Robert Irwin shares one question that prompted an ‘epiphany’ on his healing journey
Robert kept him alive through memories; he pretended to have walked past it. However, the celebrity, still a household name, has left quite a void.
For the longest time, Robert Irwin pretended to be okay after he lost his father, Steve Irwin. But that changed when he finally decided to confront his true self. In a podcast on March 14, Anderson Cooper (@allthereis on Instagram), the Australian conservationist and zookeeper, opened up about one golden question that prompted an 'epiphany' on his healing journey — and it's something every person dealing with grief must take note of.
Robert said grief made him realize that the actual strength lies in vulnerability. He said his whole life, he kept his dad alive through his memories and pretended to have walked past the loss until he asked himself, "Am I doing alright? Or am I just convincing myself so hard that I am doing alright?"
Robert explained it wasn't until that particular moment that he realized that he hadn't really allowed himself to mourn. Instead, he spent his time suppressing the pain and putting on a brave face. "We don't always have someone to lean on in grief. We don't. Sometimes, we have to be that person, and I think the most important thing is to really have kindness in yourself," Robert added. He, in fact, explained that it's important to accept that our grief journey is completely incomparable.
"Allow yourself to sit in it, allow yourself to be there, and fully and 100% embrace it. Sometimes you don't even know yourself what you need, but to sit in it, to acknowledge it, to let in the people around you that want to help, but to realize that this is an individual journey that only you can take," the conservationist explained.
Researchers Jessica J. Flynn, Tom Hollenstein, and Allison Mackey studied 328 men and women and found an interesting connection between suppression of emotional expression and depressive symptoms. In fact, they found that men are more likely to suppress emotions than women. However, suppression was related to depression only among male participants and not the females. The study also found that reappraisal (changing perception about a situation) reduces depression, while non-acceptance of emotions only increases depression.
Surprisingly, for men, both suppressing emotions and not accepting them are linked to higher depression, but for women, only non-acceptance was linked to depression. Despite knowing that expressing our emotions makes our grieving journey easier, not many feel comfortable sharing them.
For instance, a report by Let's Talk About Loss revealed that while 43% of respondents believe talking to people with similar experiences helps them grieve better, 39% "feel uncomfortable talking about death and loss with others."
Meanwhile, reacting to Irwin's confession, @wildearthoceania commented, "Emotionally healthy men heal the world. We love you, Robert. Thank you for being bravely vulnerable and for being honest about the necessity of not suppressing or oppressing your grief. This is a message the world needs to hear. Thank you for being such a kind and good human."
@grieflineorganisation wrote, "Such wise insight and a wonderful use of a public platform. The more we talk about grief — and the many ways people navigate it — the more understanding and acceptance we create for everyone walking that path." Similarly, @garveycade said, "So much respect for anyone willing to ask that question, 'Am I okay?' It's alright if the answer is no. That’s okay!"
You can follow All There Is with Anderson Cooper (@allthereis) on Instagram for more inspirational content.
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