Choose a prompt that fits your loss or transition. Write for a short period you choose, or answer aloud. You can hold appreciation and anger, uncertainty and hope, or no clear feeling at all. Nothing here requires a positive ending.
Follow your own language
A life change can affect who you are, how your days work, and what you expected next. Write about one part at a time. If a prompt does not fit your experience, change it. You do not need to make the experience meaningful for anyone else.
Return to the present
End by naming one current need and one ordinary action available to you. This might be eating, resting, contacting someone, or returning to a routine. If writing brings more distress than you want to manage alone, pause and bring the page to a trusted support or clinician.
Reflection prompts
Use these questions in conversation, on paper, or in the downloaded PDF. You may adapt or skip a prompt.
A change that is difficult for others to see is
Something I miss, something I do not miss, or a feeling I am unsure about is
A part of myself or my life I want room for now is
What I need from others, and what I want to keep private, are
Facilitator notes and adaptation
Allow mixed or absent emotions without interpretation. Offer alternatives for literacy, disability, or cultural fit. Reflection should not replace assessment when grief is accompanied by significant impairment, suicidality, or escalating substance use.
Sources behind the concepts
These sources inform the concepts in this original resource. They do not validate or endorse this specific page.