Day 52: Grief is Not Contagious
One aim I have in my work is to spread the word that grief is not contagious. The people my clients (and I) feel the most compassion from on a grief journey are the ones who manage their own fears when they show up. And don’t tiptoe. And offer their presence and take a risk to act, even if they have no idea what to do or to say.
And yes. This isn’t easy. Grief can look so scary from the outside. There is no denying that. There might be lots of snot. Or isolation. Or irritability. Or fear in the eyes. Or a blank stare. Or a zillion dishes in the sink. Or a day that the person seems ok, and then a meltdown the next.
Seeing someone in their grief is not contagious. It can ignite in us the pain of our own grief experiences and that in and of itself can be scary. AND, this interaction is part of what human connection is. (More on how empathy and compassion differ in a future post).
#bereavement #grieftherapy #groundedgrief #acutegrief #traumaticgrief #disenfranchisedgrief #miscarriage #suicide #homicide #continuingbonds #infertility #nondeathloss #divorce #petloss #complicatedgrief #griefeducation #ambiguousloss #childgrief #selfcompassion #bereavedparents #bereavedfamilies #bereavedfamilies #bereavedmother #bereavedfather #bereavedparent #bereavedsibling #anticipatorygrief #100dayproject #grace
Welcome to my #100dayproject. I am providing a daily offering on #grief, in honor of each person who has trusted me with their story and wisdom during their #griefjourney. I hope that others may benefit from simple and straightforward talk about a topic that can be difficult. Thanks for following and/or sharing.