To spare oneself from grief at all cost can be achieved only at the price of total detachment, which excludes the ability to experience happiness. Erich Fromm-
Grief is a reaction to loss. It’s more than sadness. Grief can affect your actions, emotions, thoughts, body and spirituality. Grief can occur after the death of someone close to us. Grief may also occur following other kinds of loss in your life such as divorce, ending a relationship, job loss, death of a pet, disability, being assaulted, experiencing a disaster (e.g., fire, flood, hurricane, tornado), and not achieving an important goal.
Many people have grief reactions that are similar. Yet, grief is very individual. The length of time it takes to adjust to a loss is different for each person and in each situation. Grieving often takes much longer than people think and tends to come in waves. If someone has died, you will cope with many new experiences the first year without the person. Some people find the second year is also difficult, as the loss becomes more real to them. Be gentle with yourself, allowing the time you need to adjust.
People cope with loss in many ways (healthy and unhealthy). Some ways I suggest include: staying connected with family and friends, writing or journaling about your grief experiences, using rituals to remember and honor the person, forgiving, exercising or talking with a mental health professional. Please call (484-876-1842) or email (lipcounseling@gmail.com) if I can help.
