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Everyone experiences loss; grief reminds us we are human.

As hard as grieving may be, we can learn to expect triggers—even when unexpected.

Taking a moment to acknowledge grief can help heal it a bit, rather than letting it build and fester.

When loss is fresh, you might not even imagine a time when you won’t grab your phone before remembering the person you want to call is no longer alive. Your brain takes months to grasp someone has died; your neurons have to physically reconfigure until they “know” this person no longer walks the earth and can’t be contacted (in customary ways, that is; it’s possible to create what we call continuing bonds following a death).

In time, you might feel guilty for laughing, enjoying friends, and progressing with romance, work, parenting, or a social life. You move ahead and that’s how it should be—there is no cause for guilt; healthy grieving involves re-embracing life. And your loved one, in any healthy relationship, would wish that for you.

But grief comes in waves and whether it’s an anniversary, birthday, a new loss, or even a friend experiencing grief, those waves may hit. Maybe it’s not a wave, but a tsunami, crashing into you until you’re laid out, calling in sick, clutching a loved one’s unwashed........

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