Follow these steps to cope with forgetfulness while going through grief

Every person forgets small details about their day, but because of having so much on their mind, a grieving person may find themselves forgetting major details. There are several explanations for this: maybe a loved one’s passing shocked them so much that they are mentally and physically numb. Or maybe they’re using so much mental energy processing their loved one’s passing that they have none left. It could also be that their loved one’s passing makes them unable to sleep, negatively affecting their concentration.

Regardless of what makes a grieving person forgetful, it adds additional stress to their already stressful situation. This article shares three ways that a grieving person can reduce their forgetfulness and prevent it from interfering with their life.

Automate payments

A grieving person may not remember to pay for their essentials, such as their rent or mortgage, utilities, and insurance. Even if a grieving person does remember to cover these expenses, they may not possess the time or energy to complete the process. Setting up automatic payments allows a grieving person to maintain their lifestyle with minimal thought and effort. Instead, they can direct their thoughts and effort towards coping with their loss.

Automatic payments can lift a grieving person’s financial worries and burdens. Automatic payments extract money from a person’s bank account at the beginning of their pay periods. Therefore, a grieving person does not have to wonder if they can still afford to pay for their essentials at the end of their pay periods. This prevents a grieving person from having to pay for their essentials late, be charged with late fees, and have points deducted from their credit score. Automatic payments can protect a grieving person from experiencing stress related to money and bills.

Ask for email receipts, confirmations, and reminders

A grieving person may have to pay so many expenses that it is hard for them to keep track. In addition to their essentials, they may have to pay for services like a funeral or a therapist. Luckily, email receipts can help a grieving person recall what services they have and have not paid for yet. Not only can they recall what services they have paid for, but they can also recall the day, time, and location that they did. Emailed receipts provide a detailed description of a grieving person’s purchase history.

Similar to how email receipts can make a grieving person aware of what services they need to purchase, email confirmations and reminders can make a grieving person aware of what events they need to attend. While email confirmations document when and where occasions will take place, email reminders notify a grieving person when they should begin preparing for them. A grieving person can determine how many email reminders that they will need and when they will need them. The email reminders can notify a grieving person as early as one week before and as late as thirty minutes before an occasion. Email confirmations and reminders can keep a grieving person on top of their schedule.

Use trackers to record daily activities

A grieving person’s emotions may cause them to experience an increase or decrease in appetite. Some grieving people emotionally eat food to cope with losing their loved ones. Other grieving people avoid eating foods that they previously enjoyed with their loved ones. Both ends of the spectrum can use meal trackers to ensure that they consume a healthy amount of food and water. They can use Nutrilio to receive a summary of the quantity and quality of their meals. Instead of making weight gain or lose the main focus, it makes health the main focus by omitting caloric information. Meal trackers can minimize grief’s negative effects on a person’s body.

Eating food and drinking water are not the only tasks that a grieving person must do to take care of themselves. They must also take their medications, shower or bathe, and complete their household chores. With habit trackers like Google Tasks, they can create a list of self-care activities that they must perform every day, every week, and so on. The self-care activities are crossed off as they are performed and turn red as their deadlines approach. Habit trackers can remind a grieving person to put their health first.

Forgetfulness is a common symptom of grief, but a difficult one to deal with. It can be developed due to emotional trauma, racing thoughts, or neglected self care. However, it can be countered with automated payments, emails, and trackers. With these tools, a grieving person with forgetfulness can maintain access to essentials, their daily schedule, and their health.

— Madison Kemp