When we think of grief, it’s often the all-consuming kind of sorrow that comes to mind, yet the loss of an acquaintance, or even a relationship with someone who’s still alive can weigh heavy too. Emotionally and physically, any sense of loss can make it emotionally and physically difficult to cope with fresh challenges that come your way. If someone you held in high regard is gone, or a good relationship turns sour, a dark cloud of grief can slowly but steadily choke your resilience.
Psychotherapist Julia Samuel reminds us in an interview for The Grief Channel we’re “narrative-making beings” and this is important, she says. “In storytelling, you can connect with the child part of yourself and, in doing that, often heal aspects of yourself that stay very raw and wounded.”
To tap into this, Julia says writing a letter to the person who’s gone can be a “powerful tool”. You don’t have to send it anywhere, you can even burn it when you’re finished, but the process of writing out those trapped thoughts and feelings (good or bad) in a letter can help you let go of those suffocating feelings to regain strength.
If you’d like to write a letter to someone but don’t know how to start, the Centre for Growth has a list of suggestions for all types of sentiment, including:
- My best memory of you is….
- Now that you are gone I feel…
- What I’m happy to say goodbye to is…
- I wish I could have told you…
- I’m so angry that you…
- I never wanted…
- What I learned from you is…
- When I think about….I feel….
- I hope that…
You can see the full list on their website.
If you have a tip or story you can share to help others build inner strength, hope and resilience, message in.
This one’s for Clare, who shone brighter than most ✨
Will you share a tip, trick, practice or story that helps others find or grow inner strength? Submit it here: /stories
