The challenging change – loss

Losses can be many and varied over a lifetime. The importance or your attachment to the loss often determines how challenging the change of loss will be. When we experience loss we find ourselves moving through the process of grief. Elizabeth Kubler-Ross outlined the stages as; denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. No two people will experience grief in exactly the same way, nor may they experience the stages exactly the same. Worden (1991) outlined four tasks of mourning; accepting reality of loss, working through the pain of grief, adjusting to change, and the emotional shift to moving on in life.  We all have our own ways of dealing with this challenging process.

After five major deaths in eighteen months, then the adjustment of other losses, such as empty nest, relocation, letting go of furniture, place and job/career, sharonmcl initially felt overwhelmed and numb. When the sixth major death occurred, she found denial, anger and sadness fairly quickly. Sharonmcl then found herself being overly organised, and taking on the role of the one that had it all together.

It was only in retrospect and studying counselling in loss, that she realised how much she had dealt with. Meditation, Yoga, connecting with angels/guides and energy work were all effective tools to assist in this challenge time. However, understanding the process of grief was a further enlightenment. Sharonmcl offers all that she has learnt in any coaching or connecting session.