Grief in the context of Winter months can often be known as Seasonal Grief; this can be as a result of your grief being intensified as a result of the colder and darker time of year. This can make Grief feel heavier.
Winter is statistically considered to be one of the most challenging seasons for those of us that are grieving due to a combination of environmental and social factors, some of which are listed below. This could also be said for those of us that are suffering with depression, anxiety or a range of other Mental Health conditions.
– With shorter days and a lack of sunlight, this can lead to a drop in serotonin and vitamin D, which may be a contributing factor to a trigger of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) This can compound the emotional weight of loss.
– Isolation can be felt as quite often the cold weather reduces outdoor activities and cause to hibernate which can result in isolation and more time spent ruminating on painful thoughts. Feeling isolated and taking less
physical activity can leave us feeling lethargic which in-turn can cause difficulty with daily tasks even. Physical activity is crucial for our mood regulation.
– With Christmas and New Year upon us, this can emphasise family and togetherness, making the absence of a loved one feel more pronounced.
Losing a loved one is one of the most distressing and sadly common experiences that we can face. Most of us experiencing what we may call normal grief and bereavement have a period of sorrow, numbness, and at times guilt and anger. Gradually these feelings ease and it may be possible to accept our loss and move forward.
For some of us the feeling of loss is so debilitating and doesn’t improve over time. There may be a feeling of trauma with distressing memories that we keep returning to, this may be known as complicated grief. Coping with some of the factors that we looked at above such as isolation, colder weather, darker nights, less physical activity all of which can be a factor in compounding our grief and contributing to complicated grief.
Self care and healing is so important for all of us in our day to life, but never more so than when we are coping with grief and bereavement. Not only are we coping with our own grief but we may also be trying to support others, including children within the family. This may lead us to put our own grief to the back and focus on supporting those around us.
Grief is not just felt as an emotional loss but also can have a very real and physical effect on our body. If you are struggling with sleep, maybe too much or not enough – rest is important, even if this don’t come with sleep. Only when we rest our body and mind can it begin to repair. We all have our own pot of energy reserve and once this is depleted we find it even more difficult to cope both mentally and physically.
The list of support networks is endless and here we touch on just a few. We are keen to hear any experiences and any feelings, ideas or thoughts that you may have and be willing to share to help others that may be struggling.
Breathing technics can be most useful with overwhelming feeling and thoughts. You do have to be somewhat disciplined and this may be difficult at such a distressing time. Remember it is about small steps, baby steps…. “you don’t have to see the whole staircase to travel the whole flight, only the first step”
Gentle and Regular exercise, this could be as simple as a walk out into your garden or local park. If you are not feeling you are able to go out then simple stretched and moves inside the home will help. Gentle, intentional stretching can help process the physical tension, contraction, and “stuck” emotions associated with grief.
According to experts, focusing on opening the chest, shoulders, and hips can help release the somatic weight of loss. Sleep and rest is important, even if you are not sleeping, resting your body is important. We all have a reserve of energy levels, once this is depleted it can become difficult to support those around you, let-alone yourself!
Music and hobbies can be a lovely way to distract for a short time. To lift, if only for a few moments the weight that can come with a loss. Taking a nice bath or shower. Eating your favourite food. Self care is so important in the healing process and the smallest of time invested in yourself will be beneficial.
Mindfulness
Mindfulness is the practice of intentionally focusing on the present moment-thoughts, sensations, and surroundings-with openness, curiosity, and without judgment. It helps reduce stress, anxiety, and automatic negative reactions by anchoring attention in the “here and now” rather than dwelling on the past or future.
Techniques include focused breathing, body scans, and everyday awareness.
Core Benefits
• Improved Mental Health: Helps manage depression, anxiety, and stress by creating space between thoughts and reactions.
• Increased Self-Awareness: Helps individuals recognise unhealthy thought patterns and bodily sensations, such as tension.
• Enhanced Emotional Regulation: Allows for a calmer, more thoughtful response to situations rather than an automatic, impulsive one.
• Greater Enjoyment of Life: Encourages fully engaging with the present, leading to enhanced appreciation of experiences.
https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/self-help/tips-and-support/mindfulness/
On our Bereavement Support section you will find links that can help with talking therapies. We also look at why it may be that you have not felt talking therapies to not be useful or why it is that some choice to support those around them, rather than focus on their own grief. There is no right way to grieve and the support you find has to be right for you and at the right time.
Please know that you are not alone and there is always someone there to listen and support.
It is important to give a gentle reminder that our topics do not replace formal or professional help / diagnosis. This is a space where we can take an overview of a particular topic and share best practices that may help you and others. We would encourage you to seek professional help should you feel so overwhelmed by your grief.
We do hope you find this helpful. If you have any support or experiences that you feel may help others and wish to share them then please complete our contact form, it would be lovely to hear from you. We appreciate this may be difficult, and this may also be the first time that you speak about your own grief, so thank you. We will not share your personal details if you are writing in to us.
Should you have questions that you wish to ask, again please do complete our contact form, we will answer your questions via email or we can share the answers on the News Page. We will of course not share your details.
Take care and know that we keep all of those that live with the loss of a loved one in our thoughts. Important to be gentle on yourselves.