I’m Kate, a psychotherapist writing about mental health and self-discovery, for you to flourish in a life you love. When we cultivate compassion, resilience and understanding, we also create a more harmonious world. Upgrade here for transformative journaling prompts, empowering tools, workbooks, guided meditations, and if you’d like to support my work. Your presence means so much - thanks for being here!
Hi friends,
Grief is one of life’s most profound and challenging experiences, and it’s likely to come to us all. Yet it’s often misunderstood or avoided.
Whether it’s the loss of a loved one, a relationship, or even a part of ourselves, grief can feel overwhelming and isolating. Understanding the many forms grief can take, and how it impacts our lives, is the first step toward healing.
If you’ve ever struggled to make sense of your own grief—or to support someone else through theirs, read on. You’re not alone, and there is hope in understanding it, and rebuilding a bright future.
For the next two weeks, we’ll explore the complexities of grief, unravel its emotional layers, and discover ways to navigate through the pain - with help from well known, compassionate experts.
I wanted to write one post on grief, and in true ‘Kate’ style, it grew and grew. So it is longer than usual, and may be truncated in your inbox: just click the link. Plus, I have three more posts to share in this mini series as I don’t want to cut corners.
I’ve also created therapeutic journaling prompts for my paid subscribers that I’m certain will help you and your loved ones handle your grief with tenderness. There will be a workbook later this week for annual paid subscribers to revisit whenever you’d like.
The Dangers of Unresolved Grief
Here in the UK, many of us are still bad at addressing grief, preferring to sweep it under the carpet, or striving for the impossible stiff upper lip (suitable for only those with limited emotional capacity). It works until it doesn’t. Because of this attitude, I hid while I was grieving, to protect others from it. It’s not healthy.
If we don’t address and give space to our grief, it can silently take root within us, creating a deep emotional wound that refuses to heal. Unprocessed grief lingers, as sadness, anger, and numbness creep into every corner of our lives. It weighs on our hearts, clouds our minds, and disconnects us from the people and experiences that once brought us joy. Over time, it can harden into resentment or despair, leaving us feeling stuck, unable to move forward, and haunted by a loss that remains unresolved.
We may develop issues reintegrating, feel shame, develop depression, anxiety, substance misuse, even physical illness. When we don’t give ourselves the space to grieve, we deny ourselves the chance to heal, and the pain grows heavier.
The goal of these posts and therapeutic journaling prompts is to explore and normalise our wide-ranging experiences of grief. The music of our life doesn’t always have to play in a minor key.
Here, we can explore griefs challenges, the impact of your loss on you, and use our understanding to help rebuild your life with a sense of meaning.
We all experience grief differently, for different reasons and during different parts of our lives. At some point, we must acknowledge that all our loved ones will die. You and I too. Everyone. This may sound morbid but I remind you so you can claim your life. Embracing this fact can bring us a greater sense of purpose.
Look out for upcoming posts on the stages of grief, the pillars of strength we can access to get through, and discover tasks of mourning.
Paid subscribers can access my therapeutic journaling prompts in the Members Toolbox Page, the workbook is coming for annual subscribers later this week.
Our goal is not to push our grief away, but to be able to rebuild our lives with meaning, whilst honouring our loss and emotions.
So it’s over to you. Do you relate to any of this? What resonates? Do you have a story or link to share with your writing for others to discover, or a loved one’s name or a memory? Is there something I’ve missed?
I’ll be in the comments. Save the post so you can revisit, and make sure you’re subscribed!
With love and gratitude
Kate
PS if you found this post useful or important, please do press the heart and share it, so I can reach more people - and bring more compassion to the world.
Further Reading
On Grief and Grieving - Elizabeth Kübler-Ross
Tasks of Mourning - William Worden (for Therapists)
Grief Works - Julia Samuel’s
Bittersweet - Susan Cain
Kokoro - Beth Kempton
This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit lettersfromtherapy.substack.com/subscribe
