What I wish I knew about grief
After I watched my mom die, I developed severe insomnia and ended up in the hospital with a mental break down.
Now that I know how trauma can impact both our mind, spirit, AND physical body, here are a few tips I wish I had known during that time to support + care for my God designed body as I began my grieving journey.
1. Loss lives in our God designed bodies. After experiencing loss, your mind is not the only part of you that responds. Your God designed body also responds to loss and this needs to be taken into consideration. Your body releases high amounts of stress hormones like cortisol and this can lead to many symptoms such as:
- insomnia
- Digestive issues
- Heart palpitations (this is why broken heart syndrome is a real thing. Studies show the risk of heart attack increases significantly after experiencing the loss of a loved one). Triggers of grief impact you physically and getting in tune with those can help soothe this process.
2. Loss of a loved one intensifies any attachment wounds you had previously. Becoming knowledgeable about your attachment wounds + taking measures to begin healing them, is such a powerful way to navigate grief.
3. You cannot intellectualize, spiritually bypass, or talk your way out of grief. When it comes to grieving, one of the most healing things we can do is invite our physical bodies along for the journey and honor the God designed mind body connection.
4. God really is near to the broken hearted (psalms 34:18) but part of that process involves being willing to lament and open up your grieving heart to Him like the psalmist displays in the previous verse (vs 17). Crying is a somatic process, not just mental.
5. Compassion is a healing balm for the soul, mind, and body, but sadly, many people (even + especially Christians, struggle with the concept of self compassion). Learning how to apply self compassion can be life changing.
6. If you are grieving, I hope this serves as a reminder to tune into your physical body during the grieving process and give yourself compassion along the way.
I teach on attachment wounds + compassion through a Biblical lens in my course Aligned + Renewed if you would like to learn more.
