. But what matters most is what happens after.
The people who still text, even months later.
The ones who mention Maddie's name, even when it feels like no one else does.
The ones who don't expect you to "move on" but instead walk alongside you.
This is what MentorWell Mentorship provides for struggling teens.
Someone who's been through it and come out the other side.
Someone who gets their world. Who helps them see a path forward and believe in themselves again.
Because sometimes what a teen needs isn't therapy. It's connection. It's someone who doesn't disappear after the first conversation. Someone who walks alongside them.
And when things have advanced beyond what mentorship can hold—when clinical care is needed—Expedited Referral becomes the Plan B.
Fast access to the right professional. In days, not months. No spiraling while you search.
What to Say to Someone Whose Teen Is Struggling
If you know a parent who's worried about their teen, and you're not sure how to support them, here's what actually helps:
✅ Instead of "All teens are moody" → Try: "That sounds hard. How are you holding up?"
✅ Instead of saying nothing → Send a simple text: "Still thinking about what you mentioned. Want to talk?"
✅ Instead of offering solutions → Acknowledge it: "I don't know what you should do, but I'm here while you figure it out."
Worried parents don't forget. They carry it every day. And when someone acknowledges that weeks, even months later, it makes a difference.
Holding Space Before Loss
The hardest part of grief isn't just losing someone. It's learning to live in a world where they're no longer here.
It's the silence after the funeral. The days when no one asks how you're holding up. The feeling that everyone else has moved forward, while you're still figuring out how to keep going.
But what if we held space before loss?
What if we surrounded parents with community the moment they noticed something was off?
What if we connected struggling teens with mentors who could walk alongside them?
What if we made clinical care accessible in days, not months?
That's The MentorWell Solution.
We don't wait until crisis. We close the gap between noticing and acting.
Because grief doesn't disappear.
But neither should the support, especially when there's still time to change the outcome.
If something feels off with your teen, you don't have to carry it alone.
[CTA: Learn about Lifeline Parent Workshops / Join When Something Feels Off / Explore MentorWell Mentorship]
