The Widow's Handbook: winner of the Helen Bailey Award 2022
  • Home
  • About
  • Personal stories
  • Resources
  • Other widow blogs
  • Home
  • About
  • Personal stories
  • Resources
  • Other widow blogs
Picture

It's okay to laugh

1/11/2022

0 Comments

 
Picture
In the early days of grief, I thought I would never laugh again. That my sense of humour had gone forever. I saw that Lee Ridley (Lost Voice Guy) was on locally, and on impulse I booked a ticket. I think it was my first trip to the theatre on my own. I was anxious, and very nearly backed out but I made it. I'd booked an end of row just in case I needed to make a run for it, and sitting in the audience I thought 'why am I here?' Then Lee came on stage. I laughed so much I nearly fell off my seat, and my stomach ached the next day.
 
Laying in bed that night, I did feel guilty. That I'd forgotten Tim. That I'd forgotten to grieve. But it really is okay to laugh again. Laughing is actually good for us. It improves our intake of oxygen, has an impact on our stress response, stimulates circulation and aids muscle relaxation. It can even improve our immune response. Laughing helps us cope, and helps us to feel human again. My sense of humour is definitely still here. It always was dark, and is perhaps a bit darker now, especially when I'm talking to other widows.
 
PS – Lee now has a Geordie accent to be closer to his family's voices
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    I was widowed at 50 when Tim, who I expected would be my happy-ever-after following a marriage break-up, died suddenly from heart failure linked to his type 2 diabetes. Though we'd known each other since our early 20s, we'd been married less than ten years. ​

    Archives

    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    February 2018

    Categories

    All
    ADHD
    Anger
    Autumn
    Birthdays
    Change
    Christmas
    Clearing And Decluttering
    Cooking
    Coping Strategies
    Dating
    Depression
    Diet
    Envy
    Exhaustion
    Finances
    Flashbacks
    Funeral
    Grief Attacks
    Grounding
    Guilt
    Health Anxiety
    Helen Bailey
    Hints And Tips
    How To Help
    Jealousy
    LGBTQ+
    Making Plans
    Models Of Grief
    Moving Forward
    My Story
    Neurodiversity
    Nightmares
    Pain
    Sadmin
    Second Year
    Seven Deadly Sins Of Widowhood
    Sex
    Sleep
    Sudden Death
    Survivor Guilt
    What If
    Widow Brain
    Winter
    Work
    Writing

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly