Things to consider before starting a grief blog

People find ways to cope with their grief in many different ways; some find talking to someone about it beneficial, while others find comfort in writing their emotions and experiences down. If you are the latter, you may have been considering starting a grief blog of some description. For a lot of people, their grief blogs have helped them to not only come to terms with their grief, but also connect to people all over the world going through similar experiences. However, before starting a grief blog there are a few things you might want to consider.

What is a grief blog?

This is a particularly difficult question to answer, but that doesn’t mean we won’t try. The reason this question cannot be answered with a straight forward answer is because a grief blog can be anything you want it to be, in theory. Some people use their grief blog to share their experiences and talk about the loved ones they have lost; others use it to give advice to people who may be experiencing grief themselves. Whichever way you want to interpret it is the correct way, you just need to make sure you are doing it in a way that is healthy for you.

How raw is your grief?

The worst thing you can do if you are considering starting a grief blog is to start it too soon after the loss you have experienced. Many people have said that they regret starting one while their grief was raw, as they didn’t give themselves enough time to process what had happened.

Are you ready for this kind of ‘commitment’?

Your grief blog doesn’t have to be something you commit to, without any flexibility and keep a schedule for. You can be as frequent or infrequent with your writing as possible. However, you need to know that you will be okay with yourself if you do decide to stop. We are our own worst enemies, so you need to make sure that, should you choose to stop, you respect your own decision and don’t feel as though you are letting anyone down by no longer continuing the grief blog.

Would you be doing it as an avoidance tactic?

Quite often when someone experiences a significant loss in their life, they will try to avoid the feelings that come with grief. This is completely normal and understandable, but we need to make sure we try to recognise when this is happening. By starting a grief blog, it may feel as though you are tackling these complex emotions, whereas in reality it could be a way for you to push them aside to help other people. Wanting to help others in a similar situation to yourself is absolutely fine, but not at the expense of your own wellbeing. You need to evaluate exactly why you want to start a grief blog and whether or not it is because you are wanting to help yourself and others, or avoid the emotions you are feeling altogether.

Are you ready to be criticised by others?

If you do make the decision to start a grief blog, you will open your world up to so many different people. Most of these people will become an incredible support network and you will probably make life long friends through it. However, others might be critical. Before starting a grief blog, it is important to know that not everyone is going to agree with you and be supportive. This might be a difficult thing to come to terms with, but if you think you can deal with criticism every now and again, it shouldn’t be something that puts you off.

Once you have started your grief blog, if that is something you choose to do, it is quite possible that people will begin to actively ask you for advice. You need to make sure you are ready to cope with these messages and emails from people who might trigger upsetting memories or emotions from your own grief journey. Our best advice would be to make sure you are ready – unfortunately, nobody else can tell you whether you are or not. However, a grief blog might be just what you need to tackle some of the complex emotions that come with a grief journey.

By Rebecca Thomas