Coping With Loss: 10 Ways To Deal With Grief

Losing someone that we’re close to can be a terrible shock and a tragedy. It can be both overwhelming and heartbreaking, and grief will affect us all in very different ways. 

 

For some people, grief may not be something that they understand or know how to deal with. If you lose someone that you are especially close to, the grief can have a greater impact, whether you realize it or not. 

 

Because grief can consume every aspect of your life, and it can affect both your mental and your physical well-being, it is essential that you process your grief in a way that is positive. Ignoring your grief won’t help, as it could lead to a manifestation of other problems later on down the line. 

 

So how do you cope with grief in a healthy way? In this article, we’ll talk you through ten ways that you can help yourself cope with the loss of a loved one. 

 

Talk About The Lose That You Are Experiencing 

 

One of the best ways of processing grief is to talk about it. You can either do this with friends and family or with a professional counsellor who is experienced in helping those who have gone through the loss of a loved one. 

 

You may not fully understand who you are feeling, and that is perfectly normal. You will be sad at their passing no doubt, but there could be a range of different emotions that go along with that such as anger or loneliness. 

 

If you don’t feel comfortable talking to another person just yet, or you are not able to find anyone that is suitable to talk to, you could try journaling. Writing down how you are feeling might help you make sense of it all and process the grief. 

 

Take Care Of Yourself By Eating Well 

 

When dealing with someone passing away, it can lead to you feeling sad and low. During this time you may not be eating much, or you may be eating too much, and eating unhealthy foods. Whichever is true of you, you should do your best to ensure you are eating a well-balanced diet. 

 

Missing meals or overeating can lead to you feeling run-down and will have a knock-on effect on your health.

 

Take Time To Remember And Honor Your Loved One 

 

Part of the grieving process should be doing things that allow you to remember and honor your loved one. You can do this however you like. Think about ways that you can celebrate their life and try and make your memorial to them a positive one. Think about the good times that you had together and try and be thankful for those times. 

 

If you want to, you can find ways of keeping them with you so that you don’t feel like you’re letting them go. Think about jewelry for cremation ashes or having some of their old clothes made into things that you will wear. Having something of them close to you will allow you to never forget them and honor them in your own way. 

 

Avoid Numbing The Pain With Drink Or Drugs

 

It can be easy to try and mask the pain that you are experiencing with excessive drinking or even by taking drugs. If something is a distraction of is numbing the pain, then you should be very cautious of it. The pain won’t go away and you might find that you have to continue to numb it leading to addiction or an unhealthy relationship with alcohol and other substances. 

 

Try your best to deal with the pain and if you notice that you are starting to develop unhealthy behaviours; talk about it with a professional counsellor. 

 

Understand That It Is Natural To Feel Like You Do 

 

The way that you feel right now is completely natural – however you are feeling. You may be inclined to believe that these are unnatural emotions and that in some way you are weak for feeling them. Grief is nothing to be ashamed of, and even feelings of anger are as valid as the feelings of sadness and loss. 

 

Join A Support Group

 

Grief is something that many people go through. At some point in all of our lives, someone that we’re close to will die and we’ll have to process the complex emotions that go along with loss. There are many support groups that bring people experiencing these difficult feelings together. You don’t have to struggle through the experience on your own, you can learn coping strategies from others that are going through the same thing as you. 

 

Take Up A New Hobby 

 

Although some distractions such as drink and drugs should be avoided, finding positive and creative distractions can be helpful.  One way of helping you cope with the grief that you’re experiencing is to take up a new hobby. 

 

Many hobbies will give you a sense of achievement, particularly if you are learning and developing new skills. Hobbies such as art and music will give you a creative outlet that will allow you to express your emotions. Whereas therapeutic pastimes such as gardening will allow you to deal with your emotions calmly with reflection. 

 

Try And Keep A Routine

 

It can be very easy to jump out of sync with your daily life when you’re grieving. You will have a considerable feeling of uncertainty about the future and it can cause your present to become disordered. But it is important that you try and set a routine and stick to it. 

 

This means getting up and going to bed around the same times and trying to stick to regular mealtimes. If you have social arrangements, you should stick to them. If you have spare time when you’ve no plans, you should try and fill this time productively. 

 

The better the routine that you can keep, the easier it will be for you to manage the challenging feelings of grief that you will encounter. 

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