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Coping with Grief When the World Keeps Moving

authorlindsaygibson
3 hours ago
3 min read

🌿 Healing Grief Gently: Inspired by Fly Away Summer

Grief has many layers—and in Fly Away Summer, Lana Kelly carries them all. She’s lost her parents, her beloved family inn not once but twice, her grandmother’s steadiness, and now faces the slow unraveling of her grandfather to Alzheimer’s. Her story mirrors what so many of us experience: that grief doesn’t follow a timeline—and it rarely fades when the rest of the world moves on..

As we head into the fall season and the holidays begin to appear on the horizon, it’s important to remember: grief doesn’t take time off for celebrations. In fact, it often intensifies. The colder months, filled with memories, traditions, and quieter moments—can bring emotional waves to the surface. And in my Wellness Plot course, I teach that grief isn’t something we “get over.” It’s something we move through—and that journey requires support, especially for our nervous system, digestion, and hormones.

If you're coping with loss (of a loved one, a dream, a role, or a season of life), here are some gentle, nourishing ways to care for your body and mind.

How Grief Affects the Body: What We Often Overlook

When we grieve, the vagus nerve—a critical communication superhighway between brain and body—can become dysregulated. This shows up in symptoms like:

Trouble sleeping or feeling rested
Digestive issues like bloating or nausea
Panic, numbness, or irritability
Chronic fatigue or brain fog
Feeling “stuck” in fight-or-flight

Grief also burns through nutrients rapidly, especially when stress is prolonged. And yet, most of us either stop eating, emotionally eat, or numb out altogether. That’s why nutritional support—especially foods that are warming, grounding, and easy to digest—can make all the difference.

Coping with Grief Naturally: Seasonal Nutrition & Nervous System Support

Here are personalized strategies for emotional nourishment and adrenal recovery during grief:

1. Simplify Your Nutrition

Grief isn’t the time for restrictive diets. Choose:

Warm, soft foods: think soups, stews, mashed veggies
Magnesium-rich ingredients: pumpkin seeds, leafy greens, dark chocolate
B methylated vitamins for adrenal support: whole grains, eggs, nutritional yeast
Collagen or bone broth to soothe the gut and calm the system
Gentle teas like chamomile, lemon balm, or rooibos

2. Support Your Vagus Nerve Daily

The vagus nerve regulates digestion, mood, and immune response. You can activate it through:

Gargling, humming, or singing (yes, even in the car)
Laughter or emotional crying
Cold exposure (splash your face with cool water in the morning)
Deep belly breathing or left-side lying rest
Gentle craniosacral touch, such as placing a warm hand over your heart or forehead

These small actions help your body shift from survival mode to restoration.

3. Let the Grief Be Witnessed

Like Lana in Fly Away Summer, you may have spent years trying to hold it together. But bottling it up only prolongs the pain. Try:

Writing one page each morning—just for you
Speaking out loud what hurts, even to a pet or empty room
Recording a voice note as if you were comforting a friend
Listening to music that matches your emotions (and letting the tears fall)

A Gentle Reminder from Lana’s Story

Lana thought she'd already lost everything once. And then grief came for more. But what she slowly learns is this:

💬 "Grief doesn't mean you stop loving the world. It means you start loving it differently."

Even in loss, new rhythms emerge. New ways of belonging. New relationships with rest, nourishment, and self-compassion.

A Final Word of Encouragement

If you’re coping with grief—especially as fall and the holidays approach—you are not alone. Whether you’re missing someone, releasing something, or slowly rebuilding—remember that healing is not a straight line.

Let this season be a soft landing to go deeper. You’re welcome to explore my free self-paced course: “The Wellness Prologue: 5 Days of Recipes, Recovery & Rest” – a gentle introduction to healing rhythms, nourishment, and nervous system repair.