Examples Of Response To Grief
Responses to grief involve all aspects of one’s life: emotional, physical, social, spiritual, and mental. Everyone experiences grief differently and to varying degrees. Some of the Common responses to grief include:
• Disbelief: Seeing and feeling the loss can be painful, so you may try to protect yourself by denying it. You may feel numb or an emotional shock
• Anger: You may be angry at yourself for not preventing the loss or even angry at the person who died for deserting you. You may blame someone else for not protecting you or your loved ones. You may feel hurt or frustrated with the situation, because you cannot change it.
• Guilt: You may blame yourself because you feel you may not have done the right thing. Unresolved conflicts or …show more content…
1. Let go of time expectations. The person grieving may struggle for longer than expected. If this happens, regardless of how frustrating or frightening it may be for you, let them grieve for however long they need, knowing you won’t judge them for it.
2. Recognize the stages of grief. Most people suffering a loss will go through these stages, often in no particular order and sometimes repeating stages, such as denial, bargaining, anger, depression and acceptance. Each one is healthy and necessary. The more familiar you are with these stages, the better equipped you’ll be to support your friend.
3. Know that there are Variables to grief. One person’s grief is never the same as another’s. Variables include the cause and length of death, the personal resiliency of the grieving person, what their previous experiences have been, how large their support network is and their relationship to the person lost.
4. Resist telling them how strong they are. We are often inclined to praise the person who appears to be coping well with a loss. The problem is that we need to allow them to be human and vulnerable sometimes too. After all, there’s strength in letting out your emotions from time to
• Disbelief: Seeing and feeling the loss can be painful, so you may try to protect yourself by denying it. You may feel numb or an emotional shock
• Anger: You may be angry at yourself for not preventing the loss or even angry at the person who died for deserting you. You may blame someone else for not protecting you or your loved ones. You may feel hurt or frustrated with the situation, because you cannot change it.
• Guilt: You may blame yourself because you feel you may not have done the right thing. Unresolved conflicts or …show more content…
1. Let go of time expectations. The person grieving may struggle for longer than expected. If this happens, regardless of how frustrating or frightening it may be for you, let them grieve for however long they need, knowing you won’t judge them for it.
2. Recognize the stages of grief. Most people suffering a loss will go through these stages, often in no particular order and sometimes repeating stages, such as denial, bargaining, anger, depression and acceptance. Each one is healthy and necessary. The more familiar you are with these stages, the better equipped you’ll be to support your friend.
3. Know that there are Variables to grief. One person’s grief is never the same as another’s. Variables include the cause and length of death, the personal resiliency of the grieving person, what their previous experiences have been, how large their support network is and their relationship to the person lost.
4. Resist telling them how strong they are. We are often inclined to praise the person who appears to be coping well with a loss. The problem is that we need to allow them to be human and vulnerable sometimes too. After all, there’s strength in letting out your emotions from time to