31/07/2026
August 2026 is Grief Awareness Month, a time to recognise that grief can take many forms and does not follow a predictable timeline.
Grief is not only experienced after a death. We may grieve a relationship, a change in health, the loss of a hoped-for future, estrangement, a major life transition, or someone who is still alive but no longer present in the way they once were.
Grief can affect the whole nervous system. It may show up as sadness, anger, numbness, exhaustion, disrupted sleep, vivid dreams, difficulty concentrating, or feeling disconnected from everyday life. There is no right way to grieve, and healing does not mean forgetting or getting over what happened.
This month, we are sharing five gentle reminders:
🌿 Name the kind of grief you are carrying
🌿 Let grief look the way it looks
🌿 Be gentle with your nervous system
🌿 Stay connected where you can
🌿 Make space for both love and living
You do not have to carry grief alone. Support from trusted friends, family members, the community, or a psychologist can help make space for what feels too heavy to hold by yourself.
Every experience of grief is different, and every grief story deserves compassion.
By Adele McFarland, Clinical Psychologist.
