Coping with Grief and Loss During the Holidays

Most families will be coping with grief and loss during the holidays at some point. It’s the cycle of life. Is your family mourning loved ones? Is your family adapting to a change in its holiday routine? The best way through it may be by making new holiday traditions.

Embracing loss rather than ignoring it is key. Honor your loved ones by carrying on some of their holiday rituals. Look at pictures, delve into the memories. By allowing the sadness to be there, you’re opening up emotionally to happiness as well.

There’s more to say about coping with grief and loss during the holidays, and we explore the topic in this Tips on Teens:

“This is going to be my kids’ very first holiday without their grandparents. My parents were the glue that held us together during the holidays. I’m not too close with my siblings and we’ve decided not to do Christmas together, so it’ll just be us. My kids are understandably sad because they won’t see their cousins and they miss their Grandma. What can I do to help us get through it?”