Healing From Grief and Loss During Graduate School
My story began and was written before the current crisis, which is causing waves of grief and trauma for numerous graduate students and professionals. I was fortunate, if there is such a thing for grief, to have had a “traditional” grieving process. I was able to attend a funeral and have others there with me. This is unfortunately not true for many during these times. It is a hope that you can take this and adjust the overall themes for your situation, and to know that the overwhelming pain of grief can and will ease over time, even when it feels impossible. I am a fourth-year doctoral student, and my father died close to a year and a half ago. At the time, I was finishing the second year of my program. No one could possibly prepare you for the loss of a parent, but especially not when you are in the midst of a graduate program. I was in the middle of taking classes, nearing the end of my first practicum, and preparing to start writing my dissertation when I experienced one of the hardest losses of my life. My Story My story began the Friday before Memorial Day in 2018. That evening and the morning of June 8, just two weeks later, will be two days that will forever be ingrained into my memory. Before this day, my dad had not been doing well for a while. He was sleeping more,...Continue Reading