International Widows Day – how to deal with grief
Death and loss are part of life, painful and overwhelming. Grief is the experience or response to loss. Such loss can result in a number of emotions from guilt, sadness, to relief or shock. Grief can also impact how you behave or your physical health.
There are so many types of grief:
- Death of a loved one
- Betrayal of a loved one
- Moving away from family or friends
- The death of a pet
- Leaving a job
- A miscarriage
- Losing contact with a friend
- Graduating school or college
- Grieving a broken relationship
How to cope with Grief
Acknowledgment
It is important when grieving to acknowledge what has happened and how it makes you feel. Don’t hide from your emotions or deny them. They are normal and healthy, so allow yourself to feel them.
Grieving is different for everyone
It is important to know that grief is a normal process that looks and feels different for every single person. The way you grieve is unique but that doesn’t mean it is wrong or abnormal. You will grieve in a way that is right for you.
Talk
Talking is so important when we experience loss. It’s important to let out our thoughts and emotions with people we love who can support us. Alternatively, you can speak to people outside your world like a therapist or psychologist, they can support you and give you advice. Support groups are another wonderful way of speaking to people in similar positions, and experiencing similar emotions. Turn2me provides an online anonymous and free support group on how to deal with grief.
Mind yourself Physically
Minding our mental health is important but so is our physical. When we are coping with grief often our physical health is neglected. Mental and physical health are interlinked, if one suffers so does the other. Make sure you eat well and get enough sleep.
Don’t feel guilty about being happy
Eventually during the grieving process, we begin to smile again or laugh a little louder at jokes. We start to feel happy again. This can make us feel guilty as it can seem like we are moving on from that person or thing we have lost. Just because we feel happiness does not mean we care less about the person lost or that we have forgotten them. Remember, our lost loved ones want us to be happy and they remain with us through stories and memories.
Express your feelings – Journal
Talk about your feelings or journal about them. Don’t keep your feelings of sadness in, let them out. They are not doing you favors locked away in your mind. Journaling allows us to let these feelings out and even helps us notice what triggers our feelings of grief.