Confusion

Regardless of having experienced the death of a loved one, everyone can identify with how it feels to be confused. Confusion is another feeling people may experience early in the grief journey. It really goes hand in hand with feeling disorganized.

Feeling confused after a loved one’s death is not something we can control. Even the most organized, focused person may experience this. It manifests in not having the ability to complete tasks – lots of starts and stops with simple projects and some may never be completed. Walking into a room and not having a clue of where you were headed or what the purpose behind you going there was. Forgetting and being able to retain information is also normal. Don’t expect that you will whiz through your day as you had before. Low productivity and lack of initiation are also a normal part of the process.

The grieving process is serious, difficult work to do. The early days are fraught with feeling like you are going crazy and that you should be doing better than you are. You may even think you are doing this all wrong. Set aside the self-doubt and be gentle with yourself instead. You are not doing it wrong. Feeling confused can be frustrating, but like shock, numbness and disorganization … it is temporary.  All of these temporary feelings are wrapped in a heavy dose of fatigue, so pace yourself and take little breaks throughout the day.

Photo Credit: Gregory Szarkiewicz:
http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/view_photog.php?photogid=252