Dealing with Grief in a Healthy Way
Content Courtesy of the Forever Young Podcast with Christiana Egi and Cherrie-Marie Chiu.
Every one of us may experience grief at some point in our lives. However, how we handle the process of grief and our response to it is very critical to our well-being. In our most recent Forever Young Podcast, Christiana Egi and Cherrie Marie Chiu shared the topic of grief and how to process and handle grief. Listen to the full podcast episode below or read on to find out more.
While grief is not necessarily a topic we all may want to discuss or dwell on, it is important to talk about. We all deal with grief in different ways. Some may choose to be silent, some may isolate, and some may need to cry and allow themselves to be sad. We all react and process grief differently, even family members dealing with the loss of the same loved one may process their loss in different ways - which is completely okay.
So what is grief? Grief is a natural reaction to loss. It is a strong, sometimes overwhelming emotional, mental, behavioral, and spiritual reaction to loss. Grief is a process and not just a singular occurrence. Grief can be in many forms which can be the loss of a friend or loved one, the ending of a relationship, the loss of a job, or even the loss of independence. They could even result from major disruptions such as pandemics, natural disasters, and accidents. A lot of events may lead us to grief in our lives.
Do you know that the Stages of Grief actually were meant for the person that is dying, and not for the people that are mourning? However, you may also go through the stages of grief when dealing with the loss of a loved one, such as anger and denial. No part of grief is easy but after all, it is all a process.
Psychiatrist Elizabeth Kubler Ross identified five stages of grief. Over time, the stages of grief have gone into seven stages. The first stage of grief would be shocked. Then there is denial. Following that, there is anger. After that would be bargaining, and then depression. Then after that, there is acceptance, and then processing our grief is the seventh stage of grief.
The pandemic has brought a sense of universal grief. The pandemic has also led to a mental health crisis that people are also dealing with, and many in silence. We all remember the shock of going into the pandemic a couple of years ago and what our lives became. You may have felt a sense of unacceptance toward the reality of your situation, or find it hard to come to terms with it. I think many of us felt the anger and resentment towards the effects COVID-19 has had on our livelihood. Having to live through it meant huge changes to our daily lives. We all seem more overwhelmed. In recent times, we are dealing with massive shootings in the US, which brings us a lot of grief to witness from near or afar.
Grieving is a normal process we all must go through. However, prolonged grief, which is if you are unable to cope with your emotions for over 6 months, it may be time for you to seek help. Prolonged grief is now considered a diagnosable mental health condition by the American Psychiatric Association.
How we cope with grief is very individualized. There are several different factors that can affect us. Some people may withdraw, some may seek out more people because they want to be amongst people, some may bury themselves in work.
There's also a subgroup of grief called anticipatory grief. This may be where you are dealing with a terminal illness or condition like ALS or dealing with being in an accident where your prognosis is poor. While this type of grief allows you the time to process your diagnosis, it also brings a lot of pain to deal with the anticipated death of oneself or a loved one. It may bring us peace, however, of that day which is to come which may help us come to terms with what we are dealing with.
There is also another type of grief called disenfranchised grief. This type of grief is one where a person cannot openly show their grief because of societal expectations. While this may not seem prevalent today, grief is also a cultural experience and different cultures may deal with the process of grief in different ways.
Grief can also impact us physically. There is a shock within our bodies and not just our minds. When you are grieving, you may feel the heaviness within your chest and in your body. Shortness of breath, fatigue, headaches, nausea, and losing weight may all be symptoms related to grief. Grief also has a huge impact on our mental health and affects us at different levels. If you feel you may be going through prolonged grief or you cannot do it all by yourself, reach out for professional help.
We wish those who are grieving right now our strength, comfort, and the peace that passes all understanding. If your grief is from the death of a loved one, please keep those memories alive. While the pain may not go away, these memories can bring laughter and joy and can ultimately give you the strength to carry on.
If your grief is from a broken relationship, do your best to move on. Don't hold onto your past which only makes it harder to see your future clearly. Seek help from friends and loved ones, ask God for a solution, and seek healing in order to move on from this period of grief to acceptance and happiness for yourself!
At the start of the episode, we talked a lot about how we feel and how each person deals with their own grief, and symptoms that you can have mentally, physically, and how to cope. No one can tell you how to cope, you cope in your own way.
Deal with your grief in stride and don't get consumed in your grief. Look for ways to cope and see what helps you. If you cannot do it by yourself, seek professional help. Finding ways to process your grief and deal with it will allow it to not take over your life. The Forever Young podcast is about staying forever young and grief is not going to help you in staying forever young. Let's stay positive as much as possible because there's always something to be grateful for.
The Forever Young podcast is created and produced by Christiana Egi and Cherrie Marie Chiu. Produced and engineered by Elisse Hill. The podcast represents our opinions and those of our guests. The content should not be taken as medical advice. It is for informational purposes only. Please consult your health care professional for any medical questions. If you like our show, please tell your friends and leave a five-star review on Apple Podcasts. New episodes are available every other Wednesday. Have questions? Email us at ourforeveryoungpodcast@gmail.com.
