Grief isn’t just five letters or five stages—it’s messy, personal, and different for everyone. Whether you’re grieving someone close or feeling the weight of everything happening in the world, know this: you’re not alone in your individual and collective grief journeys, and your grief matters.
The word grief is a five-letter word.
There are also five familiar words that have been used to outline the stages of a grief journey (denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance).
Not much to it, right? Wrong!
Grief is so much more than 5 letters, 5 words and 5 stages.
Side note…the 5 “stages” are really like a scaffolding…providing a very broad guideline of what you might feel along your grief journey…definitely not linear and not a “one and done thing.”
Grief is a natural and normal reaction to a loss – any loss (i.e. the death of a person or of intangible things). This reaction is strong, messy and more often than not involves overwhelming and heavy emotions.
All of us reading this are in a “club” we didn’t ask to join, on a journey we don’t want to take.
The grief journey we’re on is both individual, i.e. our relationship with our loved one(s) who died; and collective, i.e. events and situations that have been/are happening in 2025 to date.
These collective losses are in our faces every time we access the news or social media. Grief also brings baggage from previous losses. And so the weight of our grief compounds.
Grieving is hard work and healing is a verb, not a destination. Both involve action. Neither can be rushed nor do they have a timeline…as much as other people might like them to (to make them feel better).
If we don’t deal with our grief, it will deal with us! We need to go through it…processing our emotions for each loss we experience. Take a minute here to just “be.”
We need to strive to find balance in what we’re thinking about; doing our best to stay in the “now” or present moment; letting go of what we can’t control; practicing self-compassion; naming our emotions; and honoring our struggle(s).
Simple self care tips:
- Breathe – Try 4x6x8 breathing. Inhale for a count of 4 as if you’re smelling your favorite scent; hold for a count of 6; and then exhale for a count of 8 like you’re blowing out birthday cake candles.
- Drink lots of water!
- Get up and move (stretch, walk, play…)!
As I mentioned, grief is messy and heavy. However, there can also be smiles, laughter, joy and FUN on our grief journey! Celebrate your loved one(s) and the WINS you have daily – no matter the size! And oh, yes…please unplug from time to time and/or limit your intake of news!
Remember you are not alone on your grief journey. And, here’s one more 5 for you…this summer marks our 5th year of sending out this newsletter.
Love lives on!
Hugs, Susan
