Grieving - We All Experience Things Differently

When We Lose Someone
When we lose someone close to us, be it a family member, a friend, or even a beloved pet, we have to deal with that loss.  Grief is the term used to describe this emotional response of deep loss, sorrow, and ache.  While grief is generally associated with losing a person, you may also feel grief at losing a treasured item, a job, or your marriage.  

Grief is generally a very intense feeling of loss, but not all losses cause the same level of grief. Bereavement, or the loss of a loved one, is often much more painful than the sorrow associated with losing a job.

Grieving: We All Experience Things Differently
When you are grieving for some one or some thing, you may experience a wide and varied array of emotions and thoughts. In fact, no two people really grieve the same way, even if they are grieving over the same thing. There is no defined way of grieving, and there is no such thing as unnatural or abnormal grieving. Likewise, there’s no set timeline for grief—some people may move on earlier than others.

While it is true that everyone grieves in their own way, there are some common things that almost everyone does. Most people feel sad. If the loss is sudden, shock and numbness are usually experienced. Some people lash out in anger, while others feel guilty that they couldn’t prevent the loss. Some sink into depression and don’t want to leave their home; others throw themselves into work and their social lives to forget about the loss.


Often, grieving affects more than just your mental state. Grief can also cause you to lose your appetite or cause sleeplessness. Grief may even make you physically ill, especially if you aren’t eating well or sleeping regularly.

Pre-Loss Grief
While most feelings of grief come after the loss, it is possible to experience pre-loss grief. If a loved one is dealing with a terminal illness, for example, you may start to mourn their loss long before they actually pass away. You may also feel the loss of your marriage months or even years before signing divorce papers. This type of grief is, like all grief, perfectly normal. Just because you’re experiencing it before you lose something does not mean it should not be taken seriously.
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However, even though some people get over loss quickly, it’s important to note that grieving is a process that should not be avoided? If you have lost some one or some thing, you need to take the time to mourn it properly. If you don’t deal with your not, it will only build up inside you until it breaks out.

How to you deal with grief? Some people handle their emotions on their own, and that is perfectly fine as long as they do so in a healthy way. However, some people find that they can’t handle the loss themselves. Loss, especially a huge loss, can be terribly painful. There’s nothing wrong with asking friends and family for support or even going to a grief counsellor. There are some negative ways of dealing with grief, though, so be certain to know what is a healthy reaction and what is not.
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