My own idea of grief

I had my own idea of GRIEF, before my personal experience of it. I thought it was the time of sadness that followed the death of someone you love. I believed you HAD to push through it to get to the other side.

After 4 years of GRIEVING my late husband's suicidal death, I'm learning there is NO OTHER SIDE. There is NO PUSHING THROUGH. There is adjustment to and acceptance of - your life changes. And GRIEF IS NOT SOMETHING you complete, but rather, you ENDURE.

GRIEF IS NOT a task to finish well and move on from. It is an element of yourself facing an alteration of every aspect of your being. It is experiencing a REDEFINING of self.