Miscarriage, Stillbirth and Journal Writing

Talk to any bereaved parent and they will tell you that they live in a world of people who don't understand. Thankfully now that lack of understanding is lightened by the many invaluable parent-led support groups that exist both online and offline. But often the feelings come up in between the group meetings or when the Internet is down. This is when the Journal comes into its own. You can sit down and let all those feelings pour onto the page. You can pour out all those feelings of anger, despair, guilt, confusion and resentment.

No one will judge you or condemn you or say unhelpful things. You will not have to cope with other peoples' distress, fear or prejudices. You will not have to explain that yes, your baby is real even though he or she only lived for 12 or 20 or 36 weeks. You will not have to explain what miscarriage or stillbirth or neonatal death means. Nor will you be asked to explain medical details or medical terminology to those who do not know. You do not have to censor yourself in the pages or worry that people will misunderstand you. You can just tell it like it is for you. And no one ever has to read it, unless you choose. There are many ways you can use a journal.

You can use it as a safety valve, a safe place for you to express your darkest feelings without fear of condemnation or punctuation errors. Or you can use it in a more focussed way, to help you navigate your grief and manage it. Or you can use your journal as a combination of both. The choice is yours.

As you write in your journal, you will begin to see patterns in your grief. You might see that you always feel worse after Aunt Mary comes to visit. Or maybe you keep going back to a guilty place of "I should have done this or said that." Maybe, you might see an angry pattern emerging, one that is a problem in your day to day relationships. Whatever pattern you discover is invaluable information for you. It gives you a clear message that there is something you need to do or not do in order to support yourself and take care of yourself. No two people grieve in the same way. What you need will be different from what I need. But in taking the first step, in identifying the pattern you will begin the healing process.

Source: http://ezinearticles.com/6259148

green valerie jarrett monk manny pacquiao vs shane mosley cna