This year, from the 2nd to the 8th of December is National Grief Awareness Week. This is an initiative set up to normalise grief and break the taboo surrounding it.
This annual event is hosted by The Good Grief Trust, a charity which brings together all of the UK bereavement services, support networks and helplines. Currently, they have over 800 support services, groups and organisations offering help to the bereaved.
If you are living with grief, it really is a great campaign providing invaluable resources and guidance. They wish to reach out to people grieving daily and people who have never experienced grief before.
Personally, the loss of Dad has been a big blow. Prior to this, grief hadn’t dominated my life. I had lost grandparents in recent years but never someone so close to me. I think in some ways I’m still in shock from it.
Growing up, I didn’t have much education on grief, especially in school. I was never told how to deal with it, what to do should it happen, what to do if I needed help or someone to speak to and how to remain strong when life carries on.
I am lucky in a way that so many resources are out there now. This blog and my Instagram account have been so motivating and have kept me in a better mental state than I probably would have been had I not had somewhere to vent.
Unfortunately for someone grieving, life carries on. Your employer needs you back in work, the bills keep coming in and after the initial condolences, naturally everyone who was there for you carries on with their day to day lives. However, for the griever, this process carries on and doesn’t seem to get any easier.
You may begin to feel like a burden. You may think you’re the one person in the group who’s bringing the mood down. You feel like people are afraid to ask you how you are incase you get upset and they don’t know what to do.
For me, I like talking about Dad. He was a wonderful man and I would do him a disservice to not speak about him and his life. I feel more grounded being able to tell someone about him and remember the happy times, not just the later months.
National Grief Awareness Week is the perfect time to reach out to someone you know who has gone through a recent bereavement. Whether it is a simple ‘how are you?’ or going for a walk or a cup of coffee, the smallest gestures will make the biggest difference.
If you’re interested in finding out what The Good Grief Trust do, there is plenty of information on their website alongside brilliant resources. You’ll find the links to their website and Instagram below.
Thank you again to all the amazing people around me. I honestly think I’d crumble without your support.
– Jovi
Beauty and the Grief 