Let’s talk about Grief!

Losing someone or something you love or care about is very painful. You may be experiencing different kind of emotions. May be you feel sad, worried, scared, shocked or confused! You might feel angry, exhausted, or unpredictable. Your emotions mixed together something that you have never experienced before. Like, lack of concentration, studying, sleeping or eating. All of these feelings and reactions are OK-- but what can people do to get through them? How long grief does last? When will things get back to normal?

Grief is a natural response to loss. It’s the emotional suffering you feel when something or someone you love is taken away. How you grieve depends on many factors, including your personality and coping style, your life experience, your faith, and the nature of the loss. The grieving process takes time and healing usually happens gradually. Some people start to feel better in weeks or months. For others, the grieving process is measured in years. Whatever your grief experience, it’s important to be patient with yourself.

There are five stages of grief:

• Denial: “This can’t be happening to me.”
• Anger: “Why is this happening? Who is to blame?”
• Bargaining: “Make this not happen, and in return I will ____.”
• Depression: “I’m too sad to do anything.”
• Acceptance: “I’m at peace with what happened.”

With time, the loving support of family and friends, and your own positive actions, you can find ways to cope with even the deepest loss. Any loss can cause grief, including:

• Death of our love ones
• A relationship breakup
• Loss of health
• Losing a job
• Loss of financial stability
• A miscarriage
• Loss of a cherished dream
• A loved one’s serious illness
• Loss of a friendship
• Retirement
• Moving away from home
• Selling your family home
• Death of a pet

Coping with grief:

Here are some suggestions which might be helpful for you to bounce back from this critical situation.

1.     Believe in God and follow your religious traditions.

2.     Believe in yourself, surround yourself with love and love yourself no matter what situation occurs

3.     The most important factor in healing from loss is having the support of other people. Connecting to others will help you heal. Sharing your loss makes the burden of grief easier to carry.

4.     Avoid talking to the wrong people about your situation. Some people may give you bad advice or could even make the situation worse.

5.     The mind and body are connected. When you feel good physically, you’ll also feel better emotionally. Looking after your physical and emotional needs will help you get through this difficult time.

6.     Write about your loss in a journal, write a letter or poetry or make a scrapbook or a photo album. Write down all the feelings that are in your head, especially before going to bed, as this may help you to sleep better.

7.     Fight with your stress and fatigue by getting enough sleep, eating right, and exercising.

8.     Cry when you need to cry. Let the emotions pass through you like a current and move on. Crying is a normal response to sadness it doesn’t mean that you are weak.

9.     Go for a long walk, take deep breaths, listen to your favorite music or watch a good movie.

"You cannot prevent the birds of sorrow from flying over your head, but you can prevent them from building nests in your hair". -- Old Chinese Proverb