Natural part of human experience…though painful and disruptive.

Not just a feeling, but an experience. 

A process, not event.

Experienced in a social and cultural context

Affects us holistically (PEMS).

Grief has no timetable & is not linear/more like spiral.

NOT something we “recover” from but integrate and learn to live with in a healthy way.

A major loss tends to resurrect old losses]

Grief is unique to each person and each loss – but there are some universal truths:

• Grief is a natural part of the human experience – though it is painful and disruptive.
• Grief is not just a feeling, but an experience.
• Grief is a process, not an event – the loss is the event, and grief is what arises as a result of the loss.
• Grief affects us holistically – physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually/socially.
• Grief has no timetable and is not linear – it’s more like a spiral where we revisit the experience of loss from different perspectives and points of time in our lives. 
• Grief is NOT something for which we attain closure – recover – get over – but instead, we integrate the loss and learn to live with grief in a healthy way
• A major loss tends to resurrect the thoughts, feelings, and memories of former losses for the mourner

Next, let’s talk about the reasons that grief is unique to each person and each loss.