Coping with Grief

ByEstela Felan Updated on

Losing a loved one, whether a parent, sibling, friend, or relative, can be an overwhelming and deeply emotional experience. While emotional wounds often heal with time, there are some immediate ways to cope with grief and adjust to your loss.

Grief Relief
There are many ways to ease the mourning process:

  • Be Proactive: The trauma of grief is deeply personal, but healing comes in community. By identifying and accepting your feelings, finding comfort in friends and family, and not being afraid to ask for help, you can begin to cope with the grieving process.
  • Do not hold back your feelings: The shock and sadness you feel after learning of a loved one’s illness or death are natural and important steps in the healing process. Letting yourself grieve helps you begin to heal.
  • Express your emotions: As a cathartic release, some people like to write letters to the deceased expressing exactly how they feel. Others take solace in their faith and the counsel of a religious leader.
  • Be a comforter and a listening ear for friends and family who are also in mourning: It’s natural to want to lean on others during this trying time. Be willing to let your grieving relatives and friends lean on you.
  • Honor the memory of the deceased: Consider having a post-funeral gathering, create a scrapbook, write a short biography, or even a song.
  • Consider taking a hiatus: Beyond taking funeral leave, allow yourself time to heal, reflect, and possibly step away briefly to recharge and honor the impact your loved one had on your life.
  • Return to normalcy: Take time to mourn and remember, but don’t be afraid to move forward. Honor their memory by living fully and cherishing each moment, just as they would have wanted.

After a loss, connecting with a counselor can help you work through the sadness of unresolved issues or things you wish you would have told your loved one or done for them before their passing. Counseling can also provide an opportunity to remember joyful memories you shared with this special person. Your GuidanceResources® program can connect you with a grief counselor or help you find local grief support groups for you and your household members.

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