For healthy healing: what types of loss can cause grief?

Our ability to deal and overcome the losses we experience relies greatly on our willingness to tolerate and accept grief. As most of us were raised in a culture of emotional neglect, grief tends to be ignored, repressed or even strongly dismissed depending on the context from which arises. As grieving is a biological healing process with might result from any type of loss, the deeper our understanding of what is meant by “loss”, the better our awareness of our need to grieve. To help you expand your knowledge on the meaning of loss and connect with your grief in a healthier way, here are 17 types loss that can cause grief beyond the stereotype:

• Moving to a new house/flat, city or country
• Losing body parts, be it due to accident or surgery for health reasons
• End of loving relationships of any kind
• End of friendships
• Death of family members, loved ones, pets, colleagues, neighbours and/or acquaintances
• Loss of material goods which have impact on quality of life
• Loss of power to make decisions or sense of empowerment and autonomy
• Change in professional situation, such as promotion, demotion or retirement
• Being fired or made redundant
• Realisation of lack or even inexistent sources of emotional, financial and/or social support
• Loss of self-esteem, be it through traumatic events (abuse, neglect) or significant change in life circumstances (academic, professional and/or social/relational)
• Loss of identity, be it through psychological, emotional and/or physical changes
• Loss of money or change in financial situation
• Realisation of traumatic events and their effects
• Cutting contact with family members or significant others
• Radical change in life routine, such as the ones experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic
• Change in health, as through chronic illness diagnoses, for instance

Because true healing from losses such as the ones mentioned above tend not to materialise without conscious and healthy grieving, changing the way you view and experience grief is a key element to processing it fully and wholeheartedly. Even when those around you are not able to understand your need to grieve, grant yourself the right to grieve. Trust your body as your wisest guide to connect with painful feelings such as anger, shame, guilt and sadness and embrace them autonomously and without judgement.