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One of the most frustrating parts of grief for me was how it felt like walking on a spiral staircase.

One moment, I felt like I had climbed a few steps and could finally breathe again. I felt calmer. Stronger. More steady.

Then suddenly, without warning, something would happen, a memory, a song, a date, and it felt like I walked right back down the staircase into deep pain again.

It was exhausting because I never knew when those emotions would hit. Some days I really believed I was healing and moving forward. Then the next day, I felt overwhelmed with sadness all over again.

At first, I thought that meant I was failing.
Like I was starting over every time the pain returned.

But over time, even though grief brought me back down those stairs sometimes, I was never really back at the very bottom, at the place I was the day my person died.

That’s the part people often don’t understand about grief.

That it doesn’t move in a straight line. It circles. It rises and falls. And you revisit emotions again and again. But each time you do, you’re returning to them with a little more experience, strength, and understanding than before.

In the beginning, the staircase feels dark and endless. The pain is intense and constant. But as time passes, you slowly begin having more moments where you can catch your breath. More moments of peace between the waves of grief.

The painful days still come. They always will. But they usually don’t pull you down quite as far as they once did.

That doesn’t mean you stopped loving the person you lost. It just means you’ve learned how to carry your grief differently.

So when those hard days return, try not to convince yourself you’re back where you started.

You’re not.

You’ve already climbed so many steps you once thought you’d never survive. And even when grief causes you to step downward for a while, you’re still farther along the staircase than you were before.

And little by little…you’ll continue to climb.

Gary Sturgis
Author: ‘SURVIVING GRIEF – 365 Days A Year’

Always be kind to yourself (first). No one can pour from an empty cup.

Getting through the grief after losing a child. It might not be easy, but it is possible. Elizabeth did it, I did it, and we are not alone. If you are struggling with grief, please visit www.hooptydensrousmart.co.za
Sending love to all.
https://youtu.be/CROIQ5JkvnE

The Continuing Bonds with Our Children in Spirit Elizabeth Boisson shares an interview with Fox News that aired on February 17th, 2017. We hope that it brings healing and comfort to you and your families. ...