Grief Counseling Education: Grief Has a Purpose
Is there anything good about grief? Grief is far from a pathological condition but is a natural reaction to loss. While intense and painful it serves various functions. When looking at grief, one cannot dismiss it, rush it, or ignore it but must embrace it and allow the natural psychological reactions to take place.
The loss of someone or something forever effects someone, but the time of adjustment or
adaptation is a transitional period where the emotion of grief serves a purpose. Grief enables the person to express his or her feelings but also allows one to express it to others. This social purpose of sadness alerts others of one’s emotional situation. It cries for help and assistance. Furthermore, although grief weakens one to the surrounding, it does present moments of osciallation where the grief subsides temporarily for the body to recover. If grief was a constant strain, it would wreak havoc upon the person emotionally but since it is a natural reaction it does not seek to harm but gradually helps one to adapt.
So while far from enjoyable, grief does actually help people. It is even more beneficial when you begin to apply it beyond the realms of science and see spiritual merit. For this reason, most people who are religious generally develop better coping skills with loss because they can utilize grief as a spiritual cross that leads to victory.
If you are interested in Grief Counseling Education, please review the program.
Mark Moran, GC-C, SCC-C