Grief is a strong and frequently overpowering feeling. Everyone has gone through it at some point, but when you’re going through it, it can feel really lonely. Grief can take many different forms and affect every aspect of your life, regardless of whether you have lost a loved one, experienced a major life transition, or experienced a profound disappointment.
Everybody experiences grief in a unique way. Some people may experience it in waves; some days will be harder than others. For others, the pain might be ongoing. Realizing that there is no one "correct" way to grieve and that it takes time is crucial.
It’s normal to feel disoriented and unsure of how to proceed when experiencing grief. Adapting to cope and recover is essential, but it’s also one of the most difficult things to do. The challenging part of grieving starts here: learning to bear the suffering while gradually rearranging your life to accommodate it.
| Stage of Grief | Description |
| Denial | Feeling like the loss isn"t real, hard to accept what"s happened. |
| Anger | Frustration and outrage at the situation, often asking "why me?" |
| Bargaining | Trying to make deals or thinking about "what if" scenarios. |
| Depression | Deep sadness as the reality of the loss sinks in. |
| Acceptance | Understanding the loss, beginning to move forward. |
- Why the experience of loss can drag on for many years and how to help yourself?
- Reaction to loss
- Forms of complicated grief
- Video on the topic
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Why the experience of loss can drag on for many years and how to help yourself?
- Reaction to loss
- Forms of complicated grief
- The work of grief
- Task No. 1: admit the fact losses
- Task No. 2: survive the pain
- Task #3: Rebuild a Social Environment
- Task #4: Build a New Relationship with the Deceased
Upon seeing a request for material on the "complicated" experience of loss, I confidently told the editor, "This is my topic. It’s about when a person seems to have gotten used to it, calmed down, and resigned himself, and then a few years later, suddenly, for no apparent reason, acute feelings "catch up" with him again."
I work with grief issues, and people who have lost someone or are going through a difficult time reach out to me. This subject became "mine" for a reason: when I was eleven years old, my mother passed away. This completely changed my life and affected the career I chose. It took me a long time to come to terms with this fact on an emotional level and allow my mother’s loving memories to resurface in my life.
One of the most difficult emotions to deal with is grief, which can have a devastating effect on families. Everyone is affected differently by it, and recovery takes time. The challenging task of grieving entails comprehending these feelings, making room for them, and figuring out how to help one another get through the suffering. Families can support one another by being frank, understanding, and supportive of one another’s emotions.
Reaction to loss
What occurs after the death of a loved one? A series of actions are initiated with the goal of assisting an individual in adjusting to their new environment.
Apart from the passing of a close relative, the following can also cause a response to loss:
- Loss of contact with a loved one (not only death, but also divorce, unexpected move, quarrel).
- Loss of health (disability, serious injury).
- Parting with a familiar way of life (including job loss, retirement).
- Loss or death of a pet.
Any of these occurrences profoundly alters a person’s life, strips it of a great deal of what was significant, brings happiness, fosters a social atmosphere, and offers support. It takes a long time to adjust to new circumstances, feel intense emotions, learn how to survive in the moment, alter one’s regular routine, and occasionally one’s regular behavioral patterns.
Grieving is the process of creating a new way of life and adjusting to loss. It’s crucial for someone who has experienced a loss to go through this natural reaction from start to finish.
Forms of complicated grief
A person may experience years of maladaptation to their loss if they stop their "grief work." This state is exceedingly difficult to escape without expert assistance.
The following categories of pathological mourning exist:
The bereaved person still has a deep yearning for the departed, with whom he shared a close emotional bond during his lifetime, even after a number of years have passed. Strong feelings are evoked whenever he is mentioned.
Strong feelings of resentment and guilt are felt toward the deceased, and the acute phase of grief endures for a considerable amount of time—sometimes years.
Grief does not have any outward signs. Simultaneously, someone reports feeling ill and finds indications of the illnesses the deceased had. Hypochondria frequently arises.
A sudden loss is extremely frightening and anxious, and accepting the reality of the loss is extremely difficult.
After a loss, there is an initial emotional outburst, but after that, the grieving process ends and the individual starts acting normally. Any phase of mourning can see this kind of "postponement" of experiences.
A person "freezes," showing no emotional response at all to the loss.
No one can truly escape grief, and it frequently accompanies difficult-to-process emotions. There is no set timeline for this journey, and each person’s experience is unique.
It’s necessary to allow yourself to feel and express grief, despite the pain. Pushing it aside or attempting to avoid it just makes the process take longer. Taking things one day at a time is acceptable.
Grief can be a little easier to navigate with the help of loved ones, self-compassion, and occasionally professional assistance. The pain gradually lessens even though it never totally disappears.
