A Parent’s Guide To Navigating Grief In Teenagers

Grief is a complex emotion that can be challenging for teens to navigate. According to the Childhood Bereavement Estimation Model (CBEM), 1 in 12 children and teens in the U.S. will experience the death of a parent or sibling by age 18. While grief is usually experienced after the loss of a loved one, it can also manifest through traumatic experiences and sudden life changes.

Grieving teenagers may experience a range of emotions, such as sadness, anger, fear, confusion, and guilt. These complex emotions can also cause them to exhibit behavioral changes, such as withdrawal, aggression, or difficulty focusing. As parents, you must support your teen by validating their feelings and understanding that a teenager’s grief may manifest differently than that of younger children and adults.

Creating a safe and supportive environment for your teen to share and express their emotions is essential. Here, we will go over a few ways that you can support your teen and safely navigate the grieving process.

Processing and Self-Care For Parents and Guardians

As a parent or guardian, it is common to experience your own grief alongside that of your teenager, especially after the loss of a close friend or family member. Remember to take time to care for your own well-being. Talking to friends, family, or a licensed therapist can be helpful to parents or guardians experiencing grief alongside their teen or young adult and allow parents to create their own environment for expressing emotions.

Parenting while grieving can be a difficult and emotionally taxing job. Seeking out support resources and practicing self-care can help you process intense feelings and allow you to be emotionally, mentally, and physically available to support your teenager.

Maintaining Open Communication

Open communication is crucial when supporting a grieving teenager. Create a safe environment for them to speak freely without judgment and express their emotions unapologetically. Communication is the most powerful tool you can offer as a parent or guardian.

Be prepared to listen attentively and validate your teen’s feelings. Maintaining open, honest, and age-appropriate conversations about loss and grief can help them navigate complex emotions and understand that grieving is a natural and completely normal response to experiencing loss. Parents must avoid dismissing or minimizing their teen’s feelings at this time — doing so can often make them feel isolated or misunderstood, preventing them from safely processing their feelings.

Normalizing the Grieving Process

When learning how to process a loss, the first step in the grieving process is to acknowledge the loss. Remind them that it is perfectly normal to feel sad and miss the person they lost. Allow them to experience their feelings openly and encourage healthy coping mechanisms like drawing, playing, or talking with friends to express themselves.

Many parents of grieving teenagers find success in honoring their loss. Parents can find ways to help grieving teens cope with loss by creating memorials and discussing and celebrating good memories.

Grief is a long journey, and there’s no shortcut to healing. While coping mechanisms can provide comfort, they don’t necessarily accelerate the grieving process. Avoid pressuring your teen to “move on” or “be happy.” It’s essential to allow grieving teenagers to feel their emotions without forced positivity or trying to rush through the grief process.

Supporting Your Teen’s Social Life

Because the grief process can often involve behavioral changes such as withdrawal, it is important to encourage social connection and help them maintain relationships with friends and family. Finding the right balance of socialization and privacy can help your teenager ease out of sadness and seek comfort in their loved ones.

Facilitating social activities or engaging in things your teen enjoys can help them accept grief and form connections with the world around them. However, many teenagers can be reluctant to socialize again after a loss. It is essential to be mindful of social pressures and offer balance and support where needed.

Recognizing Signs of Distress

When grief is not navigated correctly, many teenagers can experience distress and mental instability. Mental health is an important factor for many parents to consider, as it can lead to other complications. Look for signs of distress, such as behavioral changes, sleep patterns, or changes in appetite.

Distressed teens can benefit from professional help from a licensed therapist or health services provider. A therapist or counselor can provide valuable support and guidance for both parents and teens. Seeking out age-appropriate resources and services, such as teen residential treatment facilities, can be beneficial for youth who require around-the-clock care during their grieving process.

Exposing Your Teenager To Coping Practices

As a parent or guardian, you must maintain a safe and secure environment for your teen. Understanding their perspective on things and addressing their fears and anxieties with an open mind can be highly beneficial in helping them cope with and navigate their feelings.

Maintaining a relationship of honesty and openness, especially when answering grief-related questions, can help establish trust and reassurance between you and your teen. Remind them that they are loved and have the tools they need to cope. Avoid overprotecting and allow them to have healthy experiences and independence as they grieve. While it may be a firsthand parental instinct to want to protect your teenager, exposing them to these complex processes and challenges is essential so that they know how to cope over time and prepare them for adulthood.

Polaris Teen Center: A Safe Space For Navigating Grief

There is no singular way to treat grief. Unlike other mental health issues, grief requires time and patience. As a parent, the grief process can be complex enough to navigate on your own. Polaris Teen Center offers resources for parents and teens to navigate the complexities of grief and loss and encourages healthy coping mechanisms for healing.

Our team of behavioral health experts can help parents navigate their teen’s feelings and create a space for them to express their emotions freely. Through tailored approaches to treatment and healing, our expert grief counselors know how to identify various types of loss and design treatment strategies that best suit your teenager’s needs. To learn more about our individualized treatment programs, call us at (844) 836-0222 or visit our website for more information about grief counseling and therapy.