10 tips to help cope with grief

10 tips to help cope with grief

Grief is a feeling that everyone will encounter at some point in their life and it’s something that everyone experiences differently. Navigating through these feelings can be a challenge so here are our top 10 tips for coping with grief.

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1. Be patient with yourself

Whether you’ve lost someone close to you or even if you’ve only known them for a short amount of time - grief is grief and it’s safe to say that you won’t be feeling yourself for some time, no matter how long you’ve known the person. It’s so important to be patient with yourself, especially if you’ve never experienced grief before.

2. Let it out

Sometimes the best thing to do when you’re grieving (and often the only thing) is just to let it out. If you need to cry, just cry. If you want to go to bed and sleep all day, do it. If you want to laugh, then laugh.

Any emotion that you feel during this period is totally valid - everyone experiences grief in a completely different way. So, better to let things out than to keep it all bottled up.

3. Therapy isn’t a bad thing

Some people have the opinion that therapy is a sign of weakness or failure. But grief is a very complex emotion and talking about how you’re feeling is key in helping you move on. But taking control of how you feel is a sign and seeking out therapy is a sure fire sign of acceptance. One of the main functions of bereavement counselling is normalising your feelings.

4. Send a text

Sometimes the feeling of missing someone can be so overpowering - you just need to speak to them. If you spoke a lot before, then you might find sending them texts with updates or even just speaking to them how you normally would (even though they won’t reply) beneficial for your grieving process.

Sending a text, voicemail, voice note, or even writing a letter to the one you’ve lost could help make the transition of life after loss just that little bit easier.

5. Don’t be afraid to move on

Moving on doesn’t mean that you’ve forgotten about the person you are grieving, it simply means that you’re acknowledging that your future will be different than your past without this person.

Don’t hold yourself back from moving on because of feelings of guilt - you deserve happiness too. Without the person that you have lost, your life will change in both big and small ways alike and it will take a while to get used to life without your loved one.

6. Take one day at a time

It might seem cliché but time really can be the best healer. We aren’t saying that time is the answer to all of life’s problems, however, it can certainly help take the edge off.

When you first lose someone, the pain can feel real, like someone has physically hurt you. As more time passes, that hard hitting acute pain you can feel when you initially lose someone, fades more into the background. Instead of thinking far ahead into the future and worrying about things you can’t control, try to take each day as it comes and concentrate on getting to the end of that day

7. There is no right or wrong emotion

Don’t feel bad about anything you feel because when you’re grieving, you will probably experience a whole range of emotions.

When it comes to grief, your feelings will range all the way from happiness, sadness, anger, tearfulness to even guilt. But it’s so important to remember that everything you’re feeling is valid and completely normal.

8. Don’t let it rule your world

Like we said, grief is a whole range of emotions balled into one but don’t let it rule your world (not for too long anyway). As agonising as it may be to think about life without your person in it, sadly, you can’t bring them back.

Focusing on yourself and working on you is one of the best ways to not allow grief to rule your world. When you feel ready try and ease yourself into healthy self care habits such as: taking up a new hobby, making sure you are eating and drinking to nourish your body, and getting regular fresh air and exercise.

9. Support groups

This one won’t be for everyone but everyone’s journey with grief is different. If you’ve lost a loved one some time ago but you’re still struggling to deal with the grief you are feeling, support groups can be a huge help.

Meeting like minded people, who are going through the same thing as you, can be so constructive, as members of the group can offer advice and speak from experience. If you stay at your support group for a long time, you could then become this inspiration to someone else in the group. Plus, you could also make a few new friends in the process!

10. Remember them

This is an important one. When you’ve recently lost someone, you may want to avoid thinking of them for a while as it could trigger feelings of sadness.

But looking through pictures, videos and anything else that reminds you of them every once in a while is totally healthy and keeping their memory alive and fresh in your mind could help prevent being triggered further down the line.

Your cover could help

If you have a life insurance policy in place already, you may have access to *free additional benefits within your life insurance policy.

Some of the UK’s leading life insurance providers now automatically provide free access to amazing benefits. AIG, Royal London, Legal and General, Scottish Widows and Aviva offer some of the following (and much more):

Free access to 24/7 digital GP appointments - online or by phone
Mental health support and counselling
Free health checks
Therapy and/or counselling
Second medical opinions
Tailored fitness and nutrition plans
Access to personal nurses who can offer support in all areas of your life

Want to know if you have access to these benefits? Simply get in touch with the team here at Caspian Insurance or just check your life insurance documents that you will have received from us (either by post or email).

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Helpful contacts

If you need someone to talk to or are really struggling mentally then here are some contacts that could help:

Samaritans services are available 24/7, 365 days a year, you can contact them on 116 123. They work to make sure that there is always someone there for anyone who needs someone.
Mind is the mental health charity that aims to ensure no one has to face a mental health problem alone. They provide advice and support for anyone suffering with their mental health. Their info line is 0300 123 3393.
Ataloss.org has so many resources and helpful contacts on their website too if you wanted to check them out.