Often, we think of grief and loss as applying only to death, which it certainly does, but it also encompasses a far wider range of experiences. People can mourn the loss of a significant relationship, a personal dream, their former identity, a passion, or a move to a new place.
Grief work often looks like:
Acknowledging what you have lost and secondary losses (anything that has changed or shifted as a result of the primary loss; examples include loss of family role, loss of routine, financial instability, or changed relationships).
Connecting with and processing your emotions, instead of avoiding them.
Finding your "new normal" in the form of new roles, routines, identity, etc.
Adjusting to your "new normal," alongside the grief you still experience.
The pain of the loss you've experienced will never "go away," but as a result of the loss. You can find ways to still connect with what you've lost and find a life worth living after experiencing deep levels of grief.
Grief doesn't "go away," but it does take new shape when we find ways to make space for it. You are learning to live alongside the loss, not move on or get rid of it. You can find ways to adjust to your new life, roles, and identity in addition to connecting with what or who you've lost. Grief becomes a part of who we are, and so does the life we build after loss.
