The Holistic Approach to Grief
Recently a close friend experienced the death of a loved one. The death of this particular person was tragic. It was a drunk driving accident that occurred on a sunny day in the afternoon and my friend's friend was hit head on by a drunk driver. This driver walked away unscathed and his friend died instantly. My friend who was very close to this person was devasted by such a senseless tragedy. It has been a few months now and he is struggling with how to cope with the death of his friend. He is struggling with how to deal with this death because it was so preventable. I tried to touch base with him after the accident to see how he was dealing with the death but he couldn't talk about it. He finally called me back and after a long conversation, I decided that my next blog post should be about the holistic approach to dealing with grief.
Grief comes in many forms and people have different approaches to dealing with grief. My friend reached out to me to see if I had any advice on how to help him deal with his struggle. I am not a medical professional but I have a lot of life experience that has helped me through some difficult times. Here are some of the best ways to deal with grief with a holistic approach to a happier and healthier life.
Express yourself and your emotions- This is the most important step to dealing with the cycle of grief. Keeping emotions bottled up will only cause residual issues. When people keep their emotions inside, they end up not dealing with grief. Expressing yourself to loved ones can help to alleviate the pain and help to work through the pain. Seeking the help of a counselor is a very good idea. Trained professionals can help an individual work through the pain.
Allow yourself to feel sad- Allowing yourself to feel sad is a healthy part of the grieving process. Many people, especially men, are told that crying makes you weak. Being sad is portrayed as a sign of weakness but in reality, it is a perfectly normal way to grieve and express oneself. Crying and being sad is one of the best ways to help an individual move past the grief.
Don't break your routine- Keeping up with a routine will help an individual to work through the grief. Getting up a normal time will encourage a person to not sleep away the grief. Breaking routine is ok for a bit but if it becomes a habit then it will only prolong the grief. Breaking routine will only encourage habits that are not healthy.
Take care of yourself- Grief can be paralyzing. It can be numbing and it can cause people to not take care proper care of themselves. It is a slippery slope towards depression when someone stops taking care of themselves. It is key to eat well and get proper rest. Try to exercise. Even going for a short walk will help to help with the grief.
Be patient- Above all, be patient with yourself. Oftentimes, people want to rush through the grieving process because they just want the sadness and grief to be done. Unfortunately, the grieving process does not work like that. In order cope effectively with the grief and pain, one must go through the whole process and experience the pain and sadness. This is the only way to come out the other side, even if it feels like it is going to take forever.
Grief is something that we will all experience at some point in life. Grief does not always accompany a death, a divorce can lead to grief, an end of a relationship or the loss of a job. Grief can come in many different forms and for different reasons. When a person recognizes that they are experiencing the symptoms of grief, it is important to seek out support and love.
Grief comes in many forms and people have different approaches to dealing with grief. My friend reached out to me to see if I had any advice on how to help him deal with his struggle. I am not a medical professional but I have a lot of life experience that has helped me through some difficult times. Here are some of the best ways to deal with grief with a holistic approach to a happier and healthier life.
Express yourself and your emotions- This is the most important step to dealing with the cycle of grief. Keeping emotions bottled up will only cause residual issues. When people keep their emotions inside, they end up not dealing with grief. Expressing yourself to loved ones can help to alleviate the pain and help to work through the pain. Seeking the help of a counselor is a very good idea. Trained professionals can help an individual work through the pain.
Allow yourself to feel sad- Allowing yourself to feel sad is a healthy part of the grieving process. Many people, especially men, are told that crying makes you weak. Being sad is portrayed as a sign of weakness but in reality, it is a perfectly normal way to grieve and express oneself. Crying and being sad is one of the best ways to help an individual move past the grief.
Don't break your routine- Keeping up with a routine will help an individual to work through the grief. Getting up a normal time will encourage a person to not sleep away the grief. Breaking routine is ok for a bit but if it becomes a habit then it will only prolong the grief. Breaking routine will only encourage habits that are not healthy.
Take care of yourself- Grief can be paralyzing. It can be numbing and it can cause people to not take care proper care of themselves. It is a slippery slope towards depression when someone stops taking care of themselves. It is key to eat well and get proper rest. Try to exercise. Even going for a short walk will help to help with the grief.
Be patient- Above all, be patient with yourself. Oftentimes, people want to rush through the grieving process because they just want the sadness and grief to be done. Unfortunately, the grieving process does not work like that. In order cope effectively with the grief and pain, one must go through the whole process and experience the pain and sadness. This is the only way to come out the other side, even if it feels like it is going to take forever.
Grief is something that we will all experience at some point in life. Grief does not always accompany a death, a divorce can lead to grief, an end of a relationship or the loss of a job. Grief can come in many different forms and for different reasons. When a person recognizes that they are experiencing the symptoms of grief, it is important to seek out support and love.
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