When facing a traumatic emotion such as grief, it helps to know that there are a number of activities that we and our loved ones can do to feel empowered in our journey, and face grief with strength and dignity. Grief is a harrowing experience, and sometimes we need to take a step back and heal by ourselves. Journaling is a tried and tested method for finding meaning in grief that is helpful to many people, even those who do not write recreationally.

Below we have explained how journaling to find meaning in grief can help you heal and become a more mindful person overall.

The Therapeutic Qualities of Grief Journaling

Most who have experienced some form of loss and subsequent grief will know firsthand that discussing or even disclosing your loss with others can be extremely difficult, if not terrifying. When bereaved, we struggle to formulate coherent thoughts about our experience that we believe would be inoffensive to those who support us. No one really wants to talk about grief and loss, right?

If this is how you feel, journaling to find meaning in grief may be right for you. You should not have to carry the psychological and physical burden of grief alone, and without support. A grief journal is a great first step towards healing: you can freely express and come to understand your experience without the concern for being judged or ‘pitied’ by others.

By reconstructing your personal self-narrative first, you can come to understand what you are feeling, and eventually reach out to friends and family for support, feeling more balanced. Journaling is linked to various research projects that laud its therapeutic value for understanding and healing from grief.

Writing Freely Helps to Express Your Emotions

The best way to get started is to open a blank journal and dump out everything that is in your brain. Start writing and do not pause to reassess or police your thoughts. If you question something you write, write that question down!

By freely naming and navigating your emotions, you will feel like you are sharing your pain without judgement. Journaling to find meaning in grief can be liberating at the best of times, and stress reducing in the least. Think of it as emotional offloading.

Hold Onto Memories in a Healthy Way

Grief journaling is an effective way to sort through and hold onto memories in a healthy way. If you are dealing with a loss that is “expected” such as a terminal illness, where you know you have remaining time with the person, try to record the process from your perspective as it unfolds. For more sudden losses, the raw and unfiltered writing we discussed above is key. Talk about how you felt, things that happened, words that were said, how you sleep, how you eat, and everything that makes up your experience as a bereaved person.

Write down your most significant memories of your loved one. Encapsulate their being in your words and allow yourself to truly feel your loss as you write it out.

Journaling Helps the Bereaved Find Redemption

When we are struck with grief, it is easy and wholly understandable to focus on the events that have brought your life down around you. It can quickly become what defines you as a person. However, writing about your pain will allow you to gain a new perspective and shift your view of grief from something that now defines you, to something that your survived through.

By reading back on your grief journals months after you have written them, you can witness your experience as someone who is somewhat detached. You start to notice universal patterns of grief and healing and understand that your strength allowed you to survive it with dignity.

Eventually, your written accounts become a narrative of redemption. Now, you are stronger and more aware of how precious and fragile life is.

Prompts for Journaling to Find Meaning in Grief

For those who may not know how or where to start their journal, we suggest some of the following sentence-starters that may trigger memories and important events along your grief process.

  • I remember when….
  • This is what I have to say to you….
  • The first time I….
  • My happiest memory of you is…
  • The greatest lesson I have learned is…

You are never alone. Here are some helpful articles about grief, love and loss that may give you some insight into your experience, or tools on how to heal yourself.

Easy Exercises to Help You Heal From Grief, here.

The Importance of Self Care when Dealing with Loss, here.

Why It Pays to Express Emotions after Loss, here.

If you are looking for some more specific advice, take a look at the Loving Ashes blog page to find the healing messages you need to hear.