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Grief and the importance of psychological support

The personality of people is defined by their interpersonal relationships. The interruption of an important relationship leads to a situation that is called grief. Consequently, grief is a natural reaction to loss. As a matter of fact, we grieve about the loss of a beloved person and the interruption of an important relationship. With other words: the bigger the lost, the bigger the grief.

Grief includes a wide range of emotions such as sorrow, anger, fear, desperation, feeling of guilt and more. It is important to realize that every human undergoes a loss with different emotions and reactions. According to the psychiatrist Dr. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross we meet five stages of grief in case of bereavement. These are human reactions which are activated by the mental pain caused by grief. However, this does not mean that everybody will go through all of them in sequence or that he/she has to undergo every stage in order to overcome the grief.

Let us have a closer look on them:

  • Denial. In this stage the mourner refuses to accept the fact, which helps him/her to allay the intensity of the loss.
  • Anger. Anger can turn the mourner against family and friends but also against God.
  • Bargaining. This stage includes persistent thoughts about what could have gone differently. Those thoughts very often lead to guilty feelings of the person, who believes that he/she could have acted in a different way.
  • Depression. This stage occurs as soon as the person realizes the extent of the loss. The person secludes him/herself from daily routines, does not eat, has sleep problems (insomnia, hypersomnia), has memory and concentration problems, etc.
  • Acceptance. The person accepts the new situation and learns to live with it.

We can observe a switching of the stages in which the person shows sudden changes of mood and mixed emotions. These stages are not meant to be a fixed procedure for everyone who mourns and it is better not to ask yourself in which stage you are currently or if you mourn in a “correct” way.

Even though there is no way to avoid these unpleasant emotions it is possible to manage them:

  • Externalize your thoughts and your emotions. Speak about your feelings to your social environment. If you are not comfortable speaking to a friend, you can visit a specialist.
  • Take care of yourself. If you try to manage your grief, it is important that you are mentally and physically healthy. In order to overcome your grief, we recommend exercise, sleep and healthy nutrition.
  • Ask for help. If you are not able to manage the situation alone and refuse to trust a friend or a specialist, it is important to find help elsewhere. Explain your real needs and accept help from a third person.

It is important to understand that if grief does not gain the necessary attention and remains unexpressed and unprocessed it can cause permanent consequences such as depressions, stress, physical disorders, insomnia, etc.

In this difficult period, we must give ourselves the necessary time to process the new situation and also the time to express the unpleasant feelings. It is very important to pay increased attention to self-care and to ask for help either from a familiar person or from a specialist.

Grief and Children

Often, children are more familiar with death than we believe. Death is present in fairytales, in games and in their everyday life. However, the way of management is different and depends from many factors. Apart from the age, important is the mental and emotional situation of the child, his/her personality, the social environment and his/her personal experience with death. At this point we must emphasize that children express their grief more with actions than with words and for this reason it is difficult for them to ask for help. So, do not hesitate to ask for support and advice in order to help your child manage this difficult situation. A discussion with a specialist of mental health could help your child and the family in general adapt to the new situation.

Anna Zafeiraki, Psychologist
Email: [email protected]
Phone: +30 6982461405

The Funeral Home has experienced staff to support the clients psychological

If you need any further help, do not hesitate to contact us by phone 28310 25825 or just visit us in our premises.

Services of psychological support

Lorina Gkarani, Specialized educator and Partners
Email: [email protected]
Phone: +30 6982726654, +30 2831401289