What is grief awareness?

Likely you’ve heard of the concept of “acceptance” of a problem that comes before solving it. This concept can also be applied to grief – even though grief isn’t a problem, and it doesn’t get solved. 

For those of us experiencing grief, if we accept that it is a part of our current life experience, we can progress to permitting ourselves to grieve. 

Permission to grieve does so much to lighten the load and allow us to flow into a new reality where grief changes our lives profoundly.

If someone you love is experiencing grief, you must accept that grief exists and that it’s a personal journey for the person experiencing it – and not something that requires judgment or any action to “fix” it.

Why does grief awareness matter?

All too often, those experiencing grief often feel that they aren’t allowed to grieve and are judged when doing so.

There is no expiration date on grief, and after a set amount of time, those of us grieving a death loss won’t merely “get over it.” Grief is a highly personal journey that each person is on for the rest of their life. Sometimes the feelings and memories come back in waves, but there is undoubtedly no expiration date. The memories and emotions can come rushing back at any moment throughout life. 

The bottom line is – it’s completely okay not to be okay. And it’s critical that we, as a society, don’t put added pressure on those who are grieving.