Hi again everyone, this blog primarily focuses on the things I do and enjoy to live a positive life. Unfortunately, a part of life is loss and something I have been experiencing an immense amount of lately. Five months ago I lost my grandfather who has always been my very best friend, and less than a week ago I lost my grandmother.
I know that it is a tough topic to talk about but it is something I am learning to cope with in order to attempt to bounce back and continue living a positive, healthy lifestyle.
I have attended bereavement meetings with the my roommate who is also suffering from loss in her life, and from these meetings and some help of a school counsellor I have learned some coping mechanisms that I would love to share in the case that you are also living with loss..
Often, I find myself distracted when I have very important tasks to achieve – whether it be school or work. I find myself distracted with thoughts of the past with my grandparents or memories that I never want to let go of. A coping mechanism that has really helped me with these thoughts is journaling.
I was taught that when you are distracted by one of these thoughts, to write it down somewhere so you do not let it go — but return to it later. Set out time in your day or week to reflect on these thoughts you are having.
Maybe right down the memory in a journal and expand on those thoughts. This has really helped me to set out a time to cope in a healthy way by not spending my entire day with a feeling of loss. This allows me to spend more meaningful time reflecting on the memories that I love and releasing other feelings.
Another thing I have found to help myself cope is carrying a momento of theirs around with me. One of my hardest parts of living with loss is the feeling that the person I love is all of a sudden not there.
Carrying a momento around with me makes this feeling of sudden loss a little quieter in my life as it makes me feel as though they are with me in some way. For my grandpa, I carry his fingerprint copied onto a medallion, as a necklace.
Although very simple, I hope that one of these pieces of advice may help you in any little way with loss you may have experienced in your life.
Love always, Alex
