When someone says they are grieving, most people assume they are speaking about the loss of a loved one. And while this might be the case, grief can be over so much more! Any loss in our life can and does cause varying degrees of grief. The loss of a graduation ceremony, the loss of a job and the impact of financial insecurity, the loss of seeing people in person, the loss of going to restaurants and stores. the loss of being able to celebrate milestones in person, and so on and so on. These are all losses that have been particularly devastating as a result of Covid 19. Frankly, I believe we are all grieving right now over some loss related to the Covid 19 virus. Yes, some are grieving the death of loved ones from this virus, but we have all experienced some loss because of the societal restrictions developed to minimize the spread of the virus.
There are different theories on how many stages there are to the grieving process. Most have these five in common: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and Acceptance. I believe Guilt is often a part of the process. Unfortunately grief is different for everyone as is how each person goes through these stages. There is no on and off switch to grief. When we encounter a loss, whether it is a loss of life, job, relationship, expectation, we experience grief. And grief needs to be processed. If you do not acknowledge the loss, it will continue to demand your attention!
I have developed 4 ways to help people through the process of grief:
- Be PATIENT with yourself. Grief takes time.
- Give yourself PERMISSION to grieve.
- PLAN & PREPARE for triggers.
- Know that you can and will PERSEVERE!
For more information on Grief: I will be recording a workshop that goes into more detail about grief and how to persevere in the near future. You will be able to find it on my website at www.captureyourpath.com
If you are struggling with grief, please reach out to a loved one and ask for help. If you are stuck in your grief a month after a loss, and it is impacting your daily functioning, please reach to me or another professional. Grief is always hard but professional counselors can help!