I lost both my parents in the past year. Holidays are especially hard, but truly every day is difficult. I lived 500 miles from them the last 20 years, but talked w/my Mom daily (pretty much). I miss her so much and of course have no one to fill the huge void she left. I have a wonderful husband, son and daughter in law. Good job, stressful, but well paid. Nice home, not luxury, but modest. So, why do I feel that I don't want to walk out of this house? I don't want to talk to people, see friends ( I really push people away.) I don't want to do anything anymore. I should be grateful for all I have and all the people who love me, but it just doesn't seem to be enough. I continue to feel empty -- there's this huge hole that I seem to be in and cannot crawl out of. Wishing I could regain the joy I once felt.. . Long ago.

It's part of the grieving process. Some people get hyper and run around like headless chickens, avoiding facing the loss. Others go underground, which you appear to be doing.

Is there anyone you can talk to? Is there someone who will listen to you, help you through this?

My husband died Christmas Day - the season is very hard for me.

It's easy to tell you to look at the bright side - it's hard to put that into practice.

There's no shame in going to a grief counselor. Lots of people need help to get on with life after losing a loved one. And there's no rush. It can take a couple of years to make peace with loss.