10 Things To Consider When Thinking Of Starting A Grief Blog

Many of us have a tendency to ignore our grief and move forward with our lives. Starting a grief blog is a good way to make sure you’re actively facing your grief. It’s harder to work through your grief if you’re actively avoiding the emotions associated with your loss. 

Instead of pushing down your feelings, a grief blog allows you to embrace your grief and everything that comes with it. When you commit to regularly writing down how you feel, it forces you to slow down and consider your feelings.

Studies show that writing in a journal can help you combat depression and anxiety. While a grief blog isn’t the same as journaling, it can provide many of the same benefits. Combined with counseling and grief groups, your grief blog can be a good aid to your mental health.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed by stress or depression in the face of your grief, starting a grief blog may help you process those emotions. When you express yourself on a regular basis, you’re better equipped to manage your grief.

There are lots of destructive things we could do when we’re grieving: drinking, using drugs, shopping too much, or engaging in other destructive behaviors. Starting a blog about your grief might be a more constructive outlet for your grief.

You shouldn’t only blog to create something marketable, but starting and managing a blog may give you something to put your energy into during your grief. Not only will it serve as a diversion, it will help you circle back and connect with your feelings on a regular basis. This will push you to make decisions that further your healing process.

Grief can be isolating, especially if your friends and family don’t understand the grief you’re going through. Starting a grief blog is a good way to connect with other people coping with the same types of grief. If you’re not sure if a blog is right for you, you can still connect with other grieving individuals through grief retreats and cruises.

Connecting with others can help you feel less isolated during your grief. It may also provide you with tools you might not otherwise stumble upon, as others facing the same grief can speak into your life as well. 

When people ask how you’re doing after a loss, your grief blog will help you give a more concrete answer. If you’re regularly checking in with your emotions, you’ll be better equipped to share those emotions with friends and family.

While your blog may be read by people who don’t know you, your friends and family are those most likely to read what you’re writing. A grief blog allows people a closer look inside your mind while you grieve. If your grief blog is about a lost loved one, it can be a place where others come and gather memories of your departed loved one.

You may not be ready to think about how your grief blog will help others. When you’re in the throes of grief, you’re not necessarily thinking about the good that can come from your experience. However, your grief blog may become a platform that allows you to help others going through loss.

Ruby Dhal is the bestselling author behind five books, but her writing career started when she created an Instagram account to process her own healing. When other people connected with what she wrote, she turned a simple social media account into a thriving business centered on helping others process their own heartbreak. She touches thousands of lives and your story has the potential to do the same.

If you share eloquently-worded updates on social media, others might tell you that you should start a blog. In the days after a major loss, those suggestions may nag at you. However, you shouldn’t only start a grief blog because other people keep saying you should.

You can be a great writer, but that doesn’t mean you have to start a grief blog in the aftermath of a loss. Loss is very personal and only you can determine whether you’re ready to share that journey with others. If you want to keep your journey private, journaling may be a good solution. We have a great guide to journaling here.

If you cope with things by writing, that’s great. A grief blog may be the perfect way for you to process your loss. However, it’s important to make sure that you aren’t using your grief blog as a coping mechanism to avoid your real feelings.

Some people cope best by talking through their grief, even in a public forum like a blog or social media account. If you process things best by talking through them, starting a grief blog may be a good choice.

It’s important to remember that running a blog has everyday demands. Even if you don’t post every day, you need to consider how often you’ll post. While you can make it as casual or serious as you’d like, it’s important to remember that comments or messages may come in at any time.

Embarking on this journey will demand a lot of your attention. Are you ready to give your blog that attention, or is it too soon after your loss?

It’s important to remember that feeling numb isn’t the same thing as healing. Your numbness in the aftermath of significant loss is a necessary defense mechanism. It allows you to get things done (like legal matters and funeral planning).

Unfortunately, we sometimes think that our numbness is a sign that we’re doing alright. Before you start a grief blog, make sure you’re ready to publicly work through your grief. Be prepared for your grieving process to get a lot uglier than it is right now, since actively working through your grief will force you to face it in new ways.

Some people have no problem brushing off online comments, especially if those comments come from someone they don’t know. Others may obsess over every comment. Before you start a grief blog, it’s important to know what type of person you are. 

Decide ahead of time how you’ll handle online comments. Will you reply to every comment? Or will you choose to ignore the bad ones while engaging the positive ones? It’s best to have a plan ahead of time, since it may be harder to think when you’re left spinning from a negative comment.

Unfortunately, starting a grief blog puts you at risk of fallout in your personal and professional life. Grief isn’t always pretty, and sharing the grittier parts of grief online may cause problems for your real-life relationships. In the best cases, your blog may promote increased openness in your relationships.

In the worst cases, though, your words may upset other people. People may respond with judgement instead of empathy. One woman shared with us about how one time she was publicly sharing about her grief surrounding her miscarriage when she heard a man from the back of the room yell, “Who cares?!” While it’s hard to believe that people could be so calloused, it’s important to prepare yourself for the possibility that someone will say something so heartless about your grief.

You can post when you want, but you may decide to stick to a certain schedule for your posting. Do you want to post every day or just a couple times a week? It’s important to decide how often to post based on your ability to create content.

For a personal blog, it’s okay to post infrequently. However, building a blog into a grief community will require a greater commitment. If others are coming to your blog to process their grief, it’s important to make time to post on a regular basis.

Different types of content may take longer to create than others. While short updates on social media may not take up much time, writing long posts or creating an edited video may take a significant chunk of time.

When you’re figuring out how much time your blog will take, it’s important to factor in the medium you’ll be using to share your content. You should pick a type of content that fits within your time availability. Don’t commit to a weekly podcast episode if your free time only allows the occasional text update.

Blogging anonymously is one way you can protect your personal life online. You can create a blog without disclosing information like your name or where you live. Blogging anonymously is a great outlet if you aren’t sure how you feel about people at work reading what you have to say about your grief.

However, it’s important to remember that you cannot guarantee your anonymity online. Curious readers may be able to piece together clues to find out your identity. Even if you’re blogging anonymously, make sure you aren’t sharing anything online that you wouldn’t be okay with people finding out later on.

You might choose to share your identity and share details of your grief, but you may choose to withhold certain things from your audience. Starting a grief blog is not an “all or nothing” endeavor. Instead, you can choose the level of transparency you want before you begin your blog.

For example, you might have a boundary that you won’t share stories about your children without their permission. It’s important to consider your boundaries before you start your blog, since that’s one of the best way to prevent those boundaries from being violated.

There are many drawbacks to blogging. It can be time-consuming and getting the technology to work can be stressful. Worst of all, people can say extremely hurtful things online. Trolls don’t consider your feelings when they comment online.

You must be ready to deal with these drawbacks. The end result has to be worth it to you or you’d be better suited finding a different outlet for your grief.

Instead of starting a grief blog, you might be best suited by participation in an online grief community. You don’t need to focus on creating content, but you can share your thoughts and feelings as they occur.

There are lots of great online communities centered on grief. If you think you’d be better served by joining one of them, you should try that before investing time and energy into creating a grief blog.

When you’re thinking about starting a blog, consider talking through the option with a spiritual leader, mentor, or counselor. Ask them if they think a grief blog is a healthy outlet. They may also be able to give you a better idea about your own readiness to share your grief online.

Your blog may eventually become less about your own grief and more about how you can help others facing the same types of grief. You may get to the point when you’re ready to help others face their losses.

Even in the short term, it’s important that you’re ready to answer questions. You may be in the thick of your grief, but so are others who are reading your words. If you aren’t ready to help others, you may be better served processing your grief in a different way.