7 Tips for Dealing with Grief and Loss
Even when we feel lost, overwhelmed or stuck, we continue to experience new things as each day passes. With time there are new experiences, new ways to understand ourselves, new ways to take care of ourselves and new ways to relate to the world around us.
Things to Keep in Mind as You Cope With Grief
There are healthy ways to come to terms with loss, find new meaning and gradually move forward with your life. Here are some key things to keep in mind as you cope with your pain:
Be patient with yourself. Accept your thoughts and feelings. If you ignore your true reactions it only prolongs the grieving process and can lead to complications like substance abuse, depression, chronic health problems or long term anxiety.
Give yourself permission to grieve/heal. You deserve time to figure out how your loss/es impact you. Don’t let others set timetables for you. Be gentle with yourself when you feel unexpected emotions such as joy as a part of your healing.
Plan ahead for grief triggers. Consider milestones, anniversaries, holidays, places, people, or things that you associate with your loss/es.
Express yourself in concrete ways. For example, exercise, journal, dance, play music, walk, make artwork, or write.
Seek support. Talk to family/friends; spiritual guidance; counseling. Know that others may want to help without knowing exactly what to do or say. Let family/friends know how they may help (i.e.: with errands, childcare, listening, etc).
Nurture yourself: Take time-out to relax, recharge and engage. For example, meditate, read, watch a movie, take a nap, listen to music, take a bath).
Look after your physical health. Eat healthy, stay hydrated, sleep well. Avoid excessive use of alcohol and use of substances to numb thoughts/feelings.
Healing from Grief is Possible
We have the capacity to grieve in healthy ways. Each one of us has experienced loss of some kind in life. How we manage these losses impact us. We don’t have to navigate these experiences alone. We have the ability to improve our understanding of how we cope with stress and to heal from the impact of grief.
If this information resonated with you, or if you are seeking additional support for grief and loss, the therapists at our office are here to support you. LifeSpring Counseling Services has several highly trained therapists who specialize in working with grief and loss.
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Interested in Counseling for Grief, Loss, and Trauma?
If you’re a Marylander who knows that counseling is the direction you need to take, the therapists at LifeSpring Counseling Services are here to help. We offer online counseling services for mindfulness, depression, anxiety, trauma, and grief and loss. We also offer Brainspotting as a specialized service, and Brainspotting can be done online, too!
Here’s how you can get started! Online counseling for depression, anxiety, trauma, and grief and loss are not the only services offered at our Maryland office
The counselors and social workers at our Maryland office also offer counseling services for trauma, grief and loss, boundary setting, communication skills, and difficult life transitions. We also offer specialized counseling services including Brainspotting and spiritually-integrated counseling. Because we are located next to several local universities, we also work with college students and international students.
Written by: Melissa Cole, LCSW-C
