Appropriate Expectations of Healthy Grieving
Grief takes longer than most people think
There is no right or wrong way to grieve
Grief involves many changes and will continuously develop
Healthy grieving requires you to express and process your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors through talking, writing, composing, and creating
Healthy grieving holds the potential for personal growth; pain is transformational
Healthy grieving is not about forgetting, but remembering and forming a new relationship
Expect to grieve losses symbiotic, tangible, past and future; grief will threaten your sense of security, hope, independence, and control
Loss will resurrect unsettled issues, feelings, and unresolved conflicts from the past
Grief may cause you to experience a lack of self-concern
Grief bursts may be common – acute upsurges of emotional pain that occur without warning
Certain days of the week or month, anniversaries, special events, or holidays can bring upsurges of grief
Society will have unrealistic expectations about your grief journey and may respond inappropriately to you and your loss
Often the people we think will help us don’t, and those who are helpful seem to come from nowhere
Future losses may resurrect past losses causing more powerful than expected emotional pain, and a temporary upsurge of grief
People are fundamentally resilient; you can and will survive
Adapted from Judith Skretny, M.A. and from How to Go on Living When Someone You Love Dies by Therese A. Rando, Ph. D. Edited by Karl J Shackelford for We Grieve.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” column_margin=”default” column_direction=”default” column_direction_tablet=”default” column_direction_phone=”default” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” row_border_radius=”none” row_border_radius_applies=”bg” overlay_strength=”0.3″ gradient_direction=”left_to_right” shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_tablet=”inherit” column_padding_phone=”inherit” column_padding_position=”all” centered_text=”true” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” column_link_target=”_self” gradient_direction=”left_to_right” overlay_strength=”0.3″ width=”1/1″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid” bg_image_animation=”none”][nectar_btn size=”jumbo” open_new_tab=”true” button_style=”regular” button_color_2=”Accent-Color” icon_family=”none” text=”Download Article” url=”/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/WG-Info-Appropriate-Expectations-of-Healthy-Grieving.pdf” css_animation=”pulse”][/vc_column][/vc_row]
