Tips to Heal in Times of Grief
It's never easy to watch someone you love die. No matter how many times you've done it. It is one of those things, that unfortunately does not get easier with experience. Today I thought I would share some tangible things that have helped me while grieving.
Grief does not discriminate. Many of us have experienced it, and if we haven’t we most certainly will at some point in our lifetime. Oftentimes, we tend to think of grief as something that we deal with after a situation. But grief begins in the middle of the trial. The death of a loved one, a miscarriage, the ending of a relationship, the loss of a house or a job, the loss of a dream, maybe something that didn’t turn out the way you thought it would. Grief takes many different forms.
Here are some of the ways I have found help me when I am experiencing this raw emotion:
Ask for support - Ask for support from a family member, a friend, a member of church, a counselor. You don’t have to carry the burden alone.
Accept all of the emotions you are experiencing - All of them help us heal. So it is ok to just accept them.
Express the emotions - Cry, scream, yell. Accept and express the emotions because they are all valid. How do you express them best? Maybe you need to be alone. Maybe you need to pray. Perhaps it is journaling. Once you have accepted them, you must express them or they will bottle up and then you will explode later on.
Pace yourself - You don’t have to do it all at once. Nothing is so important that it can’t wait. The priority is taking care of yourself and doing what you need in this moment.
Get involved in something - I have found puzzles are a great distraction. Sometimes it can be hard to focus, so something like this is a great example of an activity to take your mind off the grief, even momentarily.
Make time for fun - It may seem impossible to laugh when you are in the middle of trauma, but it is crucial to make time for laughter and joy.
Keep the faith - Faith is not the absence of fear but the willingness to go on when fear is present. Keep the faith that this intense grief will not last forever.
I urge you to take these steps and put them to action even amidst the grief. Joy will come again. Give yourself the grace and the peace that you need. You are strong. You are courageous and you WILL get through this.
