When my son transitioned, I was constantly reminded by well meaning professionals and friends, of Kuebler Ross's 5 Stages of Grief. Having read her book - I knew that her research was not relevant to me because it was a study of terminally ill patients coming to terms with the end of life. Quoting the 5 stages of grief to me was unhelpful and I felt perpetuating, the myth that somehow - this grief journey was linear and had a timeline.
Personally my journey was as unique to me as my thumb print and as I have discovered over the last 2.5 years, the grief never goes away, but it does fluctuate in its intensity. I am forever grateful to my friends and family for holding space for me but there were times when I had to politely stand my ground and say - this is my journey, my right of passage and I'm not for fixing. I have to go through this because there is no short cut. It was refreshing to hear that many hundreds if not thousands more, held my view.
Today I found this article and hope it clears the way forward for those of you that second guess yourself when navigating the journey of grief.