Tips for Coping with Grief During the Holidays

If you are suffering from grief many of you know the holiday season can be filled with stress and unrealistic demands that cause depletion of your energy. How do you avoid this happening to you? There are certain things that you can do that will alleviate some of the chaos. I will give you some tips for coping with grief during the holidays. They are not always easy but they are extremely important for you.

Tips for Coping with Grief During the Holidays

1) Remember it easy to indulge in too much alcohol and food due to the extra festivities or from your feelings associated with grief.  You may put on extra pounds and this causes you to become even more stressed!

So the key is:

• Be good to yourself.
• Allow yourself to have a Christmas cookie or a holiday drink. It’s your right.
• It’s important to enjoy yourself, but love yourself enough by limiting your intake.
• Don’t self-sabbotage by indulging.

2) This is a time for gift buying.

• Start early so that you don’t feel you must rush at the last minute.
• If you don’t want to go out to the stores, try online shopping. It’s the thought that matters most anyway!

3) This time of year adds many more activities to your normal schedule and they can overwhelm you.

• Set aside some quiet time for yourself.  It will give you peace of mind and rejuvenate you for the next day.

4) If you are grieving ~

• Spend time with people who know that you are in grief and who will validate your feelings.

5) If you must cook, bake, decorate or wrap presents, then make the process as pleasant as possible.

• Play some uplifting music.
• Light a candle.
• Invite a friend to help you.

6) If you are participating in a holiday gathering and something causes you to become upset ~

• It’s important to find support.
• Have someone’s number handy that you can call if you need to talk.
• Have an escape plan if needed.

7) There are only so many hours in a day. 

• Realize you can’t do everything.
• Pick and choose the events that will bring you the most satisfaction.
• It’s OK not to do everything.

More tips for coping with grief during the holidays

8) Help someone else if you can. It is always uplifting to your spirit and sense of well-being when you help others.

• Give an unexpected gift to someone.
• Do a kind act for someone. 

9) Take care of your body and spirit by ~

• Doing some exercise every day, even if it is a 15-minute walk.  It releases endorphins and will help keep your mind alert.
• Take time to quiet your mind with meditation or yoga.

10) Last, but not least, if this is the first holiday without your loved one  ~

• It’s difficult, so please be gentle with yourself.
• You will most likely experience emotions that you haven’t had before.
• Use the time to create new memories and new traditions that you can carry with you next season.
• Most importantly let others give you the gift of love and comfort.

Happy Holidays!

P.S. If you feel stuck I will help guide you on your journey and you will discover that everything you need is already within you. You can learn to love your life after loss. Start moving forward now. Schedule your FREE one-on-one consultation on coping with grief during the holiday season.

P.S.  I know some of you reading this have gone through your healing journey and feel that you are in a position to help others but don’t know where to start.  You are in the right place here at the Grief Healing LLC where you can be trained to become a certified grief healing coach.

Love and Light,

Robin Chodak

Certified Grief/Life/Spiritual Coach, NLP, Mindfulness Meditation and Reiki Practitioner