As I said before, there is no time table for grief and you can stay in one stage for days/weeks and then move to a different stage and then you might even track back. All of this is healthy and ok. It’s hard to get to a healthy balance of grieving and living.

When grief is too intense or last too long it can cause prolonged problems as the sadness evolves into dark depression and anxiety disorders. Extreme reactions may include:

Feelings of panic and frenzy Emotional numbness that does not go away Going to extremes to avoid thinking of the loss ... more

You are trying to cope with the stress and largeness of your grief. You are taking things on a day to day basis – just trying to survive. Each of us has different ways to deal with our grief just as we each deal with grief differently. Recall how you have dealt with major loss in the past and use some of those techniques now. It is important to remember that some ways of coping are healthy and positive such as journaling, crying, etc while other methods of coping such as substance abuse are unhealthy and self destructive.

Some ways to cope –

Allow yourself to... more

Grief is a very personal process. There is no right or wrong way to grieve. You may be in one of the stages listed below for weeks and you may even move backwards. Also, experts differ over the number of stages. The important thing is to know that what you are feeling is normal and just give yourself time to heal.

Denial and Disbelief – These feelings temporarily protect you from the reality of your loss and what is going on in your life. You may not want to deal with the situation at hand and will push the feelings aside in order to avoid dealing with... more

Grieving and mourning are a natural and normal process that we all go through when a loss occurs in our lives. I think in the general society grief is associated with death, but it doesn’t necessarily always coincide with death. It can coincide with any major loss or change in our lives.

Placing a child for adoption is one of those life altering events that people grieve over. Birthmoms face grieving and mourning head on and personally speaking, a little of that occurred (at least for me) during my pregnancy and not just after my child was born, like I thought. The early... more

We all know about postpartum depression, but what about depression during pregnancy? In an article entitled "Not Always the Happiest Time," this week's edition of Newsweek magazine (April 24, 2006) addresses the issue of depression among expectant mothers. According to the article, doctors say that the incidence of depression is the same among pregnant women as it is in the general population (about 20 percent). However, depression during pregnancy is usually viewed with more disapproval than... more