Healthy Connections

The holidays are fast approaching, there’s hope and cheer in the air. But for those who have lost a loved one it can often take herculean strength to get through it all. The grief that we bear when someone we love has passed, especially recently, can be triggered by the smallest things. A scent in the air, a song, a place or even just setting the table and counting one less place setting than before. You can go from humming along and enjoying yourself, to a stabbing ache in your heart and a grip in your throat that suddenly pours out in tears. That’s the way grief works sometimes, and though the triggers may be different for each of us, grief has its way with us no matter how we try to skirt it. Loss changes us and grief takes us on a ride through memory lane at a moment’s notice, especially during the holidays and special events. Whether the person who died is someone you cherished and miss terribly, or even if they were difficult and harmful to you, the holidays can kick up the dust of grief.