How To Support A Friend Who Is Grieving -

Grief. There are so many stages of grief, and there is grief for so many reasons, that it only goes to conclude, that there is no one way to grieve. If the last statement holds true, then there is no one way to support a friend who is suffering through the process of grief.

It is generally accepted that there are five stages of grief, which follow the same order regarding any type of grieving. They are shown as Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and Acceptance.

I think that I have finally hit the acceptance stage. That said, I would like to share some of my own most recent experience that someday might help you support a friend in a similar situation. Again, all situations are very different, and we all believe ours to be the worst and to each, their experience is the worst! In my own experience, well where to begin?

Last year, my once spouse of eighteen years who was originally diagnosed as only Bipolar, suffered a complete psychotic break. He was completely out of control, was fired five times, completely abandoned our family of now four and basically shattered every dream that we had ever had. This all said, on top of the grieving process, I suffered from very real Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, based on the things that I have seen, that I wish to forever forget.

Stage One - Denial. At first, I was in complete denial that we would end our long term union where we had overcome such obstacles in the past, just never this severe. I couldn't believe that we would lose our home, our business and everything that we had both worked towards for our family. This all on the heels of our house finally being paid off, almost at the point of complete financial freedom, and our three children doing amazing. I couldn't imagine that we would lose everything! I couldn't imagine that he would do this to us, after all of this time. This was straight out denial. I couldn't and wouldn't believe it, and the only thing that got me through it was the reassurance from my close friends of what had really taken place. He was sick, and could never come back and I had to carry on without him, forever.

Stage One My Friends. They were all very full of support, trying to help in any way possible. Making jokes of things, trying to help out around my chaotic home and doing anything and everything they could to make light of the situation. They were not in Denial, I was and therefore everything that they

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