Grieving the loss of someone or something you loved is a challenging experience that stirs up several painful emotions, depletes your energy, causes immense stress, and changes your attitude toward life.
As a griever, it is essential to know that, despite the pain you might feel in this challenging period, there are many critical reasons to go easy on yourself while grieving.
Grief typically harms your mental health, and being hard on yourself would worsen the situation.
During your grief, you should understand that your mental health is essential for yourself and your dependents.
Also, you would need your mental health to be intact after you heal from your grief, so it is necessary to be kind to yourself to achieve this.
Another reason to be kind to yourself while grieving is that the sudden loss of your loved one is never your fault.
Life is unpredictable and destructive things are bound to happen; regardless of the situation, you should understand that you could have done little or nothing to avert the loss of your loved one.
Also, going easy on yourself during your grief would improve your physical health.
So many illnesses happen due to stress caused by being hard on yourself???developing diseases while grieving is not the best therapy for grief.
Depending on the situation, it can be challenging to be kind to yourself while grieving.
However, below are some reasons to go easy on yourself while grieving:
Grief usually takes a toll on one's emotional and mental state, so it is advisable to go easy on yourself while grieving to improve your mental health.
Dealing with mental health issues while dealing with the loss of your loved one can become overwhelming, so it is essential to maintain healthy mental health to recover from your loss quickly.
Also, it is essential to remember that before the painful occurrence, you had a life, and some people depended on you.
For instance, your boss depends on you to do your job, and your children rely on you to cater to them.
If you become mentally ill because you are hard on yourself, you will harm yourself and those depending on you.
Getting enough sleep can improve your mental health while you're grieving.
When someone close to you dies, it is normal for you to experience changes in your sleeping pattern.
However, getting good sleep is a great way to improve your mental health, and you can see a sleep therapist if you are facing challenges with sleeping well after a loss.
Loss of appetite can also be a symptom of grief.
However, eating good food is essential to maintain excellent mental health during bereavement.
If you are struggling with eating well while grieving, you can draw a menu or join a recipe group to brainstorm new foods you can try out.
Grief riles up a wide range of emotions, and one such emotion is guilt.
It is normal to feel guilty when you lose someone close to you.
You might feel like you could have done better to prevent the loss of a loved one, and this can make it difficult for you to go easy on yourself while grieving.
It is essential to understand that life does not usually go as planned and humans have limited influence on what happens to them.
Grief is already a lot to handle, and adding the weight of feeling guilty for your loss increases the burden of your grieving process.
You do not have to constantly beat yourself up over losing your loved one.
You can overcome the feeling of guilt by writing out your emotions.
Psychologists have advised that writing helps with releasing repressed emotions.
When you write about your feelings, you can perceive them from different perspectives.
If you need to improve at writing your feelings, you can try expressive arts like drawing or painting to release your emotions.
Also, speaking with a grief counselor is a great way to overcome guilt.
A therapist is in an excellent position to help you feel better during your grief because they receive training to help people come out of difficult situations like this.
When grieving, it is easy to neglect your physical health, and the stress from the situation makes you susceptible to various illnesses.
It happens especially when you are hard on yourself. Thus, going easy on yourself while grieving is essential to protect your physical health.
Health is wealth; you should not trade your health for anything, even when grieving.
Taking care of yourself while you are grieving is vital because it is an essential part of the recovery process and can help improve the suffering of the spirit, mind, and body.
It can also help you overcome the hurt and guilt that comes with grief.
You can improve your physical health while you're grieving by doing exercises.
Exercise is vital for a healthy mind and body; you do not have to go to the gym to exercise.
You might take a walk, skip, run, do yoga or even do house chores. It helps keep you healthy and distracts you from what you are going through.
Also, maintaining excellent personal hygiene would help improve your physical health during grief.
As a griever, keeping up with your daily hygiene routine might be challenging.
However, doing simple things like taking a shower, brushing your teeth, and tidying up your space is essential as it helps you feel refreshed and healthy.
Your grieving period does not last forever, and you might be helpful to someone going through grief in the nearest future.
If you go easy on yourself while grieving, you would be an excellent example for someone who suffers a loss.
Also, you can set up a support group for people going through some loss.
Having gone through grief, you are in an excellent position to talk to someone else about grief because you have experienced it yourself.
Being kind to yourself while grieving would enable you to show someone how to develop this positive mindset because you understand the feeling and have an objective perspective.
Also, you can serve as a great role model for people looking up to you.
For instance, if you go easy on yourself, you indirectly equip your children with positive character traits.
From this experience, your children and other dependents can learn not to beat themselves up when things do not go their way.
Furthermore, it is always good to remember that the beauty of life is when you do not live only for yourself.
Having this at the back of your mind would help you be kind to yourself for your own sake and for the sake of others who look up to you.
Optimism is a positive character trait everyone should possess.
When you go easy on yourself while grieving, you will likely develop a more optimistic outlook on life.
It might be difficult, but it enables you to see the bright side of everything that happens to you, including your loss.
Also, researchers have found that personality traits like optimism have health benefits such as increased lifespan, less depression, better immunity to diseases, lower risk of depression, better psychological and physical well-being, and many more.
Having a positive outlook on life helps you cope with stress better, and this is the reason for the health benefit of optimism.
Furthermore, when you're kind to yourself during your grief, the positivity you get from it enables you to be productive in your career.
Being positive helps with your ability to concentrate. Hence, you can focus and do your best to excel in your career.
Excelling in your career would also help with self-fulfillment, which is essential in helping you to recover from your loss.
Also, when you are doing well in your career, you have a higher chance of getting promoted at work, increasing your financial capacity.
Grief comes with various emotions that can affect your attitude and perception of yourself.
Psychologists recommend multiple therapies for grief, such as being kind to yourself during your grief.
Some of the reasons you should go easy on yourself while grieving are; it is essential for your mental health, it is not your fault you lost someone, it helps your physical health, it helps your positivity, and you would be able to counsel others.
https://whatsyourgrief.com/self-compassion-in-grief/
https://www.minimalismmadesimple.com/home/be-kind-to-yourself/
https://help2makesense.org/how-to-look-after-your-mental-health-when-you-are-grieving/
https://psychcentral.com/health/grief-and-guilt
https://www.altru.org/blog/2019/august/20-ways-to-take-care-of-yourself-while-grieving/
I am a Licensed Professional Counselor, and owner of Overcomers Counseling. I'm dedicated to helping individuals find strength and healing through life’s challenges. With a deep understanding of mental health and years of professional experience, I specialize in fostering hope and resilience while equipping her clients with tools to thrive. Passionate about empowering others, she creates a safe, supportive space where everyone feels seen, valued, and capable of overcoming obstacles on their path to well-being.
Addressing grief is crucial because unresolved grief can significantly impact your quality of life, overall well-being, and ability to function in daily activities. Left unaddressed, grief can lead to more severe mental health issues, such as depression, anxiety, and complicated grief.
It can be difficult to know what to say to someone who is grieving, but sometimes simply being there for them and offering your support can be helpful. You might try saying something like, "I'm here for you if you need to talk" or "I'm sorry for your loss." You could also offer to help with practical tasks such as running errands or cooking meals.
Ignoring grief can exacerbate symptoms and make it more challenging to manage over time. This can result in a negative impact on your personal, professional, and social life, leading to feelings of isolation, chronic sadness, and even physical health complications.
There are a variety of symptoms that can be associated with grief in the elderly. Some common physical symptoms include fatigue, changes in appetite, and difficulty sleeping. Emotional symptoms can include sadness, anger, anxiety, and guilt. It's also common for those who are grieving to withdraw from social activities and lose interest in hobbies or activities they once enjoyed.
There is no "right" or "wrong" answer when it comes to how long grief will last in the elderly. For some people, the grieving process may last for several months or even years. For others, it may come in waves – they may have periods of intense grief followed by periods of relative calm. It's important to remember that everyone grieves in their own way and at their own pace.
Complicated grief, also known as prolonged grief disorder, is when intense grief symptoms continue for an extended period, often longer than six months. This type of grief can result in difficulty resuming normal life activities and can lead to sleep problems.
