GRIEF & Loss
Death of a loved one and other significant losses can be difficult to deal with on your own. Left unshared and unexpressed, our thoughts and feelings can become “stuck.” All of us suffer losses in life and we are meant to honor whom or what we have lost, and we are designed to grieve the loss and receive healing and even blessings in exchange.
"we are designed to grieve the loss and receive healing"
Processing Grief
Suppressing or repressing our grief can lead, over time, to complicated grief and it can take longer to heal. Processing grief and gaining skills to deal with loss can make your life feel meaningful and joyful again.
Loss is jarring. What was life as usual can become waves of change, fear, separation, uncertainty, and feeling like things are out of our control. And grief is experienced by each of us in different and personal ways making it important not to compare our experience with others, but to have others join with us in our experience.
To begin to face the pain and stress of significant losses, we need to begin to build a support network around us of caring people who will not only sit with us in our grief, but help us to gradually see the path through the pain and envision a life where our loved one (or our health, or our meaningful work, or our family) is honored while we move forward and live the rest of our life to the full with others who love and need us.
Symptoms of Grief
Common symptoms people report after losing someone or something deeply important to them are below.
• Everything feels hard and even small things seem to take a lot of effort
• Feeling low or numb, and the things that used to bring enjoyment no longer bring happiness
• Finding oneself tearful, irritable, or moody
• Feeling blue, sad, or just blah
• Changes in appetite, eating too much or too little
• Feeling consistently tired or fatigued
• Inability to sleep or sleeping too much
• Finding it hard to concentrate or get motivated
• Thoughts of not wanting to wake up, or even suicide
NOTE: If you are having any suicidal thoughts, reach out for help immediately. Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255, text MHFA to 741741 to talk to a Crisis Text Line counselor, call 911 or go to your nearest emergency room.
Grief Healing
As you move through grief, these feelings will improve. Consider speaking with a mental health professional, spiritual advisor, pastor, life coach or other local practitioners based in Orange County that are trained to come along side people in times of crisis. They can provide a safe place to process through different challenges and fears you are facing, as an individual and/or as a family. You are not alone. Asking for help is an act of strength and courage that can lead to lasting healing.
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