What Helps When You're Grieving - Ideas For Body, Mind, And Spirit

Jana is joined by Dougy Center staff member, Heather Dorfman, to talk about what helps (or might help) in grief, outside the realm of more formal support. As you listen to this episode, keep in mind:

• These ideas may help for some, not others. What’s helpful can be unique for each person and very much informed by culture and other identities (just like grief).
• Some may have more options around taking care of self and children than others. Support people can focus their efforts on creating opportunities for their grieving loved ones to engage in self-care and compassion.
• Grief is holistic – involves emotions, body, mind, spirit/heart, community/relationships. Engaging in intentional activities to support each of these dimensions can be helpful.
• Consider writing down the ideas you’d like to try - it can sometimes be tough to remember them in the moment they’re needed.
• If accepting help from others is challenging, consider that your acceptance of support is often experienced as such a gift by your friend or loved one – so do it for their sake if necessary!

Body/movement –

• Grief can show up in our bodies as sluggishness, excess energy, stomach and sleep upsets
  • Walking, hiking or otherwise moving and spending time outside
  • Dancing, yoga, swimming
  • Punching pillows/bed
  • Knitting
  • Setting a fitness goal that is safe for you
  • Pay attention to what sorts of foods help with stomach upsets, and activities that help with settling into sleep and staying asleep at night.

Mind –

• May experience a slow/foggy feeling in the brain, inability to concentrate/focus, confusion, rumination. Activities that help with focus, connection, and slowing things down can help.
  • Learning/sharing new facts. Making calculations – concrete activities
  • Reading (grief-related and non-grief books), podcasts, tv shows
  • Meditating
  • Crosswords/word searches/Sudoku/other games
  • Debating

Emotional/spiritual/social –

• Many receive support from a spiritual or other community. Your community might look like being in the trees, at the ocean, in a gym or library, participating in a support group, mosque, temple or church. Here are some other ideas:
  • Meditation
  • Ceremony/ritual, which can offer a sense of control, routine/structure, marking important experiences, dates
  • Making or listening to music; making/experiencing other art (even coloring sheets). It may be helpful to make the activity simple for you
  • Humor – which might look like dark, silly, or wry humor
  • Cooking for self and others – or not cooking!
  • Volunteering, which can offer the opportunity to step out of your own story for a while

To find more formal grief support in your community, visit our website to search for help near you.