Understanding Grief

One of the harsh realities of life is saying a final goodbye at cremation services Westmont, PA. What follows is a painful grief journey that can seriously alter your life.

To cope with grief healthily, it’s important to understand the ins and outs of the grief journey. Psychologists conjure that grief hits us in stages – it comes and goes. While grief can vary significantly from person to person, it often engulfs you in five major stages.

Here is a brief description of the five stages of grief – a person might not experience all these stages or in the same order.

1. Denial Stage

The first reaction to losing a loved one as your mind starts processing the loss. During this brief time, you don’t want to believe the loved one has left forever. It’s the reaction that causes you to say, “This can’t be happening to me.”

Note that denial isn’t just about rejecting the fact of death. It may entail denying your emotions or simply, expressing them. For instance, telling people, “I’m fine” can be a form of denial. This phase doesn’t last long and soon follows the anger stage.

2. Anger Stage

A natural reaction to death as the person realizes the loved one has passed away and they can no longer “deny” or fight against the situation.

This phase can manifest in several ways. You may become angered at the diagnosis, the people around you, and even the doctors and nurses. Or else, you may take your anger out on yourself for not taking care of the loved one even better. Some people also direct their anger toward God for taking away an important person.

3. Bargaining Stage

The bargaining stage of grief is often a stage you will go through after a diagnosis. You might bargain with God. Asking for more time, asking for healing, or praying the doctor gave you a misdiagnosis.

People also often try to bargain with medical professionals. Bringing in new experts or specialists, pleading for them to try one more operation, pursuing a pharmaceutical still in the testing phase, looking to alternative medicine, and so on. These can all be forms of bargaining.

cremation services Westmont, PA4. Depression Stage

This stage may begin from the very start of losing the loved one – or even before the person has died, like in the case of a terminal illness.

The depression phase may find you turning inward and refusing to communicate with the outside world. You may become overwhelmed and feel hostile toward anyone in your circle.

5. Acceptance Stage

Lastly, as time goes by, you start accepting the changed reality. You realize that there is nothing you can do to reverse it. Now, you need to live the rest of your life with this truth.

The grief and pain are still there, and emotions from the other stages may still arise at times. But internally you have come to terms with death. Simply put, you adapt to the new reality of life after cremation services Westmont, PA. Contact us and or visit one of our locations to inquire.