Staying Connected in Grief

In the not so distant past, grief was looked at as a linear process. A step by step timeline with tasks to complete and stages to move through until an end was reached in which grief was “resolved” and the bereaved had “moved on” from their loss. But this straight forward and simplistic process doesn’t describe the kind of grief that I see people wrestling with day after day. Their grief isn’t linear, it ebbs and flows, looking different for every person, joy and sadness intermingle… stages and tasks and timelines have no place here. But, eventually a new rhythm emerges, a rhythm that includes the love and the life of their loved one who has died. Their relationship and attachment to the person they lost remains, it changes and transforms as life moves forward without their loved one by their side, not as they move on from their love and attachment to them. This is the natural and human response to loss.

The Purpose of Grief

What is the purpose of grief was not to let go or move on or distance yourself from the memories and thoughts of your loved one? What if one of the ways we can cope with grief is to remain attached to our loved one and find ways to keep them as an active and important part of our lives? What if our love and bond with them continued even after they were no longer with us?

5 Ways to Continue Bonds with Your Loved One

Even though your loved one may not be physically present anymore, your love for them doesn’t disappear. Through creating new traditions, you can honor the deceased’s memory and find ways to keep them in their life. Below are some ways that you can create a continued bond after a loved one is gone.