Your grief path is unique to you. There is no prescribed path to ease everyone’s grief. Your grief may be from any type of loss. It could be the passing of a loved one, the loss of one’s own health, or the loss of a relationship or even a former way of life. First, let’s explore how you may discover your own personal path.
There is pleasure in the pathless woods. Lord Byron
Part of how to find your path through grief is to discover or perhaps rediscover what brings you pleasure. Do you enjoy active or passive pursuits? Are you the creative type? Read EMPOWERED LIVING or ERASE GRIEF . Do you like exploring new things? Are you attracted to nature? Check out THINK LIKE WATER . Do you tend to be an extrovert or an introvert? Try to recall what brought you pleasure through different seasons of your life, whether in childhood, as a young adult or as an older one.
Once you’ve analyzed your tendencies, you are ready to map your own path. Recall those pleasant experiences and engage in some of them! Then, take notice how any of these activities or relaxations change your grieving.
Is Your Grief Path Complicated?
Next, it is important to consider the severity of your grief. Sometimes if grief seems to be unmanageable, we need to evaluate where we are on this journey. Here is a brief quiz to help you determine if you need to seek help from a licensed doctor in order to cope: https://www.psycom.net/complicated-grief-quiz . If you feel incapacitated in life, medical professionals can assist us to get back on the path to feeling like a fully functioning human.
Ease Your Grief Path
Another strategy which may help to ease your grief path involves your sense of smell. Essential oils have this potential. These oils may be diffused into the air, worn on jewelry or applied topically with a carrier oil. In reviewing several sites on essential oils, relaxing oils such as lavender or chamomile or rose are frequently mentioned. These oils can help to release emotions associated with grief. There must be something about the scent of rose. At times I’ve noticed that funeral homes have a faint scent of rose, presumably for that very reason. In fact, one time during my teaching career, I was wearing rose scented perfume or lotion at school. One of my former students turned up her nose and told me I smelled like the funeral home. (I couldn’t bring myself to wear that rose scent again…at least not around school children!)
Another consideration is using water to wash away those negative things. Toxins, in particular, may collect in our bodies. Check out WASH AWAY NEGATIVITY! I know I certainly feel much better and relaxed when I focus on these issues. Unquestionably, grief can be affected by clearing those toxins.
When I have gone for a massage during an active grieving stage, the massage is likely to trigger tears. There are certain parts of our bodies where we hold on to grief. Licensed Massage Therapists (LMT) know how to help release these stressors. It is a normal, natural and necessary process to cry.
Gratitude can undeniably affect our disposition as well as our grief process. Feeling thankful is likely to give us a more positive frame of mind, regardless of what is happening in our world. Here is Gratitude for Hard Times as a concluding post.
There is no right way to grieve; there is only your way to grieve and that is different for everyone.
Nathalie Himmelrich
Finally, may you find your path in the pathless woods to enable you to be your best self. While it may feel like a long and winding road, you will thank yourself for the journey.
