Grief and Loss

GRIEF is  the feeling of deep sorrow or sadness after experiencing the loss of a loved one, or something important.

GRIEVING is the action of feeling the feelings (sorrow, sadness, anger, fear etc.) that accompany processing the grief and loss of a loved one, or something important.

SOCIAL death is the loss of connections to others

PSYCHOLOGICAL death is the loss of personality traits

PHYSIOLOGICAL death is the loss of organ function

BIOLOGICAL death is the loss of a human organism / entity

OTHER TYPES OF LOSS: 

• death of a loved one
• the end of a relationship
• losing a job
• loss of identity or sense of self
• loss of hopes or dreams

STAGE 1:  Shock, numbness, disbelief, denial, emotional numbing

STAGE 2:  Processing strong feelings: sadness, sorrow, fear, anger, guilt

STAGE 3: Yearning & searching for the "loss" to return; thinking that it will be there when you wake or come home

STAGE 4: Disorganization and despair; this often includes depression, fatigue, withdrawl and isolation, while trying to adapt to the loss

STAGE 5: Growing acceptance of the loss and reorganizing one's life and moving forward; an attitude that "life must go on" and finding new meaning and purpose

These stages can overlap and vary over time

• sudden & unexpected death
• survivors of suicide
• survivors of homicide
• death of a child

Ezreena, your grief and loss therapist often uses the Metapsychology tool of "Unblocking" to allow a client to process all thoughts, feelings and physical sensations that have been stored or suppressed. The client then gets to talk about anything and everything that has been attached to the loss - this is a very thorough and unburdening process for the person grieving. 

Often people need to talk their way through the stages of grieving: the shock, the sorrow, the anger, the fear. 

Grieving requires one to feel their feelings and work their way through confusing thoughts and what life will be like moving forward.