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The Impact Pet Bereavement Content Can Have on Mental Health

By Aimee, Project Lead of Gracie’s Way, for National Grief Awareness Day 2026 Never above you. Never below you. Always beside you. — Walter Winchell Firstly, I’d like to start this guest post for National Grief Awareness Day 2026 on Gum On My Shoe, with the biggest thank you to Martin for allowing me the opportunity to write this piece and feature this very important topic on such a big platform. You may have seen my name on this blog previously but being referred to as another blogger (on www.imnotdisordered.co.uk ), but this post comes to you from my position of Project Lead of the pet bereavement project I launched in January called Gracie’s Way ( www.graciesway.co.uk ). I’ve decided to use this guest post to focus on the impact that pet bereavement content can have on a person’s mental health — with no relevance to whether they’ve lost a pet or whether they had even just begun searching for such content! And that’s why it matters so much — people are seeing this e...
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You Don't Owe Anyone a Performance: How to Grieve Gently Around the People You Love

Founded in 2014, National Grief Awareness Day , also known as National Bereavement Day, is marked each August 30. Its purpose is to raise awareness of how grief affects people in different ways, to encourage conversations about loss and bereavement, and to share information and resources. Related campaigns include Dying Matters Awareness Week in May and National Grief Awareness Week in December. We’ve marked several of these with such posts as Why Talking About Death Matters by celebrant Lisa Judson, a Q&A with Aimee Wilson, Project Lead of the pet bereavement project Gracie’s Way , and There’s No Wrong Way to Grieve: Thoughts on Loss and Mourning . As I was researching a topic for this post I came across two quotations. The first is by Swiss-American psychiatrist and author Elisabeth Kubler-Ross. The reality is that you will grieve forever. You will not “get over” the loss of a loved one; you will learn to live with it. You will heal and you will rebuild yourself around the...
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"Where Do You Get Your Ideas?" 12 Things That Inspire Me to Write a New Blog Post Every Week

There is no such thing as a new idea. We simply take a lot of old ideas and put them into a sort of mental kaleidoscope. — Mark Twain Here at Gum on My Shoe we share new content every week. We published 73 posts last year. The year before it was 63. In 2023 it was 61. At the time of writing, we’ve published 828 posts since our blog started in 2013. Most of the content is written by me personally. That’s a lot of words to a tight, albeit self-imposed, schedule. If you’re wondering how I stay motivated and inspired, keep reading. Here are a dozen things that inspire me, with a few examples of each. Our blog focuses on mental health and supportive friendships but most of these ideas are relevant to other topics and themes. 1. Conversations Many of my blog posts are inspired by conversations with Fran, other friends, colleagues, and even complete strangers. Sometimes it’s the conversation itself that inspires me but a single turn of phrase, question, or insight can be enough...
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Don't Ask Me If I'm Happy

Happy? Why does everyone have to be happy all the time? — Doc Martin , S6E7 This blog post was inspired by a conversation with Fran in which she mentioned asking a friend, “Are you happy?” After what I imagine was a moment’s hesitation her friend answered, “Sometimes yes. Sometimes no.” I smiled at the answer but it reminded me of something I struggle with a lot. We take for granted that everyone uses words in the same way. This is fine when we’re discussing material things or events. If I told you I spent six hours in my local coffee shop working on this blog post, you’d know what I meant. If I said I enjoyed myself you’d nod, relating my use of enjoyed to situations you’d label with the same word. But we don’t necessarily use it in the same way. We might label distinctly different emotions with the same word, and use different labels for essentially the same experience. I told Fran that if she was to ask me “Are you happy?” I’d first have to think about what that word means ...
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On the Pursuit of Happiness: Thoughts and Hopes for Happiness Happens Month

Clap along if you know what happiness is to you. — Pharrell Williams. “Happy.” Founded in 2000 by the Society of Happy People (SOHP), Happiness Happens Month is observed each August as a celebration of the things that make us happy. To mark the occasion I posted the following request on our social media channels. ARE YOU HAPPY? I’m writing a blog post about happiness and would welcome your thoughts and experiences. What does happiness mean to you? What makes you happy? What was the last time you felt happy? The contributions are presented here with only minor edits for clarity. Happiness for me is when I’m dissatisfied enough to get on with something. Happiness = getting satisfaction out of life. (Paul) I’m happy as I’ve got my 2 kids by my side, through the good and bad days. (Joanne) Happiness, for me, is a carefree, safe, content feeling. (Sandra) I am happy everyday because I am choosing the lifestyle that makes me feel grounded and content. Enjoying the beauty o...
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Our Top Posts of the Month (July 2026)

Check out our top blog posts for the past month. Posts are listed by the number of page views they attracted during the month, most popular first.
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Rip It Up and Start Again: A Blogger’s Guide to Disappointment

And there were times I’d take my pen And feel obliged to start again. — Orange Juice. “Rip it Up.” I think I just decided to scrap the blog post I’ve been writing as a guest piece for Sophie’s blog. I’ve been working on it almost every day for two weeks. It’s not writer’s block. I’ve written more than enough words. Most of the individual paragraphs are ok in themselves but the piece as a whole simply doesn’t work. Sigh. I remember writing those words. It was July 15 this year and I was sitting at the slightly wobbly table on the balcony of the cottage I’d rented at Windermere Marina Village in the Lake District. I’d settled in with a coffee and my little writing setup — my Android tablet on its stand and the larger of my two Bluetooth keyboards — hoping to find some creative clarity. I’d had such high hopes for that blog post. A title I was happy with. A great photo sourced from Unsplash. A solid lead into the piece, inspired by something my friend and fellow blogger Soph...
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