Here you will immediately find a lifebelt that can help you in acute grief and accompany you directly in your grief. Here we give you a toolbox with which you can take the first measures should grief strike acutely.

Letter to the future self - A method by Peter Pfand

A long-term effective method in acute grief and similar crisis situations is to write down thoughts and the emotions associated with them.

Since writing as an active reader and author is an incredible resource for me, in many crisis and catastrophe situations with subsequent grief I noticed how my stress level dropped significantly, the sadness became bearable and the situation became controllable. By writing down my thoughts, I was able to break through acute brooding spirals and gently integrate seemingly endlessly stressful emotions by verbally empathizing with them. I have compressed these experiences into a rapidly effective technique, which I would now like to present to you.

The letter to yourself.

This technique involves you writing a letter that is addressed to your future self. In this letter you can fix all your wishes, hopes or goals that you have for your future life. Whether currently available or not. Spinning around is allowed! But you can also write down fears, concerns and current failures from which you want to learn in this letter for your future self. You are free to decide what content this letter should have. It is only important that you tell your future self what is currently very important to you. There is no right or wrong. Everything you want to share at this moment counts. You can put the letter in an envelope after completion and keep it in a safe place. When the time is right, or the chosen time has come in the future, you can read this letter again and reflect.

Three power questions to strengthen your resilience in grief - A method by Friedrich Stratmann

Resilience describes the psychological resistance or ability to regenerate. Resilience is a valuable resource you can use to help you cope with grief. How high your personal resilience is depends on various factors, e.g. B. also what experiences you have already had with grief and loss experiences. There may have been losses and crises in the past that you have overcome and experienced that it is possible to find a way out of grief. The exciting thing is: no matter where you are, you can consciously train your resilience.

The following three questions can help you to consciously strengthen your mental health during grief.

What is good for me?

What makes you happy? In grief and crisis, we often forget what is actually good for us and gives us energy. Also think about: What did you do well in the past (in a similar situation - e.g. sports, making music, painting, walking in nature, meditation)?

Who is good for me?

Who is the person you go to when you are really down? With whom can you speak openly? Maybe they are people who are usually in the “second row” but are still there for you.

What am I doing what I'm doing for?

This is about your values. What values do you live by? What is important to you? Also think about immaterial values that enrich you from within and are an anchor for you, no matter what happens on the outside (e.g. gratitude, love, appreciation, liveliness, personal responsibility).