General Health Tips & News


Grief, its Stages and Coping Mechanisms


By A.S. (staff writer) , published on October 29, 2022



Medicine Telehealth Health


 

Loss is a normal part of the human experience, and grief is the natural response to it. Everybody faces grief in life, at one moment or the other. The reasons may be different. The death of a close relative or friend is the most common cause of grief. But we can also experience grief for other people and events such as separation or divorce, the loss of a job or end of the carrier, a change in one's health state, and loss of valuables.

We are left with grief if something meaningful is taken away from us. Grief plays an important role in our lives by allowing us to process and deal with complex emotions that may arise after a loss. In short, it is part of our psychological evaluation. And the grieving process might bring up plenty of new and perplexing feelings and behaviors.  

 

 

 

Experiencing Grief

Grief is a highly personal experience; there is no right or wrong way to grieve. How you grieve depends on many factors, including your personality and style of coping, your life experience, your faith, and how significant the loss was to you. Concentration problems, apathy, anger, feelings of guilty, disruptions in sleep, numbness, lack of trust, and irritability are the most common signs of grief.

 

 

Stages of Grief

Experiencing grief is not a condition but a process. Psychiatrist Elisabeth Kübler-Ross proposed that we go through five distinct phases of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and eventually acceptance. [1]

The five stages of grief are:

  • Denial and Isolation

  • Anger

  • Bargaining

  • Depression

  • Acceptance

Not everyone will experience all these five stages and may not go through them in this order.

Inevitably, the grieving process takes time. Healing occurs gradually; it cannot be forced or accelerated - and there is no “normal” plan for times of trouble. Some people begin to feel better within weeks or months. For some, the process of grief is measured in years. No matter what experience you have, it is essential that you persevere and allow the process to unfold naturally.

 

 

Unhealthy Grieving

Feelings of loss can be debilitating for some people, and they don't improve with time. Complicated grieving, often known as persistent complex bereavement disorder, is a term used to describe this. In complicated grieving, painful emotions stay so long and are so intense that it's difficult to heal from the loss and resume your own life.

Unhealthy grief prolongs suffering, disrupts regular activities, and stops people from living their lives to the fullest. When development is hampered, phrases like aberrant, chronic, complex, convoluted, conflicted, dysfunctional, impaired, pathological, troublesome, protracted, unhealthy, and unresolved grief are used.

 

 

Symptoms of complicated grief

Physical Reactions

  • Sleep difficulties due to recurrent nightmares and disturbing memories

  • Physical or psychological problems as a result of the loss

  • Significant weight gain or loss

 

 

Emotional Reactions

  • Absent or inhibited grief

  • Hostility and aggressiveness that have lasted for a long time

  • Panic attacks, phobias, and irrational fears are all examples of irrational worries.

  • Constant yearning for what has been taken away

 

 

Behavioral Responses 

  • Isolation and retreat from social contact

  • Self-destructive behavior

  • Long-term avoidance of tasks that remind you of what you've lost

  • Loss of interest in activities that persists

 

 

Grief Management

            While there is no clear formula for dealing with a substantial loss, the following suggestions can help in grief management:

  • Accept some loneliness but don’t get isolated

  • Select a good company. Look for friends who are cooperative and willing to help you.

  • Be gentle with yourself. Try not to berate yourself for not “doing better."

  • Get extra rest to combat physical and mental exhaustion

  • Make a sleep schedule and try to stick to it.

  • Move your body. At least once a day, get up and walk or move about, ideally outside.

  • Consult your doctor and share your concerns.

  • Maintain a routine in your day.

  • Make a plan. Set tiny, attainable, short-term goals to avoid becoming overwhelmed.

  • Take precautions. After you've been bereaved, don't make any important decisions or adjustments at home or at work.

  • Look after your inner needs. Make time to connect with things that inspire you and whether through spiritual practice or a creative outlet.

 

References

1.            Newman, L., Elisabeth Kübler-Ross. BMJ: British Medical Journal, 2004. 329(7466): p. 627-627.

 




Find articles related to: Medicine Telehealth Health


More articles about General Health Tips & News

Back to the Health Tips Index