Photo by SAJAD FI on Unsplash Some grief is clean and simple: I loved them. I lost them. I miss them. But a lot of grief isn’t like that. Sometimes grief is tangled. You can feel deep sadness—and also anger. Relief—and also guilt. Love—and also regret. You can miss someone and still carry unresolved pain. You can grieve what happened and also grieve what never happened. That’s complicated grief —not because you’re broken, but because the story had layers. And layered stories take time. A Personal Note This is part of what makes grief hard for many of us: we don’t just lose a person—we lose a chapter, a role, a future, a sense of normal, a version of ourselves. And when losses stack (or arrive close together), the emotions can feel confusing and even contradictory. If you’ve felt that—if your heart doesn’t feel “consistent”—you’re not failing. You’re human. Why Complicated Grief Can Feel So Heavy 1) It carries multiple emotions at once. Sadness, anger, numbn...
You can be doing “okay” for weeks—steady, functional, even hopeful—and then a date shows up, and your body remembers before your mind can explain it. Anniversaries have a way of reopening a door you didn’t plan to walk through. Not because you’re failing. Not because you’re going backward. But because grief isn’t linear— it’s relational . Love keeps time. A Personal Note On a personal note, 2025 was a hard year for my family. We lost two family members, and it feels like grief “bookended” the months—one loss in February, and another in December. Some weeks don’t just feel busy; they feel heavy. The world keeps moving—emails, errands, responsibilities—while you’re carrying names, memories, and dates you’ll never forget. So if you are coming up on an anniversary, you’re not alone. These Dates Hit So Hard 1) Your body stores the story. Even when you’ve processed a lot, certain seasons, songs, weather, and routines can stir grief in your body—fatigue, tightness, tears that surprise yo...