Myths & Misconceptions of Grief & Loss {Part 2}

In yesterday's post, I introduced the idea of myths & misconceptions of grief and loss. Today I will address a few more myths & misconceptions.

•         The goal of grief is to let go and move on with life: When you lose something, you can feel like you’ve lost a part of yourself too. This part of you may not be regained. Life will always be different, and a “new normal” develops. Again, life can have laughter and joy again, but it doesn’t go back to the way things were before the loss happened.
•         When someone dies, grief is only felt by those closest to the person: ABSOLUTELY not true! Although it can be hard to understand, when there’s any emotional attachment to a person, even if you only met them a few times, grief can be felt. The loss of one person can also trigger you back to experiences of grief previously. There can be confusion if, for example, we hear of a death on the news of someone we've never met, and yet feel sadness or cry. This is normal and ok. Don't beat yourself up about it! 
•      Children don't experience grief very deeply: Children may not understand in the way that adults understand or process events, but a loss can be incredibly overwhelming and confusing for a child. Make sure to talk about it, explain, and normalize different feelings for them. A child may need to grieve the loss of someone (i.e. a brother's death) at many different stages and times in life (graduation, marriage, when they become a parent, etc...). 

       Did you experience a loss of any kind as a child? If so, what did it feel like, & how did you deal with it?