Feelings of Loss and Isolation

I spoke with a dear friend this past weekend who lost her husband 11 months ago, she was feeling sad and alone, steps we all go through as we walk the journey of loss. We as women go through stages of fear relating to finances, keeping our household together, loneliness, relationships old and new, our children’s well being and a myriad of other emotions that bring us fear.

As my friend related, someday’s all you can do is sit and cry and you know, that’s OK. Crying is a way of letting go and really we need to let go of our fears and with time comes hope and certainty that tomorrow will be better. So if today was a day of sadness that may have brought tears, know that’s OK, be good to yourself by doing some self-care, maybe a hot bath or treat yourself to a pedicure or a dinner out. You know what feels good, give yourself permission to say YES.  And don’t forget to ask for help, we all experience days when we feel greater sadness, perhaps a little depression sets in, this is the time to reach out to those who love you. Be honest, tell them you are having a bad day and ask for what you need.  From my experience what I often needed most when I was sad was just a friend to listen, let me cry and hold my hand. Remember, friends want to help and often they don’t know how so we need to tell people what we need.  Isolating ourselves from others because we don’t want to “dump” on them is the worst mistake you can make and let me say you need to get over that!  We are not meant to be alone in our suffering nor our joys, we are meant to share, so be brave and reach out to someone today.