The cost of suppressing your grief.
The cost of suppressing your grief.
Sometimes we suppress our grief.
Sometimes we suppress our grief.
Perhaps we were brought up to believe it’s weak to cry or express our emotions, and we were punished for doing so. Sometimes it’s because we believe that if we start the grieving process, we’ll never stop, our lives will be lost, and we’ll never feel ok again, so we just don’t go there. And sometimes, our subconscious minds are not ready to let the person or animal go. By suppressing our grief, we suppress the reality of transition, and our hearts are protected. Confronting the loss is postponed to another day.
Not experiencing the pain of grief can seem like a good thing in the short term, but unexpressed grief can lead to all kinds of pain and problems later on. You would not - and could not - stifle the pain of a broken arm, and you certainly wouldn’t leave it untreated. Why do so with a broken heart?
It’s important to face your grief in a safe and supported way. Journaling, speaking with a trusted friend, or seeking counselling may work well for you. Trust your instincts.
What has helped you move through grief in the past?
When my son passed away I was in shock for at least a few months before grief set in or before I knew I was 'in grief'. When that happened my body got sick and I ended up nearly dying in the hospital. I was sick for over a year. I needed to do something about it so I started listening to guided meditations and took a course in mediumship from Lauren and like minded people. That also helped tremendously. Now 3 years later I am getting used to being without my son and the grief has lessened so when I do grieve it's not as difficult to deal with it with the tools I have found. Grief can catch you off guard with an innocent comment from a friend, or song on the radio, or some other kind of trigger that brings you into that deep moment of sadness that you want to put behind you so badly. But without experiencing deep grief one cannot experience deep love, compassion and joy. This is the way of grief. If one can allow the grief in with all its many flavors one can heal