Navigating Grief: A Functional Medicine & Somatic Experiencing Support
As I tune into the collective, this month’s newsletter focuses on a deeply human experience—grief. How do we navigate loss in a way that supports healing rather than overwhelms us?
Grief is an earth-shattering emotion, capable of bringing us to our knees. Whether mourning a loved one, a relationship, a home, a job, or a way of life, grief is an unavoidable part of the human journey. While there is no single “right way” to grieve, understanding how loss affects the body and nervous system can help us move through it with more grace and resilience.
From a functional health perspective, grief is more than an emotional state—it’s a physiological process. It disrupts hormone balance, weakens immunity, and alters digestion. By recognizing these effects and integrating somatic practices, we can support the body through grief’s waves while allowing space for healing. These suggestions are not a replacement for professional mental health support but can complement it to ease the journey.
Bring Awareness to Common Symptoms of Grief:
Grief can manifest in a variety of ways, many of which are not immediately recognizable as being related to loss. Some of the most common physical and emotional symptoms include:
- Fatigue & Low Energy – Grief can be depleting, impacting cortisol levels and adrenal function, leading to persistent exhaustion. The intensity of acute stress and shock on the system can initially cause an activated fight-or-flight response, but without resolution, the body can easily dip into a dissociated state of numbing and inability to move (i.e., freeze state).
- Sleep Disruptions – Many people experience insomnia or disrupted sleep patterns due to ruminating thoughts and dreams that are directly connected to their loss.
- Changes in Appetite & Digestion – The gut-brain connection plays a major role in emotional processing via the powerful vagus nerve. Some experience a loss of appetite, while others turn to binge eating unhealthy food for comfort. Bloating, gas, and changes in bowel movements can all be linked to your loss.
- Increased Inflammation & Immune Challenges – Chronic stress from grief can weaken the immune system, making you more susceptible to illness.
- Anxiety & Nervous System Dysregulation – Grief can place the nervous system in a prolonged stress response, leading to anxiety, restlessness, or even panic.
- Body Aches & Tension – Suppressed grief often shows up as muscular tension, headaches, jaw pain, or even chronic pain. Remember that the body easily stores unprocessed, painful memories and emotions.
Recognizing these symptoms as part of the grief process can allow for a more compassionate and integrative approach to healing.
It’s important that you call in support! Allowing your closest friends and family members to know where you’re at and seeking the guidance of a professional mental health specialist is essential.
If the symptoms above become chronic, working with complementary functional medicine and somatic experiencing practitioners can also help the body work through the many layers of stressors affecting your well-being today.
Key Approaches:
Regulating the Nervous System with Somatic Experiencing
Somatic Experiencing (SE) is a trauma-informed approach that helps restore balance to the nervous system. Grief can leave us stuck in fight, flight, or freeze responses, making it hard to move forward. Simple SE practices include:
- Orienting: Gently looking around your environment and noticing what feels safe can help ground you.
- Titration: Instead of diving deep into grief all at once, allow yourself to process it in small, manageable doses.
- Pendulation: Moving between sensations of grief and moments of calm or neutrality can help the nervous system integrate loss without overwhelm.
This work is best done with a trained Somatic Experiencing Practitioner, which has become more accessible in most areas.
Supporting Adrenal Health & Hormonal Balance
Chronic stress from grief can dysregulate cortisol and other hormones. These strategies can help restore balance:
- Prioritize restorative sleep with regular bedtimes and waking times. Journaling, baths, or stretching can help release stored thoughts and emotions at the end of the day. Sunlight exposure and movement in the morning can regulate cortisol levels.
- Ensure proper nutrition and avoid fasting (which can place additional stress on the body). Maintain a diet rich in protein and healthy fats to stabilize blood sugar, energy levels, and hormone production.
- Track your menstrual cycle and be aware of any changes grief may be causing in cycle length, menstruation, or new cyclical symptoms.
- Incorporate adaptogenic herbs such as ashwagandha or holy basil to support the body’s stress response.
Nourishing the Gut-Brain Connection
Since grief can impact digestion, it’s essential to support the gut with:
- Soothing herbal teas like chamomile, mint, or ginger.
- Probiotic-rich foods like sauerkraut, kefir, and yogurt to support microbiome health.
- Mindful eating practices to promote digestion and parasympathetic (rest-and-digest) activation. Try 5.5.7 box breathing (inhale for 5 counts, hold for 5, exhale for 7) before meals to slow down and enhance digestion.
Movement & Embodiment Practices
Grief can leave us feeling stuck in our bodies. Gentle movement practices help process emotions that words cannot:
- Walking in nature to find safety and regulate the nervous system.
- Breathwork to release tension and bring in fresh energy.
- Dance or yoga to allow grief to move through the body rather than stagnate.
Allowing Emotional Expression
Grief needs space to be expressed in its own time. Finding safe outlets for emotions—whether through journaling, art, or talking with a trusted friend—can be deeply healing. Somatic practices like vocal toning (humming, sighing, or singing) can also help release stuck emotions.
Honoring Your Unique Process
Grief does not follow a linear path. It ebbs and flows, often surprising us with its intensity or sudden re-emergence. The most important thing to remember is that grief is not something to be “fixed” but something to be witnessed, felt, and integrated.
By supporting the body, honoring the nervous system, and allowing space for emotional expression, we can navigate grief with more compassion and resilience. Healing does not mean forgetting—it means learning to carry love and loss together in a way that allows life to continue unfolding.
Grief is a true testament to a heart that has loved deeply and formed meaningful attachments. For me, it has been empowering to recognize that I would choose again to “love and lose” rather than “never to love at all.”
This powerful emotion has also changed how I live my life. It awakens me to the reality that “tomorrow is not guaranteed,” and this moment with my loved ones is the greatest gift—to be fully present for.
If you are navigating grief and need support, know that you are not alone. May this time of loss also be a time of gentle self-care, deeper self-connection, and ultimately, a return to your own heart’s wisdom.
Lastly…
If you’re ready to take the next step in your healing journey and gain a deeper understanding of your health, the first step is to purchase and book a Strategy Session with me. Healing is an intimate process, and this session allows us space and time to see if we are the perfect fit to work together to take your health to the next level.
Regardless of the outcome, you will walk away from this session with valuable resources and actionable steps to get you moving in the right direction. Let’s work together to reclaim your health and happiness.
If you’re ready to gain access to the right functional lab tests, resources, and guidance to resolve annoying symptoms and regain vibrant energy within your body, I’d be honored to assist you!
BOOK STRATEGY SESSION with me today!
Coming from someone who wasn’t fully living for so many years of my life due to dysfunctions in my gut and hormones, I’m a firm believer that health is the greatest wealth and the foundation from which the joys of life flourish.
I’m here when you’re ready to receive support!
