Naming the Loss

Grief isn't a problem to solve or a stage to pass. It's love with nowhere to go. There's no right way and no timeline. This is a quiet place to put some of it into words, if and when that helps.

What was lost

What (or who) I'm grieving

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What they / it meant to me

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The losses underneath

One loss often carries others inside it — routines, roles, a future, a version of yourself.

The other things lost along with it

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How it moves

Grief comes in waves and surprises. There's nothing to fix here — just noticing.

How my grief tends to show up (when, how it feels)

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Carrying it

We don't 'get over' people; we carry them differently over time.

Ways I want to remember or stay connected

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People and things that help me carry this

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No timeline: Anyone rushing you through this — including you — is mistaken about how grief works. Support, including a grief-informed therapist, can help you carry it.

Go deeper

Ready for more? These lessons pick up where this worksheet leaves off.

• Trauma, CPTSD, and Grief, from The Neurodivergent Brain. Why neurodivergent people carry more trauma, the masking-trauma loop, and affirming ways to heal.
• Loss and Grief in the Relationship, from The Neurodiverse Couple. The grief no one calls grief — mourning the relationship you imagined.
• Grief, from Self-Identification. For the childhood that had no explanation, the years of trying harder, and the version of you that got blamed.