If grief has hit you out of nowhere months or years after a loss, you might be wondering if something’s wrong with you—or if you’re somehow going backwards in life after loss. Feeling grief much later than you wanted or expected is a common experience called delayed grief! In this episode, I’m outlining what delayed grief is, why it’s normal, and why many of us can’t deeply grieve a death, divorce, diagnosis, or major life change until we feel safe and slowed down enough to do it. I’ll also answer common questions about delayed grief, share plus permission slips for feeling “behind” in life after loss, and give you four practical ways to make time for grief when you’re ready.
You’ll learn:
The difference between delayed, absent, and complicated grief
Why grief waits until you feel safe and slowed down to show up
What causes delayed grief to surface years later
How the dual-process model shows you’ve been grieving all along, even if it hasn’t felt that way
Permission slips and four ways to make time to grieve
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Download the transcript for this episode here.
