Not all holiday memories are fond. In fact, many people proclaim that they’re hiding out or finding an escape route during this season of forced festivity.

Emotional distress looms largely for the lonely and bereaved. Extreme challenges and additional difficulties are presented from cultural pressures to be jolly rather than being authentic especially for the newly bereaved.

Offering a mixed bag of memories, emotions, familiar smells, nostalgic songs holiday rituals usually stimulate memories of people and holidays past, provoking painful unresolved issues from longstanding difficulties.

“Loss and Grief are as universal as a smile.” Bereavement is a natural process that results from the loss of anything or anyone we are attached to: a loved one, a pet, a relationship (divorce), the loss of health, independence, occupation, financial security and more.

The language of our culture, and many other cultures, is full of terms, which acknowledge that we feel “bad” or “hurt” after a loss, a tragic event or estrangement from the living. Loss of the dream of having a loving living family is very deep, distressing and often profoundly inexplicable.

Society assumes that losses concerning the living are fixable. The myth “that blood is thicker than water” can catapult the estranged members with fractured family relationships into tremendous shame.

The bereavement process is unique for each individual/each family, in how balance is sought. Some individuals must break away from family ties to begin to establish personal balance. If you are in that situation, choose wisely and honor your highest good.

Fractured Family Loss provokes deep shame

Families professing the belief that agreement is what good families exhibit forbid challenge or dissension. Disagreements regarding life choices, religion, politics, careers, divorce, money, domestic violence and incest are just some of the psychic and pragmatic deal breakers that tear living family members apart. When narcissism and hubris rules, discussion and reason fails.

Ostracizing loss can be difficult to express when our family of origin is still alive and absolutely not available in a nurturing way. Being unable to change the situation without abandoning our personal integrity, we often experience guilt and shame.

In such a family, to be loved, included and respected, we must support the family dogma. If our family of origin continually breaks our heart, brings us down, re-traumatizes and drains our self worth then let’s redefine the word selfish to “care of the self.”

Yes, we share genetic coding with our relatives, and family is composed of those people who cradle our delicate hearts lovingly. Re-defining and re-creating a new adopted family of genuinely loving people is a step on the path to personal healing and awakening.

Fractured Family Loss during the holidays is often ignored and held secretly, shamefully and painfully. When family members are alive and yet out of our emotional reach (for many different reasons) we must find inner resources to declare ourselves worthy of love and joy and find it in our own unique familial way.