When you've lost someone you love

In the morning, when you wake up, you sometimes forget for a second. Then you remember. They're not here anymore. In that moment, something tightens deep in your chest, and the thought of starting yet another day without them feels very heavy.

Your phone still holds your messages to each other. You read the last one again and again. The words you never sent, the thank you you never had time to say, all of it stays inside you and won't go away.

The people around you are slowly getting back to their lives. Every time someone says it might be time to move on, you feel like the only one frozen in time. As if grief came with an end date set in advance.

Tears come without warning, then you feel nothing at all, then anger rises up. When the holidays, a birthday, or an important date get closer, the pain comes back. These waves may confuse you. Yet they show just how much you loved this person.

You are not the only one carrying the pain of losing someone dear. Even without saying it, many people live every day thinking of someone they miss terribly. Your grief is real, it is right, and it matters deeply. There is nothing wrong with you.