Series introduction

You can’t walk through a river without getting wet. - RCMP Veteran

Due to the nature of military and police service, as a Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) or Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Veteran or family member of a Veteran, you have likely been exposed to more loss than most Canadians would experience over many lifetimes.

We tend to be reluctant to express or share our grief, but living comes with losses. We lose jobs, relationships with people we care about, hopes for the future, sense of community, and sometimes our sense of who we are and what we believe in. When we experience loss, we grieve.

As you move through ShapedByService.ca, you may be surprised to learn that many of your difficult thoughts and feelings may have their roots in loss and grief. The impacts of these losses are often felt by everyone in the family. You may not have known that grief can be amplified by trauma and PTSD.

I was never taught how to grieve. - Military Veteran

Throughout ShapedByservice.ca, Veterans and family members have shared their stories of loss and grief, as well as their resilience and the ways in which they recognized and attended to their grief.