Ambiguous Grief #parenting #grief #motherhood #shorts

Ambiguous loss is loss without closure. This makes it difficult for people to grieve or move forward fully. It often happens when someone is physically there but emotionally absent, has changed so they no longer feel like the person you once knew, or are absent but still alive.

Closure feels so healing to the human soul, so the inability to have closure is so hard to deal with.

Examples:
1. Having a parent or sibling who refuses to have a relationship or cannot relate positively, they are still alive but can’t be a mom, dad, or friend to you.

2. Having a loved one who is struggling with addiction or mental illness, they are no longer who they once were, & their behavior and actions may be unpredictable and inconsistent.

3. Experiencing chronic illness - you are changing; you have no idea what the healing process may be and how long it may last, sometimes gaining and sometimes losing capacity, leading to an unpredictable future and waves of grief.

4. Going through a divorce or separation where there is no closure or finality, and the relationship remains emotionally unresolved-especially relationships with kids, as you must still relate to your ex, even though you may not have emotional closure with them.

5. Experiencing the loss of a loved one to a debilitating illness, such as dementia or brain trauma, where the person is physically present but mentally different.

7. Parenting kids with special needs. There is a loss of what you thought parenting would be like. Loss and unknown of who your child is or will be. Not doing “normal” parenting things. New milestones may continue to bring up grief.

8. Having a family member or friend who has disappeared without explanation.

9. Experiencing terminal illness, where their health deteriorates over time, you are grieving their death even as they are still with you.

10. Experiencing a miscarriage or stillbirth, where there is the loss of the future imagined with the child.

If you’ve experienced any of these, my heart aches with you. ♥️

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#ambiguous #grief #parenting #miscarriage #chronicillness #mentalillness