The holiday season is a way to show joy, and spread love. But for some people the holiday season is a time of great grief. To help combat that, the Stratford Rotary Hospice is holding a winter webinar called Grief During the Holidays.
“It’s an hour-long webinar that is free of charge,” said Melissa McManus, a registered social worker. “We will talk about what grief is and the different types of grief and why grief may be heightened during the holidays.”
Whether you have lost someone at the hospice or not the webinar is open to the public. The major holidays; birthdays, Christmas and New Years are some of the most most triggering days for families to remember their loved ones.
“Some of the feelings you experience may be comforting, like the smell of baked goods, holiday lights, and music,” said McManus. “While other things like a holiday party may make you feel sad. Give yourself some grace, that’s key: a potential strategy is planning to go to a holiday party but plan on leaving early, and also keeping holiday traditions alive but making some adjustments.”
The webinar will look at strategies to help people this season, while acknowledging that you may not want to celebrate in the same ways as before, and that is okay. McNaus says that a new strategy that will be presented focuses on celebrating without feeling guilty, which can be a hard concept.
“Sometimes you will be sad and other times you will be cheerful but either way it doesn’t mean you don’t miss your loved one any less,” she said. “It's about living with the new normal of your loved one not being physically here.”
A key thing to remember this holiday season is to give yourself and others some grace, as grief looks different for everyone.
“With so many sensations around the holidays, you might start crying at a song, waves of grief can hit us out of nowhere,” said McManus. “Just remember it happens to everyone, so take a few deep breaths.
The webinar will take place at 7 p.m. and you don’t have to be on camera to participate. Anyone looking to register for this event can do so by emailing [email protected], and you will receive a Zoom link via email closer to the event.
