By Irina Jordan
This post shares the highlights of the talk "Grieving Honestly and Freely: Embracing Your Feelings with Your Humanness" given by Angie Cartwright, co-founder of We Care Grief Support.
- Grief and depression mimic each other.
- We are bringing change into the grief world and finding our way.
- You don't need permission to grieve. Grieve openly. It's not bad. Be empowered.
- Grief wants and needs to come out. Find your voice and strength. Fight for hope. Share your story.
- Expect your grief to be misunderstood. Don't be offended when people tell you to be strong. Grieve freely.
- Grieving freely means being open and honest about your feelings. Don't say I'm fine if you are not.
- When you're hurting really bad, you don't want to be around people much. It's a natural reaction.
- Don't hold resentment against people who don't understand your grief.
- Grief is mind, body and soul. You have no energy when grieving. Take care of yourself.
- Stay hydrated. Eat properly, at least snacks. Have people remind you to drink and eat .
- Keep your schedule as simple as possible when healing from grief. Take walks.
- Differentiate between being depressed and grieving so you can use right tools to get better.
- Educators need to get on the same page to give you proper diagnosis. They need to ask: have you lost a loved one?.
- It's ok to grieve, to be human. Don't push your true self away. Honor yourself. It's ok to show emotions.
By Irina Jordan