Grief and loss

• Grief is normal and essential.
• Grief is a unique experience for each person.

A meaningful analogy is to compare grief to storms. Storms are an integral part of life. Each storm is different and can vary in intensity from the devastation of violent winter or tropical storms to the gentle showers of spring.

Some of the stages of grief include:

• denial
• recognition
• realisation of losses
• slow painful readjustment

Speaking with a counsellor can give you some practical ways to cope and to begin rebuilding your life.

Unresolved grief is recognised as a forerunner of a wide range of mental and physical disorders. Miss Haversham in “Great Expectations” (Charles Dickens) is an example of someone who was unable to achieve any of these stages.