The months leading into the transition to a new year often include holiday gatherings, travel, deadlines, expectations, and stress. This time can also bring celebration, “friendsgivings”, traditions, creativity, a sense of community, laughter, anticipation, and joy. When adding these on top of a loss, multiple losses, or cumulative losses, one could see how this season overloads our grief experience.
The death of someone we care about is always a devastating loss and can be difficult to process. Losing someone to an overdose can add many more layers of complicated feelings such as guilt and stigma. Unfortunately, people who overdose or die from an overdose are often judged harshly, and those societal pressures can leave family and friends carrying that burden, alongside their grief. That’s why it’s so important to recognize International Overdose Awareness Day – “an annual campaign to end overdose, remember those who have died without stigma, and acknowledge the grief of those left behind.”
Over the last few years, it has seemed that the world around us is full of grief. Whether it’s for the pre-pandemic world, a job, financial security, or the loss of a loved one, grief has become more of a collective experience. There is a lot of advice out there on how to “handle” or “manage” grief, with the idea that it’s something with a finite conclusion. But the reality is that grief is not something that goes away with time. Rather, it’s an experience that morphs and changes over time. Perhaps it’s more helpful to think of grief as a journey, rather than a destination.
Our human experience includes the need to mourn. No matter the loss type, the outward sharing of inward feeling is necessary. But, it does not mean we all activate it in the same way. In fact, part of the unique journey we undertake is finding with whom and how we share with others. It is, however, a part of processing that needs to be heard and witnessed.
By: Natalie Jensen, MSW, Supervisee in Social Work The upcoming group, Grief, Loss & Life, will feature weekly sessions, having attendees gather for 90-minutes in the early evening. Sessions are on Thursdays 6:30 – 8:00 pm, beginning March 5th, and run through April 30th (off April 9th). This spring cycle will be limited to a… Read more »
We can choose to suppress grief’s attention-seeking signals; however, complete disregard for grief’s journey might create a more difficult path. Taking a pause and honoring some of our deeper grief emotions can be challenging. Yet, if these emotions are left in a box, ignored, or continually deferred, they may show up for us in far more egregious ways.
