Coping with grief and loss

Coping with the loss of someone or something in your life can be very challenging. Often, the pain of loss can feel confusing, painful, and overwhelming. You may experience all kinds of difficult and unexpected emotions, from shock or anger to disbelief, guilt, and profound sadness. The pain of grief can also disrupt your physical health, making it difficult to sleep, eat, or even think straight. These are normal reactions to significant loss.

What is grief?

Grief is a natural response to loss. It's the emotional suffering you feel when you lose something or someone in your life. The more significant the loss, the more intense your grief will be.

How to cope with grief?

While experiencing loss is an inevitable part of life, there are ways to help cope with the pain and suffering you are experiencing.

Acknowledge your pain
Accept that grief can trigger many different and unexpected emotions
Understand that your grieving process will be unique to you and to your relationship with what/who was lost
Seek out support from people who care about you and who you feel safe with
Support yourself emotionally by taking care of yourself physically

The grieving process

Grieving is a highly individual experience; there's no right or wrong way to grieve. How you grieve depends on many factors, including your personality and coping style, your life experience, your beliefs, and how significant the loss was to you. Inevitably, the grieving process takes time. Healing happens gradually; it can't be forced or hurried- and there is no "normal" timetable for grieving. 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 and allow the process to naturally unfold. Whatever you are feeling in response to the loss, it may help to know that your reaction is natural.

Not everyone who grieves goes through the well-known "stages of grief" and that's okay. Grief does not typically occur in a neat, sequential order, so don't worry about what you "should" be feeling or which "stage" you're supposed to be in. Whatever you are feeling is normal and natural. Give yourself some compassion around whatever you are feeling, instead of judging yourself or worrying that you are "doing it wrong." There is no wrong way to grieve.

Grief can be a rollercoaster

Instead of a series of stages, we might also think of the grieving process as a roller coaster, full of ups and downs, highs and lows. Like many roller coasters, the ride tends to be rougher in the beginning, the lows may be deeper and longer. The difficult periods should become less intense and shorter as time goes by, but it takes time to work through a loss.

Symptoms of grief

While loss affects people in different ways, many of us experience the following symptoms when we're grieving. Just remember that almost anything that you experience in the early phases of grief is normal-including feeling like you're going crazy, feeling like you're in a bad dream, or questioning your beliefs.

Emotional symptoms of grief

Shock, confusion, or disbelief
Sadness
Guilt
Anger
Fear
Anxiety or worry

Physical symptoms of grief

Fatigue
Nausea
Changes in appetite
Headaches and body aches
Changes in sleep patterns
Increased susceptibility to illness

Seeking support to deal with grief and loss

It is important that you find what works best for you as you begin processing and coping with the loss. Some people may prefer alone time, while others want and need face-to-face support. Find what is best for YOU. Most often, it is best to strike a balance between time alone and time with others.

When you're grieving, it's more important than ever to take care of yourself. The stress of a major loss can quickly deplete your energy and emotional reserves. Looking after your physical and emotional needs will help you get through this difficult time. Most importantly, if you need additional support, please reach out.