Strategies to Help You Cope with Grief

Losing a loved one or friend can be incredibly stressful. The grief you feel is personal, and there’s no universal cure to help cope with grief. After all, if there was one strategy that worked for everyone, then everyone would do it. Meredith Psychological & Testing Services offers some coping strategies you can use when dealing with your grief.

Let Yourself Feel

Don’t bottle up your emotions. Grief can bring a number of different emotions, including anger, guilt, and sadness among others, which is normal. It is okay to cry and release these emotions rather than trying to hold them in, which can increase your stress levels.

Talk About It

Take the time to talk about your feelings with close friends and family members. If this provides no help, then you should consider speaking with a therapist, who can help you navigate your feelings and cope with them.

Take Care of Your Body

Grief can be so powerful that you forget to take care of yourself. Proper rest, nutrition, and exercise can help relieve the stress of grief. You should also be mindful of using substances to numb the pain you’re feeling, as they can delay the healing process and even make things worse.

Create Rituals or Memorials

There are many ways in which you can honor your lost loved one through writing, artwork, or even planting a tree to help preserve their memory.

Light a candle, write a letter, create a photo album, or plant a tree. Rituals help give meaning and honor the loss.

Be Fair to Yourself

There’s no set timeline for coping with stress, and you shouldn’t pressure yourself to “get over it.” Understand that grief is an ongoing process and that there won’t come a time in which it just stops.

Stay Connected

While time alone can be soothing in small doses, isolating yourself from friends and family can be counterproductive. Stay involved with your close circle of friends, and lean on them for support instead of isolating.

If you need help dealing with grief in your life, please request an appointment to speak with one of the therapists here at Meredith Psychological & Testing Services.