During your time on Earth, you'll experience grief on a number of occasions and for a variety of reasons.

Depending on the cause of the grief and whether you expected it, this suffering will at times be accute ... at others, less so.

So, let's learn a little about grief … what it is, the emotions it causes, and how to cope and overcome it.

What is grief?

Grief is the emotional suffering you experience when you lose something or someone you cherish.

Loss of anything you love causes pain, not just the death of a loved one.

For example, you'll experience grief if you:

- lose a friend - get divorced or separated from a partner - lose a job - are forced to relinquish a certain lifestyle

Greater and Lesser Degrees of Grief.

Whilst you'll grieve to a certain amount when you leave home, move from a job you particularly like, or part from a group of friends you're fond of, the most intense grieving is likely to occur with the death of a loved one.

The less warning you have about the loss, and the more sudden its occurrence, the harder you'll find it to cope with.

When elderly parents or grandparents pass on after a long bout of illness or failing health, you will have time to mentally prepare yourself for the inevitable.

Also, when an elderly person dies, it's recognized that they've perhaps had their allotted time on Earth.

Even then, the grief experienced can be terrific.

But, it is even more difficult to accept and cope with the sudden and unexpected loss of a young, healthy person ...

The sudden death, at a young age, of your beloved partner, when you'd envisaged a life-time together.

Or the unexpected loss of your young child.

Stages of Grief

Renowned pschiatrist Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, when studying terminally-ill patients, recognized there were five stages of grief:

- Denial - Anger - Bargaining - Depression - Acceptance

How To Deal With Grief

First of all, you need to share your loss with family, friends, and other people generally.

Grief is not a burden you should bear alone.

You may feel the need of grief counseling, or wish to attend a local grief support group.

But do face up to your feelings, for grief is something that cannot and should not be suppressed and hidden away for ever.

For,in order for healing to take place, you have to first recognize the pain you feel, and work your way through it.

It's important, at this time, to take care of your physical health, eating properly, and getting enough sleep. Don't use alcohol or drugs to artificially dull your pain, or lift your mood.

You may find reading poetry helps heal your loss, or making a memory book of the loved one - to be enjoyed not just by yourself, but others who also miss the deceased.

Although it will often feel to you that the sadness will never end, getting through grief in a healthy way will eventually make you a richer, stronger person.