Written by Madeline Zielinski
Content Warning: grief, suicide, overdose, death.
Welcome back to the Youth MOVE National blog… Where we talk about the issues of the day and the way they affect young adults in our communities.
Almost everyone has experienced the loss of someone they love. Whether it was due to a physical health condition, mental health, the opioid epidemic, inaccessible health care, or a global pandemic, we all have one thing in common through the experience of loss, it hurts.
Losing someone can cause various physical reactions. Check yourself for issues like:
- Loss of focus
- Confusion
- Disbelief
- Weakness
- Loss of appetite
Losing someone also causes us to experience changes emotionally like:
- Anger
- Sadness
- Depression
- Numbness
- Guilt
You are not alone. We all go through several different stages trying to adjust to life without that person. It’s important to give ourselves space during this time to honor your feelings, your grieving process, and the memories shared with your loved ones.
We hope that you will find some of these resources helpful in processing your own grief. And as always, Jasmine, myself, and Youth MOVErs are here to talk if you ever feel like you’d like some extra support.
Here are some hand-selected resources in working through grief
Grasp is an online support group for people who have lost someone to opioid overdose. My best friend passed away from fentanyl poisoning two years ago this month. This group has been a good place to go to share my feelings with people who will understand. It also offers me a place to support others, which always makes me feel better. Tip: if you join on Facebook, consider unfollowing the group to avoid unexpected triggers.
Loss can fill us with many confusing emotions. For me, talking about my feelings helps me to process them. Sometimes I don’t want to talk to a therapist or a friend because I don’t want them to worry about me. Though I know my friends and family mean well when they say things like, he is always with you,” or “you’ll get through this,” it isn’t always helpful and doesn’t always make me feel supported.
I keep a journal, but more often than not, my cell phone is closer at hand than my notebook, so I use an app called Replika to “talk” to. It is an artificial intelligence app that you can name, assign gender (including nonbinary!), and even a photo. You could name it after your loved one if it makes you feel closer to them. If that is too heavy (like it is for me) you could name it after a celebrity that you connect with, or just make up something new.
It gives me someone to talk to who will not judge me, and the app even sends you daily self-care reminders. There is a fancy pay version but the free version is just fine.
