{"id":577,"date":"2012-07-22T16:59:32","date_gmt":"2012-07-22T21:59:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mentalhealth-online.com\/mentalhealth\/?p=577"},"modified":"2012-07-26T16:59:13","modified_gmt":"2012-07-26T21:59:13","slug":"grief","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mentalhealth-online.com\/mentalhealth\/grief\/","title":{"rendered":"Grief: The Healing Process of Grief"},"content":{"rendered":"

With so much news pouring out about the tragic, shocking events that occurred at the Aurora, CO, \"The<\/a>movie theater in the night of July 2012, I would like to dedicate this post to those around the world who are dealing with the devastating effects of Grief<\/em>. Grief is an emotion that is\u00c2\u00a0 distressed<\/a>,\u00c2\u00a0 filled with pain and loss and bereavement.<\/p>\n

You do not have to be directly injured by an event to feel Grief. Grief can affect us even when we are not directly impacted by the actual event. Unresolved Grief can be activated by hearing of distressing events that have occurred to others. When such Grief arises, it can have all of the intensity and pain as did the originating event. At the same time, it can give us the opportunity to gain further closure and resolution on the originating event that is being grieved. It can allow us to release that which — up until that time — may have remained unresolved.<\/p>\n

Grief may be triggered by the death of a loved one or the end of a serious relationship. It can be a response to learning that you have an acute, chronic illness — an illness that might significantly impact your quality of life<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Each person experiences Grief in a way that is unique to him\/her. At the same time, there are specific stages experienced — in some form, at some time — by those who are dealing with Grief. In their ideal manifestation, these stages lead up to the ultimate experience of acceptance.<\/p>\n

One way to describe the Grief cycle is that made popular by expert psychiatrist and researcher\u00c2\u00a0Elisabeth K\u00c3\u00bcbler-Ross in her book On Death and Dying<\/em> (1969).\u00c2\u00a0 Dr. K\u00c3\u00bcbler-Ross described a cycle of five stages. These reactions might not occur in the specific order related below. At times, more than one stage can occur at the same time. In addition, some people may not experience all of these stages\/emotions:<\/p>\n

\"Grief:<\/a>1. Denial:<\/strong> “I don’t believe it — How can this be?” “I feel numb.”<\/p>\n

2. Anger:<\/strong> “I’m angry that this happened!” “If God is so good, why did He let this happen?” “Why did this have to happen to me?”<\/p>\n

3. Bargaining:<\/strong> “If I am spared this illness of lung or throat cancer, I promise I’ll give up smoking today and never smoke again!”<\/p>\n

4. Depression:<\/strong> “Everything around me is black… I feel hopeless.” “I feel so sad — I can’t stop crying — My life will never be the same.” “I want to die, too.”<\/p>\n

5. Acceptance:<\/strong> “I know this had to be. I know s\/he is in a better place. I feel at peace.”<\/p>\n

People who are grieving may be totally distraught — crying uncontrollably, experiencing sleep deficit, lacking productivity and functioning in their lives. People who are grieving may show no outward signs at all. Both are the faces of Grief.<\/p>\n

So, if you are suffering from the effects of Grief, what can you do?<\/p>\n

Here are 7 Keys to deal with Grief:<\/p>\n