We all want to feel like we are in control of our lives. We have dreams, goals, and plans that we work towards, and then there is life itself. Life has a way of knocking us off track when we least expect it, and often the hardest challenge is how to get back on track after something traumatic happens. When someone close to you dies or leaves, there can be many emotions, including sadness, anger, guilt, blame, and confusion about why it happened or who was at fault. These emotions make us feel stuck in our grief because we keep going over what happened instead of moving forward with our lives.

When we are grieving, the activities of our daily life can feel beyond us. Our mind and body can be easily overwhelmed, and we may find that we need help when we never did before.

It's hard to believe that a person can go through so much pain and still keep on living. But that's what grief does to you: it makes you stronger, even if only in small ways. Grief hurts your body as well as your mind, though. If you're going through something similar, here are some common side effects of grief on the body:

What is strength in grief?

One of the hardest things about grief is that it makes me so hard on myself. For the first several weeks after my son died, I relished that there were no expectations on me or my feelings, from myself or anyone else. I was devastated and broken and the whole world around me knew it. Everyone accepted that I could not cook meals or drive my kids around or put a coherent sentence together.

One of the most painful parts of grief is loneliness. No matter how many people are in our lives, missing our son makes the whole world seem empty. No one can replace our son. Even if we have another child, we will still miss Cayse. This is why grief lasts, and in some way loneliness, too, for the rest of our lives. Accepting this loneliness is part of who we are. I think of my loneliness of my son as a way of keeping a space for him. It is a way of honoring the love we had.

Why does grief make you angry?

This is a question many people ask when they are dealing with the loss of a loved one. In this post, we will take a look at some of the reasons why grief makes people angry.

Grief is a complicated, often confusing emotion. It can take over your life and make you feel like yourself in ways that are both heartbreaking and beautiful. It's normal to mourn the passing of someone you love—but it's also normal for people who aren't grieving themselves to be confused about what to say or do around those who are. Here are some things not to say if you're trying not to upset someone whose loved ones have passed away:

If you've experienced the death of your child, you may have noticed that your feelings are all over the map. Although grief is an individual process and there isn't one way to grieve, most grief experts agree that grief can be compared to a roller coaster ride.

"Love endures forever."

This beautiful quote is carved on the wall of a chapel at the National Shrine of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton in Emmitsburg, Maryland. Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton was an American saint and the first native-born citizen of the United States to be canonized by the Roman Catholic Church. She was also a wife and mother who was once widowed with five surviving children. One of those surviving children, Anna Maria, died soon after her mother's death. Before her own untimely death, Anna Maria had written to her sister: "We are but travelers here; let us help each other on our journey."