Steps to Ease Grief

Grief can arise from many sources, in addition to the death of a loved one, including a permanent life change for you or a loved one such as dementia, severe illness, or the end of a relationship. While you need to allow yourself to grieve, there are steps that will help you ease grief.

Question: I tend to hold on to grief. What steps might I take to help ease the pain?

Answer: We associate grief most commonly with the passing of a family member, friend, or pet. But it also can arise if someone you know suffers a permanent health-related setback, such as dementia, stroke, or cancer diagnosis.

Grief can also occur from sudden changes in health or important life events, like a recent move or the end of a relationship, or after witnessing traumatic events, such as what is happening in the Middle East conflict.

No matter the source, grief can cause deep emotional and physical pain. Grief can manifest as any combination of sadness, hopelessness, depression, numbness, anger, and guilt. It also can trigger problems like forgetfulness, difficulty concentrating, and fatigue.

Going through the grieving process is essential to healing, no matter how long it lasts. The first step is to allow yourself to grieve. Don’t keep it inside and hope it goes away.

Strategies to help ease grief

Other strategies can help you navigate through your grief and make the mourning and healing less challenging. For example:

Do community outreach.

If your grief is related to someone’s death, reach out to their family, friends, neighbors, and co-workers. Learning more about the person from others and sharing stories helps everyone through the process. Plus, you can fill the role of listener, which is so helpful for other grieving people.

Talk it out.

Talking about feelings can be challenging. Yet it’s often the best way to confront grief. It can help to open up to a close friend or someone else you trust. Or you may wish to consult with a professional therapist.

Explore spirituality.

Spirituality can be a powerful healing tool no matter what form it takes. Thinking about the natural course of life and death can be quite transformative.

Remember self-care is essential when grieving. Make sure to focus on maintaining crucial parts of your everyday health.

Eat well.

Having a well-balanced diet can help you withstand the stress of grieving. That means eating plenty of vegetables, fruits, and lean proteins and drinking plenty of water.

Take your medications.

Grief makes people more vulnerable to illness, so it’s vital that you keep taking your regular medications.

Get your sleep.

Grief can make you feel exhausted, but it’s important to keep a regular sleep schedule. If you feel tired during the day, a 20-minute afternoon nap can help.

Exercise daily.

Stick to your regular exercise routine or any movement like walking, cycling, or yoga.

Howard LeWine, M.D., is an internist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston and assistant professor at Harvard Medical School. For additional consumer health information, please visit www.health.harvard.edu .

©2023 Harvard University. For terms of use, please see https://www.health.harvard.edu/terms-of-use . Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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