How to cope with the loss of a loved one (Video)

There are a number of ways to cope with the loss of a loved one. Many people experience a normal reaction of grief due to the loss of someone they love, a pet, or something important to them.

Grief typically occurs as a reaction to death, a job loss, divorce, a move away from friends and family, or poor health.

Here is some advice about healthy ways to grieve:

• Avoid making key decisions too soon after your loss.
• It is absolutely acceptable to cry, feel numb, or get angry.
• Recognize the emotions you’re feeling.
• Talk about what you’re going through and how you’re feeling with loved ones.
• Ask for help.
• Resume your daily routines as quickly as possible.
• Eat a nutritious and healthy diet.
• Do not turn to alcohol.
• Get plenty of sleep.
• Get plenty of exercise.

The Grieving Process

Newtown residents hold candles at a memorial for victims of the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.

Photo credit: 

Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images

Grieving is a normal process of reacting to a loss. Your reaction may be emotional, social, physical, or mental. The physical reactions one might experience may include loss of appetite, sleeping irregularities, or illness. Mental reactions might include anger, sadness, despair, anxiety, or guilt.

Friends, family, and faith may offer you support while you are going through the grieving process. Grief counseling is also available to many.

Grief is a natural part of life.

How long you may have feelings of grief depends on how close you were and whether the loss was expected. It lasts as long as you learn to live with your loss and accept it. Some people go through the grieving process for months, whereas others might have feelings of grief for years.

Four-step Grieving Process

Here is a four-step grieving process every person goes through when he or she experiences a death or other loss:

1. Accept the loss.
2. Work through and feel the physical and emotional pain of grief.
3. Adjust to living in a world without the person or item lost.
4. Move on with life.

When a person completes these steps, the grieving process is over. Ask for help if the feeling persists with no lifting mood.

Please remember, you are not alone. Ask for help--talk to someone.

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