The notion of grief management lies in the ability to cope with a loss which is significant enough to elicit the emotion of grief itself. Grief is often erroneously thought of as synonymous with sadness, but grief is a much broader, multifaceted emotional reaction.

Grieving is not just brought about by the loss of a loved one, but can result in losses varying in nature – ranging from losing someone you cared about to the loss of the family pet; Grief can even begin with loss of employment, property, and fundamentals such as physiological needs and the need for safety. Grief is further governed by both internal influences, such as your own personality, and external influences, such as the society/culture you live in and the societal norms regarding the grieving process. Despite the terrible loss you may have incurred, and all the sympathies to you, it is fundamental to understand that without coping, without managing the grief originating from your loss, additional detrimental consequences may result for yourself, and in turn, those you love that are still with you today.

The outcome of mismanaged grief and severe grief reactions can evolve into personal difficulties with relationships and result in questioning one’s own ideologies; further, by not trying to reorganize your life after a loss you put yourself at risk of stress-related illness. For some individuals, stress caused by grief can even drive them to suicide. Overall, it is key to simply “cope” – if it was a loved one who was lost, one can assume that the last thing they would want would be someone they cared about becoming ill on their accord.

The ill effects of poor grief management go beyond the individual. Grief brings the possibility of strain on relationships in and outside of the home. In various contexts, grief can place strain on parent-child relationship, marriages, and your ability to perform outside of the home to the best of your abilities at work, school, clubs etc.

There are numerous theories regarding grief, its precursors, and its progression from a normal phenomenon to a maladaptive condition. The most popular theory of the grieving process is the “grieving cycle,” proposed by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross – you probably have heard of the stages previously; they are Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression and Acceptance.

In order to insure the soundness of your own mental health and psychological well-being of those closest to you, grief management is extremely important. I know from personal experience that it is not easy to handle the passing of someone who had meant so much to you, but a deceased parent, spouse, sibling, or friend would never want you to grieve indefinitely because of their passing.

To find out more information on the topics around and directly related to grief management, try some of these key words in the search engine of your choice: grief, grief management, bereavement, complicated grief, and grief counselling.

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