There Are Ways to Cope with Painful Loss

When you suffer any kind of serious loss, your natural response is grief. This is a perfectly healthy and normal way of dealing with the situation. Many people deal effectively with their grief and reach a peaceful acceptance. But for others, the loss is too much for them to deal with. They don’t feel capable of ever coming to terms with their loss and can become stuck in their grief. This is dangerous to a person’s emotional and physical health. Chronic grief may manifest itself through depression, despair, accidents, or abuse of alcohol and other drugs. Unless a person is able to reach a level of acceptance, he is at risk of lowered immunity to illnesses, bouts of physical violence or rage and, potentially, suicide. There are ways you can work through the grieving process and emerge with peace of mind. Here are some of them:

• Put off doing other stressful or uncomfortable things for the time being. Focus on one obstacle at a time.

• Set small goals you can realistically achieve.

• Talk about your loss, out loud to yourself or to a trusted friend. Sometimes, just hearing yourself talk can help release your hurt, angry, or sad emotions.

• Don’t try or expect to feel a certain way just allow yourself to experience the wide range of emotions that accompany loss.

• Cater to your physical and mental health by eating right, exercising, drinking lots of water, and sleeping 8 hours a night.

• Avoid isolating yourself from family and friends. Force yourself to get together even if you don’t feel like it.

• Avoid getting discouraged if the same issues and memories reappear. Remember that grief is cyclical.

• Allow your grief to run its course. You will go through many peaks and valleys until you get to the ultimate goal of serenity. If you need help on your journey, seek professional counseling. A therapist can help you voice your grief and gain the strength to continue on a new path towards happiness.