Emotional Roller Coaster and Grief

I'd like to talk about how I got to where I am today. About 18 years ago February 16th, (which is in a few days), my father passed away. So, I am dedicating this blog to him and my goal is to help others who need some guidance in tough or dark times. I will tell you that this has been the hardest road that I have ever had to travel just to be able to function as a normal person. Healing was not easy by any means, but if I did it, you can heal too, as long as you are patient with yourself. 

At one point, I turned to a counselor, because I was depressed. I had to rely on medication because depression was affecting my day-to-day life. Some of the easiest daily activities became difficult for me to do. Healing is not easy, but things can get better as long as you allow yourself some time. Here are some tips that have helped me get better mentally, emotionally, and physically:

• Talk to someone like a counselor or a therapist about your mental health during this difficult time. Let them know where you are mentally and where you want to be.
• Reach out to other people like friends or family who have been in a similar situation and ask them how they were able to cope with the death of a friend or family member. 
• Remember the good times and memories about time spent with this loved one and talk about these times with friends or family members. This helped me heal and I love talking about my father and the person he was and how life and passing impacted me as a child into my adult life. 
• Give yourself grace and keep in mind that everyone copes differently. Remember to be patient with yourself. There is no timeline that it takes to get to a good stable place. 
• Pray! Prayer helped me tremendously.
• Lastly, keep in mind that it never gets better with grief, but with faith, it does get easier to deal with in life. 

I love my parents and am grateful that I still have my mom and glad I had good times with my dad when he was here! My mental health has improved because I know he is in a better place and is not suffering. I do miss him a lot, though! I know I will see him again one day and this helps me talk about it without crying which tells me that I have healed. I am so grateful to God for this.

I hope this helps someone and please share with someone that could benefit. Thank you!

Love Shell