Grief is an extremely personal feeling but is also very real. Often, we think if we suppress grief with other things and actions, we may never have to directly deal with it. But that’s not true. Therapists Nicole Vignola and Sula Windgassen explained that grief activates the areas of the brain for pain processing and modulation leading to the sensation of pain feeling physical as well as mental. Norepinephrine is released which can make the body feel exhausted and restless, often leading to sleeplessness. We also visualise and replay the events over and over again and feel the same grief. However, the only way to get over grief is to keep replaying the events and let the brain do its work. These further aids the emotional processing of grief.
The Therapists shared a few tips on how we can deal with grief:
ALSO READ: Types of relationship grief: Therapist explains
We’re now on WhatsApp. Click to join
Therapy: Seeking professional help to deal with complicated grief is always recommended. However, when grief goes through a natural process, it is okay to allow it, process it and feel it. In case of complicated grief, we often need expert help to sort our feelings and address them in a healthy manner.
Find the right support: When we deal with grief, we often feel unsafe. Hence, seeking the right support for even the basic thing in life is important. Be it financial support for food assistance or community support, it is very important to surround ourselves with safe people.
Journaling: When we start to journal our emotions, we tend to address them in a healthy manner without triggering a stress response. This helps us to process our emotions and remember the good times as well as the difficult times.
Emotional expression: Finding healthy ways to vent out our difficult emotions can help us to feel better. Creative actions or having a new hobby can also help.
