Beyond Grief: Navigating the Journey of Pregnancy and Baby Loss

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So, let’s return to the questions posed at the beginning of this article and see if we can answer them. Avoid cliches or platitudes. Though good intentioned, they can seem impersonal when helping someone through a loss. For me, the most common thing was being unable to sleep well. I couldn’t turn off my thoughts and worries. Lord, you know the hopes of the helpless. Surely you will hear their cries and comfort them. – Psalm 10:17 Since this journey to living beyond loss and grief is so personal, it also depends on how you choose to move through it.

Living Beyond Grief is an exploration of what a widow experiences as they move forward with their lives and how they can find hope and ignite a new spark of life. Regret and guilt may be among the emotions you feel. There may be things you wish you could have said or done. When my middle brother passed away suddenly from complications of pneumonia, I spent weeks wishing I could have told him one more time how much I loved him and say goodbye. Grief is universal, because love is universal. Where there is great love, there is great sorrow at the loss of that love. Journal. One of my favorite coping strategies is to write about what I’m feeling as I go through loss and grief. It helps me keep memories alive and to remember the good times, and the not so good, so I can process how I feel about each. If writing isn’t your thing, you might record your voice talking about that which you lost or make a video. Share any of those with others who may also be grieving—or don’t. It’s up to you. I will not say: Do not weep; For not all tears are evil. – J.R.R. Tolkein Missing a Loved One Quotes

The truth is, your guess is as good as mine as to how long grief lasts. In my experience, it depends on the extent of the loss and the significance of the relationship with what you lose. Grieving is like having broken ribs. On the outside, you look fine, but with every breath, it hurts. Only people who are capable of loving strongly can also suffer great sorrow, but this same necessity of loving serves to counteract their grief and heals them.

Having said that, one of the things that we know is that grief is tied to all sorts of different brain functions we have, from being able to recall memories to taking the perspective of another person, to even things like regulating our heart rate and the experience of pain and suffering. So lots of different parts of the brain are orchestrating this experience that we have when we feel grief. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross’s work that describes the five stages of grief, was intended to help us understand that grief is a process, but it is not a linear one. Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. – Isaiah 41:10In the United States, we have over one million new widows every year. We are professionals, business owners, doctors, lawyers, teachers, and parents. We are thrust into this life we never wanted with no instruction manual and are confused about how to reconstruct our lives. If you’re here as a friend of the bereaved, we commend you. Read on to deepen your understanding of what your friend may be going through. We hope you find inspiration for what to say. Whether you have lost a close family member or your spouse, or you have lost a beloved pet, grief follows. You may grieve over the loss of your marriage or the loss of your job. Moving and leaving a home you love may bring up sadness and fear—both symptoms of grief. Other Scriptures that talk about grief include Psalm 6:7, Psalm 31:9, Isaiah 53:3-4, Lamentations 3, Romans 12:15, Ecclesiastes 3:4, Ecclesiastes 7:2-4. How long does grief last? Lastly, ‘have we gone beyond ‘The Stages of Grief’ model and do the stages described, put unnecessary pressure on those grieving?’ — Perhaps, but I don’t think these questions can be answered definitively. David Kessler explained that “the five stages were never intended to be prescriptive” which brings me seamlessly to Kessler’s sixth stage — Meaning.

We were enjoying a Sunday afternoon. At that moment, I was a wife, a mother, a saleswoman, and a partner with my best friend in the whole world. After lunch, we went our separate ways. Little did I know that our goodbye kiss would be the last. Bring something. Food and flowers are always appreciated. Or some other items, like practical household necessities (does a grieving person shop for TP?) or a sympathy gift. When we lose someone we love, we can either die with them or live on to celebrate their life. I’m tired of focusing on what we lost. I want to focus on what we had. – Barbara Delinsky It’s hard to know what you can say or do when trying to comfort someone who is grieving. But often it is the simple offer of love and support that is the most important. What to say People touch our lives, and that means something. When they die, we can cherish the meaning they gave to us by mourning their passing and honoring their memory.This book will be a godsend to any woman going through the murky devastation that is called miscarriage but feels like something else entirely: the loss of a baby' Ariel Levy The peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. – Philippians 4:7