What It’s Like To Grieve A Parent You Didn’t Like
Experts have called parental estrangement a “silent epidemic.” Although there are no hard numbers, one study out of Britain found that 8% of adults there are estranged from their parents, which translates to about 5 million people nationally. In another study, just over half of parents in the United States said they had a harmonious relationship with their grown children, which suggests parent-child discord is rampant.
There is no emotional road map for those people who are grappling with the loss of someone they may not have liked all that much, and who may have been the source of extreme pain in their lives. But experts say there is good reason to speak more openly about this experience, which is far more prevalent than society tends to recognize.
Grieving a difficult relationship is complicated.
I get into this and more in a new article on HuffPost, by Catherine Pearson. Click this link to read the entire piece, What It’s Like To Grieve A Parent You Didn’t Like.
When there is a relationship that was draining or hard, there can be a freedom or relief when that person dies — and then what immediately comes is the guilt. But sometimes it IS a relief. Click To TweetExperts say it’s essential for grieving parties — and those supporting them — to remember that humans are emotionally complex, and that we are fully capable of feeling multiple emotions at the same time as well as cycling through them. Feelings like sorrow, anger, relief and happiness can coexist. When it comes to grief, there is no “should.”
The more people talk about how normal this is, the more normal it becomes.
Read the entire article here.
The best place I know to share the whole truth about your grief is inside the Writing Your Grief course. No advice, no platitudes, just the truth of your own experience. Being allowed to tell the truth changes things. It can make things better, even when they can’t be made right.
We’ve got a long way to go to get the entire culture up to speed on the realities of grief. Our Patreon community is helping to shift the cultural conversation, and we’d love to have you. Patrons get all the videos, audio interviews, meditations – and the inside scoop – before anyone else. Pop over to the home of the Grief Revolution to join us.
