Grieving is a process that most of us have been through one way or another, maybe not so strong in some cases but more so in others.  Not only do we grieve when we loose someone or something that is very important and special to us, but we also experience grief through a marriage break up, or when someone we love leaves us and moves on with their lives without us. 

Grief can be a life changing event which causes us much stress. Some people have said that it is an illness; it is not an illness. It is a disturbance, a change of life's regular course that can be extremely painful and distressing.

When we are suffering it can be a lonely and frightening experience. Sometimes people need help to face the emotional pain and the reality of loss, which can help them gradually accept the alteration that is happening in their life and the change in circumstances.

When someone is suffering from grief it can be overwhelming and does affect and put a strain on even the closest relationships.

There are many different stages of grief and they don’t happen to everyone in the same order or the same way, but I have listed the stages below so that it can help you understand what you are feeling, and that it is not wrong to feel the way you are feeling, it is part of the process of coming to terms with your loss.

·                Denial

·                Shock

·                Anger

·                Guilt

·                Searching

·                Reminiscence

·                Loneliness

·                Anxiety

·                Yearning

·                Numbness

·                Acceptance

It has been proven that depression is more likely if grief is suppressed or repressed, and the recovery is delayed.   There is no way that we can avoid the grief process, but understand what is actually happening can help make it easier to go through.