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The life of the new you has created a healthier and happier experience. However, even after treatment, there are times where you may feel pain, sadness, and loss. It’s painful during these times, but it should be acknowledged to prevent the anxiety and sadness from getting the best of you. Learning how to deal with loss and grief can be vital for your recovery process.
The role of grief plays a vital role in our life. Grief is a natural reaction to situations of loss. Losing someone or something can engage grief in a way that challenges our emotions and our recovery. Grief can be less of a mystery once you understand the process and identify the signs that can happen when a loss occurs.
Losing someone you love tremendously, or something you cared a lot about is difficult for every human. Experiencing grief is a natural part of life that includes resentment, anger, confusion, sadness, and hopelessness. The emotions that arise when grief emerges in life are difficult to process. No one likes to be sad or hurt, and it is especially difficult when you lose someone you love. However, there is hope to maintain your dedication to recovery even when you’re dealing with grief.
First, remember that you have gone through the experience of treatment. That is a huge accomplishment and a voyage you should be proud of. You are now learning how to maintain your new life, but occasionally it has its struggles. This may happen when you lose someone you love or if you’re experiencing grief in other ways. There are coping mechanisms you can use with grief to still maintain your commitment to staying sober.
Grief can start unexpectedly, but you don’t need to jeopardize yourself and your life’s goals because of an unexpected event. The loss of your loved one is not measured against anyone else’s, and you are entitled to grieve. If you don’t go through the grieving process, you won’t evolve. Therefore, it is important to give yourself time and be aware of your feelings about the situation. Understanding yourself can help you find ways to cope with your emotions better.
The first tip to help you deal with loss and grief in recovery is to make sure you allow time to get through the grieving process. This requires you to experience your emotions by allowing yourself to feel anger and sadness. The grieving process is an emotional roller coaster, and you need time to feel it. Make sure you are patient and stay kind to yourself. Your grief over time will dissipate, and the love for the lost will grow stronger than the grief.
The next step is to hold yourself to your commitment. This means continuing to visit your recovery support groups and reaching out to your peers about what you’re going through. You have already established strong relationships with your peers.
They are there for you through anything, especially in this difficult time. When you choose to reconnect with the loved ones around you and the relationships you established in treatment, you can redirect your focus to yourself and those around you. This is not to say that your grief will go unnoticed, as it gains much-needed attention when you open up to those around you.
Once you’ve incorporated time to grieve and continue to balance your relationships with those around you, you can always reach out and ask for help when you need it. The time of loss is a good time to ask for help, even if you don’t think you need it. Loss is something everyone in life has to deal with at some point or another. Learning to balance your emotions and grief in life can boost your self-worth and shift you into a positive mindset.
The reality of your life is up to you: your grief matters, your emotions matter, and your life matters. To help you deal with loss and grief after recovery, give yourself challenges to bring some positivity into your life. Don’t forget to express yourself and maintain healthy eating and sleeping patterns.
The grieving process will take its course, and you will push through it. In some cultures, they believe that grief is also a moment of success. Grieving and dealing with loss in recovery is a difficult challenge that life throws at you. You can choose to believe that you can succeed through the grieving process, remembering the good moments of the one you lost.
If you are dealing with loss or grief during recovery, your hope may feel distant. Regardless of where you are right now, you need to know that you are loved by others around you. You are not alone, even though it may feel like it. There are ways to deal with loss and grief if things become too hard to bear. If you feel triggered or overwhelmed by your loss, you need to plan what you can do. At NorthStar Transitions, we understand that your experience is unique, but others have gone through similar situations. If you allow those in your support network to be there for you in your time of need, you can process your grief and keep your recovery intact. Located in Colorado, NorthStar Transitions provides professionals to help you with grief and recovery. If you or someone you love struggles with grief and substance use, reach out to us today at (303) 558-6400.
