Coping with New Year grief can be a challenge. It can be daunting to imagine a new year without your loved one there. However, it is something that you must deal with in the best and most positive way you can. Making resolutions at the beginning of a new year can be a great way to build hope. Having a new year’s resolution can also give you focus and help you keep on track during the upcoming year, especially through the toughest days when the loss of your loved one is at its strongest.
Here we provide 29 suggestions for resolutions that will help you cope with new year grief
- Try not to isolate yourself from others.
- Allow yourself time to focus on yourself. You may feel needy or selfish, but self-care is important.
- Your new year will include many dates that will be difficult. A wedding anniversary, birthday, Christmas, or the anniversary of your loved one’s death. Remember that you can acknowledge these dates as much or as little as you wish. The decision is completely up to you, even if you decide to ignore the date completely and treat it like any other day.
- Speak about your loved ones to those who also knew them and are affected by their loss.
- Be honest about how you feel with others and also yourself. All feelings are valid, and you will have both good and bad days
- Use your experiences to help and support others who may be going through similar situations.
- Live your life to its fullest, the way your loved one would have wanted you to.
- If you are struggling, go to a professional for support. They are there to help.
- Start a project to help memorialise your loved one.
- Never feel guilty about enjoying yourself or having fun.
- Make sure you get enough sleep.
- Spend as much time with friends and family as you can.
- Reconnect with family or friends that you have lost touch with.
- Eat well and exercise regularly.
- Embrace happiness whenever it happens and don’t shy away from it.
- Go through old photos and archive them in albums or online. It is nice to look through the memories.
- Write your feelings down. Keep them in a private diary or share them online in a blog.
- Donate to a cause that was close to your loved one.
- Volunteer to a charity that means something to you.
- Take more walks and get fresh air.
- Spend time each day away from screens and social media. Having a bath or reading can be soothing.
- Read any books you have always wanted to read but struggled to find time.
- Plan a holiday.
- Learn a new skill or take up a new hobby.
- Donate any belongings of your loved one that you are willing to part with.
- Create a memory box.
- Do things that bring you joy and make you laugh.
- Research your family history.
- Create a new tradition to honour your loved one each year.
Although New Year is a time of celebration, joy, parties and friendship, it can be a very lonely and painful time for many. By choosing to have resolutions for the new year can really help you through and make the most of the year to come. The new year will be lonely at times, but you must remember that you are alive and owe it to your loved one to keep their memory alive and live your life to the fullest. Try to consider the possibilities the new year will bring, not just as a reminder of who you have lost.
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