Working Through Grief: 5 Proven Coping Techniques

If you live long enough, you’re sure to have a situation where you’ll grieve. You might have a family member die, or it may be a friend or pet. You might experience grief if a celebrity dies. You may have no direct connection to them, but maybe they still meant a lot to you.

If you’re dealing with grief and loss, Austin residents can turn to qualified mental health professionals if you feel you need someone to talk to about what you’re thinking and feeling. There are also proven coping techniques that are worth mentioning, so let’s talk about them right now.

Martial Arts or Boxing

If you like to box or take martial arts, or even if you like to simply have a good workout, that can help you get through grief. If you punch and kick a heavy bag and yell while you do it, that can get out some of the raw emotion that’s coursing through you.

Having a Good Cry

You might have the urge to hold back your emotions sometimes. Maybe you feel like you should stay stoic and not show others around you that you’re in pain. That can work against you, though.

Breaking down and crying at some point might be the best thing for you. You don’t have to do it when anyone else is around. If you have a private moment and you let out some of that emotion, you should feel immeasurably better afterward.

Talking to Friends and Family Members

Talking through what you’re feeling can help you. Maybe you’ll talk to a mental health professional, but failing that, speaking to a family member or friend about what’s going on in your mind can get you into a better head space. If they also knew the pet or person who you’re mourning, they might be feeling some of the same things that you are.

Going for Walks in the Woods

Going for walks in the woods, walking along the seashore, or otherwise connecting with nature can help you sometimes when you’re mourning. Nature might seem indifferent to your suffering, but it can also be calm and soothing.

When you feel the wind blowing past and see the birds and insects going about their business, that can be a reminder that life goes on. That might be what you need right now.

Going on a Trip

You might not think about going on a trip when you’re mourning, but that can help you too. Sometimes, being in your usual surroundings can be counterproductive when you’re grieving.

If you lost someone in your family, then walking around your house might stir up memories of the time you spent together. Instead, you can head to a different city or even an international location.

You might do not one of these things, but several. In time, you should feel better, but it might take weeks, months, or years. It all depends on who and what you’re mourning and how much they meant to you.