The Pendulum
of Grief
A guided workbook for the rhythm of approaching a loss and returning to ordinary life.
- ✓ Instant PDF download
- ✓ Fillable on any device
- ✓ Printable
- ✓ Lifetime access
- ✓ Written by a licensed psychotherapist
Where do you lean?
Most people don't live at one extreme all the time - keeping grief away, or being consumed by it. Notice which pattern you reach for more often.
| Avoidance | Drowning |
|---|---|
| You stay busy to avoid dealing with a loss. | Grief affects nearly everything and makes everyday life feel difficult. |
| You keep putting off grieving because there never seems to be time or space for it. | The grief feels overwhelming rather than something you can move through. |
| You numb or set aside your grief because getting through the day comes first. | You worry that you're grieving “wrong” because grief doesn't always look the way you expected. |
What's inside
Each section pairs a short reflection with a worksheet - no clinical background needed, no right pace to keep. Fill it out digitally or print it and work by hand.
- The Map Is Not the TerritoryHow grief actually moves
- Between Avoidance and DrowningThe pendulum principle
- What We Bring to the LossWhat complicates grief
- Delayed GriefWhen grief waits
- Giving Grief a FormRitual as container
- Reconnection Without BetrayalReturning to life
Plus a reusable Weekly Pendulum Check-In tracker - print it as many times as you need, long after you've finished the workbook itself.
Pages from the book
What changes when you actually do the work
Working through this workbook means:
- ✓Recognizing whether you're avoiding or drowning - and that neither means you're grieving wrong.
- ✓Letting go of assumptions about one right way to grieve.
- ✓Understanding why grief that's put off tends to wait, and meeting it when you're ready.
- ✓Finding a rhythm of approach and return that leaves room for ordinary life in between.
- ✓Using ritual as a container that gives grief somewhere to move without demanding it resolve on a set timeline.
- ✓Feeling less guilt about the times you had to set grief aside in order to survive.
- ✓Seeing that how consumed you feel often says more about how much the person or opportunity meant to you than about grieving incorrectly.
Alexander Gino
LCSW · Licensed PsychotherapistAlexander Gino is a licensed psychotherapist with more than a decade of clinical practice. He has worked across crisis, dual diagnosis, residential, medical, and outpatient settings, mostly with adults navigating grief, mood disorders, addiction, questions of meaning, and trauma. He completed certifications in addictions counseling and nutrition that have informed his clinical work and holds a master’s degree in social work (behavioral health concentration).
Compare your options
Working through more than one pattern? The complete set covers all ten.
The Pendulum of Grief
- ✓19 pages, including 6 guided sections & exercises
- ✓The Avoidance/Drowning recognition framework, explained in plain language
- ✓A reusable Weekly Pendulum Check-In tracker
- ✓Written by a licensed psychotherapist
- ✓Lifetime access
The Pendulum Complete Collection
- ✓All ten workbooks in the series: 208 pages with 68 guided sections & exercises
- ✓Covers Risk, Control, Hunger, Emotion, Trauma, Addiction, Connection, Esteem, and Adaptation
- ✓10 reusable Weekly Pendulum Check-In trackers, one inside each workbook
- ✓Less than the cost of buying six workbooks individually
- ✓Written by a licensed psychotherapist
- ✓Lifetime access
Not sure where to start?
Take the free Pendulum Questionnaire to find out where you actually land - and which workbook fits you best.
- ✓See which of your patterns are swinging, across all ten areas
- ✓Find out if you lean toward one extreme, or both
- ✓Get personalized results, so you know where to start
Questions
Is this a replacement for therapy?
No. It's educational and reflective - a companion for work you might do in therapy, or a place to start before you're able to access it. It isn't a diagnostic or treatment tool.
Do I need to be in therapy to use this?
Not at all. Many people use it entirely on their own; others bring it into sessions with their own therapist.
How is this different from a journal?
A journal is a blank page. This gives you structure: short reflections paired with guided worksheets, built around a specific clinical framework, plus a reusable weekly tracker so the practice continues after the workbook itself is finished.
What format is it, and how do I use it?
A fillable 21-page PDF. Fill it out on your phone, tablet, or computer, or print it and work by hand - whichever you'll actually use.
Can I get all ten workbooks?
Yes. The complete 10-workbook set is available as a bundle, at less than the cost of buying six individually.
Mind&Gut
The Pendulum of Grief Workbook
The Pendulum of Grief Workbook
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