Melissa Maskell Grief Support

Holidays are HARD 💔
Here’s some tips for getting out of the funk😒

Get Dressed. 👗

Shower. Not a bath, a shower. 🚿
Use water as hot or cold as you like. You don’t even need to wash. Just get in under the water and let it run over you for a while.

Sit on the floor if you gotta.

Moisturize everything.
Use whatever lotion you like.
Unscented? Dollar store lotion? Fancy 48 hour lotion that makes you smell like a field of wildflowers? Use whatever you want, and use it all over your entire dermis.

Put on clean, comfortable clothes.
Put on your favorite underwear.
Those ridiculous boxers you bought last christmas with candy cane hearts on the butt? Put them on.

Drink cold water. 💧

Use ice. If you want, add some mint or lemon for an extra boost.

Clean something. 🧹🧽🫧

Doesn’t have to be anything big. Organize one drawer of a desk. Wash five dirty dishes. Do a load of laundry. Scrub the bathroom sink.

Blast music. 🎶🎼🎵

Listen to something upbeat and dancey and loud, something that’s got lots of energy. Sing to it, dance to it, even if you suck at both.

Make food. 🌮🥗🍜

Don’t just grab a granola bar to munch. Take the time and make food. Even if it’s ramen. Add something special to it, like a soft boiled egg or some veggies. Prepare food, it tastes way better, and you’ll feel like you accomplished something.

Make something. 🧶🧵🎨🖌️🖼️

Write a short story or a poem, draw a picture, color a picture, fold origami, crochet or knit, sculpt something out of clay, anything artistic. Even if you don’t think you’re good at it. Create.

Go outside. 🏞️

Take a walk. Sit in the grass. Look at the clouds. Smell flowers. Put your hands in the dirt and feel the soil against your skin.

Call someone. ☎️

Call a loved one, a friend, a family member, call a chat service if you have no one else to call. Talk to a stranger on the street. Have a conversation and listen to someone’s voice. If you can’t bring yourself to call, text or email or whatever, just have some social interaction with another person. Even if you don’t say much, listen to them. It helps.

Cuddle your pets if you have them/can cuddle them. 🐈‍⬛🐾
Take pictures of them. Talk to them. Tell them how you feel, about your favorite movie, a new game coming out, anything.

May seem small or silly to some, but this list keeps people alive.

*** At your absolute best you won’t be good enough for the wrong people.

But at your worst, you’ll still be worth it to the right ones.

Remember, Keep holding on.

*** In case nobody has told you today -
I love you and you are importantand, you are loved, please be kind to yourself.

Find something to be grateful for!

I’m grateful for my friends and family.
Thank you for being on my life 🙏♥️

Feel free to share so we can reach as many people as possible!!!

This story shares insightful wisdom on how to process pain.

"Grandma how do you deal with pain?"

"With your hands, dear. When you do it with your mind, the pain hardens even more."

“With your hands, grandma?"

"Yes, yes. Our hands are the antennas of our soul. When you move them by sewing, cooking, painting, touching the earth or sinking it into the earth, they send signals of caring to the deepest part of you and your soul calms down.
This way she doesn't have to send pain anymore to show it.

"Are hands really that important?"

"Yes my girl. Thinking of babies: they get to know the world thanks to their touches. When you look at the hands of older people, they tell more about their lives than any other part of the body. Everything that is made by hand, so is said, is made with the heart because it really is like this: hands and heart are connected. Masseuses know this: When they touch another person's body with their hands, they create a deep connection. Thinking of lovers: When their hands touch, they love each other in the most sublime way."

"My hands grandma... how long haven't I used them like that!"

"Move them my girl, start creating with them and everything in you will move. The pain will not pass away. But it will be the best masterpiece. And it won't hurt anymore. Because you managed to embroider your essence."
~ Elena Barnabé