Honoring Memories: Ways to Keep Your Loved One’s Legacy Alive
Coping with Grief and Loss
What is grief?
Grief is a natural response to loss. It’s the emotional suffering you feel when something or someone you love is taken away. Often, the pain of loss can feel overwhelming. You may experience all kinds of difficult and unexpected emotions, from shock or anger to disbelief, guilt, and profound sadness.
Melinda Smith, M.A.Lawrence RobinsonJeanne Segal, Ph.D.
Visit HelpGuide to Learn More
The 5 Stages of Grief: Understanding the Mourning Process
The Kübler-Ross model: 5 stages of grief
Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, a Swiss American psychiatrist, developed the Kübler-Ross model to better understand the grieving process. In her 1969 book, “On Death and Dying,” she identified the five most common emotional reactions to loss:
- denial
- anger
- bargaining
- depression
- acceptance
Written by Sandra Silva
Recent Post
Moving Forward: Finding Hope After Loss
Coping with Grief and Loss
The most common sources of grief are:
- Bereavement (the death of a loved one).
- Death of a pet.
- Divorce or relationship breakup.
- Loss of health.
- Losing a job.
- Loss of financial stability.
- A miscarriage.
- Retirement.
- Loss of a cherished dream.
- A loved one’s serious illness.
- Loss of a friendship.
- Loss of safety after a trauma.
- Selling the family home.
Melinda Smith, M.A.Lawrence RobinsonJeanne Segal, Ph.D.
Visit HelpGuide to Learn More
Coping with Grief and Loss
How to deal with the grieving process
While grieving a loss is an inevitable part of life, there are ways to help cope with the pain, come to terms with your grief, and eventually, find a way to pick up the pieces and move on with your life.
- Acknowledge your pain.
- Accept that grief can trigger many different and unexpected emotions.
- Understand that your grieving process will be unique to you.
- Seek out face-to-face support from people who care about you.
- Support yourself emotionally by taking care of yourself physically.
- Recognize the difference between grief and depression.
Melinda Smith, M.A.Lawrence RobinsonJeanne Segal, Ph.D.
Visit HelpGuide to Learn More
Continue Your Journey of Healing & Hope
Read Our Story
Explore Audio Healing Files
The 7 Stages Of Grief And How They Affect Your Mental Health
Understanding the grieving process
Feeling overwhelmed in a grieving situation or questioning how long you will have these feelings is not uncommon. If you are experiencing grief, it is okay to feel a shift in emotions or even experience moments when you feel numb. It’s important to allow yourself to grieve, feel all the emotions, and know when to seek help, such as support groups or counseling.
Everyone experiences grief differently. However, common grief symptoms may include:
-
Intense sadness and feelings of emptiness or loss
-
Numbed disbelief about the loss, making it hard to accept
-
Difficulty concentrating and making decisions, affecting daily life
-
Changes in appetite, either eating more or less than usual
-
Disturbed sleep patterns, such as insomnia or sleeping too much
-
Withdrawal from social interactions and loss of interest in activities once enjoyed
-
Physical symptoms like headaches or stomach aches with no apparent medical cause.
Written by BetterHelp Editorial Team
Visit BetterHelp to Learn More
Coping with Grief and Loss
Physical symptoms of grief
We often think of grief as a strictly emotional process, but grief often involves physical problems, including:
- Fatigue
- Nausea
- Lowered immunity
- Weight loss or weight gain
- Aches and pains
- Insomnia
Melinda Smith, M.A.Lawrence RobinsonJeanne Segal, Ph.D.
Visit HelpGuide to Learn More
Coping with Grief and Loss
Finding support for grief and loss
The pain of grief can often cause you to want to withdraw from others and retreat into your shell. But having the face-to-face support of other people is vital to healing from loss.
- Turn to friends and family members
- Accept that many people feel awkward when trying to comfort someone who’s grieving
- Draw comfort from your faith
- Join a support group
- Talk to a therapist or grief counselor
Melinda Smith, M.A.Lawrence RobinsonJeanne Segal, Ph.D.
Visit HelpGuide to Learn More
Coping with Grief and Loss
Taking care of yourself as you grieve
- Face your feelings
- Express your feelings in a tangible or creative way
- Try to maintain your hobbies and interests
- Don’t let anyone tell you how to feel, and don’t tell yourself how to feel either
- Look after your physical health
- Plan ahead for grief “triggers.”
Melinda Smith, M.A.Lawrence RobinsonJeanne Segal, Ph.D.
Visit HelpGuide to Learn More
The 7 Stages Of Grief And How They Affect Your Mental Health
Seeking help from a mental health professional
A mental health professional can provide support through all grieving process stages, from denial, anger, bargaining, and depression to acceptance. Licensed therapists and psychiatrists are familiar with the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) and can offer insights into normal grief versus complicated grief. They may be able to teach coping mechanisms and practical ways to regain control over your emotional state, including sadness, loneliness, and other associated feelings of grief.
Written by BetterHelp Editorial Team
Visit BetterHelp to Learn More
In you are in a crisis contact Lifeline.
The 5 Stages of Grief: Understanding the Mourning Process
How to help someone who is grieving
You’ve taken the first step by just wondering how you can help your loved one.
Here are some ways you can support them now and in the future:
- Listen
- Reach out
- Be practical
- Don’t assume
- Search for resources
Written by Sandra Silva
Visit Psych Central to Learn More