Grieving over the loss of a loved one can be one of the most challenging experiences you will ever go through. And it can feel at times as if the pain will never end.

Don’t put a timeline on your grief. Grieving process is not linear. You may be feeling fine one moment, and then completely overwhelmed with sadness and grief the next.

Everyone grieves differently. So don’t compare yourself to others. Take as much time as you need to grieve. Follow your own inner wisdom. What do you feel like doing? What does your heart feel?

Here are seven ways to cope with your grief journey. This has helped me and hope it will help you as well.

1. Be Kind To Yourself

Give yourself the permission to grieve in the way that feels natural to you. Release your judgement and be patient with yourself. Take as much time as you need to heal from loss and know that it’s OK to not feel OK.

Take the time to fully process the pain of loss. The only way out is through. It’s not healthy to suppress or deny emotions. It’s healthy to release the pain whether it’s through crying or screaming at the top of your lungs to express the pain or anger you feel.

Forgive yourself for saying or doing anything you regret to your loved one. When my mom died in a car accident, I regretted I rushed to end the last phone call with her in order to carry on with my busy life. But I was grateful for our close relationship and the fact that we talked almost every day even if it was a minute just to check in.

Focus on the overall positives of the relationship you had with your loved one. Regardless of how it ended, reflect on what you learned from the relationship. Deep down I knew my mom loved me and I loved her and that was the foundation of our relationship. Nothing else mattered.

2. Don’t Neglect Your Self Care

Even though this may be the last thing on your mind, self care is a must for optimal mental, emotional, and physical health.

• Try to get 7 to 9 hours of sleep each night. Rested body helps you better cope with grief and loss.
• Maintain a healthy diet. Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables. Minimize or eliminate processed foods. Drink lots of water. Stay away from alcohol.
• Exercise at least three to five times per week – 30 to 45 minutes each time.
• Write in your journal. Take five to 10 minutes in the morning to write in your journal. Here are a few journal prompts:
  • How do you want to feel today?
  • What are three things you are grateful for?
  • What have grief and loss taught you?
  • What are your favorite memories of the one you lost?
  • If your loved one was here today, what advice would they give you?
• Create and maintain a healthy routine. Routine can bring some peace and security in an otherwise very hectic and unpredictable times during the grieving process.

3. Find Peace in Nature

When I lost my mom, I felt the sudden urge and a pull to be in nature. I craved to be near lighthouses. Lighthouses signified strength and peace and I felt so calm in their presence. My mind, body and spirit felt so much more at ease in nature. I found solace in the silence of the woods. I felt peace at the beach. I felt like my mom was with me even though my mind and heart ached with intense pain.

If you can, walk barefoot in nature. It’s grounding and it connects you to Mother Earth. Take time for yourself. Take a break mid-day and go for a walk in your neighborhood or to a park after dinner.

On weekends, go on a road trip to a park with waterfalls, lakes, beaches, gardens, or other nature’s wonders near you. Pay attention to the trees, animals and insects nearby. Focus all your attention on your environment and its surroundings.

4. Turn Inward with Meditation

Meditation helps reduce the mental chatter and the “monkey” mind. Meditation helps bring you back into your body and into your breath for optimal health. I haven’t really meditated until I felt called to do it after a tragic loss of my mom. Meditation was life-changing for me.

Start with a minute, then work up to 5 minutes, 10 minutes and so forth. Eventually you can work up to 30 minutes and maybe even an hour. The longer meditations are more healing. For more information about meditations, read my post: How to Start and Stick With a Meditation Practice. I have created a few free meditations you can view here.

5. Healthy Social Support System

It’s crucial to have a healthy social support system of friends, family members, coworkers, neighbors and people. They can lend an ear to you so you can talk about your feelings, memories of your loved one who passed and ways you can remember them.

Unfortunately people don’t always say or know the right things to say to those who grieve. Some say the worst things. However, don’t get upset by what people say. Some may have never gone through what you are going through and are not sure what to say. Death is a hard subject to talk about among most people.

6. Express Yourself

Express your feelings and emotions through a healthy creative outlet. This can be through art, music, or writing. Taking up a hobby like gardening or reading can be healthy as well. Any hobby that uses your hands is very therapeutic. I even made soap once because I was curious about the process.

7. Speak with a Professional

While friends and family mean well, sometimes you require a deeper dive with a counselor or a psychologist for deeper healing. Your employer may even offer a free counseling session with a professional. My employer had a few free sessions with a counselor that I took advantage of and this was the most helpful way to cope for me.

The counselor got me into meditation by guiding me through various meditations. She was very helpful and offered many healing tools while I got to discuss whatever was on my mind.

The grieving process can be very unpredictable. So having a few healthy ways to cope helps guide you along the way. Take it one step and one day at a time. You will get through it.

Death is our biggest teacher. It teaches us to appreciate the people in our life, and to love and cherish the moments we have with them. We never know when they or we will transition into the afterlife.

Last thing I will say is tune in to your intuition, your spiritual sense, to get the insight you need to heal. Listen to your body and your heart. It already knows the sacred path to healing.