12 Days of Grief Awareness – Free Worksheets + Resources

This Christmas, The Loss Foundation shares Loss But Not Alone: 12 Days of Grief Awareness, a campaign to support anyone navigating grief during the festive season.

Earlier this year, we launched our short film Loss, But Not Alone, which highlights the reality of grief and the power of support.

We’ve made all 12 worksheets available from the start, so you can explore at your own pace, revisit what resonates, and share with someone who might need it.

Each worksheet is designed to help you:

• Prioritise self-care during grief
• Reflect on your emotions
• Identify coping mechanisms
• Manage holiday triggers and difficult moments
• Maintain connection with your loved one

All worksheets are free to download and designed to support your wellbeing and understanding of grief.

Worksheets include:

🎇 Shock – Mapping Your Grief Journey
😶 Disconnection & Numbness – Denial: My Grief Journey
😡 Anger & Outbursts – Anger: My Grief Journey
🛠️ Searching for Coping Mechanisms – My Coping Tools
🎶 Everyday Triggers – My Holiday Crisis + Coping Plan
⚖️ Guilt – Understanding My Grief
🤫 Isolation & Silence – My Holiday, My Way
🤝 Recognition & Solidarity – Holiday Social Plan
🕯️ Memories as Comfort – Treasured Memories
💥 Traumatic Memories – Reflection & Grounding Techniques
💛 Continuing the Bond – You + The Future
🌿 Looking After Ourselves / Self-Care – Wheel of Self-Care + Daily Checklists

Day One

Shock

Shock can make the world feel unreal. You may feel frozen, overwhelmed, or unable to process what’s happened. This reaction is a natural part of early grief.

^^^ Helps you map your grief visually. It encourages honesty, creativity, and non-linear expression of where you are in your grief journey right now.

Day Two

Disconnection + Numbness

Grief can create a sense of numbness or distance from yourself and others. These feelings often protect you when emotions are too big to hold all at once.

^^^ Looks at denial as a part of grief, with reflection prompts and grounding exercises to help you acknowledge difficult feelings at your own pace and stay connected to the present.

Day Three

Anger + Outbursts

Anger is a common response to loss. It can come suddenly, fade quickly, or linger. This emotion often signals pain, love, and the unfairness of what happened.

^^^ Explores anger after loss, understand its sources, and express it in healthy, compassionate ways. Includes reflection prompts, journaling suggestions, and practical techniques for difficult emotions.

Day Four

Coping Mechanisms

In grief, we reach for anything that helps us get through the day. Some coping tools support us, others drain us – noticing the difference is the first step to caring for yourself.

^^^ A worksheet that helps you identify your current coping tools, recognise what supports you during overwhelming moments, and note healthier strategies to build while acknowledging unhelpful habits.

Day Five

Triggers

Small moments, sounds, places, or dates can bring grief rushing back. Triggers aren’t setbacks – they’re reminders of love, memory, and the depth of your connection.

^^^ A simple holiday crisis plan to help you notice when you’re struggling, identify triggers, lean on support, and choose grounding actions and affirmations to stay steady during tough moments.

Day Six

Guilt

Guilt in grief often shows up as “what ifs” and “if onlys.” These thoughts are common, but they rarely reflect the full truth. Compassion softens what guilt distorts.

^^^ A gentle worksheet that helps you explore guilt and regret in grief, offering examples and space to reframe “what if” thoughts with more compassion and perspective.

Day Seven

Isolation + Silence

Grief can feel lonely, especially when others don’t know what to say. You may pull back or feel unseen – but your experience is valid, and you deserve support.

^^^ A holiday social-planning worksheet that helps you set boundaries, choose supportive people and activities, and create an inner/outer circle of what nurtures you versus what feels draining.

Day Eight

Recognition + Solidarity

Being understood – even briefly – can ease the weight of grief. Feeling recognised by others reminds you that your pain makes sense and you’re not facing it alone.

^^^ A helpful worksheet that supports you in talking about grief during the holidays, offering simple phrases, boundary-setting tips, and reflection prompts to guide safe, supportive conversations.

Day Nine

Memories as Comfort

Memories can hurt and comfort at the same time. Over time, they can become a source of warmth, connection, and a way to keep your loved one close.

^^^ A gentle memory-keeping worksheet that invites you to honour a loved one by recording treasured moments, familiar sayings, and the little things that defined your connection.

Day Ten

Traumatic Memories

Traumatic memories can feel intrusive and intense. They often appear without warning, but grounding techniques can help you regain steadiness and safety.

^^^ A worksheet designed to help you understand how difficult or unexpected memories can show up during grief, guiding you to notice their impact gently while building skills that support steadiness and self-care.

Day Eleven

Continuing the bond

Grief doesn’t end your connection – it changes it. Finding ways to carry your loved one forward can bring meaning and comfort as you move forward.

^^^ A worksheet that helps you explore how grief is shaping your identity, encouraging you to note the qualities, roles, and aspirations you want to carry forward as you grow into your future self.

Day Twelve

Self-care

Grief is exhausting. Gentle, realistic self-care helps you find moments of steadiness, rest, and compassion when everything feels overwhelming.

^^^ A comprehensive self-care worksheet that helps you reflect on your wellbeing across areas like sleep, boundaries, emotions, hobbies, and physical care, offering practical ideas and daily checklists to support you.