Navigating Grief During the Holidays
The holiday season is a time of joy, merriment, and celebration involving your loved ones. It doesn’t fit to think that grief is a part of it.
However, maybe you are one of the many people who have experienced grief during your holiday season. Whether it’s the loss of a loved one, a past traumatic event, or broken family relationships, this upcoming season meant for happiness may be a time of sadness, triggers, and anger that you find hard to navigate.
What do you do with these big emotions?
With the busyness of life, especially around this time, it may be easy to slip into the habit of letting the grief pass without much thought. This may be one way to protect yourself from reliving these difficult emotions.
Maybe you experience dread or sadness about what’s to come. With such a painful reminder that the season brings, it may be perfectly normal to experience grief about your grief.
Whatever your reaction, it may be important to remember some vital self-care and supportive strategies to help you navigate this time.
Take time to validate and embrace grief with compassion.
Your emotions are constantly flowing, so it may be helpful to allow them to flow instead of dismissing or blocking them. Whether you’re feeling angry, overwhelmingly sad, numb, or absent of emotions, give yourself permission to acknowledge and validate these feelings.
Adjust your expectations for the season.
What expectations are you taking on for yourself this season? This time will bring forth culturally accepted celebrations, but It’s okay to change these celebrations to accommodate your grief. If you’d like, allow yourself to have this time be sacred and set apart for your time of grief.
Remember to prioritize self-care practices.
Take a moment to prioritize activities that you find healing. Whether journaling, praying, exercising, or partaking in relaxing activities, it’s crucial to give your mind and body a sense of balance during this time of grieving.
Learn mindfulness and coping strategies.
Identify your triggers and practice mindfulness techniques to better cope with grief. Grief includes feelings of anger, denial, bargaining, and depression and can fluctuate unexpectedly. This is why it’s essential to be aware and prepared with mindfulness techniques to help ground yourself in the present moment.
Experience healing through traditions and rituals.
If there are any rituals that you have set for this time, whether it’s writing a letter, revisiting a particular place, meeting meaningful people, or sharing memories, allow yourself to participate and experience them fully. If you don’t have any rituals, it may be helpful to create your own to express yourself and make more sense of your grief.
Seek professional guidance.
If the grief has been overwhelming and impacts your mental and physical functioning, it may be time to consider seeking professional support. Therapists specializing in grief can help provide the proper guidance to help with your needs during this time.
Even amid grief, this season can be a time of healing, new perspectives, and connection.
Taking steps to ensure your well-being and healthily processing your grief can take a weight off your shoulders and guide you toward healing. The hope is that you can create new experiences with your grief this season with helpful reminders and more positive coping skills.
Try one of the self-care suggestions. After a week or try, try another tip. We’d love to hear how it went.
About Christina:
Christina enjoys helping individuals, families, and teens overcome life’s challenges and find healing. Christina is in Midland Park, Fort Lee, and telehealth. Sessions are available in English and Korean.