Dealing with Grief

Grief is something each of us will experience in our lives. If you can recognize the stages of grief, it may help you to heal more quickly. There are 5 stages of grief and each person will experience various stages but they may be in different order and vary in duration. It depends on the person. Some of the stages may overlap or repeat. If you have a good support system -- people to talk to and work through the emotions, you will heal more quickly. If you do not have someone to talk to, it helps to write in a journal.

Grieving is natural and should be encouraged after significant loss, disappointment or separation. It should be expected.

The 5 stages include:

1. Shock and disbelief. You may not fully understand what has happened and it takes time for things to sink in.

2. Denial and isolation. It is very normal to feel these feelings. Denial is often a coping strategy when we can't handle the loss all at once.

3. Search and Yearning. Looking for the meaning of what happened. If you striving to help someone through their loss, it helps to focus on what you can do rather than focusing on why something happened. The reasons may never be known and focusing on why bad things happened may keep people from healing.

4. Depression and Anger. It is very common for people to turn their anger inward which becomes depression. Our turn anger outward and alienate people around them. It's okay to feel these feelings -- it's normal. But what you do with those feelings is up to you. Do you want to stay feeling angry, or do you want to heal?

5. Loneliness and resolution. This is the stage where you integrate the loss, come to accept it and begin moving onto the next stage of life.

You may experience grief in every aspect of your life. Physically, mentally (try not to make any big decisions because you won't be thinking clearly), emotionally (it's okay to cry, the more you can identify and express, the easier it is to heal), socially and spiritually. Give yourself the time you need to heal. It is different for every person.