A Guide to Grief

No matter how much emotional intelligence you may subscribe to yourself, or how many times you may or may not have experienced loss, grief is not something any of us can "handle" or "manage", even if we're just consoling a loved one on their loss. No one can tell you what your or your friend's grief will feel like, or what the grieving process will entail or how long it will be, or what the right thing is that can fix you or help you move on. What is universally true is that loss unleashes powerful emotions and feelings that are far outside our normal range of functioning. They will manifest themselves differently in each of us, and we'll all have different paths to take to get through our loss, but the enormity and otherness of the emotion remains the same. Whether you shut down completely, or you flounder in a sea of emotion where a river once ran, grief is uncharted territory for us all. We're not given a map or a 'get out of jail free' pass that takes us right to the finish line, but we can bring a guidebook along for the ride. If nothing else, it makes the journey less scary - or maybe it just gives us a place to start... http://www.squidoo.com/coping/ http://www.squidoo.com/groups/grief-and-loss-club (Note: apart from a-guide-to-grief lenses, you'll also find many tribute lenses dedicated to people lensmasters have lost. Squidoo also features specialist lenses devoted to a variety of sub-topics including helping children cope, and dealing with the loss of a pet. I encourage you to use these lenses as a starting point, and further explore the resources listed within them such as recommended books and videos, and suggestions for types of centres/helplines worth talking to.)