Why is grief so hard

In January of 2016 my father was diagnosed with tongue cancer he was a smoker for a number of years.  I remember going home to Montreal when he started chemo therapy and radiation treatment and I was scared beyond belief about seeing tubes and my dad in a bad condition going through a horrible disease.  I remember sleeping in the hospital and just thinking about how bad the feeling must be as I can never imagine what cancer feels like.  In january 2017 my dad was diagnosed with lung cancer and he was more scared than anything.  I remember watching him eat and the quality of life he had of not being able to eat or drink water without pain was excruciating.  I asked my dad one day what does cancer feel like and he told me he feels like everytime he made a fist he felt the sharpness of pain of his bones cracking and not being able to move easily anymore.  In March he had his right lung two lobs removed and was in a weap place.  I went to Mexico with my girlfriend at the time now my ex girlfriend and she commented that my dad deserved to have cancer after cheating on my mom which he never cheated on my mom.  After I returned from Mexico I called up my sister and dad and he was scared and crying on the phone.  He did not want to die.  A week later on April 20 I spoke to my sister and he was diagnosed with bone cancer.  My father died 12 hours later.  I was living in Vancouver BC he was in Montreal.  

For some reason I brought my girlfriend at the time Carmen to my dads funeral and she insulted my family and friends.  I admit that I lied compulsively about myself for many months to her as I did not want to admit to my faults as a human being and I was scared to be accepted by her and her family.  She broke up with me a month after my dad died.  I tried getting her back and avoid what she said about my dad and I was put in jail twice.  She was so selfish and a narcissist to understand how hard grief is and stress that comes with it that all i wanted was support but she did not want to provide it.

I regret everyday I met my ex girlfriend Carmen and I wish I went home for my fathers before he died and i constantly feel in a loop of terror of not being able to move on from my dads death, his dogs death, my friends death, my break up, and another death recently that are causing so much ptsd and depression.

  • Hello, 

    I am so so sorry to hear of everything you've gone through over the past few years. I cannot even begin to imagine how that feels. 

    The woman you speak about sounds like a pretty awful person, but I know that it doesn't help the post breakup feelings all that much. 

    There will forever be things in life that will haunt us, and create feelings of regret. These feelings can fester and turn into self hatred, anxiety, depression... You name it. From there things snowball and by the sounds of things, you're beginning to feel that way. 

    My advice to you comes from a personal history of long mental health struggles, and post traumatic stress and depression, but I recognise that each journey is different. You've dealt with so much over the past years, and the effect that is having can be enormous. The feelings of fear of never recovering are all part of the package. But there is a loophole... Recovery is always possible, as is moving on. To do that, you may find it helpful to discus with a councillor each of these tragic events. They are fantastic at unpacking feelings and creating a bit of order in your head space, which in turn gives you the opportunity to think a little. Sometimes all those things happening at once crowds our head, which makes it impossible to explore and deal with each one. Talking them through and gaining that professional insight gives you the space you may well need.

    I really do wish you the very best and I hope that.things begin to look up for you. Just remember, no matter how bad things get, no matter how far your mental health deteriorates, there is a way out. You just need to be ready to find it. 

    Take care you, and good luck. X

  • Hello Andrew.  I am sorry to learn about your dad's illness and death.  You seem to have been taking yourself down a self-destructive path and I am not at all qualified or knowledgeable enough to give you advice on these things.  We all have our faults but most of us manage to keep ourselves out of jail!  I would say that you need to put Carmen well behind you as you seem to bring out the worst in each other.  I don't know if you are currently getting help with your problems - I hope you are as you are so very unhappy at this time and you need to find some real friends; a partner is nice but not at the price of your - and her - happiness and sanity! And you will get yourself into real trouble if you don't get some help, both with regard to your dad's death and your life generally.    You are very welcome here to talk through the sadness of your dad's death but I feel you need a bit more help than we can give and as oliepoo says you should seek some counselling as a starting point.  Let us know how you are doing.  Annie