During the holiday season, a lot of people are grieving. Everyone grieves differently and grief doesn’t have a timeline but there are different strategies people can use to process grief. Here are 5 ways to consider to process your grief this holiday season:
Rituals
Many people have a funeral or memorial service for their deceased loved ones. That enables us to have a ritual to be with other loved ones and express our connection with the person who has passed away in various ways. As time goes on other rituals that people find helpful are visiting their loved one’s grave or place where they have spread their ashes. On El Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) which is Nov 1st and 2nd, people make an alter to leave favorite foods and pictures of their loved one. To learn more about El Dia de los Muertos click here.
These rituals enable us to create a safe space to remember and even possibly communicate with our deceased love one(s).
Writing
Journaling can be a good strategy to get out and process various emotions related to grief including sadness, anger, joy (good memories) and unresolved issues with the person one has lost. Sometimes writing a letter to one’s deceased loved one can be helpful. Some people burn the letter or create another form of ritual to release the letter into the universe.
Art
People process grief using various art forms including collage, poetry, song and dance. They key is expressing your experience or relationship with your loved one. This can help people get beyond the potential limits of cognitive methods and to express what’s on our hearts…
Stories
Telling stories of your loved one(s) with others that knew them or those who have never met them. Funny stories help us to laugh. These and other stories seem to encapsulate who they were to us and help us to remember the most important part of our connection with them.
Therapy
Individual or group therapy/ support groups can help us to process grief. Counselors trained in bereavement can talk about the stages of grief or the grief wheel which describes common experiences with grief. Sharing the experience of grief with others who have lost someone with a similar role in our lives such as parents, children or spouses/partners can be useful to help us to feel less alone and to feel a sense of connection with the loss.
Whether you use one or more of these methods or others, acknowledging your feelings including numbness, being patient with yourself and engaging in regular self-care is important to help you with grief during this season.
