How to find healing this New Year when your loved one just passed away?
At this time, most people around the globe are busy compiling their resolutions to ring in the new year. It usually revolves around losing weight, exercising, or hitting work goals. However, celebrating the New Year when your loved one just passed away poses a different challenge. You may have felt the same melancholy and longing to get through Christmas without your loved one by your side. Similarly, New Year’s Eve may also cause the same emotional upheaval, especially if you’ve just recently concluded the funeral services. Instead of feeling relief at the thought of leaving a dark year marred by loss and pain, the new year may bring worries, anxieties, and fears.
After all, how can you face the future with an important person so glaringly absent from your life? Standing at the end of the old year and being on the brink of a new one indeed brings the harsh realization that your days will mark a new time without your loved one. You are forced to face creating new memories alone. As such, it is totally normal to feel uncertain and insecure about the new days ahead. To help yourself move gracefully through your grief, try these resolutions for the coming year:
Take Time to Ponder Over Your New Situation
Remember to be gentle with yourself by making sure you have the time to process your new situation. Before the year comes to a close, it is okay to visit your loved one’s final resting place and bring funeral flowers. Take time to reminisce, reviewing all your sweet memories. Be courageous and review the year that was, too. You have lost your loved one, so the past year is marred with pain and tribulations. However, remember that challenges are opportunities for growth. Above all, don’t forget to take stock of your gifts. Counting blessings is the best kind of math in the world.
Accept that Your Journey Will Be Different
Comparison is the thief of joy, so don’t compare your grief journey with others. This process involves different stages, and healing takes a long time. You are not required to let go right away. Don’t pressure yourself to be where others think you ought to be. Grief is a unique experience that is never the same for two people. The key is to accept where you are and learn to cope from there. As such, it’s okay not to be your normal self right now. If you don’t feel like celebrating the New Year’s festivities, it is your right to do as you wish. If you want to do a different tradition like serve in a soup kitchen in honor of your deceased loved one, that’s okay too.
Unwind and Focus on Enriching Activities
The New Year holidays are the perfect time to get your much-needed rest. The past year must have been hectic with the loss of your loved one. So go ahead, slow down, stop, take a breather, and sleep. It would help if you relaxed as you’ve earned it. When you calm yourself down, you’ll find this is very refreshing and restorative. After all, the process of mourning expends a lot of energy. Don’t forget to nourish yourself with nutritious meals, healthier snacks, and plenty of water. You can also try enriching activities like outdoor walks, meditation classes, yoga exercises, and the like. Be kind to yourself as your body, mind, and soul need total healing. Allow each brand new day to unfold one day at a time. There’s no need to hurry. Just be patient, tolerant, and gentle with yourself because you’ve gone through so much.
Surround Yourself With Genuine People
Though you may be tempted to shy away from the world because of the injustice of your loss, you must remember that no man is an island. It would be best if you surround yourself with truly supportive people who provide comfort. Steer clear from those who rush you and tell you to get over it. Genuine friends will respect you and give you time to process your feelings. Instead of judging you, they provide invaluable support and don’t ask for anything in return.
Final Wrap Up
The start of the New Year is typically associated with great, new expectations. However, it can be hard to feel hopeful when you face it without the presence of your beloved. At times, it can even feel overwhelming. To help you adjust in this difficult time, remember to be gentle with yourself and take the time to mourn. What you’re feeling is normal and understandable. After all, people understand that the song of life may have ended with its final note, but the melody lingers on in your heart and soul.
