To avoid feeling overwhelmed and hold back the tears due to loss, stress and worry, I’ve started delving into my ancestry online.
My therapist reframed what I was doing as focusing, rather than avoidance. She thought it was healthy.
Now that my father has passed away and my mother’s health has faltered, I’m really, really sad. I miss them both.
My father is gone. My mother is still with us, but I miss speaking with her, playing word games with her, walking with her, taking her out for lunch.
The pain at times overwhelms me. I don’t want to fall into bipolar depression, hypomania, or mood cycling.
To stave off the pain, I click through the family tree, digging further and further back.
Hate when hit dead ends, especially when it comes to my mother’s beloved Irish grandmother with whom she lived when she attended college.
—
A version of this post was previously published on KittOMalley.com and is republished here with permission from author.
—
◊♦◊
Have you read the original anthology that was the catalyst for The Good Men Project? Buy here: The Good Men Project: Real Stories from the Front Lines of Modern Manhood
◊♦◊
Talk to you soon.
If you believe in the work we are doing here at The Good Men Project and want to join our calls on a regular basis, please join us as a Premium Member, today.
All Premium Members get to view The Good Men Project with NO ADS.
Need more info? A complete list of benefits is here.
—
Photo credit: istockphoto