Helpful Information Regarding Grief

The following about grief are myths:

Mourning should be kept brief
Mourning can be suppressed given the right attitude and the use of drugs and alcohol.
Mourning is an illness if it goes on very long.

Traveling through the valley of grief’s like taking a journey through unknown territory.
Things once held constant rnay suddenly vanish in an emotional flux.
The daily activities of life impose an intolerable burden on one’s defenses.
Depression comes from nowhere and seems magnified at night.
Anger erupts without warning and anything or anyone can be the target.
Familiar situations may cause a frightening unpredictable response.
It brings about an unwelcome change in one’s social structure.
Persons once counted on in times of stress are unable to handle the bereaved’s pain.
The world seems cold and frightening.
The beloved is a reference point for interpreting one’s past and present.
Grief creates a frightening sense of helplessness
Fears are close to the surface and often difficult to control.
The stress of grief places a strain on interpersonal relationships.
It causes one to take a new look at their value system and redefine their priorities.
It can sharpen one’s spiritual awareness.
It provides insights never before experienced.
It allows the person to reach beyond themselves to touch the lives of others.
“Little things” are no longer as important as they once were.
It gives new directions to life.
One learns to live for the moment.

GRIEF: The normal, appropriate emotional response to loss. It is unique to the individual experiencing it and there is no general timetable for completing it.
MOURNING: The “expression” of grief and is usually public as during a visitation or wake service and flineral. Grief is taken to imply the “experience” of loss.
SHADOW GRIEF: The weeks just prior to and after the anniversary of a loved ones death, or any other significant date. Some bereaved persons experience a lethargy, depression and anger similar to their first grief
BEREAVEMENT: Describes the event of the loss and is derived from the Old English word berafian meaning to rob.

Used by permission – American Academy of Bereavement