Listen, there's no right or wrong way to deal with the loss of a loved one. You can expect grieving to be rough, and it's different for every single person. Another important thing: it's not just a matter of coping with loss, it's about coping with change. And that, Wellcasters, takes a lot of time. Today on Wellcast, we're dealing with a pretty difficult subject. How do you deal with the death of a loved one? How do you live your life in the face of a life-changing event? We don't have all the answers, and honestly, you're going to have to work through your pain in your own way, at your own pace. But if you're looking for it, we do have some advice. First things first, you need to remember that grief is a process, not a task. You might have heard of a popular theory that breaks up bereavement into stages: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. While you might identify with some or all of these steps, you have to remember that grief is less like a staircase and more like a roller coaster. There are peaks and dips, and they don't always happen in predictable ways. You might feel better for a while and then worse, and that's okay. It's natural to have an uneven journey with your grief. Don't be afraid of the pain. You shouldn't try to stuff your sorrow away into a place where you don't have to deal with it. It's just going to stay there. In order for you to work through your grief, you're first going to have to acknowledge that it exists. There are a lot of ways to do this. You might have to be alone for a bit. Maybe you need to write down your feelings in a journal or talk to someone. Do things that make you happy. When you're grieving, it's sometimes difficult to hold on to who you are. After all, so much of your energy is focused on the mourning of your loved one, which is fair, but it's easy to get sucked into a mind space where you can't even remember your former self. We want to tell you it's okay to take time to do the things that make you feel like yourself and give you joy. Recognize the relationship between the mind and the body. When you're experiencing grief, it's really easy to forget the things that you usually do as a matter of routine. Taking a shower, getting enough sleep, eating. Neglecting your physical health is only going to take a greater toll on your mental health, which is taking a pretty significant hit right now. So do yourself a favor, and do us a favor, and make an effort to take care of you. It's what your loved one would want. Reach out, Wellcasters. If you take nothing else away from this episode, please remember this: You do not have to be alone in your grief. If your feelings are too overwhelming for you to sort out, that's okay, but go to someone else for help. It can be someone you know, a family member or a friend, or it can be a therapist or a professional who knows how to help people deal with this exact situation that you find yourself in right now. Just the act of talking out loud about your feelings can be incredibly cathartic. Finding someone who can help you sort them and work through them is even better. Tweet us at WatchWellCast, email us at watchwellcast@gmail.com, or leave a comment down below. We'll see you next time.