Grief and Mental Health How It Affects You and What Can Help
Confusion, brain fog, stress and feeling down can all be signs that grief and loss is taking a toll on your mental health. Grief and mental health can go hand in hand. As a painful loss can affect us in many ways.Depending on the trauma and your unique experience loss there may be an incredible stress load. And when stress is takes a hold it can impact your brain and mental health issues that can occur.
However, there are some things that you can do to help what’s going on so that the conditions don’t get worse. If you have concerns the first things is to talk to a medical professional to rule out any medical conditions that are aside of your grief and loss.
To give a little more information we talk about grief and some of the mental issues to take notice of. And then a few ways to help your mental wellness as you move through grief and loss.
Depression, Loneliness, Mood Swings and Grief
Grief and loss brings about some changes that can affect the mind. One of these issues is depression. It’s common for depression to occur when you suffer a loss or a life changing trauma. Sometimes, it happens because of health related issues.
Grief and loss can lead to depression, and it can stop you from taking part in activities that was once enjoyable. And, they can experience prolonged sadness at the way that things “used to be”, and many are upset in the realization that what they once knew is no longer.
Loneliness Grief and Mental Health
Loneliness is another issue that can greatly affect people after loss. Sometimes this happens because they’re now living alone; the loss of a companion, a child or a a cherished friend. The loss is painful and it easy to slip into a place of loneliness. And while some solitude can be helpful when grieving, too much alone time can make moving through grief more difficult that it is.
Mood Swings and Grieving a Loss
Mood swings is also common in people who are grieving. It is a confusing time and each day seems to be a struggle. Often times they’re angry that different changes are happening. And there is often an underlying fear of what’s going on and lack of direction for their future.
What Does Depression Look Like
Just like grief and loss there is no one size fits all. And while there are different levels of depression there are some common signs to identify what depression may look like. Some of which may be:
- being uninterested in engaging in any social activities
- lack of appetite
- showing signs of sadness
- experiencing prolonged insomnia
- isolating oneself, such as not being willing to leave the house
- overspending or not buying the things they need
- self neglect
While mood swings will show up as outbursts of anger or anxiety. There are many feeling that cross over from grief and depression. When grieving these feeling of depression may come and go. But what is important to notice is when grief becomes all consuming and taking over your life.
The above signs in are so similar to grief that it is sometimes difficult to separate what is what.
If loneliness is an issue, those who have suffered a loss or in grief may change their sleep habits – such as staying up until the wee hours of the night. They may also stop contacting family members or in reverse they may be constantly reaching out to them.
Grief and Loss Can Be Complicated
Though it is said there are stages to grief and the grieving process it is not necessarily that simple. It is not unusual for depression, anxiety, mood swings and other emotions to to come and go. This time of grief and loss may be incredibly hard on mental health.
And what adds to the mental health issues is the fact that people often do not recognise when they are suffering, let alone know what to do.
These same goes for family and friends. Many may recognise that all is not well but they may be at a loss as to what to do. This may lead to anxiety and grief among the people who love. And while some help, others pull away as grief is an uncomfortable place for those around the griever.
Keeping busy and engaging in activities can help with mood in addition to staving off loneliness while helping your grief and the effects it can have on our mental outlook.
Sharpen the Brain
Grief and loss can cloud your mind. Try and find ways to keep your brain sharp and engaged in learning new things. Challenging the brain helps the neurons stay stimulated. There are numerous ways that you can engage in mental exercises that can help your brain.
Reading is one way to keep your mind occupied in a healthy way. Visit the library and check out a variety of books to read or ones that are available for free on an electronic device.
Another way to stimulate and sharpen the brain is by learning a musical instrument. Taking up a new hobby such as learning an instrument or learning a new language is a good way to keep your brain engaged.
There are games that can help sharpen the brain, too – such as Sudoku, puzzle game vocabulary games or play Chess or Scrabble online.
Don’t Isolate Yourself
Isolation is something that affects many peoples. Grief, loss and trauma often leave people opting to stay in rather than go out. But this can lead to loneliness, depression, anxiety and more.
It’s important that a people grieving remain engaged in society, and have a social circle they regularly meet up with. Spending time with friends, family or new acquaintances can be helpful. Consider meeting people through book clubs, hobby clubs and bereavement groups where you can talk about your feelings. more.
If you want time away from everything then think about volunteering. You can choose something that helps give others while giving meaning and purpose.
Spiritual Practice
Attending church is another option that those suffering can help to prevent isolation. Or join or follow spiritual activities in nature, reading spiritual books or time in meditative practice. The key is finding something that you like doing with people that you enjoy spending time with.
This helps keep you active and engaged with others. You might be someone who – for health reasons – has had to give up driving. Not being able to be independent in that area doesn’t mean that there aren’t other options.
Take Care of Your Physical Health
Something that can take a heavy toll on your mental health is your physical health. When you don’t feel good, it can impact your outlook on everything. As you get older, one issue you might deal with is chronic pain.
This is the type of pain that lasts for months. Nothing you do or try gives you any relief. This can cause stress, frustration and anger – which only worsens the problem. That’s why it’s important that when you have a physical issue such as chronic pain, you take care of it.
This type of issue doesn’t occur for no reason. There’s always a root cause behind the pain that you’re feeling. By going to the doctor, you can find out what’s wrong and get a plan on how to treat it so that you get out of pain.
Doing this can help alleviate the stress on your mental health. Many peoples don’t realize the part that physical health plays on their mental health – especially people who end up having a condition that needs careful monitoring.
Medication and Grief and Mental Health
If you suffer a loss and/or dealing with grief you may be prescribed medications in an effort to help you get through this difficult time. This medication often comes with side effects. For example, some sleep or calming medication can cause side effects. Some drugs cause vitamin deficiencies. Having a health condition can cause a people to have to face a decline in their physical fitness and for most people, this is difficult.
It can cause them to swing between anger, anxiety and grief over the way that life used to be when they were younger and in good health.
These will affect each person differently and only you can decide if this is best for you. Of course you will consult with your physician, but if these medications make you feel worse then check out alternative options.
Grief and taking care of your mental health is important. Your experience of grief is unique to you and so maybe the case for your medication options. And the same goes for alternative health options.
Self Care for Mental Health While Grieving
With all the above noted let’s look at ways that can help with grief and mental health as part of taking care of yourself in this time.
Stick to a Schedule
Sticking to a schedule may be difficult as you life may seem anything less than orderly when you are grieving a loss. But doing so can help to establish a sense of security. When you fill your day and have a plan there is more control over how your day, or some of it is going to unfold. This can help lower any stress you might be experiencing in this time of grief and change..
Get Into a Sleep Routine
Getting enough sleep is always important. But grief can throw even the best sleep routines out of whack. Sleeping too long or not enough can be habit forming, and it can affect have big effect on our mental health.
Creating a routine or sticking to the one you had will help keep your bodies rhythm on track to get its much needed rest. This may help reduce depression, anxiety and help to ease any mood swings.
Exercise and Mental Health
Regular exercise benefits the body and can also keep the mind sharp. Plus, exercise is a good way to relieve stress and improve your mood. Movement helps get the stuck thoughts out of your head, which is crucial when you are processing grief.
Make Plans to Socialize
There will be times when you want solace to process your grief. But spending too much time alone can lead further isolation. So make plans to spend time with other people. This will help to combat loneliness and when your grieving. With socialization times arranged on your schedule, it will give you something to look forward to.
Schedule Time for Your Mental Wellness
A schedule can also be used to prioritize things that are may help your mental health. Consider reading, writing in a journal, or engaging in a hobby such as coloring books for adults.
Activities to Help Mind Health
- Journaling
- Reading
- Puzzles
- Coloring Books for Adults
If you’ve been diagnosed with a health issue, having a schedule that you stick to can also help you break habits that might be detrimental.
Concluding Grief and Mental Health
Grief can be life altering in many ways. It can take a toll on our physical health, emotional and spiritual, and yes grief can affect your mental health.
Grief is a process that we must go through when we suffer a loss. If the tears come then cry, let it all out. Know that this difficult time is a process. It is something that most all of us will endure at some time in our lives. And since there is no handbook for grief all we can do is to learn the best way for us to move through. One day at a time.
Taking steps to care for your mental well being may be a way to help move through grief
