As the summer winds down, many parents find themselves on the emotional rollercoaster of sending their child off to college. This transition can be bittersweet—full of pride for your child’s achievements but also marked by a profound sense of loss. It’s important to recognize that the grieving process when a child leaves for college is completely normal, and navigating these feelings can lead to personal growth and deeper family connections.
Grief and the Holidays
Here is a list of ways to help manage grief during the holidays- a time that may be particularly hard when dealing with the loss of a loved one.
The Stages of Grief
The stages of grief are not meant to be prescriptive, but rather a descriptive tool to help our minds understand what the abstract term “grief” tangibly may look and feel like.
Grief and Joy
grieving well means having resilience for feeling the pain, but also knowing that you are okay, that you will make it through, and, as a result, that you will experience both immense pain and immense joy.
The Art of Comfort
Responding to another person’s grief can be incredibly difficult, not because we don’t care, but because we simply don’t know what to do. We can’t fix the situation, but we can be a presence that conveys care and comfort to those dealing with grief.
Letting Go of Understanding
Have you ever experienced a traumatic or extremely disappointing event in your life? Maybe you lost a loved one or special friend unexpectantly; or a significant relationship ended and you were devastated. Often times, we seek to understand the purpose of these painful events. We may have many unanswered questions about the hurtful event.
Grief That Doesn’t Fit In
Disenfranchised grief is the category that covers grief that doesn’t have a socially accepted place to be recognized or expressed.
Basically, it is grief that people feel they have to hide because others won’t understand it, will dismiss it as trivial, or may actually get angry about.
Lamenting a Loss
When loss occurred, the community took the time to surround those who had suffered and allowed them the emotional space to offer a cry of sorrow and grief. Often the community itself offered a cry of sorrow for a loss. This is far from our modern day thinking about grief.
The Landscape of Loss
We are a society that loves to acquire. So when loss comes (as it inevitably will) we find ourselves generally ill-equipped to respond.
On Grieving: Crying is not Weakness
Grief is a normal part of life. With every loss we experience, however large or small, there is a grieving process that ensues. We may not always be consciously aware that we are grieving or we may not allow it, but grief is there. And if we don’t grieve fully, it will harm us in the long run, popping up in unexpected ways.
