12/24/2025
đź’¬ Mailbag Series: "Like he meant something and that he still means something."
This week, Help Texts CEO Emma Payne and Chief Clinical Officer Melissa Lunardini reach into our mailbag to discuss a message from a 59-year-old woman whose husband died from cancer. She received Help Texts through our UK partner, Sue Ryder.
She shares how respectful and comforting it was that we used her husband's name so often—like he meant something and that he still means something. The advice about still being able to have a relationship with him made her feel like he hadn't just disappeared, and that it's possible to still have a connection.
The clinical insight: Saying the deceased's name honors the significance of their life and impact—something many people deeply need but rarely receive. "Still being able to have a relationship with him" shows our texts are providing explicit permission to engage in continuing bonds, encouraging ongoing connection rather than promoting detachment. In a world that often pressures widows to "move on," we're giving permission to do the opposite—to keep loving, to keep connecting, to keep saying his name. This is the continuing bonds framework in action: healing doesn't mean letting go; it means finding new ways to hold on.
