Understanding Grief and Loss
Losing someone or something we hold dear can be an incredibly challenging experience. Whether it’s the passing of a loved one, the end of a relationship, the loss of a job, or the loss of a cherished possession, the feelings of grief and sadness that accompany such events can be overwhelming. Grief is something we all face, but don’t often talk about (Jakoby, 2014). Although grief can be difficult to understand, it is important to know that grief is a normal developmental process that humans go through when faced with either traumatic loss (e.g. a death), ambiguous loss (e.g. entering a new phase of life such as starting university /a new job, or immigrating to a new country), or symbolic loss (e.g. loss of a dream or goal) (Testoni et al., 2020).