Getting Started
Which stage of grief are you in?
The five steps to grief relief is a go at your pace e-course. Knowing where you are in the grieving process can help you move forward. You may start with step one or skip to step two. The order you go in doesn’t matter. Use it as a guideline. Over the next 5 Steps you’ll need a journal or notebook to write in.
Stage 1: Denial
Denial may appear as shock or feeling numb. It can show up as a dream we think we’re having, or disbelief and the mind can’t fully process it. We might wonder how we can go on or why we should go on. Denial is nature’s way of letting us know how much we can handle and helps us cope with our feelings of grief. Which is a good thing.
Stage 2: Anger
Anger is a natural emotion, by suppressing anger when it comes only makes the grieving process harder and longer. So, allow yourself to feel and be angry. The anger will subside, and the feelings of loss will change form again. That brings us to the third step which is bargaining…
Stage 3: Bargaining
Bargaining is when you’ll do anything to save your loved one. “Please God,” You say. “I’ll do anything you want me to do. Just let her live.” We want to go back in time to prevent the death from happening. Willing to do anything not to feel the pain of loss.
Stage 4: Guilt
Guilt is bargaining’s cousin. We may feel guilty for not being able to save our loved one or preventing the death. The ‘if only” come into play. If only I had stayed with him or if only, I listened, she would be alive.
Stage 5: Depression
After guilt, empty feelings present themselves and grief enters our lives on a deeper level. This depressive state feels as though it will last forever. We want to withdraw from life and wonder if there’s any point in going on at all.
Stage 6: Acceptance
Acceptance is the reality that our loved one is physically gone and recognizing this new reality. To accept what is. We may not like the reality that our loved one is gone but eventually we accept it. We learn to live with it. We must try to live in a world without our loved one.
Stage 7: Closure
Closure meaning, viewing the body. Looking at your loved one’s dead body is unpleasant however it’s an important part of the grieving process. Any doubts are removed, and denial ceases to exist when we see that our loved one is dead and not coming back. This gives us closure and eventually brings about peace of mind.