The Science Behind Grief and How to Refuse It in Your Life
Here are practical ways to nurture creative practices to overcome grief
Grief! A word shrouded in distressful symphony! Have you ever observed? How expression changes! When you say ‘grief”, your voice quivers. Your face looks scared!
What a controversy! Even a thought about grief is more terrible than grief itself. Sarcastically, credit goes to our fear, which has conditioned such a mindset since childhood. But the fact is that grief is part and parcel of our existence. It is the reverse side of a coin where joy sits on the obverse side. How terribly exciting it is! It always exists but remains hidden because it lies on the other side. Lo! It’s a matter of just side-turning. In the spur of the moment, joy transforms into grief, and vice versa.
Since my childhood, I have been listening to various theories and hypotheses interpreting joyful and sorrowful moments in our lives. Believers in the rebirth theory strongly advocate that sorrow comes in the present life due to bad karma from previous birth. Sometimes such reasons seem to hold ground in reality.
You can meet someone around you who enjoys all the luxuries of life despite being dishonest and undeserving. And there is one who is truthful, kind, and worthy of everything who lives in a state of less than the bare minimum. Surely, the scenario pumps your ‘how’?
To explore the science working behind grief, understand the chemistry of grief and joy; only then can you grasp its mechanisms. After understanding the mechanism, you can nullify its impact by refusing its entry into your emotions.
Here is something quite appropriate to understand! Grief is not like a fever that has particular symptoms common to all. Its symptoms vary from person to person. A single treatment for all cannot be effective. Someone finds relief through a morning walk, but another feels better after sleeping until early noon. Lo! How strange it is! Someone feels elevating vibes while throwing small pebbles into the quiet water of a lake. I know a friend who feels better about melancholy by playing cards. One of my teachers used to say that he found relief from depression after swimming.
Now, perhaps, you have no reason to disagree with me. Do you agree?
I believe it is reasonable to accept that grieving is a very personal and particular emotion before going deeper into the science of grief.
Of course! There are creative approaches to dealing with grief. But remember! While they might relieve some, they might not work for everyone. We must simultaneously encourage various coping strategies. We acknowledge that everyone experiences grief differently and gets relief in different creative ways.
It is crucial to realize that bereavement is a complex emotion. Definitely, it is difficult to resolve, but 100 percent is possible to mitigate its depressive impact. How? We can resolve it through a deliberate mental preparation process that requires patience, tolerance, and understanding. Besides, there’s no one-size-fits-all method for recovering from a bereavement, as we have already accepted.
An In-Depth Look at the Science of Grief
Grief is a complicated emotional reaction to some loss or unrealized desire. It causes physical and psychological changes in a mental state. How does it affect our physiology?
It affects the amygdala and hippocampus of our brain. These two regions deal with our emotions and memory. As a result, they produce stress chemicals. A bundle of physiological problems, including immune system weakness and sleeplessness, can result from the secretion of stress chemicals.
The feeling of loss profoundly affects neurotransmitters such as dopamine and serotonin. The sensations of emptiness and melancholy intensify.
These physiological foundations make us understand grief as a concrete, quantifiable experience that is ingrained in our physiology rather than just an idea of a feeling. Grief is a part of our body mechanism.
How to Refuse to Grieve: Useful Techniques
You can refuse to accept grief by actively taking part in activities that promote resilience and healing, rather than downplaying its existence.
The following are time-tested strategies for sailing across the turbulent seas of grief and getting rid of its malicious grip.
Practice mindfulness and meditation
Live in the present moment to distract from sorrowful emotions that caught you in the past.
Guided meditation and deep breathing may surely empower you to keep emotions under your control.
Be passionately creative
Use creative methods as a therapeutic tool to powerfully divert your mind from sadness.
Seek your inherent passion.
Engage with your deepest emotions via writing, art, music, or dancing. It has the power to free you by providing a useful way to direct the recovery process.
Create a network of dependable people
Being alone might make grieving worse. Establish a trustworthy social network through family, friends, or support groups. They offer you a safety net during difficult times.
Empathic connections and exchanging experiences with people who have gone through comparable experiences in life can be very beneficial in the healing process.
Focus on Physical Well-Being
Exercise frequently. It releases endorphins, which are the body’s natural mood boosters, and also adds to general well-being.
Eat a balanced diet and get enough sleep.
This routine helps strengthen your body to deal with emotional stress.
Restructure your mindset
Take up active mental exercises to address negative thought patterns associated with loss.
This aids in identifying and re-framing unreasonable concepts to encourage resilient and joyful thought processes.
How to Develop Creative Habits: A Daily Devotion
If you want to support creative projects that remove sadness from day-to-day life, commit to self-reflection and self-improvement. Your everyday life will benefit from integrating creativity, which will also play a crucial role in your recovery process.
Set Everyday Customs
Adopt quick, creative routines into your daily schedule.
Write in a journal.
Create art.
Practice an instrument.
These are a few forms of creative expression that serve as support. They will help you return to a positive and productive mindset.
Create new interests
Embrace change and engage in mentally engaging activities.
Cultivating new hobbies may lead to unrealized potential and desires.
These pursuits undoubtedly serve as a distraction from sadness.
Engage in a Creative Community
Join communities or groups that are devoted to creativity.
You’ll find a secure environment there where people can share their thoughts and experiences.
Connecting with others generates a culture of shared creativity. You will feel you belong there.
Connect with Nature
The natural world is a powerful source of inspiration and creativity.
Spend some time in the open air.
Sit on the river bank.
Listen to bird’s song.
Allow the surroundings to revitalize you and spark creative ideas.
Understanding Grief and Its Healing
It is really fascinating to grasp that resisting grief is vague and makes grieving worse. Rather than fighting sadness, channel your energy into creative tasks and pursue passion to the point that sadness can no longer hurt you.
We can carve a route toward resilience and turn the dark shade of loss into the brilliant colors of a life well lived. The science of grief helps us understand the significance of creative pursuits in dealing with grief which is a part of human physiology.
