What is Grief?

Losing something or someone in your life is shown to be one of the most difficult events a person can experience. There are many emotions that may come on all at once, which can be extremely overwhelming. Grieving is a way to cope with the loss of something or someone you loved. 

Grief is different for everyone, and everyone has their own method of coping with it. Whatever your loss, don’t feel ashamed of the way you react. It is normal and healthy to grieve. Although it may take time, there are healthy ways to cope with the pain and eventually move on with your life.

What Are the Types of Grief?

There are three main types of grief: 

• Anticipatory Grief
• Disenfranchised Grief
• Complicated Grief

Let’s look into each of these a little more in-depth.

Anticipatory Grief

Anticipatory Grief is when a person develops grief before the loss, instead of after. A common example of this is when someone knows someone terminally ill. 

Disenfranchised Grief

Disenfranchised Grief occurs when an individual’s loss is devalued or not taken seriously. Some common examples are if a miscarriage occurs or if a loved one is lost to suicide.

Complicated Grief

Complicated grief occurs when a person’s pain doesn’t diminish completely over time, although it’s healthy for it to slowly lessen. 

What Are the Stages of Grief?

There are five stages of grief that an individual must go through to process their emotions. 

Denial 

This stage occurs when an individual finds out about the negative news. Often, a person is feeling intense, overwhelming emotions and they may not be able to process or believe what happened. Denial is usually a defense mechanism that protects you from pain or gives you more time to process the information. 

Anger

This stage masks the emotions and pain an individual is feeling and replaces them with anger. This may be redirected towards other people, or even objects. Not everyone enters this stage, as everyone grieves differently.

Bargaining

This stage occurs when you feel the most vulnerable and helpless. You may try to find ways to regain control or create situations in your head along the narratives of “what if…” or “if only…”

Depression

During this stage, you are most likely to isolate yourself from others so that you can cope with the loss. Depression can feel overwhelming and you may feel confused. If you are not able to move past this stage, you can seek mental help.

Acceptance

This stage is when the person has accepted the loss and started to create a narrative as to why the event may have happened. You may feel like a different person as this is a major change in your life. Acceptance may not lead to happiness, but that’s okay.

What Are Some of the Treatments for Grief?

Grief is something that is difficult for everyone. Even though you may feel isolated and misunderstood, it is very important to know that you do not have to do this alone. Allow yourself to be vulnerable with the people you love. Seek help if you feel like you need it. Take care of yourself emotionally and physically. Here are some potential option to help:

Maintain Hobbies and Interests

While grieving, you may lose interest in the things you loved doing before the loss. To help maintain your sense of self, it’s important to start them back up when you get a chance.  Maintaining your hobbies and interests will also help you keep yourself distracted and can also be a coping mechanism.

Face Your Feelings

It is important to understand how you are feeling in order to get better. Being in denial will only prolong the grieving period, so being able to understand how you are feeling and giving yourself time to heal with help in the long run.

Express Yourself in a Creative Way

Coping with grief can be extremely difficult for many. It is important that you find a healthy outlet that will help you cope. Simple hobbies that may help are journaling, scrapbooking, meditation, yoga, etc.

Can Better U Help With Your Grieving Process?

If you feel like you have tried everything to help with your grief and nothing seems to work, reach out to a healthcare professional and see if they can help. Psychedelic medications like ketamine may have the potential to offer relief from painful grieving. 

Ketamine is a medication that may be able to help treat patients with severe mental illnesses and physical issues. This medication was recently approved by the FDA in 2019, but has shown promising results since then. Some forms of ketamine that patients can use are nasal sprays, a shot in the arm, and lozenges.

Here at Better U, we believe that we can improve your mental health through our program with psychedelic therapy. We want all of our clients to feel safe and comfortable when taking this medication. We want this journey to be all about you! All that you would need to do is take our online survey, talk to our licensed clinicians, and then you will be sent the medication directly to your home.

We are here to help you through your journey with Better U!

‍