Enjoying festivals are very difficult when you lose your loved one. Especially at the time of Christmas. When the entire family is at the table, but that one spot is empty. This makes it even more difficult for you to process your grief. Feeling sad is all right, but this doesn’t mean that you spend the festival sulking. There are certain ways through which you can process the grief in a healthy way.
This doesn’t mean completely dismissing your emotions. Rather, use them to build yourself while remembering your loved one. Many people find solace in visiting an online obituary platform to write about their loved one. This is one of the many ways people process grief. Join us to find out the different ways that you can use to feel better this season.
The First Festival after the Loss Can Be Difficult
The first Christmas after the death of a loved one can be the most difficult one. If you’re someone who’s spending their first Christmas after the loss. We understand why it would be difficult for you. It might feel like the world has flipped upside down and nothing is right anymore. You might even feel that the things that used to make you happy don’t anymore. Rather, they are making you feel extremely sad and angry. This is one of the many ways that your brain processes grief. While it may seem like the end of the world, we believe in you, you’ll make it through.
Christmas Might Not Be the Same Anymore
It doesn’t matter if you’re going through a recent loss or your loved one passed away 20 years ago. You might feel that since your grandma passed away. You feel sad when you take out older ornaments. This is something that doesn’t change, you eventually learn to live with it. Sometimes, people start to really feel it after the passing of one or two holidays. As the first one usually passes in a blur, while you’re still processing the event. You might even start to feel that Christmas brings along extra sadness for you. That’s because you see everyone happy and celebrating. This triggers guilt in you thus leading you to be sad and angry throughout the season. But this doesn’t mean you’ll be this way every Christmas.
How to Cope with Your Loss on Christmas
There are many memories that come along while living with your family and friends. And when you lose someone close to you, your heart may feel heavy. This is when this feeling of sadness takes over easily. We can overcome these feelings through many different ways. If we fixate on what we’re missing about them, then this might mar our enjoyment. So one of the best way is to accept our feelings and acknowledge them. While everything will make you miss your loved one even more. We can make sure that we channel these emotions in the right way. Perhaps, by doing things that would make our loved one proud of us. So let’s find the ways that can help us process our grief in a better way.
1. Take Your Time
Generally, when we lose our loved one, we’re more fixated to feeling better. This takes away the chance to let our emotions process. What we don’t understand is that it takes time for us to cope. This is the first thing that we need to understand that feeling better won’t come instantly. What we need to do is pause. Give our thoughts the chance to rest. Then, we should listen to our inner self and do what they say. This method makes our inner-self heal better.
If you feel that you should head outside to feel fresh and distract yourself, then follow your heart. Or if you think you’ll feel better staying home and resting, then do so. Anything from sleeping to movies, and partying to crying, will work if it’s what your heart wants. So give yourself time to process the loss and follow your heart to feel better. Remember, there’s no fixed time by which you must feel better. So relax, and let yourself heal.
2. Don’t Pressurize Yourself
As the holiday season comes nearer, you might feel like everything will go back to normal. You’ll enjoy the festivities that Christmas brings along like cooking, partying, and shopping. However, probably, it won’t. It is important to let go of the expectations you have from yourself. If you expect too much, then it’ll only end up hurting your heart.
The best way is to let go of the feeling of “normal”. Rather, relax and let everything go with the flow. As trying to recreate the previous feelings will only cause more heartache than happiness. We suggest that you should make a schedule that allows you to relax. This will allow you greater control of your situation. Thus, giving you the time to process, heal, and enjoy at the same time.
3. Know Your Needs
Remember that you’re the best judge of your feelings and situation. You might go to family or friends for help. But they might not be able to help you every time. So make sure that you give yourself the space to understand your needs. Then, take some time out and contact your friends and family. Let them know what plans you have for the holidays. This will help them understand you better and make plans that align with you.
The more you express yourself, the more it will help them understand you. Thus, they will be there to support you in a better way. But if you find that it’s getting overwhelming, then take a step back. Remember to prioritize your emotions over festivity. This will not only help you cope from the loss in a better way. But it will also help your loved ones be there for you.
We Believe in You
We understand that coping with loss can be difficult. But through these little tips, you can process the grief in a better way. You can even find obituaries online to see how others are coping with the loss of their loved ones. So allow your emotions to heal and soon enough, you’ll find yourself feeling better and enjoying the festivities.
