Grief is a normal part of life, and how we grieve makes all the difference. Join hosts Montez Dove and Cedricia Thomas as they share their personal grief stories and how they are overcoming. In this episode, Montez and Cedricia discuss: The five stages of grief, When you grieve yourself, When others grieve you, How it’s okay to ask for help, How to reframe loss, and How to transition grief into gratitude.
Reference: Five Stages of Grief - Introduced by Swiss-American psychiatrist Elizabeth Kubler-Ross in her 1969 book on Death and Dying, which was inspired by her work with terminally ill patients. Wikipedia
Grief: deep sorrow, especially that caused by someone's death (Google)
How to Grieve the Person You Used to Be, Shelby Forsythia
1. Take an identity inventory.
What about your old self—precisely—are you grieving?
2. Resist the urge to sanctify or vilify your old self.
It’s easy to try to separate from the person you used to be by making them into an image of perfection and happiness that you desperately want to. Acknowledge that your old self was human—containing both bad and good—and the person you’re becoming will be human too.
3. Create a ritual for grieving your old self.
One “upside” of society’s lack of ritual surrounding grieving your old self is that you have complete freedom to invent your own! Consider DIY-ing a grief ritual to suit the way you prefer to process your grief.
4. Remember that all is not lost.
It might help you to remember that all is not lost; there are pieces of you that companion you across your lifetime. You still have some ground left to stand on.
5. Introduce yourself to your new self.
6. Practice living as your new self through self-compassionate trial-and-error.
Like a pair of worn-out shoes or jeans that are eight sizes too small. Show yourself mercy and gentleness as you try on new identities after loss. There’s no pressure to decide all of who you are today.
“Do not sit still; start moving now. In the beginning, you may not go in the direction you want, but as long as you are moving, you are creating alternatives and possibilities.” — RODOLFO COSTA
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For more on Cedricia Thomas, follow her on Instagram and Facebook @cedriciathomas
For more on Montez Dove, follow her on Instagram @thepoeticinsp and Facebook @MontezDove or visit thepoeticinspirations.com
