At some point in life, we all have to cope with the pain of losing someone we love. While the pain of some losses can be easier to process, others can feel overwhelming. Self-care practices can give you the tools to cope with your emotional turmoil and spiritual loss, says wellness author and acupuncturist Corrine Laan, who wrote The Art of Grieving: Gentle Self-Care Practices to Mend a Broken Heart.
As she explains, it’s heart-rending saying goodbye to a loved one for the last time, knowing you will never see them again. Looking towards the future can seem impossible. This is what grief does – it shuts you down and takes you down uncertain paths until you find your feet back on solid ground again.
Grieving is the price we pay for love. But the process of grieving is also the way we find our way through pain and back onto solid ground. Unfortunately, we’ve rather lost the art of grieving today. In the past, every community and family had rituals and practices to follow when someone died. These might have been religious rites or they might have been supportive community events, like a big funeral or a wake. Such events help us with the art of grieving because they give us time and space to grieve. They help us mark the loss, and find courage to move on.
Self-care practices do not replace rites and rituals – but they can also be helpful in grieving and healing. A good self-care practice has a clear beginning and end. This makes them a safe space to express your emotions and needs. A good self-care practice also helps you gain the clarity you need to find inner peace and heal your heart after your great loss.
A life forever changed does not mean a life forever filled with sadness. So let’s look at five self-care practices Corrine Haan recommends to help you move through grief into healing.