Where’s the Grief?

Grief is most commonly associated with situations where there has been a death. So, what happens when people are grieving but nobody has died? As part of the many losses you experience, grief really is a part of everyday living. For instance, caring for a family member with a chronic illness has been acknowledged as a grieving experience. Grief can be expressed in many ways, through emotions and behavior, and can have a significant impact on the ability to maintain one's well-being.

Symptoms of grief can mimic depression, getting medically overlooked with a diagnosis of depression and a prescription for an anti-depressant to relieve the pain. Although medication is helpful, the grief remains unresolved, and unaddressed. Unfortunately, unresolved grief does not dissolve but rather festers until the next loss, and then the reaction is magnified or the grief gets manifested in other ways such as ulcers, headaches, or in more serious ways.

There are many benefits to processing one's grief such as empowerment, relief, comfort, peace, and resolve in dealing with the core issues related to situational loss. These are good reasons to not allow the grief to fester. It is undeniably easier to live with joy than to face your grief; however, by acknowledging and assessing, you can assist in processing situational loss/grief so you can cope better and move forward stronger.