Three Faces of Widowhood – Part ll: Working Through

eye of grief

Elizabeth Kubler-Ross, a Swiss Psychiatrist identified in 1969, the five stages of Loss and Grief (similar to the 5 stages of dying): denial and isolation, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. It describes the emotional stages that survivors experience after the death of a loved one (or the loss of a pet, friend, limb, breast etc.) Grief does not have a schedule—there are no deadlines for the resolution of grief. Of course these stages can occur in any order and can be re-visited over time as one moves to peaceful acceptance.

Another way of looking at the grieving process is through three broad and overlapping phases:

  1. Retreating – the experience of disbelief, shock, confusion and disorientation
  2. Working Through – the experience of feeling the full impact of the death – the expression of feelings and responses
  3. Resolving – the integration of the loss into one’s life

Jayne, Sandi and Monica are transitioning through their wall of grief and are now in the Working Through phase. It is a deeply personal and singular journey; therefore the following experiences do not necessarily describe any one person, but is the collective culmination of courage, choices and clarity on their journeys of recovery.

The first year is tough as they re-live the ABCD’s of the post-death period—anniversary, birthday, Christmas and death. Sandi is almost through her first year after the death of Trent. She describes the task of transitioning to a single person as lonely: from we to me, from ours to mine, and from us to my—the aloneness enveloped her in a state of acute vulnerability that was hard to shake. But through the process of re-discovering herself she realized that she liked being a couple and set about to explore online dating. Actually her daughter set her profile up and Sandi has now been on a few dates. She had to learn to trust again and not look at relationships through rose-coloured glasses – instead she looks at life with eyes wide open.

Jayne’s journey through the thicket of grief required her to sort through her shards of emotional shrapnel—she was always the one to resolve problems, keep peace in the family, and go the extra mile to meet work obligations. She said ‘yes’ to everyone but herself. She has learned to be kind to herself and not be afraid of the boogie man—she has stopped the tape running incessantly in her head, about all the ‘what-ifs’ that might be just around the corner. Instead she enjoys just watching the flames of a fire or going for long walks to distract her from the intensity of life. Jayne is starting to get comfortable in her own skin.

Monica has discovered that by focusing on her own health and well-being, she can begin to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Grief shakes one’s foundations and one of the pillars is self-esteem. Being in a new city was like double jeopardy but she joined a yoga group, met new people, attended a learn-to-knit class and found satisfaction in creating wooly gifts for her grandchildren and friends.

Mourning time is really convalescent time for the body, mind and spirit. My three widowed friends are slowly regaining their equilibrium as they look inward to relax their bodies, re-focus attention on themselves and inspire their spirits to a new transformation.

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