5 Self-Care Tips For Dealing With Grief, Loss, And Heartbreak

Take care of yourself.

Self Care Tips For How To Deal With Grief, Loss, & Heartbreak Unsplash
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Learning how to deal with grief, loss, and heartbreak can be simple if you know these self-care tips.

Everyone grieves in their own way and it's important to be aware of the benefits of learning how to practice self-care when going through grief and loss — so you don’t lose yourself in the process.

You may openly display your grief for all to see or you might retreat and hide it. Some people believe grief is something to move through quickly so you can get on with your life. Others are more apt to take time to allow the stages of grief to move at their own pace.

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RELATED: 6 Unexpected Stages Of Grief We Experience When Someone Dies

Whether someone near and dear to your heart has passed, or you have lost the life you imagined through a divorce, you will be grieving and mourning the loss in your own way.

Caregiving for a loved one can cause you to mourn the loss of the way it used to be, even before the loss is final. Even losing your job can cause grief.

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Grief can come on suddenly, or you know that it's coming. It hardly matters at all why you're grieving or how you do it.

What matters is practicing how to take care of yourself, which will help you get through this heart-wrenching time with more ease and grace.

Why is practicing self-care so important when going through the grieving process?

To begin with, you should know that self-care is important as an everyday practice and it is not selfish to take care of you. And, it is especially crucial when you are not feeling at your best.

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Dealing with grief and struggling through it is just one of those times.

Here’s something else I believe: you are the best person to take care of yourself. You know what you need as you allow deep feelings of loss to surface. Additionally, you will do well not to forget that you are a complex being and every aspect needs care — heart, mind, spirit, and body — during such a time.

One way to cover all of those areas is by getting it out of your head by expressing your feelings.

Keeping your feelings quietly stashed inside can cause physical symptoms that lead to disease. It may also make your heart hurt and your mind race with negative thoughts that keep you stuck in this place of grief longer than necessary.

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Creating a simple mind-map of your grief can help you get the thoughts out of your head and down on paper. (I recommend this technique for all kinds of challenges.)

The benefit of this approach is to give you some relief by transferring your thoughts to the written word and allowing you to literally put some distance between you and your challenge. In this case, your grief.

Here’s one way to do this: on a piece of paper, draw a circle in the middle and put the word ‘grief’ in the circle (or any other word that describes your state of being at the moment).

Next, write words that describe some of the feelings you are experiencing in other circles around the center with spokes or lines that link to the center circle. They might be words like anger, loneliness, helplessness, guilt, or depression.

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After you get all the words out, you have a map of your grief. Sit with this a while. Then, put it aside and do something else.

When you’re ready, you can take this to the next level by writing about each one of the words on your map in a journal or note pad.

What about your situation makes you feel angry or guilty? Why do you feel helpless? How does your depression feel? When you work through your grief and those feelings by writing it out, you may notice a lightness or a lifting of weight from your body.

Now, you may be thinking, "I can't write about my grief!"

In fact, I remember one of my clients reacting to this approach saying, "I’m not a writer! I can’t do this!"

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Let me assure you that you don’t have to be a writer. Single words or phrases will do the trick. The idea is to get it all out of your head, then you can take one thing at a time and learn how to heal it.

So, to guide you in your healing process, here are 5 self-care practices for your grief and loss.

1. For your heart

When your heart has a gaping hole in it, it can be hard to imagine a time when your heart will be whole again. Showing yourself compassion by taking care of your heart is an especially good self-care practice.

During this time you may want to put your hand on your heart and speak to yourself with kindness: "I care about you and will allow you the time you need. You deserve love and kindness, so I will be the first to give it to you."

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Treat yourself as you would treat someone else you see who is suffering through grief. Your own act of self-compassion and kindness will also let others know how you need to be treated right now.

RELATED: 11 Thoughts Every Single Person Has During The Stages Of Grief

2. For your mind

Grief will play with your mind as few other emotions can. Decisions will be hard. Equally hard will be your ability to focus for any length of time. It may feel like you’re in a fog. Since that is your state of mind, hearing what others are saying may be difficult because you’re unable to concentrate.

At this point, perhaps the best thing you can do is just allow yourself to be. Don’t try to make important decisions. Instead, ask others you trust to help you and accept their help with gratitude. Meanwhile, give yourself time to process this new reality.

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The state of numbness will pass eventually, and you can take steps at that time to set small goals for yourself, then take small steps to achieve them.

As the fog clears and time passes, you can focus on what is important to you in this new state of normal.

3. For your spirit

Feeling connected is the best way to practice self-care for your spirit. This connection can start with your higher self, God, the Universe — whatever you call your higher source.

A connection like this can help you to receive guidance for your spirit as you grieve. So, sit quietly and listen for it.

In addition, connection to other people who understand you and what you’re feeling, as you travel through this grieving journey, can support you in many ways. Their company may help you feel less lonely.

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Aside from that, you may find people in your inner circle who can help you work through your Grief Map, making it easier for you to get the grief out of your head and begin to heal your heart.

Establishing a connection to the person you lost can also be comforting.

When I lost my mother and father, I planted a tree in my back yard in their honor. I kept them close where I can visit and sit quietly, creating a sanctuary for myself. A living testimony to my love for them keeps me connected every day and it brings me an inner peace that they are always with me.

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4. For your body

It goes without saying that taking care of your body is an essential self-care practice. Everyone has their favorite ways to do this. At the very least, walking in nature can help the grieving process simply by connecting you to the beauty around you.

Whether you choose a mountain hike, feeling moist sand between your toes as you walk barefoot along the waterfront, or perching on a rock by a babbling brook, the sights and sounds are soothing to the soul and the activity is good for the body.

Ample nourishment and rest are also essential, although they may be hard to accomplish when you are grieving.

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However, creating a self-care practice that includes eating healthy foods regularly and getting to bed on a schedule will help harness the energy you will need to face the challenges at this difficult time.

5. Time for yourself

Last but not least, making time for you to relax and let go for a while is critical. You may wonder, "How long does grief last?" It could be a while, so building a self-care practice will help you get through it more easily.

You need time alone to breathe and grieve on your own terms. Initially, you may spend most of this time crying until you have no more tears — until the next time you set aside time to unplug.

That’s a good thing. It may help you to heal all those things on your Grief Map with more grace.

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So, remember this: Allow. Yourself. Time. To. Grieve.

RELATED: 9 Ways To Move On From Grief & Heartbreak When It Feels Impossible

María Tomás-Keegan is a certified Career and Life Coach for Women and founder of Transition & Thrive with María. Are you ready to explore how change can impact you and how to move through it with more dignity and grace? Get her free ebook From Darkness to Light: Learning to Adapt to Change and Move Through Transition.