Why Do We Grieve?
A Brief Excerpt from UNDERSTANDING GRIEF
The following excerpt is from part of my UNDERSTANDING Series. In each volume, I endeavor to explain the topic in ways that are both accessible and applicable. Grief was no exception, and it all boiled down to a very simple truth: We grieve so that we can move from denial to acceptance. It’s possibly the most important thing you can do when undergoing loss of any kind. Accepting loss is also what allows you to honor the loss and the role the person (or object) once played in your life.
Why Do We Grieve? (An excerpt from Understanding Grief)
We grieve because our minds and bodies need to express the emotion behind loss. That is the simplest answer, but it’s actually more than that. The bigger picture includes an aspect of needing to make sense of something that we possibly don’t want to—or aren’t ready and willing to—accept.
The grieving period gives us time to shift from denial to acceptance.
Grief is a common experience. We all understand it, even if we understand it differently in its nuances and expressions. Sometimes, we can know when someone else is experiencing grief just by looking at them. This is because we know grief, as individuals and as a species. We also know grief enough to apply it to other species as well.
Wildlife researchers have identified elephant grieving behaviors such as: holding vigil, touching, making noise, and showing reverence. When we watch elephants in videos, we can relate to their grief at the loss of a member of the pack. Or when we see dogs lie on their owner’s grave, we know this is a sign of grieving. We may be anthropomorphizing the animal, but we do so because we know grief when we see it, even across species.
If you’re interested in reading more, check out my UNDERSTANDING series here. If you want to support local bookstores, my books are also on Bookshop and Barnes & Noble.
