HIDDEN GRIEF
I had a moment where I was thinking of “making an excuse” or hiding my grief from someone.
This someone has been a constant support to me, we went through all of this journey together and are still navigating it together. There was zero reason to feel the need to hide it from them. But, there it was. This feeling like I had to make an excuse for my grief versus just being open.
I didn’t end up hiding it, and this person was of course incredibly understanding, as they always are. It just goes to show, even me, who openly shares about my grief, can feel unnecessarily pressured by the stigma of having to be “over” our grief in a certain time frame. That our grief will make others uncomfortable so it should be “hidden”.
This is WHY I will continue to share almost every part of this journey publicly. To end the stigma. To normalize grieving. To make it know there is NO timeline on your grief. To encourage others who come across my Instagram to not hide their grief.
No one wants grief, but it is unfortunately yours and you will grieve however you need to, not how society has made you think you have to.