I’m Grieving a Loss

Leaf Branch 3Your unique grief will depend, in part, on your relationship with the person who died.

The stronger your attachment to the person who died, the more difficult your grief journey will likely be. It only makes sense that the closer you felt to the person who died, the more torn apart you will feel after the death.

Ambivalent relationships can also cause complicated grief. You may feel a strong sense of “unfinished business”—things you wanted to say but never did, or conflicts you wanted to resolve but couldn’t or didn’t.

“In life, everyone grieves. But their grief journeys are never the same. Despite what you may hear, you will do the work of mourning in your own special way. Be careful about comparing your experience with that of other people.

“Also, do not adopt assumptions about how long your grief should last. Just consider taking a ‘one-day-at-a-time’ approach. Doing so allows you to mourn at your own pace.” — Dr. Alan Wolfelt