Coping With The Symptoms and Stages of The Grieving Process

 

Death and the grieving process are a sad and unfortunate part of the human experience. Losing someone you love and who played an important role in your life produces a pain that cannot be easily described. No two people experience the grieving process exactly the same. There is no timeframe for grieving, and some individuals may feel like the pain they are experiencing will never go away. Since the grieving process is unique to every single person, there is no right or wrong way to grieve. There are some healthy coping skills that can help as you to deal with the pain and the sense of loss that accompanies the grieving process. These coping techniques can help you feel reinvigorated and give you the strength you need to continue on.

 

Understanding the Stages of Grief

Grieving is a natural response to loss. It is experienced when a person loses a loved in death, loses their health, a cherished dream, a friendship, or suffers a divorce or the breakup of a relationship. When the loss is significant, the feeling of grief will be stronger. Grief is broken into five stages. These stages are:

• Denial: Disbelief that a tragedy is affecting you.


• Anger: Attempting to understand why a situation is happening and assigning blame.


• Bargaining: During this stage, a person may make promises or resolutions in an attempt to negotiate with the impending tragedy.


• Depression: A person may feel too sad to do anything.


• Acceptance: Feeling at peace with what happened.

 

Dealing with Symptoms Associated with Grief

For some individuals, the grieving process is less of a series of stages and instead a roller coaster of emotions. There are ups and there are downs. Usually, the most intense emotions are felt in the days and weeks immediately following the loss. Some symptoms of grief include shock and disbelief. It can be difficult to accept what is happening, especially during the early stages of grieving. Sadness and guilt along with fear and anger are often experienced by grieving individuals. It is not uncommon for a person to have physical symptoms such as fatigue, weight loss, lower immunity, and nausea in response to grief.

 

Finding Support During Periods of Grief

For some, the natural reaction to experiencing grief is to close themselves off from the world and to try to deal with the sadness and feeling of loss on their own. However, finding support from friends, family members, support groups, religious faith, and grief counselors is essential in order to successfully cope with the pain and sadness grief brings.

Unfortunately, at one time or another every single one of us will experience circumstances that will cause us to grief. Understanding the grieving process, understanding the symptoms of grief, and knowing where to turn to for emotional support can make the painful grieving process a little bit easier.

 

Informational Credit to Cornerstone Hospice and Palliative Care

 

Categories: Coping, grieving, stages, Symptoms

How to Deal With the Pain of a Child"s Death

There can be few things that are more fundamentally distressing to us than the death of a child. We hate the idea of a child dying before its parents – there is something deeply sad and moving, and it something that it can be difficult to imagine trying to deal with. If you find yourself in this heart breaking situation you might find that the overall grief is just too much to live with and you’ll find that you are consumed by it and unable to see the good or the happiness in anything anymore. But as with all things in life, we have to pick ourselves up and move on.

 

Child death is truly devastating to a parent and it perhaps the most upsetting thing that you could ever go through. But if you are to move on with your life, it’s important to talk about and share your feelings with others to move to the point where you do not feel controlled by your grievances and you can live your life with remembrance rather than pure pain. Nothing will ever get rid of the pain or fill the hole that has been left in you, but if you can harness the help of others you’ll be able to deal better with your future and lead the kind of life that they would be proud of.

 

One of the most important things for you to do – and also one of the most difficult – is to talk about how you feel. No-one who has seen their child pass away wants to discuss it, but this is a very important step towards coming to terms with the grief. Part of the problem can be finding the right people to talk to about it. Relatives and friends will naturally find it hard to talk to you about the situation – they will also be in a state of complete sadness and it can be very difficult to open up in the way that you need to. Instead, it may be worth seeking professional advice and counselling. In this situation you are free to let your feelings out in a safe environment.

 

The process of grief is exhausting, both mentally and physically and it can be difficult for your friends and families to truly relate to what you feel. You need to focus spending your time with loved ones who are sympathetic to your situation and understand the weight of the grief that is upon you. They will be the most helpful in terms of getting over the pain and suffering and moving on.

 

Remember that a child’s death can bring up many different emotions at once and there is not one specific way to help deal with it. Some people feel that they are consumed by anger or guilt, while others are plagued by unanswered questions surrounding the death of the child, and this is very normal. Everyone grieves in a different way and it is important that you find your own method of coming to terms with the situation, however hard it is to accept.

 

It is important to stay strong and rely on the support of understanding loved ones rather than to give in to the pain and fears that you have. No parent should outlive their child, and when it does happen, it is a truly painful experience that can only be healed with time and right type of support. Use professional services and talk openly about your feelings. Then you’ll be able to choose the right path forward for you.

Categories: child death, emotional pain, grieving