Facing loss and tragedy is a part of the human experience. At one point or another, we all experience some kind of loss. It could be losing a job, ending a relationship, facing the death of a loved one, or losing the sense of security after a traumatic event.
Some losses can be overwhelming and take over our whole life with feelings of shock, anger, and disbelief. Coping with loss can seem like a challenge and affect both your mental and physical well-being. But many approaches can help make your situation better. Let's have a look at ten methods that can help you overcome grief.
1. Facing the Loss
Depending on the intensity, a loss can be really tough to deal with. We try our best to avoid confronting our emotions. People resort to increased drinking, drug abuse, excessive use of the internet, or oversleeping after experiencing a loss. We try our best to dull the pain by any means necessary.
Running away from reality might seem the best approach, but it will never truly heal you. After some grieving, you have to face your truth. Stretching the pain over a prolonged period will only increase its intensity. Facing your loss and moving on might be a hard pill to swallow, but it will be beneficial in the long run.
2. Give Yourself Time to Grieve
Let your tears out. Grieve openly and adequately express your emotions without trying to restrict yourself. Get your feelings out, bury your face in a pillow, and scream at the top of your lungs. Grief can be a complicated emotion to handle, and it's completely normal. We do not have to restrain it or try to hide it.
As long as you're not harming yourself or others, expressing your grief in any way possible is totally valid. Grieve without any pressure and give yourself time.
3. Share your Feelings with Others
Grief can make us resort to loneliness and isolation. Some amount of solitude is fine but cutting yourself off from others will make it only that harder for you to cope with your loss. Grief can be a complicated emotion to handle on your own, so never hesitate to seek support.
Talk to a family member, a friend, or even a therapist. Join a support group. Expressing yourself will help you dump out your emotions and get help from family and friends. Any caring friend or supporter won't mind, and sharing will help you put your thoughts into perspective.
4. Be Gentle With Yourself
Often after experiencing loss, our mind starts thinking all sorts of "I wish I could have..." thoughts. Mulling over the past again and again won't change anything, and it will only add to your pain. Don't be too hard on yourself. Feeling sad, lost, and vulnerable is normal, but you should never be too hard on yourself.
Understand that your past is past, and it cannot be changed. The only thing that you can control is what you can do now that the event has happened. Learn to process your emotions and move forward.
5. Distract Yourself
Inactivity and isolation are fuels for depression and negative thoughts. The more time you spend alone and unoccupied, the more your mind will think distressed thoughts. Stopping activities after a loss or giving up on friends and family can make your racing mind even worse.
Distract yourself by doing different activities, both mental and physical that keep your mind occupied. Join a support group, engage in your favourite hobbies such as playing videogames, exercising, or anything that keeps your mind away from negative thoughts.
6. Look at All the Positives in Life
Grief can consume our minds to ignore even the best in life. Losses can be pretty intense when they occur, but they never strip our lives of all its colours. There are other things in life too, that could have been worse but are working great for you.
Think of all the good things that are still making your life worth living for. Think of all the good friends and family that helped you in your tough time and how this loss doesn't mean the end for you, and you can still find happiness in the future.
7. It Won't Stay Like This Forever
Grief will feel overwhelming for the time duration. We can even develop depression because of how negatively we were impacted by it. Depending on the intensity of our loss, we can also go in a downward spiral, thinking that this is how life is going to be for us from now on.
You have to understand. Although grief can be hard to deal with, remember that with the time you will adapt to the change and it won't feel as painful as it does now. Grief is hard at the beginning, but it always gets easier as time passes.
8. Join a Support Group
Sometimes, going through grief can feel lonely. Being the only one in your circle, going through a specific loss can feel alienating. Not having someone else who understands our problems and whom we can share with can further increase our trouble.
This is where Support groups come in. In a support group, you get together with a group of people that are going through grief or have gone through the same experiences as you have. It can help you vent out your emotions, listen to other people's stories, and learn coping skills from how they helped their situations. Joining a support group can ease off a lot of your burden and help you go through your struggles easier.
9. Try to Feel Happy
Sometimes grieving can have us in a downward pull. In cases of the loss of our loved ones, we somehow think of it as disrespectful to try and enjoy life after their passing. This kind of belief can further isolate us from recovering and feeling better about ourselves.
Give yourself time to grieve, but also remember that your loved ones would choose for you to be happier. Try to have a laugh, part-take in exercise, or any activity you enjoy. Try to feel more comfortable and have fun in life.
10. Get Professional Help
If your grieving goes on for long and you find it difficult to cope with sorrow on your own, then it's always an excellent choice to visit a therapist. Therapists have experienced sorrow and loss by listening to stories and know well about coping mechanisms and what helps people in the long run.
Seek out an appointment with your therapist and share all of your emotions and thoughts. Your therapist will help you devise a custom plan for yourself, so you can go through grievance more healthily and cope with strategies that best suit you.
Conclusion
Grief can be a painful and complex emotion to deal with at the moment. But remember, pain does not last forever. Sooner or later, it will pass. It's normal to grieve, and it's completely ok to cry and let your emotions out. With time your distress will fade, and you will return to your normal functioning of life. Using these techniques mentioned above will help you cope with grief and feel better. Although it may be hard, the use of these methods over time will help you feel better and resume your normal functioning of life.