EVERYONE THINKS I SHOULD BE COPING
Big Feelings Belong Here | Space to Breathe Therapy
Grief can become even harder when other people appear to expect recovery on a timetable. Everyone Thinks I Should Be Coping is a full 10-page interactive guide for the pressure to look okay, return to normal, stop talking about the loss, resume responsibilities or reassure everybody else that you are managing.
The resource begins by separating what other people expect from what is actually happening internally. It explores the comments that can hurt even when they are well meant, including pressure to be strong, keep busy, look on the positive side or “move on.” Readers can identify what was said, how it affected them and what they wish somebody had said instead.
A dedicated release page — “I NEED TO SCREAM — STOP TELLING ME I SHOULD BE OKAY” — gives space for anger, exhaustion and the words that are often edited out of everyday conversations. There is no requirement to reassure anybody on this page.
The guide explores masking grief and the difference between appearing functional and actually feeling okay. It looks at returning to work and responsibilities, reduced concentration and energy, practical adjustments, and the emotional cost of being expected to hold everything together. A separate page addresses the experience of supporting everybody else while your own grief is overlooked.
Readers are supported to identify boundaries that protect limited emotional energy, develop simple phrases for communicating needs, and consider what genuine support looks like for them personally. The resource also challenges the idea that grief can be measured from the outside: laughing, working or having a good day does not cancel grief, while difficult days months or years later do not mean somebody has failed or gone backwards.
The final page includes an individual message from Maggie about not having to perform recovery for other people, together with reflection fields, further reading and bereavement support.
INSIDE THE 10-PAGE INTERACTIVE GUIDE
• The pressure to appear as though you are coping
• A dedicated scream/release page
• Hurtful or unhelpful things people say
• Masking grief and the cost of looking okay
• Work, responsibilities and returning to “normal”
• Being expected to support everybody else
• Boundaries that protect your grief
• Identifying what genuine support looks like
• Letting go of other people’s measurements of coping
• A message from Maggie, books, references and support
The PDF includes fillable areas for digital use and can also be printed. It is designed to validate individual grief rather than impose stages, deadlines or a single definition of coping
