The death of a grandparent can be a different grieving process and often times the loss of a grandparent is our first experience with losing a loved one. After you lose a grandparent, you’ll be surrounded by other family members who are also grieving. Our own parents, our siblings and even our cousins are also experiencing a major loss in their life. Emotions, different grieving styles and miscommunication can make it difficult for family to support one another and fulfill their own needs during their own grief journeys. If any of this is true for you, the key is to balance your needs with the needs of others.
Here are a few things you may experience after losing a grandparent:
- Feeling like you’ve lost a parent - Often times, our grandparents are like our own parents. This situation makes this loss particularly hard for us.
- Becoming closer to our other grandparents - We might grow closer to our grandparent who is grieving or our other grandparents. This helps us stay connected to our loved ones.
- Regret - After losing a grandparent, you may experience feelings of regret. You may regret not spending more time with them, not asking them all of the questions you had for them. This is a valid feeling and we must remember to think of our good memories with our grandparent.
- Jealousy - We may grow jealous of our friends who still have their grandparents. It’s important to focus on enjoying the time you had with your grandparent.
Losing a grandparent is a challenging part of life. But please remember, your grief is a reflection of your unique relationship with your grandparent. Our grandparents are very special people in our lives the key is to cherish and honor the memories we have with them.
