Grief Awareness Week
Grief is an inevitable experience and one we all dread. Whether it is you who is grieving or someone close to you, it is a heavy weight to carry. It is a weight that can be shared though. Grief is a complex and often mixed emotion, often tinged with other feelings such as regret, and anger. The most important is figuring out the healthy outlets for these emotions.
Grieving Coping Mechanisms
Of course, time is a healer but that doesn’t make grief any easier. When you are experiencing grief, each second can feel like an hour and each day like a year. It is such a heavy burden that it can be like dragging a chain behind you, or a secret so big your brain feels like a pot bubbling over. What we do know is that the bleak emotions that come with grief will fade eventually. This timescale is different for everyone. There is no normal or perfect amount of time to process grief, and knowing it will fade does not make it easier.
“Grief cannot be cured, but with time it can become lighter.”
It can be easy to spiral when such a dramatic life change occurs, but establishing a routine can make a real difference. This could mean carrying on your normal daily habits or learning a new hobby to implement into your schedule. It is highly recommended to try something new at the start of your grief journey to give you a different sense of drive.
Both mental and physical activity can help with navigating grief. Meditation and mindfulness can help turn sadness into something more reflective. When grief hits suddenly, it feels impossible to look back on memories with fondness, or see the positives in life. Losing a loved one, can really change your perspective on life. But we must try to remember all the love and happiness that has caused your grief. With time sadness and anger become changed into a commemorative celebration of life.
Exercise can also help release stress and anger in a physical way. Relieving yourself of the negative emotion grief brings can be difficult, especially doing it in a healthy way. This could be going to the gym, starting yoga with friends, trying out a rage room, or even screaming in an open field. All of these suggestions are proven ways that help to relieve tension in your body and your mind.
How to support someone grieving
Grief can be a difficult subject to talk about and, often, there isn’t much to say. Looking for solutions can often become a distraction from listening to someone else’s struggles. With grief, there is no magic solution and no switch to be flicked. It is a long process and different for everyone. It is something personal. Each person requires different types of support.
When someone you know is grieving, it’s ok to ask what they need from you. As a support system, it is not your responsibility to read minds but to help the griever navigate their own. Distractions can be good for someone grieving and it may serve as a reminder for the positive and exciting things in life. It is important, however, that distractions do not become repressive to one’s emotions. Although grief is a horrific feeling, accepting the emotion is the first step in the process.
A journey through grief is not linear. One day may be filled with light and the other darkness, and as someone supporting the griever it’s good to understand the ebb and flow of sadness they may be experiencing. Be aware that grief has no time limit.
Life is scary and unpredictable, but also wonderful. With all the bad times there are also good. It is hard to remember the sun’s warmth on a cold rainy day, but the sun is still hiding somewhere. Remember that there is always something good waiting on the other side of your grief.