It’s difficult to lose a loved one. For one, you’ll have to undergo the 5 stages of grief that would make you feel all the emotions of losing a person close to your life. It’s difficult, but it’s something you can surpass as time goes on.
Everything would have been easier if grief followed a linear path but it doesn’t. With grief, big feelings can emerge throughout your process. However, the emotions you feel are not permanent. You can move past it but you have to keep in mind some things when coping with grief.
Here are some of the things you should remember when dealing with the loss of a loved one:
- The feeling won’t be there forever
Grief is like the waves cresting and crashing on the shore. It often comes and goes frequently at first but it’ll eventually ebb and flow as time goes on. What can help you when dealing with grief is to ride the wave—understand that it’s coming up, find support, take care of yourself and let it go.
- Know that you can handle it even if it feels like you can’t
It’s in our nature as humans to avoid painful experiences. However, stifling the feelings or avoiding them altogether wouldn’t help the grieving process when you lose a loved one. These feelings can come stronger when something triggers them if you keep it all bottled up inside you.
You can only learn about your capacity to handle grief by moving through the feelings and emotions you have. Make space to experience these painful emotions so you can practice your resilience and grow your internal resources.
- What you’re feeling is normal
Grieving is hard enough, let alone when you or other people tell you what you should or should not do. Let go of these preconceived notions about grieving and let yourself feel whatever it is you feel. Whether it’s anger, sadness or relief, just let the feelings flow and experience what it is you need to feel.
Everybody has their own story that contextualises the loss. That makes the emotions that accompany the grieving process valid. Whatever you are feeling, even if it logically doesn’t make sense, is the truth of the situation.
- You are not alone
Always know that you are not alone in this process. Your family and friends are still there trying to help you move forward from this loss. There are also plenty of resources available at your disposal to help get you through the grieving process including our website here at Bereavement Poems & Articles.
About Bereavement Poems & Articles
Here at Bereavement Poems & Articles, we believe that people can move past the grieving process with healthy coping mechanisms. We provide music, poems and other resources to help you process what you are feeling and experiencing.