For most grievers, the calendar is punctuated by mourning minefields. Birthdays, deathdays, and anniversaries are the obvious dates that fill us with dread and make us consider staying in bed all day. The trifecta of Thanksgiving, Christmas/Chanukah/Kwanza, and New Year’s is also tough – with holidays that come so close together, we’ve barely recovered from one before we need to start worrying about the next.

Halloween can be a particularly tricky one (no pun intended), especially for those of us who have lost children.

First, we have to deal with the extended runway. It seems like as soon as kids have gone back to school, store merchandising flips to Halloween. Skeletons, fake tombstones, and ghosts are everywhere, from the grocery store to our neighbor’s front lawn. We might even bump into these kitschy representations of death in our workplaces or doctor’s offices.

The decorations, of course, are meant to be lighthearted and fun. But when you’re grieving, they can feel too........

© Psychology Today