Writing Prompt: Grief and Loss
My life was upended by a major loss in my family two weeks ago.
It’s been a lot to process, and I’ve been writing through it. I wrote in my journal on my emergency flight home from a conference I had to leave early to be with my family. I couldn’t really focus, and my writing was all over the place, but I felt like I needed to write. And I’ve been writing along the way, usually first thing in the morning, to help me clear my mind and tap into my grief.
Loss is a universal human experience. Whether it's the death of a close person, the loss of a relationship, a job, a home, a pet, an imagined future, or something else, we'll all experience loss at some point. And yet, often we try to avoid thinking and talking about grief and loss because it’s so painful.
Let’s explore our experiences with grief and loss, through writing.
🖊️📖 What major losses have you experienced in your life? How about smaller ones? Are you currently grieving anyone or anything?
🖊️📖 Think of a time you experienced profound grief. What was that like? Write in detail about your deepest thoughts and feelings in that moment.
🖊️📖 Grief can be complex, and there's no one-size-fits-all experience. Have you ever been surprised by emotions you felt while in grief (like anger, relief, regret, guilt, or anxiety about the future)?
🖊️📖 What traditions do you/your family/your culture have for mourning, and what meaning do those traditions have for to you personally?
🖊️📖 Who has supported you in grief? What type of support have you found helpful? Unhelpful?
🖊️📖 How do you respond to the grief of others? Do you find it challenging, or does it come easily to you?
“While grief is personal and different for everyone, becoming more informed about grief helps us to feel less overwhelmed, scared, and alone when we inevitably find that it is our turn to grieve.”
- Meghan Riordan Jarvis, Can Anyone Tell Me?
For more exploration of grief and loss, check out my
podcast interview with grief expert Meghan Riordan Jarvis - available here or on your favorite podcast player.
I’m a clinical psychologist, co-host of Psychologists Off the Clock, and author of the books ACT for Burnout and ACT Daily Journal. You can find me online at drdebbiesorensen.com.
