The Grieving Process
Understanding Grief
Grieving is a highly personal process, with everyone handling the loss of a loved one in their own way. While each person's experience is unique, there are common feelings associated with grief that can be described in five stages: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance.
Denial: Initially, you may feel numb or detached as a way to cope with the shock of loss. This is a natural survival response.
Anger: As the numbness fades, feelings of anger may arise, directed at various parties. Allowing yourself to experience this anger is an important part of healing.
Bargaining: You might find yourself thinking about what you could have done differently to change the outcome. This stage often involves feelings of guilt.
Depression: As reality sets in, deep sadness will often emerge. This depression is a normal and necessary reaction to loss.
Acceptance:
Eventually, you will begin to accept the loss as part of your life. Acceptance brings a sense of peace, allowing you to engage in life and possibly develop new interests.
How long am I going to feel this way?
Every person is different, and so is their grief. Each person will follow a different path toward healing. Although there is no right or wrong amount of time to complete the grieving process, many experts agree that it is not unusual to take at least a year to move through the grieving process.
Complicated Grief
The duration of the mourning process can also be influenced by your relationship to the deceased, the amount of support you receive, and other factors.
Sometimes the healing process may become disrupted or delayed if other events or traumatic losses have previously occurred in a person’s life. This may be especially true if the other loss is relatively recent, or has never been fully processed in and of itself. This grief experience is known as “complicated grief.” People who are dealing with this type of grief may benefit by working with professionals who are trained in dealing with complex grief issues.
If, after some time has passed, you find your grief is still persistent and disruptive to the point where it impacts your daily functions, please seek professional counseling.