Our parents are some of the most important people in our lives. Whether we stay in contact as much as we would like to or not, when a parent dies, it can really knock the breath out of us.
Below, I am going to go over some of the changes that you will face when one of your parents pass on. If you’ve lost a mother or father, you know all too well how serious these things are. Loss on this scale is not something that is easy to face, and it takes more time to find a sense of normal than you could ever imagine.
9 Emotional Changes We Face When A Parent Dies:
1. You change the way you live.
When one of your parents die, you don’t move forward in the ways you were before. You change things in your life so that you are working to make them proud more. While this is something you will wish you had done beforehand, it is something you cannot prevent now.
2. You feel alone.
After one of your parents (or both) pass away, you end up feeling more alone than you ever have. You don’t know who you are or how to get back to normal. The people in your life feel a lot more distant than usual. The person who has been in your life ever since the day you were born is no longer there, and you aren’t going to be able to move forward without this loneliness.
3. You feel like something is missing.
As you move forward, you’re going to feel like something is missing. This is not a feeling that will go away overnight, and it will take far longer to get used to than you might assume. You are missing something, someone at that, and that person is not replaceable. Learning to live without them is not going to be easy.
4. You no longer feel like your accomplishments matter.
Because your parent(s) aren’t of this world any more you won’t feel as accomplished when you do things. You won’t have the same support system as you once did, and it will affect you more than you could imagine. Your accomplishments still matter, but you don’t feel like they do.
5. You break down a lot.
You as a person are going to break down a lot. You’re going to struggle to get out of bed some days, and just thinking of them will bring you to tears from time to time. Losing someone that you care so much about is never something that you will fully be okay with.
6. You never get over it.
You will never get over the death of a parent. No matter how much time passes, you will still be missing something. Learning to live life in a way that is without your mother or father is not going to be easy, but the more time that passes, the more capable you will become.
7. You feel like everything is crashing around you.
When you lose a mother or father, you feel like the world is crashing around you. You feel like you’re turning into a completely different person and like the world is not going to be the same, ever again. This is very true, it won’t ever be the same again.
8. You feel jealous of those who still have both parents.
Seeing other people with their parents after losing yours will make you wish you could see yours again. You will be jealous of the people who have more time with the people they care the most about. Far more often than not, you will go around reminding people how little time we truly have and how very important it is that they make memories with their parents while they can.
9. You regret all the things you did wrong or didn’t get to do at all.
When your parents are gone, you will look back on all the mistakes you made throughout your life and all the things you wish you could have done differently. You will regret not being there for your parents, be it one or both, in the ways you should have been. Emotions will flood you in more ways than you might ever truly realize.