Author Login | Popular Articles | RSS Feeds | Sitemap

Home | Self-improvement | Grief-loss


Greif and Loss:TThe Healing Process

By:

Copyright 2006 Nancy O'Connor PhD

Loss is a unavoidable part of life. Grief is healing process and a natural part of the adjustment. It is as process because it has no easily defined beginning and end. It is a mostly unconscious natural phenomenon marked by gradual changes leading to acceptance and growth. The reasons for grief are many, such as the loss of a loved one, the loss of health, or the letting go of a long-held dream. Dealing with a significant loss can be one of the most difficult times in a person's life. Life and loss go hand in hand. We all have many losses in our lives. Grieving is the process of healing the emotional component of these losses. Feelings of loss are very personal and you are the only one who knows what is significant to you. People commonly associate certain losses with strong feelings of grief. These can include:

· DEATH OF A PARTNER OR SPOUSE.
· DEATH OF A CHILD
· DEATH OF A PARENT
· DEATH OF A SIBLING
· DEATH OF A PET
· DEATH OF A FRIEND, COLLEAGUE, CLASSMATE
· SUICIDE OF A LOVED ONE · SERIOUS ILLNESS, FACING PERSONAL DEATH
· RELATIONSHIP ENDING BREAKUP, DIVORCE
· ABORTION, MISCARRIAGE, SIDS
· COLLECTIVE GRIEF, NATURAL DISASTER, ASSASSINATION, ETC.

ANTICIPATED VERSUS SUDDEN LOSS
Sudden or shocking losses--due to events like crimes, accidents, suicide, or sudden heart attack--can be traumatic. There is no way to prepare. No time to say good-bye. These losses can challenge your sense of security and confidence in the predictability of life. You may experience symptoms such as sleep disturbance, nightmares, intrusive thoughts, feelings of isolation, or anxiety. Anticipated losses--like a terminal illness-may give you more time to prepare for the loss. You will have a chance to say good-bye and clean up unfinished business with the other person. The actual time of the death will still have an emotional impact, but if you have used the time prior to the death to begin to grieve for your loss, recovery after the death could be faster and easier.

DURATION OF MOURNING
The duration and timing of grieving process is different for everyone. There is no predictable schedule for grief. Although it can be quite painful at times, the grieving process cannot be rushed. You may feel like you are on an emotional roller coaster for the first year or longer. You must take life one day at a time for a while. You may think you are doing fine, then suddenly you see the back of a head, or hear a voice that reminds you of your loved one. Significant dates like birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, will trigger feelings related to the loss. It is important to be patient with yourself and allow these feelings to surface. They are your unique feelings and your unique reactions to the loss. With time and support, things generally do get better. However, it is normal for sadness to return at unexpected times. Grief makes you vulnerable and adds stress to your life. It is more important than ever to take care of yourself physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. Don't be afraid to ask for help and support. Acknowledging your feelings is important during these times in your life. On the other hand, if you have dealt with each loss as it happened in your life, you will be able to cope with the most recent loss easier and heal faster. Losing a person you have been living with involves letting go of these daily habits and complicates the grieving process. It is important to monitor your reaction to small losses, so that when a major loss occurs in your life you will have some insight into what to expect of yourself. Knowledge is power. Know thyself!

Article Source: http://www.articlesnatch.com

About the Author:
Letting Go With Love: The Greiving Process is a self help book that deals with different types of relationship losses, including death of a spouse, death of a child, death of friends, siblings, parents and facing one's own death suicide and more. it has sold over 100,000 copies.

| Print | Ezine Ready | |

Recent Grief-Loss Articles

  • Grief and Loss Overview By: Maurice Turmel PhD - Grief and Loss Overview by Maurice Turmel PhD An overview of grief and loss shows us that this is a broad category of life experience. We usually associate it with death and dying, but it can include losing your employment and broken relationships as additional categories that generate the grief experience. Grief and loss comes in a multiplicity of dimensions that affect our daily lives.
  • Coping With Bereavement; Is There Anything Which Can Help? By: Roseanna Leaton - The movie "Gran Torino" begins, and ends, with a funeral. There is mention of the bitter and sweet aspects of death, and questions as to whether death is an end or a beginning. Some of us believe in reincarnation or at least an after-life, whilst others do not.
  • Grief Recovery Stages Summary By: Maurice Turmel PhD - The stages of Death and Dying evolved by Elizabeth Kubler-Ross are often mis-identified as The Stages of Grief Recovery. In her schema, she came up with 1) denial, 2) anger, 3) bargaining, 4) depression and 5) acceptance as reactions to a diagnosis of terminal illness. Her stages only make sense when considered against that backdrop. As such, this configuration has nothing to do with the stages of grief recovery.
  • Bereavement Help Audio Ebook By: Maurice Turmel PhD - My name is Maurice Turmel, also known as 'Dr Moe.' I am the author of 'How to Cope with Grief and Loss ' Bereavement Audio Ebook.' There are many products on the web today offering programs and strategies for dealing with grief, loss and bereavement. This audio ebook is one of them, but stands out in a very significant way.
  • Grief- What Can Be Done About It? By: cdmohatta - Grief can be overwhelming. A death, separation of loved one, etc. can cause tremendous grief. This kind of grief refuses to get treated for a long period. People say that time is a great healer, but it is also true that the more time passes, the more time you have to grieve. Some time back I used to visit web pages set up by cancer patients.
  • The Evolving Cremation Website By: Larry Parker - Just ten years ago who would have thought we would be asking the following questions: 1. What is the purpose of a funeral home website? 2. Does it add revenue? 3. Does it save me time and money? 4. How can a funeral home website help in the management of my business?
  • Provide Cremation services - Who Visits Your Website and What Do They Want? By: Larry Parker - Why are people coming to your funeral home website? Your web designer will say, to get information, of course'. Let's dig a little deeper and define this information' that cremation site visitors are seeking. It might provide insight on how to better position your business to meet the needs of potential customers. Conversion of those satisfied visitors into customers may occur in one visit, although the rate of this happening is very low.
  • What is Grief Counselling? By: Maurice Turmel PhD - When I was in private practice I saw a lot of individuals who were grieving the loss of a loved one, whether that was a child, a spouse, a parent or a close friend. On a few occasions I saw couples where one of them had been diagnosed with a terminal condition and had less than 6 months to live.
  • How I Deal with Grief and Loss By: Maurice Turmel PhD - I've been writing these kinds of stories for about ten years now. I started handing them out to clients in my therapy practice to see how they would react. Their responses were typically positive. Those in grief knew right away how their loss had affected them and they reported finding comfort here in these words.
  • The Real Stages of Grieving By: Maurice Turmel PhD - When people pose questions about the Stages of Grief Recovery they are often referred to Elizabeth Kubler-Ross' Stages of Death. Her research showed what individuals would go through when receiving a "death sentence" from their doctor. In other words, they had a terminal condition and they were just given so many weeks or months, or perhaps years to live. Then they would go through 1) Denial; 2) Anger; 3) Bargaining; 4) Depression;

Still can't find what you are looking for? Search for it!

Custom Search

Submit Your link to the Open Link Directory Project

Copyright 2005-2008 MJE Sales, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Proud member of the ArticleCkr Search Network Search Network!
ArticleSnatch.com is free for both publishers and authors to use and is supported entirely from advertising revenue.
Use of our service is protected by our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.