Grief is one of the most difficult feelings to deal with. But there is an important day to raise awareness of grief, loss, and discuss ways to cope with them. It’s called National Grief Awareness Day, celebrated on August 30.
History
Grief involves all of the emotions around losing someone or something that is important. But we understand it differently in modern times. National Grief Awareness Day was established by Angie Cartwright in 2014. Due to the commonness of death and grief, grief was badly researched and treated until the 1900s.
In 1917, Sigmund Freud wrote that “grieving is a natural process that should not be tampered with.” This emphasized the fact that grieving was a part of life that didn’t need any special attention. Throughout the century, people became more interested in grief and its stages. Elizabeth Kübler-Ross wrote her book, “On Death and Dying,” which explained the Five Stages of Grief – denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Simon Shimshon Rubin, Ph.D. established the Two Track Model of Bereavement, which delved deep into the grieving process.
As time passed, people came to understand grief a whole lot more. From 1996 to 2006, psychologists took grief seriously and questioned its simplicity. Complicated grief was established in 2007, and Prolonged Grief Disorder was added to the American Psychiatric Association’s “Diagnostic Handbook” in 2022.
Coping with Grief and Loss
I have experienced grief many times, like when my grandfather, grandmother, and a special neighbor passed away. When my grandfather died, it practically took me a whole year to come to terms with it because I was very close to him. One thing I learned was that dealing with the loss of someone you love is very hard, but coming to terms with it doesn’t occur overnight. Doing it takes time, and depending on how important a person is to you reflects on how long you grieve them.
Grief doesn’t always involve losing someone. It can also happen when it comes to life transitions, identity change, and trauma, regardless of how big it is.
There are plenty of ways to cope with loss and grief. When someone you love passes away, you can remind people that they can be happy by doing the things they love, including the things they did with a special person.
Other ways of coping with loss and grief include taking part in therapy and support groups, being gentle with yourself, and asking for help from people you love. You can also express your feelings through hobbies, writing or art, and come up with methods of processing your feelings and honoring the people you’ve lost. Simply put, you’re never alone.
Coming to terms with grief and loss is difficult, but it’s also very important to learn about. In other words, this is why National Grief Awareness Day shouldn’t go unnoticed.