Explained: How to heal with grief
Is there a certain time period to wait to heal from losing a loved one? This is a difficult question to answer, but very important to ask. It is okay to feel sad. There will be days when you will want to close all the blinds, lock yourself in a room and cry until you have no more tears left to shed. There will be days when you will forget all the happy memories and only remember the last time you saw your loved one. What is not okay to feel is any form of regret. Regret for all the things that you could not give to that person.
Every day we hear about a new death in the news, someone who was just starting out in their life, or someone who was on the brink of dying from a terminal illness. These stories strike our hearts and make us feel something inside. We remember how it felt to lose a loved one and we wonder if the family affected feels the same way that we did. If you're reading this, then you might be having some difficulty coping with the loss of your loved one and are desperately seeking the journey to healing. Here are three tips that can help you through it:
Surrender to the experience
Don’t try to change the experience. Surrender to it being messy, lost, or incomplete. Surrender to the fact that life does go on, though not in the same way. In truth, no one can ever really “handle” a loss, and often it affects you deeply. We all carry a story within us, and sometimes those stories are heavy and painful.
Bring all your experience, pain and knowedge into your body
This activity works best when you are in the presence of something beautiful, moving or inspiring. It may be watching the sunset or listening to a song or seeing a person or a candle, or anything that evokes emotion for you. Close your eyes and bring your attention within yourself, down to your heart, where you can feel the feelings beneath the feelings. Get cosy with what’s there.
Remember that emotions are neither masculine, nor feminine, nor right, nor wrong; they simply exist and are present.
Acknowledge what you’re feeling
Acknowledging what you're feeling is not acknowledging that you're weak or broken; it's about accepting the reality of your situation. If it is possible, go for walks in nature because it can help you feel relaxed and re-energised. You can also meditate to help calm your thoughts which will ultimately help you to feel more relaxed. Share your story with someone who understands and get it off your own shoulders.
—IANS