Today, The Lost Travelers Club honors National Grief Awareness Day.
We get it. www.LostTravelers.Club
Please share and support if you feel so moved. Thank you.
HOW TO OBSERVE NATIONAL GRIEF AWARENESS DAY
Support a grieving friend
If a friend has been honest with you and shared a current story of grief or loss, today is the day to be an extra shoulder for them to cry on. While acknowledging that everyone processes their feelings differently, offer to support your friend in whatever way they need.
Engage in self-care
In the throes of grief, a normal human response to loss, self-judgment, and anger are not productive emotions. Rather than attempting to push yourself onto an acceptable “grieving timeline,” remember that there is no one path for those in mourning, and engage in self-care by letting yourself feel whatever you’re feeling.
Help National Grief Awareness Day accomplish its mission of educating the public on grief by sharing what you’ve learned on social media. Creating space for any kind of reaction to loss is healthy for you, and might just be what someone in your social circle needed to see.
5 IMPORTANT FACTS ABOUT GRIEF
Myth: Grief = Mourning
Though not widely known, it’s true that mourning and grief cannot be used interchangeably — grief is the internal pain associated with loss, while mourning is the external expression of that pain and it often facilitates grief.
Grief often comes with secondary losses
While the trauma of losing a loved one is hard enough, those in mourning frequently must cope with a secondary associated loss, like loss of financial security or loss of housing.
Myth: Grief happens in clearly defined stages
While professionals have identified significant stages of grief that often occur, it is possible and even common for those working through grief to skip steps entirely, have more than one reaction at once, or move backward through steps.
Grief requires effort
‘Grief-work’ is the term often used to refer to a grief response — the physical and emotional toll of grief deeply affects the lives of those going through it, so it’s important to engage in self-care throughout.
Myth: Grief can be completely resolved
Sadly, many people who have experienced loss report that grief, in some form or another, continues for the rest of their lives. Like many other mental ailments, it can recur in varying levels of intensity for years.-
WHY NATIONAL GRIEF AWARENESS DAY IS IMPORTANT
It raises awareness.
Many people — both who have and haven’t experienced significant losses — don’t have a firm grasp on what grief is and how to cope with it. Spreading awareness on grief to the general public helps to better support those who are grieving and gives those who are not tools for when they encounter grief someday.
It saves lives.
For some, grief can turn into dangerous and lonely depression. It’s essential to support yourself and others while going through a loss, as a reminder that there is always light at the end of the tunnel.
It offers resources.
It can be hard to find the resources and organizations you need while grieving. National Grief Awareness Day can greatly help by connecting mourners to the psychological, emotional, and even financial resources they need to cope with their losses.