Death and loss are real, and grieving for what was lost is part of life.
Here, some ideas to help in processing your grief.
👉 Admit and acknowledge the loss: Unprocessed grief can haunt us if we don’t acknowledge it. Name it. Identify what you feel and why you feel it. Make sense of it. Sit with it. Reflect. Some people who would rather get busy right away. This is okay, but don’t bypass the grief. It begs to be felt. Or else, it’ll come to stay and linger.
👉 Do not belittle your pain and difficulty: Respect other people’s pain as well. Don’t underestimate the experience of others. The more we run and push it aside, the longer it might take to move on. It may continue to haunt us in different ways. Don’t judge yourself when you find it difficult to grieve.
👉 Practice self-compassion: Hold your pain gently and with kindness. This is not a battle; it is a process.
👉 Support yourself physically: Your body holds your mind and emotions; take care of it. Step outside. Eat well. Sleep properly. Create rituals which support healthy habits. Exercise. Take time to rest.
👉 Have a routine: This is critical. A lot of our grief is filled with ambiguity. It looks abstract and feels vague. Because we cannot, as of yet, find closure and comfort in funerals and other related rituals, we have to say goodbye in other ways. Find a routine that works for you. You need to do this for closure loss.
👉 Share your grief: If it’s too much for you to handle on your own, take comfort in others. Cry it out. Choose people to communicate with. Share in the pain. What used to be numbers and statistics have now become the names of our nearest and dearest. Be compassionate. Give love.
👉 Get active: Don’t deny your grief. Don’t sugarcoat your loss. Dig deep into your faith. When we start appreciating God despite our loss and grief, we can have a renewed appreciation for life. It helps us understand that God is in the middle of our pain and that we do not have to go through anything alone.
As you grieve for your loss, I pray that these ideas help you go through the process. Anchor yourself in Faith. God can turn the mess into a message. God can throw this brokenness into blessings. With Him, we do not have to go through anything alone. – WITH PAU DE VERA
Photo by Sandy Millar on Unsplash