5 Tips For Coping with Grief of a Loved One During the Holidays

Emily Stroia
3 min readDec 18, 2023
Photo by Mike Labrum on Unsplash

Losing a loved one is one of the most heartbreaking human experiences. It is a process to adapt to life again and find meaning after loss. The holidays can be a challenging time of year for someone who lost a loved one. It is a nostalgic season of reflection and remembering.

Mourning is no longer a series of five stages but a process of adjusting. Grief is not a linear timeline. You can have a good day and the next day be utterly grief-stricken mourning your person.

There is no timeline for adjusting to the loss of a loved one. It is a practice of acceptance, and finding purpose again. If you are experiencing nostalgia or sadness this holiday missing your loved one, here are five tips to cope with the grief:

Reminisce about your loved one. Play their favorite songs, look at their photos, talk about them with your friends and family who knew them. Mourning isn’t just for after the person dies. It can be during times of the year when grief may be harder.

Photo by Kristijan Arsov on Unsplash

Create an altar or special dedicated space in your home where you have their photo, and special sentimental items that belonged to them. Some…

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Emily Stroia
Emily Stroia

Written by Emily Stroia

Associate Marriage and Family Therapist. I write about mental health, healing from trauma, and finding self again. Stay for a while. www.emilystroia.com

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