3 Tools to Process Grief

At some point, every person will experience grief. Unfortunately, experiencing loss is natural. Most commonly, people experience grief after the loss of a loved one, friend, or even a pet. However, many more situations in life can elicit a grief response. Someone can experience grief due to a job loss, a major life transition, or realizing a goal will never be reached.

Regardless of what causes someone to grieve, it's a challenging emotion. Grief impacts everybody differently but can profoundly impact daily life. Most people are familiar with the idea that grief comes in waves or several stages. Both things are true, but it isn't as simple as that. While there are seven stages of grief, that doesn't mean they are linear. In fact, it's not uncommon to experience the same stage multiple times.

Let's talk about some tools to help you process grief.

1. Self-Care

Self-care is not just a word that is popular on social media. Beyond that, it is far more than just a hot bubble bath or shower at the end of a long day. When you are impacted by grief, it can be all-consuming, especially during the immediate time after a profound loss, such as death. While taking care of yourself may be the last thing on your mind as you try to process your loss, it's still a crucial step in the overall grieving process.

Self-care is not selfish; sometimes, you need to go back to the basics of the word. Basic self-care methods include ensuring you get enough sleep, eat healthy meals, showering, and trying to exercise or walk each day. And, as tempting as it can be to withdraw from others, socialization is also vital during this new chapter.

You don't have to do anything luxurious or pamper yourself, but taking care of yourself will help your overall mental and physical health during this time.

2. Spend Time With Other People

We already mentioned this above, but this step during the grieving process is important. During the beginning process of grief, it can be tempting to isolate away from other people. When your loss is consuming every part of your mind, the last thing you will likely want to do is spend time with other people.

Don't be afraid to rely on your support system during this new chapter of your life. They will understand that you may seem out of it or not in the best mood, especially if your grief is due to a death. Maybe you won't talk about what you are going through, but that's okay.

Depression and grief have a tendency to make you feel as if you are a burden on other people, which is not true.

3. Express Your Feelings

As challenging as it can be, it is important to express your feelings during this time. This advice can be taken literally, as in verbalizing to someone how you feel. Alternatively, you can release these thoughts and feelings by journaling.

Journaling is an expressive art that many people overlook the power of. It doesn't have to be a "Dear Diary" situation. You don't have to form perfectly worded sentences with no grammatical errors. Just start writing your thoughts out. Begin writing things like, "My heart is broken. They are gone. I am angry and lost and..."

There's a very good chance that once you start writing something out, your thoughts will begin pouring out.

If you are struggling to cope with any type of loss, don't hesitate to reach out to learn more about how grief therapy with Sunlight Psychotherapy can support you. Together, we can help you work through these emotions and thoughts while finding ways to heal.