We usually associate grief and sadness with the death of a person we loved but any kind of big change or serious loss, can cause a kind of grieving process.

The Coping with living loss diagram can help you to understand how people react and re-adjust to living loss.

The diagram explores 3 stages:

Stage 1: Experience the loss

Examples of living loss:

  • divorce or separation
  • retirement
  • redundancy
  • selling house
  • diagnosis of ill health
  • the end of a dream to have kids

Stage 2: Grieve for the loss

Feel pain through grief and work through the loss

Accept the reality of the loss.

Start to adapt to life as it is now.

Stage 3: Start to move forward and make new dreams and goals

Put energies into new plans and create a different ‘vision’ of your future.