How do you grieve for someone you love?

Facing the loss of a loved one is a profound and often heartbreaking ordeal, a journey through the tumultuous ocean of human emotions. This experience, although painful, is universal and inevitable. It confronts us with our limits, our fragility, but also with our capacity for resilience. So how do we navigate our way through this maze of intense and sometimes contradictory feelings? How can we navigate the troubled waters of grief to finally reach the shore of acceptance and reconstruction?

When the news of the loss of a loved one reaches us, it hits us hard, leaving a devastating shock in its wake. We go through several states that can be distinguished with several stages.

Stages of grief:

In this first phase of mourning, shock and denial mix in a whirlwind of confusing emotions. It is difficult to accept the reality, to believe that this loved one is no longer with us. The heart refuses to accept what reason dictates to us, and we desperately cling to the hope of awakening from this nightmare.

Then comes the phase of anger, like an impetuous torrent surging over our bruised soul. We are prey to a feeling of injustice, looking for a scapegoat on whom to pour out our pain. Anger can be directed at the missing person, at ourselves for what we could have done differently, or even at the entire world for so cruelly taking this loved one from us.

The bargaining phase is, for its part, more spiritual. We will try to find alternatives to bring the person back, for example by turning to spirituality or a higher power.

This phase is linked to the realization of one's helplessness, but the hope of a turnaround is still present. This is essentially an illusion phase. We are vulnerable during this period, membership in sectarian groups happens more often than we think.

Sadness, like a gigantic wave, then comes to overwhelm us, carrying us into the abyssal depths of pain. It is an unspeakable pain, a heartbreaking sorrow that never seems to fade away. We feel alone, lost in the immensity of our pain, and sometimes it seems as if time itself has frozen in this baleful embrace.

Yet, in the midst of this darkness, a glimmer of hope begins to emerge.

Slowly, but surely, we are moving towards the acceptance phase.

We realize that loss has become an integral part of our reality, that we must accept it in order to move forward. This acceptance does not mean the forgetting or disappearance of pain, but rather an integration of it into our entire being.

The path to grief is not linear, it is strewn with pitfalls and relapses. It is important to give ourselves the time we need to cry, to express our deepest emotions, and to seek comfort from loved ones or a mental health professional. Each individual grieves in their own way, at their own pace, and it is essential to respect this unique and personal process.

So, despite the storm that rages within us, let us remember that we are not alone. We can find comfort in the support of our loved ones, in the kindness of a professional, or even in the precious memories we have of our deceased loved one. And although the road is long, we will eventually find peace of mind, where the pain will turn into bittersweet memories, and we can finally begin to rebuild our lives.

So today I would like to remind you that you are not alone. You can take time for yourself and all your suffering. Or at least try?

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I am a passionate psychopractitioner and I support you in individual sessions in Besançon in the office (25) or by video no matter where you are on the planet.

🌄 We each have our own stories and their share of difficulties that go with it. Sometimes it becomes heavy to carry alone. My mission is to help you understand your discomfort whatever it may be and reduce it until perhaps making it disappear completely.

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