E2: I feel like I’m drifting in outer space
A listener feels disconnected after the death of their partner.
Listen to This Episode:
Dear Grief Guide,
It's been six months since I lost my partner. In the beginning, I was surrounded by a sea of condolence cards, casseroles, comforting words, and sympathetic glances. Yet, as the weeks turned into months, the waves of support slowly receded, leaving me alone in a vast emptiness.
My partner was a vibrant soul, and their death has left a void so profound it seems insurmountable. We shared a connection that felt like the very gravity holding our worlds together. Now, that gravity has vanished, leaving me unmoored and struggling to find my bearings. It’s as if everything I ever knew has been blown apart by loss. I don’t know how to begin to put the pieces back together.
I am writing to you because I feel like I'm drifting in outer space, untethered and weightless. In the early days, grief was a tempest, pulling me under and threatening to drown me. But now, it's transformed into a silent vacuum where the absence of his laughter, his touch, echoes louder than any sob or wail. I feel like I’m navigating a great cosmic loneliness, grappling with the vastness of a universe that no longer feels familiar to me. People and things I used to care about seem lightyears away. It’s like I’m trapped on a distant island, watching the rest of the world pass me by.
I know that my friends and family care about me, and I know that my grief isn’t something to be fixed. But my question is, how do I reconnect with myself and the world again? I don’t expect to be the person I used to be. But I know there’s more to life than floating.
Sincerely,
Adrift Grief Astronaut
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