I grieved the "wrong way" over a broken heart and because i just went into massive denial I was haunted for years.

And then when my grandma got sick, which broke my heart, and I got through it by breaking the whole big sadness into smaller pieces. Whenever I was sad I cried. I would get in my car or in the bathroom at work and just lose it for five to ten minutes over the realization that we would never finish a project we started together. And then I wasn't sad about that one thing anymore. Then I would realize another thing I was losing and just feel it. Until that thought didn't hurt as much anymore either.

And that worked for me. I was able to pretty much keep functioning as long as I took a time-out every time I was sad. When we were both overwhelmed my little sister and I would get in my truck and listen to the song "Feelin Good" by Nina Simone. Sometimes we put it on repeat. For whatever reason it helped. It was our place where we could go and then feel better.