EP121: Grief and Loss During the Holidays

<p>Many things count as grief and loss – from the actual death of a loved one to the loss of a significant relationship. As cliché as it may sound, there’s not one way to deal with grief and loss during the holidays.</p> <p>We’ve all just lived through a pandemic that took a lot of lives and loved ones away from us. As the holidays approach, it may be more challenging to deal with the celebrations—decorating, maintaining or foregoing family traditions, getting your shopping done, and deciding what holiday events you can handle. And it doesn’t matter if this is your first holiday without a loved one or the 20th. </p> <p>For caregivers, they face the double loss of the person they cared for and their role as a caregiver. They may need to talk about their losses, and these feelings may be positive or negative.</p> <p>I’ve heard grief described as being like the ocean with its waves that ebb and flow. Sometimes the water is calm, sometimes, it’s overwhelming. And the healthiest response is going to be to learn to swim – rather than avoiding the water. </p> <p>In today’s episode of This Is Getting Old: Moving Towards an Age-Friendly World, I’ll share four tips to help you learn to swim if you are experiencing feelings of grief and loss this holiday season.</p> <p>Key points covered in this episode:</p> <p><strong>✔️ Tip #1: Take Good Care of You—Self-Care Is Not Selfish</strong></p> <p>Be gentle with yourself. Give yourself permission to not do things that you don't feel like you can handle. Be in tune with your emotions and how you're feeling in the moment—be okay with it</p> <p>Make sure that you're planning healthy meals and eating good food that's healthy for you. See to it  that you're getting plenty of exercises, drinking plenty of water, and avoiding alcohol— that's going to make you sadder. Don’t miss getting enough sleep.</p> <p><strong>✔️ Tip #2: Get Support—Cry, Laugh, or Get Mad—It's OK to Feel It All</strong></p> <p>There may be different triggers to grief and loss, and you shouldn’t feel like you have to