Society does not know how to talk about or respond to perinatal loss. Loved ones want to help but often don’t know what to say. Unfortunately, well-intentioned comments may be unhelpful and even hurtful. It’s important to be able to communicte your needs with your support system, including when comments are hurtful.
The links above may be shared with friends and family to help them understand how to support you in your loss.
Ways to Cope
Sometimes people unintentionally say hurtful things. It’s not fair, but it’s an unfortunate reality. There are healthy ways to deal with and process unhelpful comments by others. It’s important to acknowledge to yourself when comments were unhelpful and allow yourself to feel and process the pain. Below are some helpful ways to process the emotions brought on by insensitive comments.
Journaling
Journaling can be a helpful way to process emotions and feelings. Consider some of the prompts to help process insensitive comments:
- I wish people wouldn’t say…
- Here’s the top five most rediculous things people have said to me…
- When people say … it makes me feel …
- Here’s what people could have said…
Poetry
Poetry can be a helpful way to process emotions. You don’t need to be a poet to write a poem. This poetry workshop teaches how to process grief using poetry.