Must-Read: How To Attack Grief

You can have the best diet in the world, run in about 5 marathons a year, have a wonderful and fulfilling job, and are financially secure to the point where you never have to worry about covering the bill during a night out of the town. But all of that is scenery on the edges of life. All of that could change just because of your emotions.

Be happier

It could be the death of someone close to you, or getting out of a relationship, or some other terrible emotional pain that’s weighing you down. But dealing with grief is a major health issue. A new study shows that those who are experiencing grief have a 21-fold more likely chance of having a heart attack in the next day after the news is delivered. (And that number continues being extremely high for the next week and month after learning about the event.) Emotions truly drive the life of the human being, and that’s what you have to be prepared to take even if everything else in your life is perfect.

Which brings us to this article over at Men’s Health about how to deal with this substantial grief. Their first piece of advice:

Accept It.

You?ll probably feel helpless after a loved one dies?and that?s completely normal. Don?t be surprised if you?re acting OK when everyone else is torn up (or vice versa); everyone has different ways of showing what they?re going through, says Leonard. ?And one of the things you see more specifically with men is that they?re taught to be strong and that the need to get a grip on their emotions,? says Leonard. But ?manning up? really means owning up to how this is affecting you?not burying it. Plus Leonard notes that if you don?t take the time to grieve when the pain is fresh, it will most likely leave you feeling worse later down the road; the pain just won?t disappear on it?s own.

Yes, easy enough to say sure. But knowing how to do something is the first step in actually doing it. So head over to the above link at Men’s Health for their other tips.