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5 Ways for Adults to Heal Their Childhood Grief
comfortableNight4463 March 19th, 2023
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  1. Recognize that grief is a journey, not an event. Unfortunately, there is no quick fix or "getting over" your history. Some traumas we get over, some we manage, and the journey to doing so ebbs and flows. You might have months or even years where you feel okay with your history, only to see a father tossing a ball with his son in a park, and immediately fill with sadness and never having had that experience with your father.
  2. Validate your truth. Childhood survivors of trauma have often been invalidated, dismissed, and shamed. Society tells them to get over it, leave the past behind, and dismiss their pain with statements such as, "we all struggle sometimes; it's important to forgive," or "they are your parents," as if that somehow absolves them of causing pain.
  3. Work on increasing your understanding of yourself. Understand that not all experiences will be comfortable for you and that that is okay. I have many clients who are unable to participate in holiday gatherings due to being triggered by music, food, and other memories. Understand that you are reacting now as if you are still back then. The family at the park has not done anything to you and did not contribute to your lack of a stable home in your childhood. While the grief and feelings are natural,
  4. Try not to compare your life to social media. Remember- social media paints a different picture. People post only the best moments, where everyone is smiling and happy. You did not see the fight that happened after, the drunk uncle passed out beforehand, or perhaps the mess they argued about the next morning.
  5. Maintain healing throughout. Just as someone with diabetes must monitor their blood sugar levels, our mental health should not be ignored. Healing involves grieving and then moving forward with increased understanding.

If you find that your grief is preventing you from living a fulfilling life, or causing symptoms of depression or anxiety, seek the support of a licensed therapist to help you with your healing.

Read the complete article available at Psychology Today!

Reflection:

What are your thoughts on the article?

#Grief #Loss #Healing #MentalHealth

If you liked this article, you might also like, "How to deal with grief"

Also check out, "Surviving Those Awful First Few Days of Grief"


2
blitheSun94 March 20th, 2023
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@comfortableNight4463

Thank you for this post. As someone who experiences a great deal of loss and so too grief, I can speak to the fact that it is a on-going journey. As much as we would like it to be, grief is non-linear, meaning the stages of grief may appear in order, forwards, backwards, together or not at all, or wax and wane with time. Fortunately, our triggers keep us on our toes and have the power to teach us exactly where we are in our grief journey. In the moment it's almost impossible to see, but there is great wisdom in healing great pain. <3

comfortableNight4463 OP March 24th, 2023
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@blitheSun94 Well said!

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