Dealing with Grief and Loss

Losing something or someone is a very painful experience. It is a normal thing that after a significant loss, you would be challenged with different kinds of surprising and difficult emotions. Sometimes, it even feels as if you can never overcome your grief and loss. Although these feelings can be overwhelming and frightening, they are normal psychological reactions to loss. In other words, these feelings are necessary for you to heal.

A loss does not only pertain to the death of a loved one. It can be a relationship breakup, loss of health, losing a job, loses of financial stability, a miscarriage, death of a pet, loss of a cherished dream, loss of friendship and many others. Grieving is the most common response to loss.

According to Elisabeth Kübler Ross, a well known psychiatrist in the late 1960s, there are five stages of grief :

1. Denial
2. Anger
3. Bargaining
4. Depression
5. Acceptance

When it comes to grieving, there is actually no right and wrong way, but there are ways to cope with pain healthily. Expressing and experiencing grief has a potential for healing that could enrich and strengthen life. It is important to remember that grieving is a process and it takes time to heal. Everyone grieves differently and how you grieve depends on your coping style and your personality, your faith, your life experience and the nature of your loss. Even if the grieving process takes time, healing will eventually happen. As long as you acknowledge your loss, you will feel better in after a month.

Friends and family are great factors when it comes to dealing with a loss. They can be a great outlet of strength and can inspire you to embrace the idea that your life must go on despite your loss.

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