Dealing with grief can indeed be incredibly challenging, regardless of the source of the loss and everyone will deal with the loss of a loved one in very different ways.
Here are some steps to help you navigate through the process:
- Acknowledge Your Feelings: Allow yourself to feel what you feel, its ok and normal to have all sorts of feelings, whether it's sadness, anger, guilt, or confusion. Don't try to suppress or ignore your feelings; instead, acknowledge and accept them as a natural part of the grieving process.
- Seek Support: Support comes in all forms, and those around you will be happy to help in any way they can. Don't hesitate to reach out to friends, family members, or support groups for comfort and understanding. Talking about your feelings with others who have experienced similar losses can be incredibly healing.
- Take Care of Yourself: Grieving can take a toll on both your physical and mental health, so it's important to prioritise self-care. Make sure you're eating well, getting enough sleep, and engaging in activities that bring you comfort and joy. Keeping busy doesn’t mean that you have forgotten about a loved one in any way. Mental health is so important nowadays and keeping your mental health in check will make sure that you are able to grieve.
- Express Your Grief: It is natural to grieve and finding healthy outlets for expressing your grief, such as journaling, art, music, or physical activity can help immensely. Allow yourself to grieve in whatever way feels most natural to you.
- Be Patient with Yourself: Grieving is a process that takes time, and there's no right or wrong way to do it and there is certainly no set time limit. The loss you feel is likely to stay with you so please be patient with yourself and allow yourself to heal at your own pace and know that its ok to not be ok and that is normal.
- Seek Professional Help if Needed: If you're struggling to cope with your grief or if it's significantly impacting your daily life, consider seeking help from a therapist or counsellor who specialises in grief and loss. There are some great organisations in Australia and speaking to a stranger can be the best way for some people to be able to express feelings that have built up over some time.
- Find Meaning and Purpose: As you work through your grief, try to find meaning and purpose in your experience. The loved one that you are grieving for would want you to live on with smiles and happiness eventually filling the heavy heart that you are feeling in the early stages. This could involve honouring the memory of your loved one, finding ways to give back to others, or rediscovering your own sense of purpose in life.
Remember, everyone experiences grief differently, and there's no "right" way to grieve. Be gentle with yourself and know that healing takes time.