Dr. Wilson said, “Bereavement is what happens to you; grief is what you feel; mourning is what you do.”
This is a fantastic breakdown.
We can grieve for all sorts of things; death and dying are the most obvious, but the grief of loss of capacity is also profound, speaking from my own experience.
We grieve friendships, and often don’t give those losses the acknowledgements they deserve.
The loss of work, of job roles, of moving, of aging – we don’t really talk about those losses.
The death of pets, of colleagues… when we talk of deaths, there are some relationships that seem to take priority – those of parent, child, partner. But aunts, uncles, siblings, friends, colleagues all mourn…. people who saw the Beloved Dead once a week as part of their routine, they mourn too. Those griefs are never given much space.
Your grief is valid.
Allow yourself time.
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