How Do We Handle Grief and Loss

Grief is a natural part of life. Grief will affect everyone differently and each person will respond in their own way. Grief has many names such as sadness, bereavement, sorrow, and unhappiness. Psychiatrist Elisabeth Kübler-Ross devised the five stages in the 1970s. The five stages are denial, anger, bargaining; depression, and acceptance. These stages do not have to be followed in order, and not all have to be visited during the grieving period. Denial usually is displayed as not accepting the truth. Then anger occurs where the person wants to blame someone or something for the grief. Bargaining may be represented as trying to make a deal with God to change the circumstances. Depression is the act of giving up in anguish. Acceptance is difficult to accomplish but usually ends the cycle by learning to live with the loss.
Writers at www.helpguide.org/articles/grief tell us that, “grief is a natural response to loss. It’s the emotional suffering you feel when something or someone you love is taken away. The more significant the loss, the more intense your grief will be.” Grief is usually associated with the death of someone close. But grief can come from a divorce, loss of health, a medical situation, a major lifestyle change, or any traumatic event. In an article called “Coping with Grief and Loss” at www.helpguide.org/articles/grief states, “Even subtle losses in life can trigger a sense of grief. For example, you might grieve after moving away from home, graduating from college, or changing jobs. Whatever your loss, it’s personal to you, so don’t feel ashamed about how you feel, or believe that it’s somehow only appropriate to grieve for certain things. If the person, animal, relationship, or situation was significant to you, it’s normal to grieve the loss you’re experiencing. Whatever the cause of your grief, though, there are healthy ways to deal with the pain and eventually come to terms with your loss.” It is important to recognize the grief and pay proper attention to your feelings. Suppressing your feeling can intensify the grief and cause unnecessary heartache. Cari Romm writes in her article “Understanding How Grief Weakens the Body” presented in “The Atlantic” (Sept 11, 2014) states that “medical knowledge suggests that our bodies already know what our words have long implied: that grief can, quite literally, sicken the body.” She goes on to tell us that the “broken heart syndrome” is a real thing. Formally known as takotsubo cardiomyopathy, it happens when extreme emotional stress causes one of the heart’s chambers to balloon, triggering symptoms similar to those of a heart attack.”
We will all experience a loss that will cause us to experience grief. Sadness, sorrow, mourning, and pure grief is just a part of life. How we cope and react to these emotions will determine our physical and mental health both short term and long term if not controlled. Revelation 21:4 states, “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” The natural ebb and flow of life cause us to have many different emotions and challenges us almost daily. Life guarantees that we will have joy and we will have sadness. But remember Matthew 5:4 tells us, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”