What Helps When You are Grieving?

Acceptance

Accept your feelings, acknowledge them and try to understand them if you can. Accept that your feelings belong to you. Others may have suffered a similar loss and felt differently. Accept that a feeling is a feeling, it is what it is. It can never be wrong to feel the way you feel.

Practice Selfcare

Give yourself a break. Avoid taking on new responsibilities when possible. Lighten your load if you are able. Make time for things you enjoy. Ask for help with tasks you are dreading or dislike doing. Make time for activities that nurture you. Embrace nature, look up at night and see the stars. Look down during the day and see all the little pollinating critters. Let the wonder of our world comfort you.

See your friends and family. Don’t go it alone. Spend time in the company of others. Continue your activities or return to those you have not been able to participate in for a while. 

Eat well. If you don’t feel like cooking healthy food visit the take-out section of your local market. Grieving is hard work your body needs to be in good shape. Eat your fruits and veggies. Go light on the sugar and alcohol.

Move. Take a walk. Sign up for an exercise class, water aerobics, or yoga. Regular exercise is a good antidepressant.

Sleep well. Put yourself on a schedule. Build in time to decompress before bed. Make a to do list for your day tomorrow, then let go. Read a book or listen to a meditation, whatever it takes to get you to a calm relaxed frame of mind so you can settle in for a good night’s sleep. 

Be Open to Help

Grieving is hard work. It can feel like swimming in the surf. When a rogue wave washes over you, if you are not to drown, you need to engage and work at keeping your head above water. Grieving is also an active endeavor. A person who is mourning will need to work their way though the process. It’s a journey. Sometimes a helping hand from a counselor, pastor, or grief support group is exactly what is needed. It’s best not to wait until you are under water to ask for someone to throw you a life preserver. Accepting help sooner rather than later is a good idea.