Grief has a way of making the holidays louder—the empty chair, the quiet phone, the tradition that now feels like a gap. With licensed clinical social worker Mandy Young, we talk candidly about why this season magnifies loss and how to face it with a plan rooted in compassion, faith, and rest. Instead of forcing yourself to “be strong” or attempting to skip December entirely, we explore a gentler path that honors love and creates space for both tears and tenderness.

Mandy introduces the idea of dosing your grief: small, intentional moments to feel and remember so the emotions don’t crash without warning. We unpack her ocean analogy, where early grief feels like riptides and later like shifting waves at your feet. Because holidays are predictable waves, Christmas Eve, church services, family meals, New Year’s, you can prepare with lower expectations, shorter visits, delegated tasks, scheduled breaks, and a friend on standby. We also name what helps and what hurts. Retire the clichés and anything that starts with “at least.” Choose presence over fixing. Say their person’s name. Meet simple needs: trash to the curb, mail collected, tissues and groceries, fresh pajamas, a reminder to shower and eat.

On the faith side, we offer realistic ways to connect with God when focus is hard: listen to Scripture, lean on worship, borrow hope from a friend whose faith is steady, and remember that Jesus modeled rest and limits. Therapy, prayer, and Jesus belong together; feeling distant does not mean God is distant. If you’re grieving, assign roles to your people, a friend for fun, another for deep talk, someone for logistics, and ask specifically for what you need.

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