Grief Support

When going through the grieving process, there are many resources available from friends, family, churches, community groups and so on. These are all great options and it is highly encouraged that you seek these available resources as needed. With today's technology, the Internet has also become a vast wealth of information that can be very beneficial.

Websites

• Susquehanna Health Bereavement Support
• The Recovery Village - Grief and Substance Abuse
• www.centerforloss.com - Dr. Alan D. Wolfelt
• www.grief.com - Elisabeth Kübler-Ross & David Kessler
• www.griefshare.com - Search for support groups in your area

Grief Symptoms

Physical: - pain, sleeping disorders, poor appetite, shakiness, migraines/headaches, dizziness, crying, shortness of breath and exhaustion

Emotional: - anxiety, fear, guilts, sadness, confusion, shock, withdrawing from others and mood swings

Five stages of grief

• Stage 1 - Denial

- ex) "This isn't really happening to me"

• Stage 2 - Anger

- ex) "This isn't fair....someone is to blame"

• Stage 3 - Bargaining

- ex) "Please just let it go away until after the holidays"

• Stage 4 - Depression

-ex) "What's the point of doing anything? I give up.

• Stage 5 - Acceptance

-ex) "I will be ok. I'm going to make it"

• One thing important to understand is there is no set timeframe for the 5 stages of grief. We all respond differently to death and some spend longer times in each stage than others. Also, it is possible to experience these stages in a different order or skip over some stages. For instance, you may go right to a sense of anger and never feel any denial. This all depends on the person and how their normal, grief reaction occurs.