A View of Grief and Loss
Grief and loss is a broad category that encompasses death and dying, grief recovery, grief resources and every type of loss imaginable. From losing a loved one to losing your job, grief and loss includes a variety of dimensions that affect each and every one of us in our daily lives.
The loss of a loved one is the predominant category of course. Grief and loss is often immediately associated with death, even though it is equally applicable to the loss of a relationship or the family pet. Getting over grief and loss is what occupies peoples minds the most.
Divorce, relationship breakup and death of a pet will generate powerful grief reactions. Losing one’s home, employment and place of business are equally powerful in their grief and loss effects. We typically do not associate such losses with the grief and loss experience. It turns out that they do affect us in similar ways to the primary experience of losing a loved one.
The main point of this article is that dealing with grief and loss has a lot of common dimensions over all of its related categories. We mourn the loss of a loved one. We grieve the loss of a pet. We agonize over a broken relationship. We become depressed at the loss of our job.
What is our point here with this foray into the multiple dimensions of grief and loss? We are dealing with an emotional crisis and a feeling based wound. We experience sadness, depression and hurt. Feeling lost and afraid is common. Anger usually arrives first, till we discover what’s underneath, and pain is what we wish to avoid, initially. All such reactions are quite typical with the experience of grief and loss.
We begin to see that the experience of grief and loss applies to every aspect of our lives. Learning to grieve and relieve ourselves of stress is the key to a healthy recovery. Grief work and stress relief provide the necessary bounce back for our energy and drive. Grieving, in all its varied forms, is far more common than we may have realized.
The cycle of life includes gaining, losing and gaining again. For example, when a snake crawls into the tall grass to shed its old skin, it’s because the new is emerging from underneath and pressing for release. Losses are typically categorized as devastating when, in fact, they are often a prelude to something better. Learning to let go, no matter what the cicumstances is a valuable life lesson.
Grief and loss over the death of a loved one is a singularly powerful event. This type of loss is probably the most difficult we have to endure. But grief and loss, in other forms, is with us every day. Learning to cope with grief and loss, in all its forms, will help enormously when we face the loss of loved ones. A good grief and loss resource can immediately mitigate the experiences most devastating effects.
Dealing with grief and loss requires that we face our emotions and work through them. Acquiring a good resource, turning toward family and friends and sharing our sorrow can lead to new and deeper relationships. There are secret benefits to all of life’s trials, even though it make take years to see them. The main lesson from grief and loss is that something awaits us on the other side of the experience.





