Grief

 

The Journey of Grief
 
What is grief? How does it affect us? What can we expect?
 
Grief is the realization that life will no longer be lived in the way we expected. We grieve not only the past history we've shared with our loved one, but also our hopes and dreams for the future.
 
The realization that life will no longer be lived in he way we expected affects us on a number of different levels:
 
Physical Reactions: Sleep and appetite disturbances, overwhelming fatigue, headaches, stomach-aches, restlessness and over activity or no energy at all.
 
Emotional Reactions: Anger, sadness, relief, devastation, helplessness, guilt, loneliness, loss of interest in things that used to bring pleasure, anxiety, isolation, crying, feeling out of control, not feeling anything at all, numb.
 
Cognitive Reactions: Inability to concentrate, preoccupation with thoughts of your loved one or the days and events leading up to the death.
 
Spiritual Reaction: Questioning the meaning of life, who am I now that I'm not her daughter, or his wife? There is a shattering of our worldview; a lot of what we counted on in life is gone. It takes time to discover and create solid ground beneath us.