Understanding Grief

Statistics Related to Grief

• On average, five grieving people are left behind each person from 2.5 million people that die in the United States annually.
• Till age 15 at least 1.5 million children in the US (5% of children) lose their parents to death.
• 10 to 20% of the grievers are affected by complicated grief.

Grief: Causes

Common causes of grief include.

• A loved one's death. The most common cause of grief is a loved one's death. For instance, losing someone you were extremely close to, can lead to feelings of grief.
• Losing someone to suicide. Losing a person close to you to suicide is more difficult to process. Thus, it is a very good reason for grief, challenging and complicated to deal with.
• Getting through divorce. Divorce is another common cause of grieving. As a result, this complex change brings difficulty in coping with the emotions of grief.
• Losing a job. The life-changing event of losing a job can also be devastating. Also, this grief usually reflects upon lacking financial stability and a lost personal identity.
• Financial crisis. Grief caused by personal financial issues including the declining value of ones assets, and the lose of a significant amount of personal wealth can be debilitating
• Pet's death. Pets are no less than family members and losing them is difficult. Likewise, grieving their loss can be long-lasting grief striking.

Grief: Signs and Symptoms

Intensified grief has very intense symptoms. Some signs and symptoms are,

• Behavioral and vocal expression of obsession with the person who departed
• Sadness: deep, never-ending, and unbearable
• Being pessimistic about the end of life
• Increased Irritability causes difficulty in communication.
• Experiencing insomnia or other sleeping issues
• No interest in grooming self and one's appearance
• Getting secluded at home
• Continuously being bitter and angry with the world

Grief: Treatment and Recovery

Complicated grief disorder can be the reason to alter your life for the worst. Thus, it creates a condition that's painful and complicated. Various mental health professionals can walk you through the recovery of this evolved grief. Some treatments for grief are:

• Extensive therapy: Individual, Family, and Groups. Through therapy, an individual can process the grief and gradually start to recover. For grief to be worked with in a compassionate environment, group therapies are conducted. Family therapy helps you connect with the people you distanced yourself from. The one's there to support and love you unconditionally
• Co-occurring Disorders: Treatment Services. Sometimes people coping with grief develop PTSD and depression. Thus treatment of these co-occurring disorders is important to recover. There are a variety of treatment centers that specialize in grief recovery also.
• Proper Management of Medication. Medication management is necessary for people suffering from co-occurring disorders like depression and PTSD.
• Mind-body Therapies: Holistic. Practicing art and music therapy, massage therapy, yoga, acupuncture, meditation, biofeedback, etc., is included in holistic mind-body therapies.
• The Grief Recovery Method. The Grief Recovery Method is a proven action plan using The Grief Recovery Handbook which has helped thousands of people suffering from various forms of intense grief including death, divorce, health, career, family and finance among others.

Continued Care and Aftercare

Necessary support to people suffering from grief is important. It helps to make them feel loved and cared for. There are short and long-term Grief Aftercare options including grief recovery groups, therapy, counseling and more.