Father’s Day Isn’t Easy for Everyone :: Tools for Navigating the Day with Intention
Welcome to Part 2 of my Father’s Day mini-series. If you haven’t had a chance to read Part 1 yet, it’s not too late — and I encourage you to start there if you’re navigating complicated emotions around this holiday.
By the end of this series, my hope is that you’ll feel seen, supported, and more grounded. Holding space for hard emotions is a powerful act of self-love, and in this part, I’ll share gentle, meaningful tools — like self-reflection, grounding practices, and supportive resources — to help you move through Father’s Day with grace and intention.
Making Space for Your Experience
When you accept your mixed emotions, and even share them, you give yourself permission to feel whatever arises at any time. You may feel peace and happiness when thinking about a loving father figure in your life. You may also feel the waves of frustration that overtake you when you think of your or your children’s relationships.
Please remember that all emotions are valid. As humans, we have the experience of feeling a wide variety of emotions. The emotions can be felt back-to-back or all at once.
By making space for your experiences and emotions, you are better able to reflect on them without judgment. Mixed emotions are heavy, and processing them takes real emotional effort. Non-judgmental reflection is needed because mixed emotions are enough.
You don’t want the added burden of judgment overshadowing your emotions. When you embrace yourself and appreciate your reactions to this yearly celebration, you can move forward with clarity.
Ways to Cope or Honor the Day
Instead of doubting or belittling yourself for your feelings, take a better approach to cope with your emotions and to honor Father’s Day. I invite you to choose self-care practices to help you navigate your emotions surrounding Father’s Day. Creating personal symbols, rituals, or activities of remembrance or release can help you process your emotions.
This can mean writing a letter to your father and placing it in memory box, burning it, or even mailing it to someone who is able to share in your emotions. This can also be starting a memorial garden in honor of a late father.
Another great way to recognize and process any emotions surrounding Father’s Day is to reflect through journaling prompts. Here are a few journaling prompts to consider:
- What are the top three feelings I experience when I think about Father’s Day — and what might be behind each one?
- What is one kind thing I can do for myself to honor the emotions I feel around Father’s Day?
- If I could say one thing to my father — or father figure — what would it be, and why?
Affirmations are also a great way to recognize and process your many emotions surrounding Father’s Day. Here are a few affirmations to say out loud in the mirror each morning.
- I am worthy. My value is not defined by my relationship to anyone.
- I am loved, and I am grateful for those who love me without conditions.
- My feelings are valid, even if no one else understands them.
If these journal prompts or affirmations don’t fully resonate with you, I invite you to create your own — ones that speak to your experience and support your healing.
Lastly, I encourage you to reach out for support if needed. We are fortunate to be a part of a generation that recognizes the importance of therapy, support groups, and other resources.
If you are experiencing severe grief at the loss of a father or father figure, please reach out to a grief counselor for support. In Lafayette, several organizations provide free grief counseling and support groups to those in need. These services are available at no cost through Healing House, Hospice of Acadiana, and The RescYOU Group.
If you are coping with the traumas of a strained or absent father or coparent, you should consider individual therapy to discuss your many emotions. Many therapists offer free, low-cost, sliding-scale services. Your therapist may also accept Medicaid or private healthcare insurance.
If you are in crisis or need extra support, cost should not be a prohibitive factor in accessing that support. Louisiana Department of Health (LDH) launched the 988 helpline to make it easier to get help when needed. Simply dial 988 to be directly connected to compassionate, accessible care and support. LDH created an informative fact sheet about the hotline, and you can also check out the 988 hotline’s website to learn more about how you can access these services.
Closing
If you are experiencing mixed emotions about Father’s Day, please know that you are not alone. Your feelings are valid. You deserve love, stability, and a consistent father figure in your life.
Whether your father’s life ended too soon, he chose not to be present in your life, or you wish your children could experience a happy and present father, I invite and encourage you to hold space for yourself, your children, and others this Father’s Day.
In doing so, your compassion can be just what someone needed. If you have a living, loving, and present dad and want to give him much-deserved recognition, that’s wonderful. You shouldn’t feel guilty for celebrating him on a day meant to celebrate fathers. However, I invite you to also consider how you can support someone who finds this day difficult.
I am personally grappling with many emotions this Father’s Day. In Part 3, I’ll share why this particular Father’s Day has been the hardest one for me yet — and how I’m choosing to honor my father’s legacy through the grief.
